Archive for January, 2016

PicPost: Tree of Life

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — Leave a comment

12/01/2016

A Baobab Tree- probably 2000 years old

Comment

Top Tip: No Need to be Sheepish with Fleece

Filed under: Gardening equipment and tools, Gardening techniques, Grow your own food, Pests and diseases, Recycling projects — Leave a comment

11/01/2016

Horticultural fleece laid over plants can bring earlier crops and other benefits.

Fleece is a finely woven material that protects crops from wind and cold, and raises soil and air temperatures slightly, all helping plants to advance faster than unprotected crops. If it is anchored in the soil properly it also protects against flying pests, such as carrot root fly.

Because fleece allows water and air to penetrate, it reduces watering requirements and increases airflow around the plants. This encourages hardier growth and discourages disease build – up. If used carefully, fleece can last for many seasons.

Being porous, fleece does not warm the soil as well as plastic cloches or black plastic sheeting. It can also lay flat in wet conditions, making germination difficult, and it can easily tear on windy sites.

Fleece comes in all shapes and sizes, like this zip up jacket protector for tender shrubs by Harrod Horticultural

Other uses of fleece:

to extend the growing season, making maximum use of the garden

to improve the performance of half hardy crops, such as peppers

to produce softer, more palatable growth in vegetables that become tough with winter exposure, such as spinach and chicory.

In recent years another material called ‘Enviromesh’ has come on to the market. This fine-weaved plastic netting is strong and lasts for ages. It is fine enough to keep off small insects such as butterflies, carrot fly, flea beetles and leaf miners, and yet durable enough to keep pigeons off. It is also good frost and wind protection. I use it here in Old School Garden, both early in the season to protect young crops and also later as a useful cover for raspberries and other bush fruit which is otherwise unprotected against birds. The downside is that it is more expensive than fleece, so shop around!

Enviromesh tunnel using pegs to hold it down- picture Enviromesh Ltd.

Alternatives which can do pretty much the same job are old net curtains (you can get off white ones relatively cheaply from charity shops) or builder’s netting used around scaffolding or to protect against falling debris.

Sources and further information:

Gardeners’ Advice- RHS Wisley Experts, Dorling Kindersley 2004

Old School Gardener

Tags: early crops, enviromesh, extending the season, fleece, fruit, gardening, gardens, net curatins, netting, pest control, vegetables, warming the soil

Comment

PicPost: Dragon’s Breath

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — 2 Comments

10/01/2016

Black Dragon Hibiscus

Tags: black dragon, flowers, garden, hibiscus

Comment

Top Tip: Quick Fix for Spring Colour

Filed under: Design, Gardening techniques — 1 Comment

09/01/2016

More and more garden plants are available from garden centres in flower. If bought in bud, potted bulbs, such as dwarf daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths and tulips, allow you to instantly transform an otherwise dull border into a colourful, early spring centrepiece. This is particularly useful for adding colour to prominent beds near to the house.

Source: ‘Short Cuts to Great Gardens’- Reader’s Digest 1999

Old School Gardener

Tags: bulbs, colour, garden centre bulbs, gardening, gardens, instant colour, spring

Comment

PicPost: Cosmos

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — 2 Comments

08/01/2016

Blue Cosmos. Picture by Bonanza

Tags: blue cosmos, flowers, garden

Comment

Celebrating 300 Years of Landscaping Genius

Filed under: Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots, Heritage Gardens & gardening, Historic landscapes — Leave a comment

07/01/2016

Lancelot Brown by Nathanial Dance, photo by dcoetzee

Throughout 2016 the work of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown will be marked with a festival of events celebrating his life, work and legacy – 300 years on from his birth.

Brown’s rich legacy of work ranges form Highclere Castle, the fictional home of ‘Downton Abbey’ to the well-known estates of Chatsworth, Blenheim and Stowe, to hidden gems such as Milton Abbey, Weston Park and Compton Verney. In 2016, there will be a range of events for everyone to enjoy – from the most ardent of fans, to those that know nothing of his work but simply enjoy stunning landscapes.

Some highlights include the opportunity to tour the grounds of Belvoir Castle, where a lost Brown design was recently rediscovered and implemented; his first and last known commissions; his longest commission; and some of his crowning achievements. The Capability Brown Festival 2016 has been funded by a £911,100 grant from the Heritage lottery Fund, and is managed by The Landscape Institute. Festival director Ceryl Evans said:

‘Brown’s work was groundbreaking. He blended art and engineering, and moved mountains of earth and villages, to create beautiful naturalistic landscapes which are still much admired today, 300 years after his birth.’

