The reason I am a bit narked with Mr T


Now I am not one to preach, but this month Gareners World magazine got thrown through a window and I think I should explain why!
Firstly I guess I should explain the family fondness for a certain Mr Titchmarsh. He's a Yorkshire lad, came from the Ilkley where my mother went to college, and has, until now, very much stood for the gardening prinnciples that us as a family have always stood by, ie, sustainability. Many a garden has been produced and allotment planted on little money and thrifty use of both plants and material.
So imagine, to my abject horror, reading that Mr Titchmarsh is no longer willing to stand with the no-peat faction and is stating that some plants will suffer if grown in peat free compost and that seedlings will not thrive in peat free compost  and so is happy to use compost with peat "in the interests of what I like to think of as "the greater good"".

So Mr T, here's my response to that. I grow on 2 nurseries, one my own and one on which I am employed. My employers use peat, and hard as I find it to take, I totally understand that decision as a commercial one. The nursery stock plants that are mostly grown in 20litre and above pots, many of which are large trees which range in pot size from 160-2000 litres. To buy peat free in this type of quantity is very dificult and extremely expensive. Although peat free is only pence more expensive per litre it weighs more and so is more expensive to transport and also when buying in quantities of 45 tonnes at a time, a few pence per litre all adds up. The use of peat on this nursery has been reduced dramatically but as things stand, it is seen commercially on this level as a necessary evil.
At The Physic Garden we are peat free. All of our stock has been germinated in peat free compost and there has been no issue with germination, including the Ammi majus pictured above. As we are producing much smaller stock which is destined for a completely different market we have made the conscious decision to be peat free from the start, as well as chemical and manmade fertilizer free.
So who is right and who is wrong? Well I believe that people such as Monty Don, Alys Fowler and Kew Gardens can't be far wrong and none of the above use peat in their gardens. In fact Kew has been peat free since 1992, which is quite amusing as MrT was trained there! I also believe that gardening is about leaving as small a footprint as possible, and peat bogs are such an amazing carbon sink, and special environment for wildlife, that surely we must protect them. Digging them up so that we can possibly have slightly better Busy Lizzies in a hanging basket seems bizarre to me and hardly ethical or sustainable. But the answer is not to ask people to side with their favourite celebrity gardener but to make them aware of peat and its habitats, and educate them. So why is this not happening?
It appears that peat free compost is not that easy to come by if you are the average gardener buying from garden centre chains or DIY superstores, as although it is available it is around twice the price of peat based compost and often not readily available in store. Reduced peat compost is often available, but reduced by how much is not addressed and certainly no one has any information in store. Presumably the stores, which let's be honest, are run for profit not ethics, make money on peat based composts, selling them in quantity and therefore are not going to see any good from telling people about peat bogs and the devastation caused by the compost industry to them. The gardening press addresses the peat issue occassionally, but never to any true conclusion and generally it always ends with so and so does but so and so doesn't, again leading people to just follow their favourites.
So  maybe people may be surprised to hear that by 2020 the government intends to phase out peat use by the amateur gardener. Considering that 70% of the peat used in this country is used by the amateur and it is now 2011, this is a massive undertaking and one that needs addressing now, in garden centres, by allotment and horticultural groups and by the small nursery owner who actually is the grower and so can talk with knowledge on the beat way to grow without peat and offer good advice which will work. So to all you gardeners out there, ignore the last page of Gareners World this month, find your local small nursery and go and talk to the grower there. If the National Trust, the RHS and Kew Gardens can all go peat free then quite honestly so can you!

The photo to the right is of the white garden at Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, a National Trust garden and so peat free. Could this look any better with peat-I think not!
The reason for this picture is not peat though. I have just finished reading Adam Nicholson's "The Smell of Summer Grass." It tells the story of him and Sarah Raven buying Perch Hill Farm in Sussex and setting up Sarah's gardening and cookery school and the farm surrounding it.
As always with Nicholson's work it is a brilliant piece of writing that speaks of the place and its meaning within its environment. It explains perfectly that beauty can be the reason to do something, and that can be an achievement in itself without having to produce an end product, Beauty is the end product-something us gardeners should be able to understand. So if you're looking for something to read over Easter, try this. Oh and the reason for the Sissinghurst picture is, if you're not already aware, Nicholson's grandmother was the Grande Dame herself, Vita Sackville West

A tribute to the people of Japan

I found this dedication on PatioPatch blog via hurtling towards 60 and beyond. It says all I need to say.

Dedication: To the people of Japan whose many plants grace our own gardens and who have shown us how to create beautiful spaces with a natural and stark simplicity. The quiet dignity and stoicism they have displayed in the face of their country’s utter devastation is an example to us all.


Feel free to do the same. Thank you Laura at Patiopatch.

Birds in the boxes!

