Water is another key component. The insects use it for drinking and also “puddling” in the soil.

Also, pesticides are not compatible with butterflies in your garden. If you want one, you can’t have the other.

Essentially, a good butterfly garden has nectar options and host plants for caterpillars. Native plants work best,  “These plants have been attracting butterflies for decades,”. Some hybrid plants — which over the years may have been bred for color or bloom size or something else — may have lost what attracted butterflies to them in the first place.

Clumps of plants are attractive to the butterflies, as are splashes of color, large blooms and single flowers. Flower shape does make a difference; something with a broad bloom gives the butterflies a place to land, 

Plant the plants in an easily viewed area so you can see the butterfly show, And don’t worry if there is a small “weed patch,” because butterflies love the protection it offers.

Be sure to deadhead plants because having blooms all summer long helps keep butterflies in the garden. Optimum time for viewing begins around 10 a.m. or mid-morning, when the nectar warms up and goes up the plant, so butterflies can begin sipping

Although the list of butterfly-friendly plants is long, here are a few that  I have in my garden:

Shrubs

Butterfly Bush ‘Nanho’ purple

Lilac

Spirea

Perennials

Coreopsis Threadleaf ‘Moonbeam’ or ‘Zagreb’

Aster ‘Purple Dome’

Milkweed, both Common and Butterfly

Bee Balm

Annuals

Snapdragon

Cosmos

Salvia

Zinnia

Sweet Alyssum

Verbena

Seeds that can be sown in outdoor pots, containers, baskets or borders

• French Beans
• Haricot Beans
• Runner Beans
• Broad Beans

Just push the beans in the soil 10cm apart 6 cm down in your compost / soil, protect against slug (especially the small keel slugs that live in the soil)

Water when compost / soil is dry ( put a tiny drop of  tiny washing up liquid in the watering can, this will stop the compost drying out.. but only put a tiny drop in)

Sow sweetcorn, (as above) Spinach, Kale, Swedes, Broccoli and Celery.

Remember to earth up (cover your potato leaves with soil) your potatoes. (Potatoes grow on the stem growing up through the soil)

Keep Weeding in between your vegetable rows

If you have had too many  vegetable seedlings, mix it up in the garden, put your spinach in your hanging baskets with your strawberries, especially the ruby chard’s. Put Beans / Peas in all your pots with your flowers, peas climbing up your Roses. Be creative in your beds and mix it all up, you will love the results……….!

 To bring your outside alive with very little effort is simple, Bees will come to almost any plant that is in flower, while hoverflies prefer those plants with an open structure like the poached egg plant (limnanthes douglasii) or the dwarf convolvulus, always remember chemical sprays will kill your friends as well as your enemies.

I tend to plant one pot up for my aquatic flowering plants,  choose a watertight container, try to use an aquatic basket, line with hessian or old tights to prevent your soil drifting out, Fill your basket with heavy garden soil (clay or the soil dug from 5inches down)  then plant your water lilies in the pot, cover with gravel. Fill your water tight pot up with water then place your basket inches below the surface so the leaves are floating on top. Enjoy

Rhubarb has been cultivated since 2700 BC and brought to Europe in the 1700’s , the crowns were found in the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1817 and cultivation began.  Rhubarb is grown in my  Vegetable garden and the early spring has ensured  I have plenty of early leaves to make some delicious treats.   Rhubarb has always been relatively trouble free in my garden and I adore its pick and pull quality in the garden as a really hard worker.

Rhubarb Sorbet

400g (14oz) Rhubarb

150g(5oz) Caster Sugar

Juice of half a lemon

Cut the Rhubarb into 2.5cm (1inch) lengths and put into a heavy bottom pan. Add 50ml (2floz) water. Warm gently until the juices run, then stir in the sugar and lemon juice and simmer, covered, until tender. Freeze, whisking several times as it breaks the ice crystals until smooth. Remove from the freezer 10 Min’s before serving and leave in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Medicinally Rhubarb  was used as  an astringent, stomachic. 

 recommended it for chest,stomach and liver complaints.

Do not eat the leaves as they are extremely poisonous.

