Reviewing the Beautiful and Cheerful Daffodil.

Daffodils are abundant in my garden right now and I love to see their beautiful vibrant colours  and gently swaying trumpet shaped heads bringing sunshine to a cold day.

Daffodils are native in Europe and North Africa and although the name Daffodil is most commonly used, the botanical  name is Narcissus and they are part of the Amaryllidaceae family. 

Regarding the name there is also a link with the Greek myth of Narcissus. The story goes that he was renowned to be very beautiful  and he fell in love with his own reflection, so much so that he pined away until he died and turned into the flower narcissi or daffodil. 

 

Daffodils In The Garden 

Even though it has been very cold here ever since they flowered, their appearance symbolising  rebirth and new beginnings gives me hope and joy. Although it has not been a particularly harsh winter this year, it has been very cold, damp, grey and very rainy so it is lovely to see some colour and brightness in the garden which certainly lifts the spirits for warmer weather and Spring. 

Most of mine are golden yellow colours but some are white and some are fragrant which is lovely. There are also orange flowers and combinations of yellow and white or orange and yellow. 

 Daffodils are very versatile in planting schemes for the garden. I like to plant little Tete a Tete daffodil in pots and troughs where their delicate looking blooms can be easily seen. The bigger daffodils are planted in the borders of the garden. Daffodils can also be naturalised in grass. 

 As we have a lot of daffodils, some can be spared to be used as cut flowers and brought inside to place in a vase. This is lovely to bring Spring into the house. They look lovely in a vase by themselves or mix very well with other flowers perhaps white, purple or blues being my preferences. 

 Daffodils come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from the tiny to the large and different colours from yellow gold, white and orange.  Many have the classic strong trumpet shaped flower head and others have multi petaled varieties.

 

Bee On Daffodil
by RaintreeDesigns

Looking After And Planting Daffodils 

Daffodils are bulbs and hardy perennials. This is lovely as they come back every year once planted. 

While planting bulbs in borders can be a little tedious, once it is done you will have daffodils every year with little effort involved.

Planting Daffodils

We can plant daffodil bulbs in the autumn/fall around September to November time. This gives them time to establish roots before winter cold sets in. Before planting check to make sure that the bulbs are  clean and firm, discard any that are mouldy or very soft as these may be too old or diseased. It is best to buy and plant bulbs in the same season so that they do not get hence to get any mould or go soft. 

Daffodils prefer full sun or partial shade and they do appreciate a well-drained soil so it is ideal to plant in an area that will get a decent amount of sunshine. We have an area of heavy shade and I never plant daffodils there as they will not do well. Other flowers fair better there. All my daffodils planted in the soil are in sunny spots and I move the ones in pots into sunny places as soon as I see shoots coming up.

I put a grit and compost mix in my containers for the bulbs. For planting in the garden we do have heavy clay soil which although I have improved over years is still less than ideal but the bigger ones have managed to thrive in it. So if you have a sunny spot but perhaps less than ideal soil give it a try with a small number of the bigger bulbs to see if they can be successful.  

Bulbs should be planted  approximately 6 inches or 15 centimetres deep below the soil surface. For this you can simple dig a hole with a trowel or use a bulb planter. Having done a lot of this I would advise if you are planting a lot, to invest in a bulb planter to make the job easier and quicker.  

FLORA GUARD Bulb Planter with Depth Mark- Ideal Bulb Transplanter for Planting/Digging - Automatic Soil Release Seed Planting Tool for Planting Tulip, Daffodils, Dahlias and More

Reviewing the Stunning Snowdrop In Gardens And Home Decor.

 

I adore Snowdrops. From the end of December I start eagerly searching for signs of snowdrop life. To see those tiny green shoots really lifts my heart and brings such joy. To me Snowdrops epitomise beauty, strength and overcoming adversity.

They are the first flowers to bloom in the year and  are a symbol of hope and renewal after the long wet, cold winter.