Brown’s original plan for Blenheim

A prolific landscape architect, Brown is associated with more than 250 sites across England and Wales, with many more parks and gardens around the world inspired by his work.

Audley End, Essex

Capability Brown is a name well-known in gardening and landscaping circles, but among the general public his work and influence is less well-known. The Festival aims to address that gap as many of our best loved country houses are set as jewels in the wonderful landscapes he created, but often we recognise them for their architecture but sideline what makes them even more splendid – their amazingly landscaped and seemingly natural settings.

Three centuries after Brown’s birth, the Festival presents a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at how the father of landscape architecture shaped the nation’s countryside.

Blenheim Palace Grand Bridge by Boddah at English Wikipedia

Source: Landscape and Amenity Magazine, December 2015

Further information:

Old School Gardener

Tags: audley end, blenheim, capability brown, design, english landscape, historic gardens, landscape, landscape architecture

Comment

Get More From Your Garden

Filed under: Design, Design My Garden - Tips to improve your plot — Leave a comment

06/01/2016

Moving to a new house with a garden that needs whipping into shape? Need help with an idea for improving part of your established garden? Or maybe you want to completely overhaul your current plot and need a masterplan for achieving your ideas over a number of years?

If you live in the Norfolk area and want to develop your ideas and design skills, in the company of like-minded people, I might be able to help.

I’ve been running a series of short courses to inform, inspire and improve the design skills of gardeners for some years, and I’m planning to kick off the next one in a few weeks time.

I’ve taken the opportunity of a new venue to review the content and programme of the course, also building on the positive feedback I’ve had from previous participants. I’m thrilled to be able to offer a course that’s based at the wonderful Blickling Hall Estate near Aylsham, and hope to take full advantage of it’s fantastic gardens to illustrate and reinforce some key ideas.

And as well as visits to the gardens I’ll be using a combination of presentation, group discussion, one-to-one support, handouts, books to borrow and links to further information. You won’t need any special knowledge or skills in garden design or gardening; just the germ of an idea or plan for your garden, or maybe just a general interest in finding out more about garden design.

Venue: The Old School, Blickling Estate, near Aylsham, Norfolk

Times and dates: 10am -12 noon Tuesdays from 2^nd February – 22^nd March inclusive (excluding 16^th February)

Cost: £70 (including refreshments)

For an outline of the Programme take a look here. If you want to find out more about me then take a look at the Page ‘About Me’ on this blog. If you’d like to discuss the course, how it might meet your needs or want to register, please call me on 01603 754250, or leave me a message via the contact form below.

I want participants to have the space, time and attention to address their individual needs, so places will be limited; if you’re interested, please get in touch soon!

Old School Gardener (Nigel Boldero)

Go back

Your message has been sent

Tags: design, garden design course, gardening, gardens, norfolk, projects

Comment

PicPost: Dining Al Fresco

Image

Filed under: PicPosts- great photographs — Leave a comment

dinner table

Tags: dining, plants, slab table

Comment

5 New Year’s resolutions to help the planet in 2016

Filed under: Climate change and gardening, This and that — Leave a comment

05/01/2016

One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?

ID-100383599 Making small changes can have a big impact so this January do away with impossible-to-keep resolutions and do something that can make the planet greener, help local or distant communities and save you money. Make the change for over 66 days and, according to Lally et al (2010), it could become a new habit.

Help tackle climate change

World leaders agreed the Paris Climate Deal in December, but tackling climate change will take all our efforts, not just politicians and big business. The transport sector in the EU is responsible for about one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions so help reduce this by taking public transport, combining trips and flying less (somewhat easier now with the rise of video/conference calls). The energy sector is responsible for almost 30% of emissions and so being more energy efficient is an important goal across industry and society. Learn how to make your…

View original post 578 more words

Comment

The Essence of Gardening in 12 Objects: 5

Filed under: The Essence of Gardening in 12 Objects — Leave a comment

OK, this is cheating bit, I suppose. I wanted my fifth object to capture several things; but all of them involve cutting. Finally I decided on a plant, or rather a plant treated in a particular way; topiary. In this case at Levens Hall, Cumbria.

