We live our lives below the trees, surround by their arms, and shaded by their leaves. Yet we rarely stop and give much thought to the beauty that is a leaf.
Archive for August, 2013
By Dayna Woolbright
Fortunately crate 20 didn’t contain any witches but it did contain something equally as mysterious.
Crate 20 contained a lot of textile objects, mainly a selection of rugs and carpets but it also revealed another somewhat larger textile item which was folded into a large square. In its folded state we had no clues about what the item could be but from its size we suspected that once unfurled what ever it was would be huge! Due to the limited processing space in the superstore it was a few weeks before we had a chance to fully look at the object and fortunately this opportunity coincided with a visit from staff working in Norfolk Museums and Archaeology’s textile department, Social History curator Cathy Terry and head of conservation Man-Yee Liu.
Man-Yee assessed the textile and concluded it was in a good condition and stable enough to work…
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Nepeta- some varieites are called Catnip or Catmint because cats love them!
Nepeta is a genus of about 250 species of perennials and a few annuals, native to cool and moist to hot and dry habitats in scrub, grassy banks, stony slopes or in high mountains, in non tropical areas of the northern hemisphere. So as you can see, there’s pretty much a Nepeta to suit every garden situation!
Some members of this group are known as catnip or catmint because of their effect on cats – the nepetalactone contained in some Nepeta species binds to the olfactory receptors of cats, typically resulting in temporary euphoria!
Nepeta grandiflora
Nepeta mussinii
Nepeta curviflora
They have sturdy stems with opposite heart-shaped, green to grey-green leaves. Nepeta plants are usually aromatic in foliage and flowers. The tubular flowers can be lavender, blue, white, pink, or lilac, and spotted with tiny lavender-purple dots. The flowers are located in ‘verticillasters’ grouped on spikes; or the verticillasters are arranged in opposite groups – toward the tip of the stems.
Nepeta can be drought tolerant, being able to conserve water. They bloom over a long period from late spring to autumn. Some species also have repellent properties to insect pests, including aphids and squash bugs, when planted in a garden. Nepeta species are used as food plants by the larvae of some butterflies and moths and as nectar sources for pollinators like bees.
Nepeta makes a wonderful sprawling edge to an informal border
Nepeta can be grown in any well drained soil in full sun or partial shade. Some species, like N. govaniana and N. subsessilis prefer moist, cool conditions, whereas N. sibirica likes it fairly dry. There are a few tall growing varieties, like ‘Six Hills Giant’, with a more upright habit. These need staking or support to see them at their best. Most Nepetas will rebloom if sheared back after their initial flowering (N. x faassenii and N. nervosa for example). Some won’t provide much of a second show, but their foliage will be refreshed and tidied by the shearing.
Nepeta looks wonderful when covered in flower from early summer. The pale, often lavender-blue flowers perfectly complement the hairy, scalloped and wrinkled, silvery, blue-green leaves. The flowers appear as a haze of blue from a distance. It is often used as an informal, low hedge echoing the colours of lavender (and is used as a substitute where lavender isn’t hardy enough). But it has a rather lax form and will spread itself to cover its allotted space (and more!). Nepeta is best planted at the front of the border, edging a path, so that when you brush past it you will catch the full scent from its aromatic leaves. Nepeta is also a classic underplanting for roses. The colours complement and the foliage hides the ugly ‘knees’ of the rose bush.
We have some here at Old School Garden and this year I’m experimenting with it in some raised planters to try to get a cascading effect, as I’ve seen it used effectively this way on top of an old garden wall in Devon, though I suspect some varieties will have longer stems than others so are better suited to this treatment. The pastel blues of Nepeta combine wonderfully well with pinks and yellows, such as day lilies and yarrow (Achillea). It also looks good with Allium cristophii and Zinnia elegans ‘Envy’.
Some suggested varieties:
- N. nervosa ‘Felix’ – Compact plant with vivid lavender-blue flowers. (12″ H x 24″ W)
- N. x ‘Six Hills Giant’ – One of the tallest growing Nepetas, with lavender-blue flowers.(36″ H x 30″ W)
- N. subsessilis ‘Sweet Dreams’ – Pink flowers with burgundy bracts. Likes a bit more water than most Nepetas. (2′ H x 3′ W)
- N. racemosa ‘Walkers Low’– has 8″ spikes of lavender-blue flowers. ( 2 H’ x 2′ W)
Nepeta faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’- foliage
Nepeta is one of those plants that thrives on neglect. Too much fertilizer will only make it grow lots of flimsy foliage. A lean soil and somewhat dry growing conditions will encourage both flowers and scent. Many of the newer varieties of Nepeta are sterile, producing no viable seeds. This is a plus if you don’t like the weedy, self-seeding habit of older Nepeta varieties, but it means you will need to either buy plants or make plants from divisions or cuttings. Division is not a requirement, but if you’d like more plants divide it in spring or in autumn. The Royal Horticultural Society have given it their prestigious Award of Garden Merit.
Nepeta longipes
Sources and further information:
One plant 3 ways- Nepeta design tips
Old School Gardener
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‘Students at Armstrong School in Newcastle have been creating more storage solutions for their shed with Sarah Carrie (Schools Advisor for the North East).
As well as their brilliant welly rack (post from 28 June), they have made this smart tool holder to keep long handled tool handles upright and neat.
To make it they:
Used 4 old plastic plant pots
Cut the bottoms off 2 of them
Screwed these 2 pots onto the shed wall
Fixed the other 2 plant pots below the others onto the floor.’
via RHS Campaign for School Gardening
Grey mould on strawberries
Do you spray your strawberries against fungal infections?
An innovative development at the East Malling research centre in Kent may make this a thing of the past, At least if you keep bees that is. Scientists have designed a dispenser to fit into bee hives that the bees move through on their way out of the hive to forage for nectar. As they do so, they pick up a tiny amount of biofungicide, Gliocladium catenulatum ( a fungus which suppresses the growth of grey mould). The sunbstance sticks to their legs and bodies and as they move among the strawberry plants a small amount is deposited on each bloom, preventing grey mould being carried onto developing fruit. And tests have shown that the bees’ control was just as good as when the crops were sprayed – and there was the bonus that fungicide residue on the fruit was reduced. Sounds like a brilliant development that will probably benefit commercial strawberry production, but maybe a kit will also be produced for the serious home strawberry grower- bee keeper!
This ‘bioweapon’ isn’t the only one being reported at present. It seems that the invasive Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is also armed with its own ‘bioweapon’ which is helping them to out compete native ladybirds.
Harmonia axyridis, the Harlequin Ladybird
German scientists have found that the Harlequins carry a fungal parasite in their blood that they can tolerate, but which is fatal to other types of ladybird. There’s some uncertainty about how the natives become infected,, but it seems likely that their habit of eating other ladybirds’ offspring may be to blame. Seven native types of ladybird in the UK have declined in numbers by up to 44 per cent since the arrival of the Harlequin in 2004. Originally introduced from China as a way to control aphids, the Harlequins do not so far seem to have affected the numbers of Seven Spot ladybirds.
Another, more positive finding from the research is that the fungal parasite carried by the Harlequins seems to kill the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis and the malaria parasite, so there may be the possibility of developing medicines that can help to cure these important human illnesses.
Source: ‘The Garden’- RHS Journal August 2013
Old School Gardener
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via Growveg
Old School Garden 