 Snowdrops appear so fragile and delicate yet they are so resilient. The exquisite white flowers are a beautiful sight I look forward to every year.

Snowdrops are a Spring flower and part of the amaryllis family. They are classed as a hardy perennial mostly flowering in January and February. They are small and close to the ground growing about 3 to 6 inches tall yet are perfectly capable of growing up through snow and ice.

 

There are many varieties of snowdrop each with their slightly different height and shape and size of flower. I enjoy making home decor items and greetings cards from photographs I take of snowdrops in my garden and the parks nearby each year. 

Stunning Snowdrops Canvas
by RaintreeDesigns

 Snowdrops are very easy to grow. They enjoy partial shade and moist soil. If they are happy they will grow into stunning drifts of white flowers and look amazing. Equally they look gorgeous in small or large pots.

Mostly I grow snowdrops as an outdoor plant but I have heard of people growing them indoors to use as table decoration and an alternative or addition to buying cut flowers in winter which sounds a great idea I may try. 

Snowdrops are so delicate looking and beautiful that they make great subjects for home decor and you can buy many snowdrop related items. For example from cushions to hand painted glass or this lovely Glass Flower Snowdrop Glass handblown  or snowdrop scented candles. 

 

Snowdrops are a  fleeting flower but by having them in home decor items you can have snowdrops all year round. 

Being with white flowers and green stems they fit in with most home decor schemes and always look fresh, clean and appealing. 

Stunning Spring Snowdrops Cushion
by RaintreeDesigns

Snowdrops always leave me feeling joy and smiling perhaps more than any other flower. Perhaps it is their tenacity and resilience wrapped in such delicate beauty having come through winter with all its challenges ready to charm us all and bring happiness.

I would never be without them in my garden and  in pots and in my home in one way or another. 

Snowdrops In Snow Thank You Card
by RaintreeDesigns

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Reviewing Choisya Or Mexican Orange Blossom Shrub

 

Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom is a gorgeous shrub for the garden and one I would highly recommend. It is an evergreen shrub with fragrant white star shaped flowers and lovely sunny aromatic yellow foliage. 

It is related to oranges and other citrus plants and its leaves release a beautiful scent when crushed. It gained its common name Mexican Orange Blossom from its scented flowers 

One of the most sought after varieties and the one we have is the Choisya Sundance. It has bright yellow leaves that add a gorgeous splash of colour to the garden shining out against darker foliage or a dark fence. 

There are other varieties of Choisya some with darker or narrower leaves you may wish to consider. Regarding size they vary between about five to eight feet in height and spread, though will take pruning. 

Choisya Sundance has white scented flowers borne mainly in May and June and yellow-green leaves are very aromatic. It is hard to describe the scent but it is perhaps a little like basil or orange blossom and very gorgeous. I love brushing the leaves and flowers and pruning is a joy! 

Growing Conditions For Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom

It is always important to know the native growing conditions of any plant so we can try to give it similar conditions in our own gardens. Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom is native to North America and Mexico where it grows in sunny locations in well drained soil.  

So it is a wonderful shrub to have in any sunny border. This is not a shrub that will thrive in deep shade, it must have sunshine for at least a significant part of the day, though will cope with light shade. 

It does best in a sheltered position so near a wall or fence or in the company of other shrubs or in a garden with a good hedge or shrubs all around. 

As an evergreen flowering shrub it has beautiful colourful yellow foliage all year round and can be planted in the garden, on patios in a large pot or planted as a stand alone specimen shrub. It pairs very well with spring flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips and early perennials.

Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom prefers a south facing location in order to get as much sunshine as possible all day. So for most people a south facing position in the garden is ideal. 

The exception to this is if you live somewhere with exceptionally hot summers in which case a west facing location may be better as that gives the plant respite in part of the day from hot burning sun which may scorch its leaves. We certainly do not live in an exceptionally hot climate but  I did notice last year during our prolonged heatwave that some leaves did turn brown but I simply pruned them off in August and the plant recovered.   

