8:30am Saturday 13th March 2010
By Gina Parkinson
THE clear blue skies and sunshine that arrived with the start of March have been deceptive. From the window, the garden looks warm and bright, but a step outside soon reveals otherwise and it is still too cold to get a lot done in the beds and borders.
When I began this column last Monday morning it was, according to the computer, -6C outside, which seemed ridiculous but the frosted roofs and frozen soil showed it to be true.
So here in our garden there is still little work being done, save for tidying and sweeping to keep paths clear. Still, it is good to bear in mind just what will need to be done once the temperatures begin to rise, as they surely must.
One job I like to do this month is to go around the beds clearing away dead leaves from new shoots that are beginning to push through the earth.
The leaves are good for the garden; they form an insulating layer over the winter and gradually break down and mix into the soil. Small creatures hide in the shelter they provide and worms drag them underground,where the leaves are digested and eventually excreted, a good source of nutrients in the soil.
For new spring shoots, however, this layer of dead foliage can be a problem. It can make a soggy blanket that may rot the crown of a plant and also create a hiding place for hungry slugs and snails.
It isn’t necessary to completely clear the garden, but it is a good idea to check where plants are beginning to emerge. Euphorbia griffithii, for example, will have begun to grow. This is a deciduous member of what is mainly an evergreen family of plants, the stems dying back at theend of the summer and laying dormant until February or March.
Clumps of bright red shoots come through looking beautiful in a sunny spot in the garden. Glimpses of such a rich colour are unexpected in a late-winter garden, so spending a little time searching for them and removing any debris is very rewarding.
Euphorbia griffithii can be invasive, especially if grown in its favoured damp and sunny spot. However, it is easy to keep in check by pulling up the unwanted stems as they emerge this month, a simple job given their unmistakable look.
The plant spreads by sending out underground runners which come away easily but will need to be cut from the mother plant, otherwise the whole lot will be dislodged.
Gloves and long sleeves should be worn as, like all euphorbias, a milky sap bleeds from broken stems and branches. This will cause blisters to form if it comes in contact with bare skin, especially if exposed to sun.
The burns can be quite nasty and may leave an area sensitive to the sun, even when healed. Despite these potential drawbacks, Euphorbia griffithii is a lovely plant with red tinged leaves and stems and wonderful clusters of deep red flowers in spring and early summer.
SHRUB roses need to be pruned back this month if they weren’t done in February, for despite the long winter they will have already begun to develop new shoots along their stems.
Gardeners generally have their own way of pruning roses.
Some will cut all the stems back to within a few inches of the ground in October, others prefer to leave the plants alone save for a little trimming of dead flowers and broken stems.
Generally I take a middle path, pruning them in March and taking older stems right back to a bud just above ground level and cutting the remaining younger stems to varying lengths, again just above a good strong bud.
At the same time, dead and diseased growth is removed and thinner stems are cut back harder than stronger ones. Then, if the ground isn’t frosted, a handful of rose fertiliser is sprinkled around the base of each plant and gently forked in.
TROY Smith, head gardener from Bodnant Garden, near Colwyn Bay, in Wales, will be giving a talk on Tuesday in the conference hall at Askham Bryan College, York.
Bodnant is placed above the River Conway with views across the valley to Snowdonia and boasts a wide range of plants, especially from China, Japan, North America and Europe chosen for their ability to cope with the Welsh climate and local soils.
Organised by Askahm Bryan College (ABC) Gardening Club the talk will begin at 7.30pm and is free for members and £5 at the door for non-members. There is plenty of free parking.
Tomorrow.
8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. Presented by Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.
9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.
2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. The team is in Lancashire where Matthew Biggs, Pippa Greenwood and Christine Walken answer questions from members of Edenfield and District Horticultural Society. Chairman Eric Robson keeps order and also looks into the history of the lawnmower. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).
Friday.
3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness, Matthew Wilson and chairman Eric Robson help gardeners from Shoreham-by-Sea in Sussex with their horticultural problems. There is also a report on new plant varieties from the British Plant Fair 2010 and the gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm. (Repeated on Sunday).
Saturday, March 20.
7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia Booth and plant expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.
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