Cultivar #3 | holiday watering & sweet peas
Garden tips and interesting things to help cultivate variety in your life...
Sustainable summer watering
Holiday season is almost here (well, it is in Scotland anyway - schools finish this week!) and it’s somewhat ironic that many of us plan a holiday getaway just as things hot up in the UK, causing us to leave our gardens and precious plants at a crucial time in the growing season. However there are some simple ways to ensure your garden is still green when you get back.
The best approach is to recruit the help of a green-fingered friend or family member. You’re looking for someone with a sense of which plants and pots are likely to need regular attention and which are perfectly happy to fend for themselves - or someone who’s good at following your instructions! It’s worth asking if they can pop round once or twice a week in return for a holiday souvenir - plus anything they can harvest from the garden, should there be a ready crop of tomatoes, peas or courgettes.
Firstly, let’s clarify what needs watering and what doesn’t: your lawn doesn’t need any watering during the summer, even if it’s turning yellow. Grass is so resilient that it will bounce back and green up as soon as the rain returns. The only exception to this is if you have newly-laid turf, which does need regular watering to help it establish.
Equally, most borders don’t need watering. The plants here should be well established with deep roots reaching down into the soil where they can find moisture. However, anything which is newly planted should be watered regularly for the first week or two. And obviously, in extreme heat common sense prevails - if any plant seems to be wilting and the soil is parched it’s worth applying a watering can full to the base of the stem to help it cope with the conditions.
Home-grown vegetables and plants in containers are where you really need to concentrate your efforts (or those of your helper) - they’re most at risk from drying out if the weather is very warm, windy or sunny when you’re away from home. Give everything a good drink of water before you leave and deadhead any spent or dying flowers and leaves. Taking out competing weeds is also helpful and, if you have time, a fresh mulch of compost can also help to retain moisture in the soil.
Group pots together if possible, so they’re creating their own little microclimate. If they can be grouped into a shaded area that’s even better; saucers or trays underneath the pots will also make the most of any excess water or rainfall. You can use capillary matting for this too - placed under pots it can stop them drying out too quickly. The capillary method is even more effective if you use strips of cloth or matting positioned with one end in a bucket of water and the other in the soil of each pot. This wicks the water down to the roots of each plant and will provide a steady supply of water until the bucket is empty.
You can also use watering spikes, globes or even just an upturned plastic bottle filled with water and placed into pots, and these can be effective for houseplants too. Alternatively, apply similar principles as with outdoor plants: group them together, keep them out of direct sunlight, and for those which like to be constantly moist it’s worth placing them together in the bath onto a damp towel, which will provide a nice cool and moist environment until you come home again, tanned and relaxed from your travels.
Keeping it sweet
It’s sweet pea season at last! When I spot the first flower has arrived, after months of sowing, growing and care, I’m always filled with joy - the waiting has been worth it, and soon I’ll have a steady supply of these beautifully scented blooms in vases around the house.
I sow many of my sweet peas in autumn and usually some in the spring too, aiming to have at least two or three large frames dotted around the garden, with a dozen or so plants scrambling up them, and featuring a variety of colours from tutti-frutti pinks and oranges, to softly blushing shades of cream and white.
Sweet peas need good support, so at this stage of the summer you’ll need to check on them regularly and tie them in with soft wool or jute twine to ensure they’re growing against the structure, otherwise the weight of the stems or a stiff wind could bend them over and damage the plants.
I used to craft a V-shaped structure out of bamboo canes and twine - until a couple of summers ago, when most of the twine I used was stolen by nesting squirrels, leading to major structural issues! Now I use a pair of expanding willow obelisks which look very natural, blending in with the garden. They’re also really easy to pop up and place wherever you want them, whether that’s in a border amongst other plants, on top of a raised bed or even in a large container.
Sweet peas are so rewarding - they’re very easy from seed, they bloom profusely and the scent is unmistakable. There are so many colours and sizes to choose from that you’re bound to find a sweet pea you love.
This year I’m growing quite a few in shades of pink and purple, and I’ve discovered some new favourites including ‘Pandemonium’ and ‘High Society’ as well as ‘Kingfisher’ which is a beautiful shade of blue-violet.
Elevate Your Garden
David Hurrion’s new book, ‘The Raised Bed Book’ claims to be ‘the definitive step-by-step guide to elevated growing’ - a beautiful hardback with great images, offering advice on bed design, soil, planting and maintenance. With six raised beds in my Secret Garden, and at least four of them rotting and falling apart, I need all the help and advice I can get! I received a copy of this beautiful hardback a few weeks ago. I’m making it my mission to finally read it during the summer.
Friday Feed
It’s helpful to provide fruiting and flowering plants with a regular feed - an all-purpose or liquid seaweed mixture gives them a steady supply of nutrients, especially if they’re growing in pots. I’m trying to get into the annual habit of doing a ‘Friday Feed’ during the summer months.
Sentei snips
Check out these absolute BEAUTIES 😍
I was very kindly gifted these at an event earlier this year and have finally been able to take them out of the box for their inaugural outing - cutting the first sweet peas. They’re made of steel, with just the right amount of heft and a very pleasing snip… I will be making good use of these all summer long!