Soil Conditions For Choisya

Choisya thrives in well drained soil, that is rich in organic matter. It dislikes sitting in wet or damp soil so drainage is very important. It can tolerate a wide range of soil types from clay to sandy soil but it does prefer slightly acidic to neutral soil. It may not thrive quite so well if you have very alkaline soil in which case you would be better growing in a large pot filled with ericaceous (or acid) soil compost.  

If you are unsure of your soil type you can buy an inexpensive kit to easily test your soil, which is useful to do in any case then you know your soil conditions for all future planting. One like this Soil Tester Kit  is not difficult to use and can give you a decent information about your soil. 

          

Planting Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom Shrub

It is usually best to plant shrubs in Autumn/Fall or failing that in early Spring. When planting it is essential to incorporate lots of organic matter such as rich compost. Dig a very large planting hole about twice as wide and deep as you need in order to add all the organic matter.

Very few of us have perfect soil conditions, so this helps to improve the drainage especially on clay soil and to retain moisture if in a very light sandy soil. It is vital to water deeply after planting and to give it a good watering at least once a week until it establishes itself. 

I would always plant Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom shrub where you are going to brush against it regularly. Although many shrubs are planted at the back of the border, this one deserves to be where you can touch it and smell it every day! So you may like to plant it as a specimen shrub or at a corner or place where you walk past and can brush against it. 

If you do not have a garden or if your soil is very alkaline you can also plant Choisya in a large pot or container. Perhaps choose a variety that is on the smaller side. For container planting it is best to pot and repot in Spring only. I have one in a very large pot and it is doing very well. I planted it first with crocks and good drainage in the bottom to prevent drainage holes getting blocked with soil, then added a mix of high quality ericaceous (acidic) and loam based compost.

 It does require much more deep watering more often than it would if grown in the ground and I need to pay more attention to it to check if it looks stressed or having any issues.

In winter container grown plants are more vulnerable, so I wrap her in fleece and keep by a sheltered wall. 

I also do keep it much smaller at around three foot so it does not outgrow the container too quickly. However, it is worth it as I wanted one in this particular location and it is very happy. 

Feeding Choisya

Choisya in the ground do not generally need feeding although they do benefit from an annual mulch in Spring. In containers top dress each year in spring with fresh compost. If the shrub is not flowering or has few flowers give it a feed in Spring of potassium or sulphate of potash like Bio Nova Liquid Potassium.

 

Pruning Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom Shrub

Once established Choisya needs very little care and maintenance. The main task is to do annual pruning to the desired size and to shape the plant how you like it to look. 

It is a fast growing shrub and can grow to be six foot wide and tall which looks amazing if you have the room. However it can easily be pruned to keep it smaller than this as required. 

The best time to prune it is when it has finished flowering usually around July to late summer. Try to get all pruning done by August as the shrub needs time to recover before winter cold sets in. I usually prune with a pair of sharp secateurs like the Wolf Bypass Secateurs  though you may need Loppers for thicker branches if it is a large shrub. It is simply a matter of shortening each branch to the desired length.

Watering Needs

For the first year after planting it is very important to water your Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom regularly. This helps to establish a strong reliable root system for the health of the plant. It is vital to not skip this step. 

 As it grows older it can tolerate drought better and will rarely need watering if it is planted in the ground. However, it is advisable to water deeply and thoroughly perhaps once a week if you have a long period of drought. Do remember that it hates sitting in wet so check the soil first. 

This basic level of care will help promote healthy growth and enable prolific flowering.  

I would always find room for this gorgeous shrub, even in a packed garden I would have to have it! 

Choisya or Mexican Orange Blossom is a joy in all seasons with fresh spring growth, gorgeous white scented flowers in May and June, evergreen and scented leaves all year round and providing much needed structure in winter. 

Grow it tall and wide or prune to the desired smaller height. A beautiful evergreen, scented and well behaved shrub that I would not be without in the garden.

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A Review Of The Elaeagnus Shrub In The Garden.

