Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2012 | Page 114
Gardening
with Tina
All around us spring is
unfurling, a slow motion
firework display of
crimson shoots and vivid
leaves. I almost expect to
hear the sound of buds
popping as they expand
with breathtaking speed
(for plants anyway). It
is wonderful to see the
pristine beauty of leaves
T in a tra in ed a s a
prof es si on a l g a rd
en er
af te r le a vi n g sc ho
ol
a n d sp ent a su m
m er
w or ki n g in Tu sca
ny a
a n E n g lis h G a rd en s
er.
S he ha s a N at io n
al
D ip lo m a in H orti
cu lt u re.
and shoots, un-nibbled and
translucent in the soft spring
Bring me sunshine
light, and I wish that just for
I can see what inspired Van Gogh to paint sunflowers,
a moment or two I could
although I don’t share his obsession with them. However
press the pause button and
I do enjoy seeing monstrous headed giants lolling over
savour all this lushness for
garden walls, they do add some zing to the last weeks of
a little longer. Instead I will
summer. There are lots of different coloured varieties now,
be rolling up my sleeves
large and small. Some are really useful for cutting. May
and getting to work sowing
is the ideal time to sow in pots or directly into the border
seeds and weeding.
in shallow drills. Protect from slugs and water well until
established.
Have a qu estion?
If you have a question, need some advice or even
a suggestion for an article then please email:
[email protected]
Mulch ado abou
tn
othing
After a second
dr y winter and
spring water co
nser vation will
be a
priority this su
mmer. Using a
5
–
7 cm layer of m
ulch around pl
ants
helps to conser
ve water, protec
t
the roots from
temperature
variations and
reduce the am
ount
of weeds compe
ting for moistur
e.
114
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