This week has not been a good one but I have learnt a lot so as with all experiences I will take it all on board, learn from it and move on.But firstly let me a share a little. There is a depression issue running through the ladies in my family-my mum suffered horribly, I struggle with it and so, unfortunately, does my daughter. This week we had a mental health "crisis"which saw a rush to A&E and a frightening few hours. All is calm now but what I have picked up from people is that there are countless folk working in and around horticulture and gardening who are affected by these issues and the common denominator is that being outside with plants calms issues like these. Reconnecting with the earth you see. So to any of you out there suffering, get outside, grow something, get your hands dirty-I really hope it will help you and I would be really interested to hear from you.
So, I hear you ask, why the picture of the Blue Tit? Well not only do we have them nesting in the boxes at work but a couple of them have started to nest in my box in the garden-its the first time it has been used. And they are so beautiful that I felt the need to share. At work we also have a Mistle Thrush which sings to us every morning from one of the apple trees in the orchard. The song makes you glad to be alive!

On a planty note lots of seedlings are popping their heads through and we are deperately running around trying to make space for everything!!! All my windowsills are full as are both our greenhouses and my coldframe, so today we are taking the hardier things such as Calendula and Lunaria over to the allotment to sit for a while. And then I think it will take us about 10 minutes to refill the spaces we have made!And this week we have ordered even more seed. Oh well, we'll find space for it somewhere....In the mean time here's a picture that will raise the temperature on a grey day.

Is Spring nearly Sprung?

So the last couple of weeks have been so busy that feet have barely been on the floor. The most exciting thing for The Physic Garden was that the greenhouse that Kristi's lovely Bruce bought for their garden is up,glassed and full of plants and seedlings, which will hopefully soon be poking their little heads through at us. The Pelargoniums are in there too and hopefully soon we will be taking cuttings of them ready for summer sale. They are such lovely plants with amazing scent which we love as they really scent the room they are in.We have plants with scents ranging from clean,crisp citrus to spicy, deep and sensual and with small,delicate leaves to big,furry ones, so there really is something for everyone and thy exclude the need for chemical room scents!

On a totally different note I would like to advise everyone to read Lia Leendertz Midnight Ramblings blog this week-its a concise and to the point comment on the state of the Middle East today and our dependancy on their oil. Its an important comment for everyone but is really critical to anyone interested in gardens and plants.
Our reliance on oil doesn't begin and end with transport or food production. Horticulture can be as oil dependant as either of these things. Pots are manufactured with oil, as are chemical fertilizers and plants are transported all over the world. Plants bought in Holland, Italy or elsewhere in Europe, have often been grown much further afield, using massive quantities of chemical fertilizer, fungicides and insecticides, many Of which we no longer use here due to fear for human health. But this cannot go on for ever and it is great to see that some independant nurseries are now trying to stock plants sourced and grown in the UK.
An important point to remember is that it took the earth 200million years to create its finite quantity of oil and it is estimated that it will take us 200 years to use it up. A scary reality.
On a less sober note, surely Spring is nearly here! I am desperate to get down onto the allotment and get some stuff in to the soil. As it is every time we set off to spend time there it starts to rain or we get there and its so sodden it takes all my time just to keep on two feet. In fact Kristi and I were there a week or so ago and I had such a spectacular fall that I kin of wish we had put a video of it on UTube!! So next weekend my aim is to sow parsnips, shallot sets, early carrots, Brusssel Sprouts and some lettuce to start us off for the season. Oh, and I need to do some work in the garden too but yet again its raining. I can feel a panic rising, but let's try to keep it in perspective!!
I also have joined the Blotanical site this week so would like to say Hi to anyone who has found me on that...I hope you enjoy!!!

Snowdrops at The Chelsea Physic Garden and an engagement too!!

So this week has been just a little stressful! Firstly I have more seedlings around the house than anyone would think possible and its taking me about an hour a day to keep them all well and watered, on top of a full days work, looking after family and home and keeping the secret of the year from Kristi!
So the secret. About 3 weeks ago her boyfriend, Bruce. contacted me asking me to book her Monday 14th off as he was going to take her on a long weekend city break to Brussels and propose. Oh and could I find out her ring size!!So by the end of last week I was bursting to tell her and she knew something was going on and so kept probing-I am very impressed that the cat stayed in the bag. Anyway, I can announce that all has gone well and they will return on Monday betrothed!!!!!!
So yesterday, whilst on tenterhooks about the outcome, although I was quite sure it would be positive, I took myself off to The Chelsea Physic Garden to see the snowdrops and winter gardens. It always feels magical to go through the gate in the wall and find such a beautiful, well kept garden in the middle of Chelsea and yesterday was extra special as the sun came out as I arrived and all the colours of the winter flowers shone. Although the snowdrops were stunning my absolute favourite was the winter aconites in the woodland area next to the monocot beds, each of which looked like a little orb of sunlight. It was also lovely to see the beautiful trees in their naked state as they are such amazing shapes and even with no leaf offer a wonderful structure to the garden. It was a lovely afternoon and a place I would heartily recommend to anyone.
This week I have been reading Deni Moores' Herbal, a fantastic dictionary type book about herbs and their uses, medicinal, culinary, cultural etc and their places in history. It's a great read for anyone interested in herbs and I am sure is going to influence our range at The Physic Garden.
So with that in mind today I have pottd on I know not how many Salvias and sown Nicandra, teasels,more chillies more Salvia(this time transylvatica) as well as some Coleus which I like as summer bedding. And have cleaned out and sorted my greenhouse and done some work in the garden.
And next week-well hopefully we will fill Kristi's new greenhouse with plants and seedlings so we can sow more next weekend!! Busy,busy,busy.....