Pruning plants is a key gardening task; to stop or promote growth, to shape plants, to remove dead or diseased material, to propagate – and of course we should include grass cutting here.

I could equally have chosen a pair of secateurs or perhaps a lawnmower, but the clipped shapes of yew, box, or other species capture for me this important garden task and also symbolise what you might call the core ingredient of gardening; the conscious act of doing something to enable a plant to grow and to grow in a particular place or way.

Topiary’s clipped shapes transform the wayward beauty of nature into forms and masses which can add structure and give pleasure; when standing alone or providing a foil for swaying grasses, nodding allium heads or cottage garden favourites.

I know there is one school of thought that says this, sometimes drastic, technique seems unnatural, which is certainly true. But then again gardening is about the directing, guiding and controlling of nature. And I have to say, as a fan of topiary, it can make a garden fun. Just look at this combination of geometric shapes at Levens Hall, some of them centuries old. And when you search for topiary on the internet- which I suggest you do- you see all manner of human, animal and other forms, cleverly cultivated and maintained for our enjoyment.

One might almost say topiary puts a smile into any garden…

Old School Gardener

Tags: box, form, fun, garden, gardening, mass, pruning, topiary, yew

Comment

Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Join 1,236 other subscribers
Background information
Search for:
My articles classified..
- 12 tips to save time in the garden (12)
- A musing: odd thoughts (21)
- A Select Vietnamese flora (3)
- A-Z of Garden Trees (23)
- A-Z of Perennials (26)
- Aussie Greens- gardens, parks and open spaces visited in trips to Australia (2)
- Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden (88)
- Blogging (13)
- Climate change and gardening (68)
- Community Gardening (114)
- Dear Walter – letters/info from Old School Garden (81)
- Design (394)
- Design My Garden – Tips to improve your plot (12)
- Eat Me: guides to growing and using food plants (5)
- Feature plants (189)
- Floral Roundabouts (4)
- Four Seasons in One Day- series on climate change and gardening (5)
- Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots (42)
- Gardening equipment and tools (67)
- Gardening techniques (392)
- Gardening Therapy (3)
- GQT: your gardening queries answered (43)
- Great Gardens (180)
- Great Gardens: Scotland 2016 (6)
- Grow your own food (157)
- Growing Children- series on school gardening (7)
- Haveringland Churchyard (1)
- Health (15)
- Hebridean Hop- a tour of some Scottish isles (4)
- Heritage Gardens & gardening (285)
- Historic landscapes (129)
- John Evelyn's Monthly in the Garden (12)
- Local Food (21)
- Monthly Top ten gardening tips (12)
- Mrs. Murphy's Laws of Gardening (14)
- New Zealand 2019 (19)
- Norfolk in poetry- Jack Kett (13)
- Open Spaces (54)
- Over My Head- looking up at architectural detailing (8)
- Permaculture and sustainability (8)
- Pests and diseases (28)
- PicPosts- great photographs (810)
- Plantax- the stories behind plant names (21)
- Planting Patterns- wow factor pictures (41)
- Play (205)
- Playful Landscapes- examples (9)
- Portuguese Gardens (31)
- Power of 7- tips (24)
- Recycling projects (111)
- School and childrens' Gardening (82)
- Soils and soil improvement (62)
- Style Counsel: snippets on garden styles (13)
- The Essence of Gardening in 12 Objects (12)
- This and that (1,610)
- West Country Gardens (24)
- Wildlife and Nature (418)
Recent Posts

Top Posts & Pages
Favourite Categories Cloud
A-Z of Garden Trees A-Z of Perennials Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden Climate change and gardening Community Gardening Dear Walter - letters/info from Old School Garden Design Feature plants Gardening and Gardeners: historical snapshots Gardening equipment and tools Gardening techniques GQT: your gardening queries answered Great Gardens Grow your own food Heritage Gardens & gardening Historic landscapes Open Spaces Pests and diseases PicPosts- great photographs Plantax- the stories behind plant names Planting Patterns- wow factor pictures Play Portuguese Gardens Power of 7- tips Recycling projects School and childrens' Gardening Soils and soil improvement This and that West Country Gardens Wildlife and Nature
Blog Stats
- 554,117 hits
Some of my blog followers
Blogs I Follow
Top clicks from my blog
Calendar of my posts
January 2016

M T W T F S S

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

« Dec Feb »

	Anonymous on PicPost: Carrot, my foot!
	18 Surprising Hydran… on Plantax 16: Hydrangea the wate…
	Nigel Boldero on Poppyland: A Victorian romance…
	Anonymous on Poppyland: A Victorian romance…
	Anonymous on Plants to die for…
	Isabella Childress on PicPost: Forest, but not as we…
	Happiness Factor on Is child-friendly planning a l…
	zidane on Top Tip: On a Pedestal- make m…
	Claire Gillespie on Transforming an indigenous gar…
	Nigel Boldero on GQT: Pleached hedges

Archive for January, 2016

Share this:

Horticultural fleece laid over plants can bring earlier crops and other benefits.