Lets me introduce you to Elaeagnus. This is a shrub I would not be without in my garden, yet is not a garden plant that many of us would seek out. She is a very unassuming shrub but if we look closer really rather beautiful and very practical and valuable in the garden.

Many of us want gorgeous colourful flowers and impressive trees, maybe even exquisite alpines. They are so beautiful and often colourful, we would always want them in a garden.

However, it is easy to overlook the real workhorses of the garden, the plants that provide us long lasting green background, cover for birds and green in the depths of winter and a foil for all the other showy beauties. 

Such is the Elaeagnus shrub. She is a bold, beautiful, hardy, vigorous and easy to care for plant in the garden. 

We have an evergreen variety and I love the leaves which are thick and resilient dark green and an unexpected and striking silver underneath. This is particularly evident on a windy day when you can see the shrub waving in the wind and flashes of bright silver even on a dull day. 

I was very impressed with Elaeagnus in the drought we had last summer, 40 degree heat and fierce sunshine. She was one of the few plants whose leaves did not scorch and she survived with no watering at all. She even grew a good 3 foot this summer! 

I love that this shrub can be evergreen if you choose the right variety and if you choose a dark evergreen that other more showy flowers and roses look just beautiful against. 

She also provides shelter for other plants from the intense sun and the wind. As she can grow quite dense she also provided shelter from snow and cold this winter. 

All this is great in the garden but the real surprise comes when tiny white flowers, easy to miss appear on the leaves.

Before you even see the flowers you start to notice a beautiful scent in the air which smells to me like honey and sweet perfume and if you move closer and take in the scent of these flowers it is gorgeous. 

There are many varieties of Elaeagnus with slightly different needs, some evergreen, some deciduous, some one green colour, others variagated. Most have small insignificant flowers that have a gorgeous scent that can fill a small garden beautifully. 

Foliage colours also vary from dark green with silver or white undersides or silvery foliage, or golden with green. Pollinators seem to like these little flowers as well. 

Many are large shrubs but there are also dwarf varieties for a smaller garden or a container garden. 

Once it becomes a more dense shrub the birds like to hide and seek shelter in it. I am hoping that now our shrubs are larger, birds will nest in it. 

Care Of Elaeagnus

This is an easy-care vigorous and strong shrub with thick leaves. Most of the care is in the early years to keep it well watered. 

After that apart from pruning to the desired height and width it can take care of itself. An application of mulch each spring will be beneficial though I have to say I have not always done this and the shrub is doing very well.  

Ideally, plant a young shrub in autumn into the soil. However especially if you have a compact variety you can also plant it into a large container in free draining soil.   

Where To Plant

Many Elaeagnus shrubs ideally like to grow in full sun though I have one in part shade and she is perfectly happy. Check the varieties for what they most enjoy. 

They can grow in a variety of soil types though they do prefer well drained soil. However, our soil is heavy clay and our plants are growing very well. 

It copes with most weather from drought to cold very well and for me is a real workhorse of the garden and a plant I do not need to worry about. 

Pruning

Elaeagnus is a strong very vigorous shrub and grows rapidly. Although it does not need any pruning to be healthy, in a small or average size garden I would advise pruning at least once a year then it is easily done with good quality secateurs.

However, if you leave it too long or let it get too big, it will be a bigger and more arduous task needing more heavy duty tools.

With regular pruning, I find this shrub very easy to prune with secateurs after flowering as long as you do it from being a young plant. I never let it get so big that I need shears or a saw to prune it. 

It is very vigorous but I find it easy to keep to the height I want and in our conditions, which are less than perfect for this plant, it stays under control as much as any of our other shrubs.

National Plant Network Eleagnus-2 Piece Live Plant, Green-Silver-Brown Foliage

 

Propagation.

Once you have one shrub you can easily make more. I find that cuttings are very easy to take and grow on well. 

We just take 5cm semi ripe cuttings in the summer. These are stems that are soft at the tip and woodier at the base, growth that is from this year's current growth. 

