TULIP MANIA - species tulips for every garden situation

Species tulips may be smaller than hybrids, but they are also tougher - and create a stunning show year after year.


Tulips are often considered ephemeral in the garden, and it's true that many hybird tulips decline in vigour after the first year. Species tulips, however, are reliable year upon year, often naturalising and setting seed to produce drifts of flowers that actually improve over the years.

Species tulips tend to be smaller and less showy than their hybird counterparts but they are equally heart stopping. The flowering season begins on early March just as the garden is waking up from winter, but there are varieties that bloom in succession all the way through until the end of May. From the creamy drifts to Tulipa turkestaica to be the lipstick-red of Tulipa fosteriana, it really is worth making room form these little beauties in your garden.

As a general rule, good drainage is essential for all tulips. Although they love to be watered during their growing season, most species tulips prefer dry soil over the summer months. Rock gardens have typically been the best place to grow species tulips because they emulate their natural habitat in the wild, but they are not the only situation in which these diminutive gems will flourish.



Pots and containers
Tulipa greigii starts flowering in March. The dwarf flowering habit and large decorative leaves make for stunning displays in window boxes and containers. Try combining Tulipa greigii 'Red Riding Hood' with winter pansies and trailing ivy for a late-winter show stopper. Try also T. humilis 'Persian Pearl' and T. kauffmanniana 'Heart's Delight'

Clay soil
Tulipa acuminta is an usual and exotic-looking tulip with needle like pointed petals of red and yellow. It is a surpise hit in clay soil, flowering in May, and is excellent for cut-flower arrangements.
Low-growing and early-flowering, Tulipa humilis is equally happy in a rock garden, a raised bed, sunny border or a pot. It has delicate, blade-like leaves, and is available in a wide range of colours.
Tulipa turkestanica is one of the easiest species tulips to grow, and deserving of a place in almost every garden. The elegant creamy-white flowers have a rich yello centre, and really brighten up the winter garden. These tulips will spread gradually and reliably to form dense patches of small starry flowers.

Woodland edge/semi-shade
Tulipa sprengeri is the exception to the rule: flowering in late May and early June, it actually prefers slightly moist soil - and even a bit of shade. try including it in woodland-edge planting schemes, or use it to underplant deciduous trees and shrubs. Don't be put off by its price: Tulipa sprengeri sets seed widely and will soon become an established accent in the garden.

All rounders
With its sturdy stems, broad leaves and huge bright red flower which can be 15cm across when fully open - Tulipa fosteriana is one of the most popular species tulips. it adapts to a wide variety of soils and situation, relishes neglect and reliable each year.

Combining clematis with established shrubs

Stunning on its own, this climber works even better teamed up with trees and shrubs for a dramatic second burst of colour.

We are used to pairing clematis with roses, but there are hundreds of other combinations to be explored. Many plants offer limited interest for long periods of the year, so why not extend the season by partnering established trees and shrubs with a clematis?

Buddleias are great with the lavender-blue Clematis ‘Arabella’ or the dramatic dark-purple ‘Miranda’. Both cultivars flower non-stop from spring to late summer and will actually benefit from any hard pruning your buddleia requires to keep it in check. Other silver-leaved shrubs such as Garrya elliptica gain from an association with Clematis viticella ‘Palette’, which has delicate purple-veined flowers fading to white at the centre.

Clematis 'Crystal Fountain' is a daring choice with Ceanothus

The purple foliage of Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ or Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ provides a dashing contrast for Clematis ‘Wisley’ or the late-flowering white Clematis ‘John Huxtable’, but can also marry beautifully with the soft pink of ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’. In fact, the list of possible combinations is almost endless. The golden rule to remember is that the most successful partnerships have the same pruning requirements.

Read the full article by Alice Bowe at Times online

THE LINE OF BEAUTY

(publish on 25th October 2008)

Whether it's working on large country estates or her balcony pots, this garden designer's love of art translates into painting with plants.
At the age of 21, study fine art at university, I had little idea that I would end up becoming a garden designer and writer. Sculpture drawing, painting - wrestling with colour and form as art and as essay - that was all I wanted to do.

I grew up taking gardens for granted. We always had beautiful gardens at home, and my grandparents owned a gorgeous one in Surrey; it was overflowing with camellias, cherry blossom and love-in-a-mist. Looking back, I suppose a love affair with landscape dragged around "yet another garden". I used to moan and grumble and feign illness. Inevitably, as I got older, I started dragged my family out instead.

