Gina Parkinson appreciates an attractive yellow-flowered plant but warns that it can be invasive

DOTTED about our garden in sun and shade is a yellow-flowered plant with wavy edged leaves and small double blooms. It is attractive but seems to be spreading itself rather well, which can be an indication that a plant is invasive.

It turns out that this could indeed be the case, according to Wikipedia, which I turned to after my neighbour identified the plant as Chelidonium or greater celandine.

Greater celandine grows a metre or so tall and forms an attractive loose clump of soft leaves and branching stems carrying the yellow flowers. In the wild it is found in open woodland, hedgerows and on wasteland.

In the garden it is an attractive addition in spring and early summer, but care needs to be taken to make sure it doesn’t make itself too much at home. It can be easily pulled up before the seeds ripen to keep spread in check, the brittle stems exude an orange sap so gloves are a good idea.

The long seed capsules split and drop the black seeds, which make themselves attractive to ants by having a fleshy structure called an elaiosome attached to them. The ants carry the seed back to their nest and feed the lipid and protein rich elaiosome to their larvae before disposing of the seed. This then germinates and the cycle begins again.

By the way….

This type of seed dispersal is called myrmecochory which comes from the Greek ‘myrmex’ (ant) and ‘kore’ (dispersal).

Elaiosome is also rooted in Greek – ‘elaion’ (oil) and ‘soma’ (body).

 

In the veg garden

IT SEEMS that no matter how much the veg garden is weeded, there is always more to do. So earlier in the week I was out not much after 6am, clearing an area for the bean poles to go up. The soil had been weeded several times in winter and early spring, but couch grass in particular had once again made its pesky way back into the lovely warm earth.

It took an hour so to get the task done, but that is another one crossed off the list and the beans are planted and raring to go.

This year I am determined not to let the runner beans get on top of me and they will be chopped as soon as they reach the limit of their support.

Runner beans grow so easily from seed that it is tempting just to plant the whole lot, but only three canes have been provided, so only three have been chosen to grow.

A second tripod is ready for some climbing French beans, which I decided to grow as a change from the dwarf ones we usually have. Again only three will be put in but as their germination appears to be more temperamental than that of runner beans it looks as though I will only have a few to choose from anyway.

Runner and French beans are not frost-hardy and need to be gradually hardened off before being put into their permanent spot. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the local weather forecast in case of a late drop in temperature which can occasionally happen in early June and put some protective fleece or newspaper over the plants overnight if necessary.

 

Weekend catch-up

AS WELL as attending to weeds in the veg garden it is a good idea to dig up any potatoes that have started to sprout in unexpected places. It is easy to see the rows of newly planted spuds popping up from where they were planted this spring but any that are randomly appearing need to be removed otherwise they will spoil the rotation plan and may encourage spread of disease in the crop.

Potatoes need a three-year rotation which means an area is clear of their growth for two years on the trot. Rogue spuds missed when harvested last summer and autumn will pop up and need to be dug up before other crops make it too difficult to get to them.

It is astonishing how many can be removed, some very large, how were they missed?

 

Open gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme

The Ridings, South Street, Burton Fleming, YO25 3PE, 11 miles north east of Driffield off the B1249. Owner-designed cottage garden started in 2001 on a reclaimed site. The area includes climber festooned arches and brick pergola, lavender edged secret garden, potager, colour themed mixed borders with old English roses and a paved terrace with a water feature and farming bygones. Open 1pm-5pm, admission £3.

Monday

Bridge Farm House, Long lane, Great Heck, DN14 0BE, six miles south of Selby. Two-acre garden on sandy soil with mature trees, bog and gravel gardens, long double mixed borders, hens, wildlife and many rare and unusual plants. Open noon to 4.30pm, admission £3.

 

TV gardening and radio

Saturday

8pm, BBC2, RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Monty Don, Nicki Chapman and Joe Swift visit the plant sell off at the end of the show and reflect on their favourite moments.

Sunday

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

8.30am, BBC2, The Beechgrove Garden. Advice on how to create a miniature mountain landscape.

9am, BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis. News and features from the gardens and countryside.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time, The GQT team answer questions from the audience at Oxford House in Bethnal Green. With chairman Eric Robson and panellists Anne Swithinbank, Matthew Wilson and Bunny Guinness. (Repeated from Friday).

Monday

4.15pm, BBC1, RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Joe Swift and Sophie Raworth look at the highlights of the show this year including new plant launches and the top medal winners.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Christine Walkden, Bunny Guinness and Bob Flowerdew answer questions from the audience at the Whitehaven festival in Cumbria. The chairman is Eric Robson.

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. This week there is advice on making a herb garden and a visit to the national collection of aquilegias.