As with most cuttings simply remove the lower leaves, leave a couple at the top then inset the cutting gently into a pot of well drained compost.

You can ideally cover loosely with a polythene bag so that the levels of humidity remain high, but I have found they take very well even without it.

Keep the soil moist and pot onto individual pots once they make roots. 

A Vigorous Shrub

Please note, this is a very vigorous shrub; in some conditions and countries, it can become invasive. I have found this to be fine in our garden and love having this shrub, but do check locally to see if it may be an issue for your garden. In some countries where conditions are different and more perfect and for some varieties, it is known as an invasive shrub. So if you are interested do check for your local conditions and seek advice as you do not want to plant an invasive shrub in your garden. 

If you are concerned that this shrub might be too vigorous or invasive in your garden growing a compact variety in a sturdy pot might be a good compromise and that will inhibit its growth as well.  

How To Use Elaeagnus In The Garden

• Grow as a very effective screening hedge or train as an elegant single plant as a standard. This is especially good if you choose an evergreen variety.
• Ideally, this is a shrub to plant in the soil but if that is not an option for you try growing it in a smaller pot first and graduating up to the largest pot you can find in good free draining soil. 
• Alternatively, simply buy a compact variety of this shrub which can then be grown and live its life in a container. 
• If you do want to grow it as a hedge allow the leaves to grow right from the base of the shrub to provide cover and density. Evergreen varieties are best for a hedge. 
• However, if you think the shrub will be too vigorous or invasive, grow it in such a way that you prune all the lower leaves away to expose the stem to make it more of a standard plant. In this way, you can control it better and even grow it in a large pot as a specimen shrub. 
• We grow ours in two ways one plant is grown as a hedge to screen off an area of the garden and the garage and the other is more of a standard plant next to a holly tree. 
• It is also a great shrub to grow near the bins to screen them off and provides a lovely scent when it flowers, It is good to grow near an area where you might sit in the autumn/fall so you can enjoy the scent when it flowers.
• Grow other colourful plants, climbers, perennials or annuals in front of it so that it provides an effective foil for them.  
• If you enjoy flowers in your home the strong cut stems of Elaeagnus are lovely to use when doing flower arranging and are long lasting for your foliage arrangement and in a mixed flower and foliage display.

Hedges and Living Boundaries (A Gardener's Guide To)

So while we enjoy and bask in the beauty and colour of the gorgeous flowers and bulbs, we spare a thought and a place in our gardens for the evergreen workhorses of the garden. These shrubs give us foliage all winter, cover for wildlife, screening and privacy for us and a perfect foil for all the pretty climbers, roses, flowers and joyful colours.   

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A Personal Review Of The Inspirational Gardener Geoff Hamilton

This article is a personal review of the late great Geoff Hamilton and how he inspired my lifelong love of gardening.

I grew up watching the TV programme Gardeners World. My parents always watched it and so as a young child when I was around and not playing outside, I watched it too. 

I remember watching Gardeners World on TV before Geoff Hamilton presented it but it was Geoff Hamilton when I was a little older who completely captured my gardening heart and imagination and inspired me to love plants and try to be a gardener. 

As a child my parents always gave me a small plot of land to grow easy plants and quick growing vegetables and I think that was a great thing to do and gave me as a young child the joy of gardening with quick results!

As I grew older I wanted to know more and pre-internet my main sources to learn about gardening were books and gardening programmes on TV. 

Geoff Hamilton seemed so approachable, and accessible and appeared to be talking to me directly. He had a natural easy way about him and clearly a passion for gardening and plants in all his TV appearances and books. He was that rare combination of a talented presenter and expert gardener who could teach in an accessible and relaxed manner. 

In fact, unlike some presenters of TV shows, I don't think he saw it as about him at all but rather about teaching us how to look after plants and flowers, vegetables and trees, how to design and make, build and tend and I loved him for it. I could really relate to his honest, rational and logical approach to gardening.

