The Green House | nkchurch

the GREENHOUSE

DURING THIS ISOLATION PERIOD MANY GARDENS WILL BE GETTING DONE AND YOU MAY HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SOMETHING.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN THE GARDEN AT THIS TIME OF YEAR?

CAN I CUT THE GRASS NOW?

I'VE A NICE SET OF SHEERS SO WHAT SHOULD I PRUNE?

WHAT SHOULD I PLANT NOW?

ALL THESE AND MORE QUESTIONS...

SO PLEASE SEND THEM IN ON THE FORM OPPOSITE AND OUR RESIDENT EXPERTS, WHO ARE IN THEIR GARDENS 24/7 WILL HAPPILY REPLY.

SEND IN A PHOTO AND SEE IF THEY CAN IDENTIFY THE PLANT, DISEASE, LEAF, COFFEE CUP...

ALL QUESTIONS AND REPLIES WILL APPEAR HERE SO GO ON, ASK A QUESTION!

All questions and replies will appear here...

Q

Hello I’ve just cleared out some old bushes and am now wondering what to plant to help disguise a north facing fence in a shady part of the garden-shrub or tree to provide some privacy and colour? Your suggestions would be much appreciated

A

Looking around our gardens there are a few shrubs that seem to do well in north facing areas:-

Hydrangea – autumn flowering,

Weigela – pink or red flowers in summer,

Rhododendron - various colours,

Forsythia - early colour with yellow flowers,

Viburnum tinus - semi-evergreen and covered in white flowers at the moment,

Mahonia - prickly evergreen with yellow flowers,

Camellia japonica - evergreen - but doesn’t like wind

If it is just shade from a fence most shrubs would probably be okay but shading from large trees, especially conifers would be a problem.

Q

As the garden and food bins are not beingcollected, I'd like to start composting. It's a long time since I last did this, so what are your tips, please? I have an old fairly deep swing bin which I could use. Thanks in anticipation.

A

Composting,

The container - an open bottomed container sitting on flat ground with a lid works well. These were, at one time, available free from the Council. The idea of the open bottom is to let excess moisture escape and worms in to help with the composting.

If you have a large swing top bin, of the type you get in the kitchen, you either need to put big holes in the base or even cut it off and then use the bin upside down. Either way use the lid to keep it covered. The traditional heap also works and a black plastic cover over it can speed up the composting process.

What to compost. Essentially you need a mixture of brown and green waste but be careful not to put in too much grass as all you will get is green slime!

Good :- Dead plants and flowers from house and garden, leaves, grass cuttings, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea leaves but not teabags, shredded paper, kitchen roll and tissue paper so long as it is not contaminated by the things noted below.

Not so good :- eggshells, Fruit stones, teabags. they will compost eventually but not as quickly as the items above.

Bad:- Do not add raw meat, fish or chicken or any cooked food. At best it will smell, it may also present a health hazard and/or attract rats andother vermin.

In our climate composting is a slow process as it requires heat, some of which is self generated but keeping your compost heap somewhere sunny helps. Also don't expect to be able to use it for at least 12 months.!

Our green bins are usually filled with a mixture of leaves, soft green plant material (including perennial weeds such as docks and buttercup), and woody material such as sticks, bits of branch, beechnuts, etc. The woody material and perennial weeds should be regarded as non-compostable and left in a pile somewhere in the garden until the green bins are being taken again. Everything else can then be composted, although you could make a separate pile for autumn leaves if there are a lot of trees around, as in the manse garden.

Finally, the Council are allowing any cooked food or non-plant material that usually goes in the little grey bucket to be put in the grey bin if placed in a separate plastic bag.