I'm not sure when it clicked. I tend to say it happened in my second year at Oxford, when I was making a seres of drawings for a show at the Botanical Garden, but, in truth, there was no epiphany, just a gradual realisation that the themes I was exploring - colour, form, space, time-were equally applicable to the garden. I have always been rather private about my artwork, but the two disciplines - painting and garden design - fit together better than I ever imagined.

Writing is an important part of the creative design process for me. Putting things into words helps me to process the myriad ideas and requirements involved in any garden or planting design. It helps me to come up with new concepts. As an art student, I used to fill my sketchbooks with as many words as images, and that hasn't changed over the years.

I'm still saving up for my acres in the country so, at the moment, I garden where my project take me. Perhaps one day I will become a tenant for the National Trust and help it to restore a massive historic garden, but for the moment, I lovingly tend to begged, borrowed and pilfered pockets of land.

At my family home in Nottingham, I garden on serious clay, We have improved the soil beyond recognition by double digging and adding plenty of local mushroom compost. This is where I try out new plant introductions and experiment with planting combinations - you could say "painting with plants", I love the contrast of crisp hedges, old walls and topiary against the blowsy forms of cottage or prairie planting, and we are lucky to have old brick walls in the garden. The main borders combine traditional herbaceous perennials with swaths of ornamental grasses and plenty of roses. I have inherited my mother's love of old-fashion roses, so I squeeze in as many as I can. I am particularly interested in designing planting with the relaxed painterly look of a traditional herbaceous border without the intensive maintenance and this is where I try out my ideas to see what really works.

At my grandparents' house in Surrey, I garden on the Bagshot Sands. The garden is prone to summer drought but can support a wider range of tender plants that thrive in the Midlands. It is a great garden in which to experiment with drought and flood tolerant perennials and to lean about planting that look after itself. Interestingly, hostas seem to be happiest in this sandy, free-draining soil because the leaves don;t get so lush - so they don't get eaten.

At my Birmingham flat, I get to experiment with vegetable container gardening. The large glass windows create a sun trap, so I can start off my seeding inside. The balcony is a compact 5m x 2m, but I am self-sufficient in fresh cut-and -come-again lettuce, pak choi, chicory and herbs. I am having a lot of success with sugar snap, peas tumbling tomatoes, blueberries, redcurrant, purple sprouting broccoli and leeks. I am trying to grow mushroom, too, but the mushroom logs are not playing ball.

It's amazing how productive a small space can be - and there is still room for sunflowers and other ornamentals. My boyfriend Jule's ban on "girlie planting" has given me the chance to experiment with a more dramatic colour scheme that I get to employ in some of the larger country estates I work on. Black terrazzo, bright red furniture and bright red flowers set off the lush green vegetables and deep purple foliage. The only "girlie" exception to this rules is the gorgeous Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' which I managed to sneak in because Jules is a Prince fan.

In many ways, this varied approach to gardening is a real stroke of luck. It enables me to experiment with a broad rage of habitats. Every year when the plant catalogues arrive, I drool over them like a child in a sweet shop and order newly introduced plants to try. My gardens are a test bed for my work: it would be reckless for me to recommend plants I haven't grown myself, so all the garden spaces I commandeer are in a constant state of flaux - with me constantly tweaking and re-planting to see what works, and what doesn't.

This year, we have been attacked by slugs in their thousand and I have taken the opportunity to experiment with aromatic substitutes for some of my favourite border perennials. As a result, I have discovered a new favourite in Teucrium hircanicum, which has, this year, replaced Salvia nemorosa 'Schwellenburg' in the Nottingham borders. I am becoming almost evangelical in my product from the rooibos tea industry, called Fine Naturals, that is brilliant at deterring slugs.

The most thrilling part of designing gardens and planting schemes is when I get o come back a year or two later and see how they have matured. There is noting more satisfying than t see the concepts and ideas that I spent so long playing around with in my own gardens bear fruit - but realised on a much lager scale.

THE RICH LIST BY ALICE BOWE IN THE TIMES ON 30 AUGUST 2008

A carpet of green manure such as clover or alfalfa can save a fortune on compost and the good news is, there’s one for every soil type

Autumn is on the way, and it’s good time to think about making new beds. More dauntingly, you may have just taken on a whole new garden or an allotment. As you dream longingly of friable loam, your spade invariably hits builders’ rubble free-draining sand or compacted clay. While there is little choice except to dig out builders’ rubble, there are more options when it comes to the task of enriching the soil. Recycled green waste, animal manure and spent mushroom compost are popular additions, but before you start despairing at the cost of lorryloads of compost, don’t forget the cheapskate’s alternative; green manure.

