GINA PARKINSON welcomes the splashes of colours from the plants that survive into December, especially the pot marigolds

AFTER the run of dull, damp and grey days last week,it was a relief to see blue sky on Sunday. The garden was damp with that enveloping wet that only occurs at this point in the year.

Squelching lawns, soaked soil and plants encrusted in jewelled droplets, a sprinkling of which drops onto the head and shoulders of anyone passing underneath the low branches of trees and shrubs.

As a new month appears,I like to look about the garden to see what is in flower. December is often relatively mild and many plants will still be carrying a few blooms. A cold snap will see them off, but in sheltered spots especially near the house or by sunny walls the flowers will keep coming sporadically for a few weeks longer.

There are a couple of varieties of hardy fuchsia in our garden, the hard working ‘Mrs Popple’ grown from small plants bought at the end of summer a year or so ago and an elegant white variety that was already here when we moved. These tough plants grow into sizeable shrubs and will flower for months from early summer through to December or even January depending on the temperature.

They become less floriferous as the days drop into winter but at this time of year one bloom is worth ten that appear in summer.

More tender plants will still be making a small statement including pelargoniums which although not frost hardy will withstand a good amount of cold. Ours stayed outside all winter last year against a south-facing house wall.

Previously they had been brought into the conservatory to spend the winter but were overlooked last autumn. They are old plants with woody stems but have nevertheless flowered all summer even in the semi shaded place they were moved to.

There is no way that nasturtiums will stand a frost and ones in a more exposed of our garden have gone the slimy mess of leaves and stems that coldness causes. However the ones by the house are still blooming and apparently growing as they sprawl over the gravel. It is especially warm in this spot and I suspect the small stones they seem to like to cover hold the heat, even from low winter sun.

Finally, and perhaps my favourite of the moment, are the pot marigolds growing in the veg garden. These are self-seeded plants from a packet sown three or four years ago and from which a few plants appear each spring.

They were late this year and are still managing to open a couple of blooms every few days.

The orange flowers glow in the suns glance and their small, ordinary faces are the most special part of the garden at that small moment in time.

Marigolds, nasturtiums and fuchsias, everyday, conventional, maybe even a little boring, but they will guarantee a flower or two when everything else is taking its winter slumber.

 

Weekend catch-up

WE’VE had a death in the garden which is always sad. A tall cotoneaster went into autumn mode at the beginning of the summer, so we knew something was wrong. Rhus and lilac have already died in the same area, so the worry is that honey fungus might be to blame.

The advice given was to cut the tree down in winter, so on the sunny Sunday we had last week the job was carried out.

This poor tree was definitely dead. There was no sign of green when the surface of a branch was scraped and now all that remains are the stumps of thick branches a few inches above the ground.

The tree will be replaced in spring and although honey fungus is a worrying addition to the garden there are a lot of shrub and trees that are resistant or can at least cope with it.

Dogwoods, for example, should be all right, as should yew and liquid amber, giving a decent range of sizes and shapes of specimens to choose from.

 

Fleshing out a talk

MEAT-EATING plants are in the spotlight on Tuesday when Askham Bryan College Gardening Club will be hosting a talk about carnivorous plants.

Guest speaker Peter Walker is from Wack’s Wicked Plants, a small back garden nursery in Knaresborough which specialises in these interesting and exotic plants.

The illustrated talk will look at the different types of plants in the genus and the care they need to thrive. There will also be live examples to look at as well as some on sale.

The talk begins at 7.30pm on Tuesday in the Conference Hall at Askham Bryan College YO23 3FR. Tickets are free to Askham Bryan College Gardening Club and £5 on the door for visitors.

Complementary teas and coffee will be served after the talk. For more information about the gardening club please contact David Whiteman. Publicity Officer, 01904 707208.

 

Gardening T V and Radio

Tomorrow

6.15am, BBC2, Great British Garden Revival. How to grow fruit and use ornamental bedding plants.

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

8.15am, BBC2, Glorious Gardens from Above. Christine Walkden observes the gardens and countryside of Northumberland from a hot air balloon.

9am, BBC Radio York, Julia Lewis. Out and about in the North Yorkshire countryside.

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

2pm, BBC R2, Gardeners’ Question Time. The team of horticulturists help gardeners from Bournemouth. with their gardening problems.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Panellists Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson answer questions from gardeners in Glasgow. Eric Robson is in the chair.