Blue Daisy Blog

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) - one of the most important figures in British horticulture of the 18th Century.

Joseph Banks was born into a wealthy family of landowners in Lincolnshire; his father was also a Member of the House of Commons. Banks’ love of nature and botany started at an early age as a school boy at Eton, later he studied at Oxford University where his ambition to become the leader in all areas of natural history and in particular botany began to flourish.

In 1761 Banks’ father died, he inherited an immense fortune and became the Squire and a local magistrate.  This meant he spent a lot of time travelling between London and Chelsea where his mother lived; he continued to visit the Chelsea Physic Gardens and the British museum keeping his interest in science alive.  During this time he began to network with other scientists listening and expanding his understanding of science.  He also began to correspond with Carl Linnaeus who devised a method of plant classification for people around the world. It was these men who in April 1766 were so impressed by Banks, nominated him as a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at the age of 23.

Also in April of 1766 Banks set sail on HMS Niger with an old friend from Eton, Constantine John Phipps now a navel lieutenant who was very interested in exploration.  He jumped at the chance to join Banks and it is said it was he who negotiated passage with the naval vessel to Labrador and Newfoundland.

Yes, that’s right and there’s no better time than late autumn to plan for spring!  The garden centres, nurseries and in some cases even supermarkets have huge amounts of spring flowering bulbs for sale right now so it really is the perfect time to buy and plant them.   Just the sight of snowdrops or daffodils can make even us feel just a little excited that spring is on the way and the cold Winter months are being left far behind us.  Spring plants are also one of the earliest sources of nectar for our emerging bees and other pollinating insects that really need do need a food source.

Some people I have spoken to see bulbs on sale and buy a selection of those they know or have heard of and plant them up and there is nothing wrong with that at all.  However, if this is you why not try something different this year and here’s a few questions to ask yourself which could influence your decision:

• What bulbs did you buy last year?  
• Does your garden have a particular colour scheme throughout the year?
• Are you aware of any planting gaps in the borders around spring?

Once you have the answers to these questions you’ll have more of an idea how to plan for early colour next year.   If you don’t have a colour scheme in your garden don’t worry just try to think of a pleasing colour scheme and use it to plan for spring, it will be fun!  

There are so many different varieties of tulips some are late spring and others early summer but you can find those that are a solid colour and others mixed.   Let’s take soft, muted pinks and purples as our colour scheme for this example Tulips, e.g. Tulipa ‘China Pink’, T. ‘Ballade’ (see main photo, above), T. ‘Greuze’ or T. ‘Queen of the Night’.  So, where do daffodils fit with these colours?  There are several varieties of daffodils that are white or cream with limited yellow in the centre so you could look out for those rather than the bright yellow ones that are likely to clash e.g. Narcissus ‘Actaea’ (photo, left) or N. ‘Cool Crystal’.  White is a colour that is often used sparingly in planting design for the eye to naturally rest and this provides a comfortable break or pause from colours.  Snowdrops will do this perfectly, there are so many different varieties why not try a different one this year?  You could try Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’ or G. elwesii. There are a huge variety of bulbs or other small flowering plants in so many different colour schemes that can add interest in your spring garden such as Fritillaria meleagris, Anemone blanda ‘White Splendour’, Eryanthis hyemalis, Muscari armeniacum, Primula vulgaris also crocus and various cylamen.

Once you have decided upon your bulbs check which months they flower to ensure that you have colour as early as possible and every month right through until your established garden plants begin to come into their own.  Don’t forget to plant up your containers too as they will give you more interest and you can move them around the garden. If you have squirrels in your area lay some chicken wire or similar over the containers for protection until they start to grow.

The next stage is to buy them and remember a tool to plant them with, if you have only bought a few you would get away with a hand held tool if you’ve bought a lot it would be worth investing in one with a long handle that you can use standing up.  Buying the right tools for the job makes the job much more pleasurable and less painful!!  

We’ve only really touched lightly on planning for spring, if you want to know what to do now for your garden in spring give us a call we’ll be happy to come out and give you some advice.

The gods must have been smiling on us as we made our way to the Tatton Flower Show because the rain stayed away for the day and we were able to enjoy all that Tatton has to offer without resorting to waterproofs... and Tatton has much to offer.

We were in our element with 36 show gardens including 10 flower bed displays - all based on a sports theme this year as a nod to the greatest show on the planet being in London just now.  There were also the orchestra themed gardens, community gardens, the now famous back-to-back gardens and more.  So many, in fact, that we didn't know where to turn!  (But only for a minute because, as ever, it was the show gardens that got - and held for most of the day - our attention right from the outset.)

We arrived at Dunham Massey on a very hot and sunny day, the website and literature said that it was the most visited National Trust property in the North West so we thought we were in for a treat. There are three main areas to visit: the Georgian house, the gardens and the 300 acre deer park, the house was yet to open so we decided to go and visit the gardens first.

People dressed in authentic costume greeted us and were walking through the grounds in character; it really did make you feel as though you had stumbled upon a piece of England that simply hadn’t been touched by the 21st Century.

The gardens were beautiful in many ways from a historical point of view and also from a horticultural stand too. We were given a map of the gardens which made sure we didn’t get lost and miss anything out which I thought was a really good idea and did help too! As we entered we came upon the croquet lawn which was surrounded by jolly and colourful perennials as if welcoming us to the main house garden. Luckily for us there was a brass band playing under a gazebo keeping the heat of the sun off them, there was stall selling soft drinks and champagne and everyone simply sat on the large lawn and soaked up the atmosphere. The staff who were dressed in costume walked around the lawn area with their parasols bidding us a good day, children played and band continued to fill the air.  All terribly civilised and lovely too!

The RHS has recently released an additional plants for pollinators list - this time focusing on native wildflowers - many of which are also good for inclusion in our gardens.

The plight of our pollinators was highlighted in our recent Pledge for Pollinators article. We are passionate about trying to help our pollinators who are in serious trouble right now and whilst the reasons for their decline are varied and complex part of the problem can be attributed to the reduction in the abundance of wildflowers in the countryside.

The new list contains over 200 wildflower plants and the cultivated garden plants list that we linked to in our previous article has now also been extended to include over 400 plants.

Our gardens are becoming increasingly important in the fight to help our pollinators and we can make a real difference by including as many plants as possible in our planting schemes that are good sources of nectar and pollen.