This month Ma Yogini is watching spring bulbs spring, planting nostagic roses and jetsetting off to Madeira….
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Suddenly the weather has woken up to the fact that it is Spring: puffy white clouds and a rising temperature lift the spirits and gardening seems a much more attractive prospect. This morning we planted a new rose to replace a previous un-named variety which, having spread over the trellis and garage roof, split in a high wind and finally gave up the ghost last autumn. The new one is a Dorothy Perkins which climbs and spreads quite nicely and bears many small pink flowers during the summer. There are more spectacular varieties we could have chosen but my father-in-law grew Dorothy Perkins at the side of his house, gave cuttings to my father whose garage was soon covered with roses too, and our choice is a kind of sentimental homage to two deceased but still remembered men. I hope it flourishes since I am not much of a rose grower!
Other jobs recently done include spreading some decent compost and a general fertiliser over the raised beds, having got rid of all visible weeds beforehand. In the process some perennials were seen to be putting forth shoots but of others there is no sign at all. Early days yet we hope, but the winter has been harsh and we may well have lost some.
Time to think about planting. For summer flowering we use plants from a nursery, not having the appropriate space for planting seeds, and will probably choose Busy Lizzie and summer fuschias as these have always done well in the past and there is no point in change without good reason – at least in my opinion – so the purchase and buying of these will be left till May when overnight frost should be a very low level risk. Any vegetables will also be bought as plants except for runner beans and I shall be preparing a bed for them soon. Broad and French beans can also be sown now but there is no space for them here.
What can be grown in pots and gro-bags in a small space, patio or balcony? Well quite a lot really. Tomatoes are the obvious choice for a bag but again not yet. However, if you grew them last year you can use the bag again for plants which do not require so much nourishment. Try lettuce, radish or other small salad crops. Bush tomatoes can be grown in a hanging basket – try Tumbling Tom – but they do need a LOT of watering! Herbs are good in pots – parsley, chives, sage and mint could be planted from seed now. Cover the pot with glass or clear polythene and keep in a warm, light place. Peppers work well too I am told, having had no success with them myself. No harm in trying again though, but from plants not seeds. There is even a variety of apple tree called Ballerina which can be grown on a balcony as it fruits on a single upright stem so try if you are ambitious.
For small space gardening I would always choose plants from a nursery. Seedlings are difficult unless you can create the right environment and you always have far too many for a small space. The initial expense of buying plants is justified by the greater likelihood of success. Choose your containers carefully so that your little veg plot looks pretty and if you like you can plant some small trailing plant such as lobelia round the edge of the bag to cover up the plastic.
Within the next few weeks visit your local market or nursery to see what is available and what takes your fancy. If you are seriously interested in growing food then you might care to get a copy of ‘Growing Food’ by Anna Pavord published by Frances Lincoln at £7.99. For an example of what can be done in an unusual or improbable space, and if you live in London, visit the garden on the roof of Budgen’s supermarket in Crouch End. If you go on Friday morning, I believe you can even buy the produce.
Otherwise look at these photos taken on a recent visit to Madeira where all gardening is done on vertiginous volcanic slopes using only hand tools because of the impossibility of accessing with anything mechanical. It is pretty fertile too.