I also really related to his ideals around organic gardening and his approach to gardening in a wildlife-friendly manner. Both these ideals were quite new and radical at the time when he started his TV shows and wrote his books and they completely resounded with me.  

Without a doubt, Geoff Hamilton was a person I would really have loved to have met in person and is one of my regrets in life that I did not. However, He does live on in Barnsdale gardens, now run by his son Nick Hamilton. You can feel Geoff's presence there and his books are wonderful to read and learn from.

For many years as a young adult gardening had to take a back seat to my life. I was at University and then working in a city, renting different places and I had no garden. I had to make do with a window box or a few pots, or the windowsill. 

Of course, I always wanted my own garden and would help my parents with theirs whenever I went back home, but I wanted my own. It was not until we got married and then bought our own home that I got to flex my own gardening muscles both figuratively and practically! 

So then I returned to Geoff Hamilton and read and re-read his books and watched his videos to learn and understand all I could, He truly was my gardening inspiration and teacher. 

When he left Gardeners World with health issues I was very sad and then his subsequent death really affected me. I do now like to watch Monty Don, Alan Titchmarch and others who I still learn a lot from, but I have to say it was Geoff Hamilton who was my original inspiration, who along with my parents made me into a person who has a deep love of plants, wildlife, nature and gardens. 

I was so lucky a couple of years ago to visit Geoff Hamiltons gardens where he filmed all of Gardeners World and other programmes at Barnsdale in Rutland in UK. 

I was beyond excited to visit this wonderful place I had watched for years on TV!! I was not disappointed, quite the opposite. I have to admit for me this was an emotional visit and I experienced a full range of emotions from joy to sadness, awe and amazement, tears and laughter.

The first thing to greet you when you enter the garden is Geoff Hamilton's gardening jeans!! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this place of my gardening hero. 

My husband and I spent two whole days walking around, taking notes and photographs. we absolutely loved it. We originally intended a day visit only but we just had to go back again within the same weeks holiday. 

I recall watching how Geoff built each garden and how gardens evolve over time. I loved that he often gave different options for a garden a more expensive one and a less expensive version to achieve a similar effect. In this way he made gardening financially accessible for most people whatever the budget and size of the garden. 

He also showed us how to make and build much of the hard landscaping, fencing, ponds and brickwork and for me always seemed to explain it in a manner I felt "I could give that a go".

Even within the same week there were new things to see and things we did not notice the first time around. I wish I had visited years ago and I hope I make it back again.

The whole site is divided up into smaller gardens you can walk around and into each beautiful individual garden. There are many gardens to explore including ones Geoff built from scratch and filmed from the beginning. 

Some of the gardens include the Ornamental kitchen garden, The Gentlemans cottage garden, Artisan cottage garden, Wildflower border, A Rock Feature, Bog garden, Courtyard gardens, a Children's garden, a Japanese garden and Herb garden plus many more. Many of these were designed and built by Geoff. 

In this way with individual gardens of a manageable size, it is quite easy to walk around and appreciate each garden on its own and it does not become overwhelming. There is a welcoming, friendly atmosphere. You feel that you could take planting ideas,  features or make similar designs in your own garden. 

We went in late May and I do think it would be worth visiting these gardens at least 4 times a year in each season to fully appreciate all the planting and care taken throughout the seasons.  

84%

The Ornamental Kitchen Garden

           

Our own garden is quite established and it would be a mammoth task to change it now. However, we have decided when we move house that we will base our new design on one of Geoff's gardens.

We will of course adapt the design to the space we have and add our own particular nuances and special or favourite plants and we so look forward to building and growing it. 

 Geoff Hamilton has written a number of wonderful books and I think I have most of them. I will write reviews on them in time to come but wanted to list just a couple of them here so you can start to discover the down to earth brilliance of this most humble, gentle and wonderful gardener. 

Geoff Hamilton's Cottage Gardens by Geoff Hamilton (1995-01-05)

 

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