Green manures or cover crops are inexpensive way to improve both the structure and nutrient content of your soil. Cultivated primarily to add organic matter to the earth, a green manures crop is usually grown from a specific period (say six weeks, or over winter), and then chopped down and incorporated into the soil. They are a great option when preparing new land for use – forming a green carpet that stops weeds colonising and prevents nutrients from being washed away. Some varieties, such as lupins, fodder radish or alfalfa, even help to give the soil structure because their fibrous tap roots break up the subsoil.

Traditionally, green manures have been use on arable land or allotments, but they are equally useful in gardens. All you need is a packet of seeds, a spade, and patience while they do the hard work for you.

Green manures consist of legumes and non-legumes. Legumes are popular for their ability to fix nitrogen: once the green manure has been dick into the soil, this nitrogen becomes available for future plantings. Non-legumes planting, however, often produce more organic matter. They have a better root system and so are better suited to surviving extreme weather conditions and poor soils. There is a green manures for every ailment in clay; lupins improve the substructure of the soil; while the best choice for dry soil is alfalfa.

Fast-growing, leafy green manures are often recommended for gardens because they provide the most nutrients when dug into the soil Just remember, if you are preparing soil to grow vegetables, your green manures should not be closely related to the plants that are to follow. For example, don’t use legumes such as field beans of you are planning to grown runner beans or garden peas afterwards. This reduces the likelihood of disease.

Although many green manures can be sown all year round, it is ideal to sow them in the autumn to overwinter, as vegetable plots are generally empty and people are spending less time in their gardens. Try sowing fast-growing fodder radish or mustard in early September so that it can be incorporated in late October. Alternatively, cut down and chop up the green manures in late October and leave it on the surface as a mulch.

Italian ryegrass and Hungarian grazing rye can also be sown in September because they are very hardy. Leave them growing all winter before being dug n during spring to release nutrients as they are rot. If you are growing your green manure on clay soil, however, it’s best to dig it in during autumn, Alfalfa is another good choice for an overwintering green manure. This nitrogen fixer should be dug in during the spring.

Before sowing your green manure, the site should be roughly dug over and weeded. The should needs to be firmed by lightly treading it down, and then your seeds can be sown in rows about 6in apart, or broadcast and ranked in.

All green manures should be dug in while the stems are still soft so that the plant can break down easily. It is a good idea to chop up the green manure and allow it t lie on top of the soil for a few days. It should then be dug in to a depth of about 6in. Your soil should be ready for planting only a couple of weeks after incorporation.

Green manures are often overlooked by gardeners looking for a quick fix, but used wisely, they can play an important and cost-effective role in the establishment and maintenance of a garden.

A MANURE FOR ALL SEASONS

OVERWINTERING
Hungarian grazing rye; One of the best green manures for winter use. Sow in August/September, or as late as October in the South. A good cover crop to prevent nutrient-leaching. Dig in during the spring.

Field beans; Very hardy, with deep nitrogen-fixing roots. Suitable for overwintering.

Fodder radish; Deep tap root brings up nutrients from the subsoil, and produces plenty of organic matter. Over winter it will gradually die down, making it easy to incorporate into the ground in spring.

UNDERSOWING AND INTERCROPPING
White Clover; Low-growing for ground cover and intercropping between rows of vegetables. Use as a living mulch or long term green manure.

Trefoil; Shade-tolerant and low-growing, so great for undersowing. Sow between March and August and it will stand through the winter into the following season. It does not like acid soil but will tolerant some shade and is suitable for undersowing, for example between rows of sweetcorn. When the corn is cut down, the trefoil will grow to protect the ground over winter.

MULCHING AND WEED CONTROL
Crimson clover; A vigorous, quick-growing clover with wonderful red flowers which bees love. Sow in April – September. Not normally winter-hardy because it dislikes waterlogged and heavy soils.

LONG-TERM GREEN MANURESAlfalfa; Rich in calcium and the major elements almost a complete natural fertiliser. It is very deep-rooting – improving substructure and bringing trace elements to the surface. Sow April – July. Can be turned under in the autumn or left to stand through the winter.


SUPPLIERS
The Organic Gardening Catalogue:0845 1301304 www.organiccatalogue.com;
Hurrells Specialist Seeds: www.hmseeds.co.uk
Edwin Tucker & Sons: www.tuckers-seeds.co.uk

Source: THE TIMES