Monthly Archives: June 2011
Also known as White sage, bee sage, or sacred sage. I grow it for making smudge sticks. Smudging to cleanse the atmosphere in a room or building, or to clear a space for meditation and spiritual practices has become popular in recent years. Based on a North American Indian tradition, you can adapt the smudging ceremony to suit your needs. I recommend using a feather to move the smoke around and an abalone shell to catch the ash.
What is Stevia?
Stevia (rebaudiana) is a plant native to South and Central America that belongs to the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Altogether there are 240 species of the Stevia plant in the world. It has been used as an alternative to sugar by the population of Paraguay and Brazil for about 500 years because the extract of the plant is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
In other words, you only need one or two leaves of it, to sweeten one cup of strong coffee or tea.
The gardens are a delightful place to retreat and meditate after your treatment in Pam Burn’s Holistic treatment center. The Buddah can be seen in the Japanese garden which is one of the many spots for peaceful repose.
The Tilford Gaden 2012 open days are Saturday and Sunday the 9th and 10th of June. 10.30 to 4.00 pm. Friday the 15th June evening 6 to 9.00 pm. Saturday and Sunday the 16th and 17th of June. 10.30 to 4.00 pm.
Many visitors ask why our hostas show no slug damage. Even though we do have slugs, as most gardens have, we do not use slug pelets. Some of our plants have resistance but we also beleive that if you plant hostas en mass you wont notice the damage. See Gallery/Flowers/Hosta Beds. A few slug resistant hosta blues are ‘Blue Mammoth’, ‘Blue Plate Special’, ‘Blue Shadows’, ‘Krossa Regal’, and ‘Reptillian’. Heavier and tougher leaves are generally characteristic of hosta that are slug resistant. ‘Sum and Substance’, is a gold leafed hosta that will brighten up any shady garden area. This large hosta will grow up to 36″h and up to 80″w. The wide, heavily textured, bright chartreuse leaves may change to a golden green in brighter light. Lavender flowers bloom late in the season. Other varieties in the group of slug resistant hosta include: ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ Blue; Specimen*; 20″h x 45″w ‘Aspen Gold’ Gold; 24″h x 56″h ‘Big Daddy’ Blue; Background**; 24″h x 60″w ‘Bright Lights’ Chartreuse w/Blue-green margins; 16″h x 30″w ‘Blue Umbrellas’ Green; Background; 30″h x 72″w ‘Camelot’ Blue; 15″h x 40″w ‘Frances Williams’ Gold; Background; 30″h x 60″w ‘June’ Gold; Specimen; 12″h x 30″w ‘Love Pat’ Blue; Specimen; 21″h x 50″w ‘Spilt Milk’ White variegated; Specimen; 20″h x 40″w Hope this helps.
Cucumber mosaic virus Apart from cucumbers and other cucurbits, it also attacks spinach, lettuce and celery and many flowers, especially lilies, delphiniums, primulas and daphnes. (CMV) is one of the most common plant viruses and causes a wide range of symptoms, especially yellow mottling, distortion and stunting. Expect damage whenever susceptible plants are growing well in spring and summer. Symptoms You may see the following symptoms: Yellowish patches or green and yellow mottling on leaves. Leaves curl downwards and are distorted and reduced in size. Plants are stunted due to a shortening of the internodes (lengths of stem between leaves). Reduction in yields and distorted fruit. In flowers white streaks known as ‘breaks’ appear. Control Non chemical control Apart from the aphid vectors, CMV is easily transmitted on garden tools and gardeners’ fingers. Avoid handling healthy plants after working with suspected infected ones until tools or hands have been washed with soapy water. Destroy suspect plants promptly to reduce the risk of transmission. Keep the garden weed free. Groundsel and chickweed are particularly likely to harbour CMV. Choose resistant cultivars. Courgettes ‘Supremo’ and ‘Defender’, bush marrow/courgettes ‘Badger Cross’, ‘Zebra Cross F’ and ‘Tiger Cross’, cucumbers ‘Bush Champion’, ‘Crispy Salad’, ‘Jazzer F’, ‘Paskia Fi’, ‘Petita’ and ‘Country Fair’ and aubergine ‘Bonica’ all show some resistance.
Kiwi The Kiwi fruit is a beautiful and succulent fruit which is well suited to being grown in the British climate. Small furry fruits with succulent vivid green flesh are produced from vigorous plants that have beautiful heart shaped leaves. A climbing plant that is well suited to growing on walls, pergolas or trellis, the Kiwi is sure to delight. How to grow Kiwi plants are easy to grow and vigorous plants which once planted will romp away and produce wonderful fruits. Plants have been expertly grown and only require planting following delivery. If you cannot plant your kiwi upon arrival ensure it is adequately watered and place it in a cool and bright spot until it is ready to be moved in to its final position. Position Kiwi plants enjoy a sunny position and a south facing aspect is ideal but not essential. Allow plants some shelter from cold winds, erecting some temporary screening or garden fleece will suffice, and ensure there is a garden structure present for plants to climb up. Soil The planting area should have good fertile soil, which is well drained and full of additional organic matter. Add plenty of well-rotted garden compost to soil to achieve this and this will help to retain moisture, warm soil and improve soil structure. Care Plants will require regular watering and feeding throughout the growing season. An application of general fertiliser in the spring along with a mulch of well-rotted manure will aid growth, suppress weeds and preserve moisture. A weekly liquid feed will also help aid plant growth and a liquid seaweed feed should suffice, although others can be used. Plants should be pruned regularly to restrict and contain growth. Harvesting Harvest fruits once plump and ripe. This can be done by hand or with the use of secatuers. Top Tip Not all plants are self-fertile and you may need to grow both a male and female plant.
This is a simple and effective display of glass circles to enhance your garden. I call mine glass drums.
You still have time to book a group visit to Tilford Cottage Garden. A group of 6 or more is needed and we can provide you with some refreshments during your visit. Tilford Cottage Garden is listed in the NGS yellow book and has been for 13 years now. Hope to see you soon. Painted tree. Tilford cottage Garden.
Honey bees & reasons to support bee-craft Honey bees are pollinators vital to our food chain. One third of the food we eat would not be available but for honey bees. In the UK about 70 crops are dependent on, or benefit from, visits from bees. In addition, bees pollinate the flowers of many plants which become part of the feed of farm animals. The economic value of honey bees and bumble bees as pollinators of commercially grown insect pollinated crops in the UK has been estimated at over £200 million per year. But tragically bees are in danger of disappearing from our environment! Farming practices continue to disturb the natural habitats and forage of solitary and bumblebees at a rate which gives them little chance for re-establishment. And the honeybee is under attack from the varroa mite and it is only the treatment and care provided by beekeepers that is keeping colonies alive. Most wild honeybee colonies have died out as a result of this disease. In fact due to the varroa mite, the longest a feral honeybee colony can survive in the wild is about 18 months; the bee-keeper has now become the guardian of the honey-bee in the UK and most other countries around