Fleece is a finely woven material that protects crops from wind and cold, and raises soil and air temperatures slightly, all helping plants to advance faster than unprotected crops. If it is anchored in the soil properly it also protects against flying pests, such as carrot root fly.

Because fleece allows water and air to penetrate, it reduces watering requirements and increases airflow around the plants. This encourages hardier growth and discourages disease build – up. If used carefully, fleece can last for many seasons.

Being porous, fleece does not warm the soil as well as plastic cloches or black plastic sheeting. It can also lay flat in wet conditions, making germination difficult, and it can easily tear on windy sites.

Other uses of fleece:

to extend the growing season, making maximum use of the garden

to improve the performance of half hardy crops, such as peppers

to produce softer, more palatable growth in vegetables that become tough with winter exposure, such as spinach and chicory.

Alternatives which can do pretty much the same job are old net curtains (you can get off white ones relatively cheaply from charity shops) or builder’s netting used around scaffolding or to protect against falling debris.

Sources and further information:

Gardeners’ Advice- RHS Wisley Experts, Dorling Kindersley 2004

Old School Gardener

Share this:

Share this:

Source: ‘Short Cuts to Great Gardens’- Reader’s Digest 1999

Old School Gardener

Share this:

Share this:

Throughout 2016 the work of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown will be marked with a festival of events celebrating his life, work and legacy – 300 years on from his birth.

‘Brown’s work was groundbreaking. He blended art and engineering, and moved mountains of earth and villages, to create beautiful naturalistic landscapes which are still much admired today, 300 years after his birth.’

A prolific landscape architect, Brown is associated with more than 250 sites across England and Wales, with many more parks and gardens around the world inspired by his work.

Three centuries after Brown’s birth, the Festival presents a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at how the father of landscape architecture shaped the nation’s countryside.

Source: Landscape and Amenity Magazine, December 2015

Further information:

Old School Gardener

Share this:

Moving to a new house with a garden that needs whipping into shape? Need help with an idea for improving part of your established garden? Or maybe you want to completely overhaul your current plot and need a masterplan for achieving your ideas over a number of years?

If you live in the Norfolk area and want to develop your ideas and design skills, in the company of like-minded people, I might be able to help.

I’ve been running a series of short courses to inform, inspire and improve the design skills of gardeners for some years, and I’m planning to kick off the next one in a few weeks time.

Venue: The Old School, Blickling Estate, near Aylsham, Norfolk

Times and dates: 10am -12 noon Tuesdays from 2nd February – 22nd March inclusive (excluding 16th February)

Cost: £70 (including refreshments)

I want participants to have the space, time and attention to address their individual needs, so places will be limited; if you’re interested, please get in touch soon!

Old School Gardener (Nigel Boldero)

Your message has been sent

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

OK, this is cheating bit, I suppose. I wanted my fifth object to capture several things; but all of them involve cutting. Finally I decided on a plant, or rather a plant treated in a particular way; topiary. In this case at Levens Hall, Cumbria.

Pruning plants is a key gardening task; to stop or promote growth, to shape plants, to remove dead or diseased material, to propagate – and of course we should include grass cutting here.

Topiary’s clipped shapes transform the wayward beauty of nature into forms and masses which can add structure and give pleasure; when standing alone or providing a foil for swaying grasses, nodding allium heads or cottage garden favourites.

One might almost say topiary puts a smile into any garden…

Old School Gardener

Share this:

Follow Blog via Email

Background information

My articles classified..

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Top Posts & Pages

Favourite Categories Cloud

Blog Stats

Some of my blog followers

Blogs I Follow

Top clicks from my blog

Calendar of my posts

Monthly Archive

Times and dates: 10am -12 noon Tuesdays from 2^nd February – 22^nd March inclusive (excluding 16^th February)