The influence of a certain Mr Lloyd

There appears to be a lot of writing about Great Dixter and Christopher Lloyds' influence on the gardens of today going on at the moment and its hardly surprising! The Garden Museum had an excellent exhibition about him and his life last year alongside Dixteresque planting in their borders, which I was lucky enough to help plant with their intern ,Matt Collins, last summer. There have been several books released about the man and his life recently and no one has readily stepped into his influential shoes. So just for a moment I would like to add my own reminiscence.

Eight years ago I lost my Mum, who up until then had been my gardening guru as she could, annoyingly, grow anything, anywhere. In the months after she died I felt the need to visit certain places and gardens that I knew she had loved and been influenced by, and needless to say, Great Dixter was one of those places. So there I was, on a very quiet, grey and cloudy Wednesday afternoon, feeling very bad and sitting on a seat in Dixters garden in a morbid world of my own. Someone sat down next to me, said "Good afternoon" and enquired as to why the sad face, and before I knew it I had poured out the lot...and it was a lot, before I looked up to see Christopher Lloyd sitting next to me, listening intently. I apologised profusely for my rambling and he asked if visiting had made anything any better. My reply was not really but that the garden was stunning and that in time I thought it would. We spoke about mothers for a while and he made his excuses and ambled away, dachaunds following after saying how important it was to follow true loves and influences in life.

I now realise it was at that point that I decided to leave my reasonably successful career in catering and find my way in horticulture so I guess you could say that The Physic Garden, in my mind, is an amalgam of mine and Mums' love of plants and gardens, mixed with Kristi's enthusiasm and a kick up the backside into action by the great Christo himself.

So, how can it fail....its just not an option!! Today we have sown more chillies, potted on Salvia patens and next weekend there will be Phlomis, Chinese Lanterns and more Chillies to pot on and the propagator to fill with more seeds. Its all starting to happen and is so exciting I can hardly even explain.

So, whatever other folks thoughts on Christopher Lloyd, I can only thank hi for pulling me out of grief and making me use it as a starting point to a better and more fulfilled life. Now all I need to do is try to work out how nothing ever died in Mum's garden.....maybe it just didn't dare!!

Summertime

If only it was but it will be surprisingly soon and with that in mind, us at The Physic Garden have been madly busy all weekend preparing growing sites and potting on seedlings!
And the seedlings were, and hopefully still are, Chillies. Now its a strange thing having a fascination with chilli plants but I think they are fab,both in being beautiful plants and in what they produce. So last year we pottered off to the yearly Chilli Festival at West Dean Gardens, expecting to find lots of chilli plant producers and were slightly shocked that there weren't as many as we thought there would be. Although Michael Michaud was there from Seaspring Seeds and a couple of others it seemed as if there could have been more. And maybe there will be one day as we would love to grow enough to have a stand there, but I doubt that will happen this year...although never say never! It was, however, a good day out and West Dean is an excellent place to visit as it has an amazingly productive veg area and walled garden with the original glasshouses full of wonderfully grown crops. Check out www.westdean.co.uk for this years events.
But back to our Chillies. We sowed them in early January and they are all germinating, with Cherry Bomb and Joe's Long now ready for pricking out. I have found from past experience that the earlier they are sown and the longer the season is that you give them the higher the likelihood af getting a decent crop from each plant. Once they have germinated, keep them moist but not wet and keep potting them up as they grow in size. If they are checked in growth you will have problems with them, but by letting the roots keep on growing they will be substantial and well fruiting plants by August and September. Once they start to flower they need a high potash,tomato type, fertilizer, once a week and are happiest in a sunny position somewhere reasonably sheltered. They make great plants for containers but can also be grown in a vegetable plot or as summer/early autumn bedding.
The other exciting thing that happened this week is that Bruce, the lovely partner of Kristi, my lovely partner in crime and plants, took delivery of a greenhouse that he is putting up in his garden for us to use until our premises are up and running. This, dear Bruce, is a formal thank you.
The picture at the top is my allotment in the summer of last year-let the fennel be a warning to you all-2 plants in one year will lead to a whole allotment full if you don't weed out the seedlings-but it does look really pretty..... and kept the weeds at bay!