Bluebells under threat

It’s hard to believe that our Bluebells have decided to show their vibrant flowers this so  early this Springtime, the mixture of the early heat from the sunshine and dry conditions  have warmed our soil temperatures to give us all a stunning display from our GroBoxes. These warm temperatures give us an ideal planting opportunity to get our early vegetables in the border, bare rooted trees, potatoes, onions and shallots. The warm soil will generate early root growth and strong plants. Even the late fluttering of snow won’t cool the soil temperatures from the mad march temperatures. So this Easter and Springtime, try to get in your garden to plant your spring flowers, vegetables and summer bulbs. Enjoy

Dear Jayne

We have just bought one of your fabulous Wildflower GroMats, just one question? When planting it on the 50/50 layer of sharp sand and peat free compost, how thick do I place the compost sand mixture to cover on top of the GroMat?

Yours

Tracey Hague

Dear Tracey

Lovely to hear from you, thank you so much for supporting us. When planting your GroMat just cover with 1 inch or 2.5 cm depth on top of the Wildflower Membrane. Just water and watch it grow, your seeds will germinate in stages, the cold weather germinators followed by the warm weather germinators.  Your GroMat contains some Wildflower species with dust like seed, they are carefully sealed in the membrane and really hard to see, when these seeds germinate the seedlings look like tiny downy hairs so delicate. Don’t worry these tiny seedlings are tough little things and grow into strong beautiful wildflowers. The seeds are designed to be wind pollinated so light as a feather and small as dust to travel as far as they can, to ensure the survival of the species.  Keep watered and Enjoy your wildflowers.

Grow your own is definitely a hot topic among the garden centres, retailers and gardening programmes. It is looking like seed companies will be the more successful than last year in terms of sales figures as we all try our hand at growing our own vegetables and fruit.  It really is one of the most fulfilling task in the gardening calendar, sowing your seeds, thinning out and then potting them on when they have grown their true leaves ready to be hardened off (used to a period of cold) ready to be planted in the garden, pots or containers. So looking at the vast array of vegetable seed on offer to you as a gardener it is hard to find the best plants for you, I have compiled a list of my top 10 easy to grow vegetables so veg out and get growing.

• Beetroot (bolt hardy)
• Cut and Come again salad leaves
• Bush tomato (Gardenpearle)
• Early potatoes (Anya) or ‘Red Duke of York’
• Peas’ Half Pint’
• Radish ‘ Scarlett Globe’ or ‘French Breakfast’
• Miners lettuce or winter purslane
• Oriental Salad mix
• Chilli ‘ Cayenne’
• Courgette ‘ Defender F1’

Many garden centres in our region are focussing on ‘Grow your own’ and holding activities and workshops to help your grow a wonderful edible garden.

So this weekend buy your seed potatoes and start them off in egg boxes to encourage the shoots to grow (chitting out) as a first step on the road to a successful gardener.

You can hardly have noticed that when you wanted to buy some pest control for your garden the shelves seem to be distinctly lighter. I found myself struggling to find a few of my last resort chemicals to use on the most stubborn pests. The European Parliament has now drawn up new proposals on the Sustainable use of Pesticides, a timetable for implementation has emerged, however our most popular chemicals have been passed until 2013, glufosinate, amitrol (systemic weed killers). However the government legislation is to encourage us all to use alternative organic control for a pest or disease and only use chemical control as a last resort/. However we have emerged from our first ‘serious’ winter for year. The cold weather has killed off some overwintering pests but still be vigilant in your inspection of your garden as whitefly and greenfly can soon develop so spray with diluted washing up liquid as a control.

Our climate really is giving our gardens a  real extreme, as we leave February, we have had snow is a foot deep in places . The good news is that advances in weather forecasting can now predict extreme climate changes in hours. So what does this mean for us as gardeners?

We can protect our plants and pots from freezing, grit our paths and drives and take lots of photos of our garden in winter as the snow gives a new perspective of the architectural form of our trees shrubs and hedges. 

Your garden design is now as important as your interior design so having a well designed outdoor living room can ensure your home can withstand the falling house market prices and you will attract potential buyers. So when landscaping the garden, start by ensuring the style of your home runs through to the garden.  Be honest about your lifestyle, how much time can you realistically spend in the garden, low maintenance garden / high maintenance garden, fruit, veg, outdoor entertaining space. Ask yourself the questions, where is the sun in the morning / evening? Are you are sheltered? Shady? try to take photographs to record your garden.

Maximising space by lighting is a common designer trick. If you have a budget and unsure where to start, local colleges offer six week garden design courses which will allow you to learn all the tricks of the trade, if you are time strapped then contact your local college for a list of horticultural students who could design your garden at minimum cost.

Planting for the garden is another cost so minimise it by growing your own plants, seed sales are up 25% this year as the credit crunch hits, so get growing and the best thing about growing from seeds is that you get lots of plants for free. Plant swapping communities in our local areas will ensure you have a garden full of all your favourite flowers. If you want to make some extra cash, sell your plants a local car boot sales, church halls or school fairs.

Try to get out and about in the countryside, look for the plants that really do look good at this time of year and replicate them in your garden, the wildlife will thank you for it.

Finally as you are sowing your seeds this week, give a thought for our British Bumble Bees that are in decline, 3 species have vanished and 7 are under threat, so let’s sow the seeds for bees in our gardens. Try to find an area to create a wildflower garden, remember you can always plant in window boxes, tubs and pots. Foxgloves, irises, red clover, comfrey, toadflax, and soft fruit are a favourite as early flowering daffodils and other early spring bulbs.  So let’s plant for the British Bumble Bee and try to slow heir decline. Remember native British bees are dying out and with them will go Flora, Fauna and one third of our diet so let’s try to save then and avert catastroph 

I was the happy recipient of an Organic Herb Grobox over Xmas, what an excellent idea!  However my gifter didnt realise that you are meant to plant the box in the garden, rather than the herbs actually growing in the box as a container.I don’t have a garden:    I live in a flat.   What are my options for using the grobox in a container on a sunny window ledge?

What size of container would be required? How much/what depth of potting compost / soil would you suggest? How much watering? Any other advice?

 Many Thanks in anticipation

 Regards:

 Dave

Hi Dave

Wonderful to hear from you and thank you so much for supporting us I love your business, yes your Grobox is designed to be grown in a pot, container, size 30cm x 25cm by 10cm width

 I apologise if this is not clear, we will work on the product messages. Everything you need is included inside the GroBox , just open the lid,  place your grobox in your desired container / pot , cover with 2 inches of compost (I’d use a peat free multipurpose,)  or a loam compost ) , water once and watch it grow, . A window ledge is perfect, just ensure the product is not overwatered so only water when dry , as GroBoxes are designed for water conservation and they have high water holding capacity. When your seedlings grow only thin out the seedlings  when they have grown 4 leaves per plant and space so they are 2 cm apart , remember give unwanted seedling to a neighbour friend or local school, share in your community. Feed your plants every two weeks with liquid seaweed, use leaves regularly in salads, cooking and teas.

If you have any more questions, please drop us a line,

Have a wonderful 2012

Jayne

The garden is now becoming your outdoor living room, this now seen by designers is something you can accessorize and enjoy all year round. As with your home, outdoor audio is very much a trend this year, outdoor wireless speakers, floating waterproof speakers are all solar powered and designed to play music via your iPod, phone, mp3 or other multimedia device.  Lighting again is a trend that seems to have taken off, solar panelled designs with mirrors and floating bubbles extend your time spent in your garden and up light your trees and shrubs. As with your home gardens now have pictures to hang on fence panels that are water resistant and give you all round interest, so if you couldn’t recreate the planting scheme from Chatsworth in your borders you can now have it hung up on your fence. Baubles, ornaments and Globes are now seen interplanted in our pots with our bedding to give extra colour and design to our gardens. Tree ornaments are again popular with the designers and can give you sound and movement in the garden.  However all these products are great but in Great Britain with a maritime climate we are very cold and wet so outdoor living does need two constants if we are going to maximise our space, heat and shelter from the wind and rain.  So the clever product designers have taken the designs from ships and produced large sails we can suspend over our area to protect us, these sails come in a variety of sizes and shapes and colours. Heat now can be found from our stoves, chimeras, patio heaters (wood) and fire baskets; these ensure that we do not need us to dress like polar explorers to enjoy our garden in the winter. Ponds are now aqua creations, and ornaments are mesmerising optical illusions that will captivate you, (honestly) so hold on to your seats 2012  in your garden will be stunning Enjoy