Latest news with #NickTurrell
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
What you should be doing to your garden during this heatwave
The UK is currently experiencing a heatwave. But how do you look after your outside space in the heat? And how how can gardeners minimise the damage caused by high temperatures? 'It's about risk management,' says Nick Turrell, RHS horticultural advisor. 'No-one's going to suddenly change all their plants, getting plants with silver leaves etc. 'Some plants are more susceptible than others, and I would say the top five are hydrangea, which likes slightly cooler temperatures and plenty of water, Japanese maples, which have thin leaves and lose moisture, fuchsia, astilbes and roses, which are hungry and thirsty. They catch gardeners out.' Plants likely to cope better include lavender, rosemary, sedum and other succulents, he says. But what else can we do? 1. Water wisely 'Water in the morning because that's when the plants are going to be needing it during the day,' Turrell advises. 'Don't spray the leaves or water on the top of the leaves, get it underneath to the roots and use a watering can, not a hose, because if you've a hose, you're more likely to liberally spray it around, which means you get a sprinkling on the surface which just evaporates. Get the nozzle of the watering can right in at the roots.' Melissa Quinney at Cabin Master, advises: 'During hosepipe bans or dry spells, greywater (from baths or washing up, provided it's free from harsh chemicals) can be reused to water ornamental plants.' 'It's best to water less frequently but more thoroughly, soaking the rootball properly,' suggests Charles Carr, head of wholesale nurseries at Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres. Water plants in the area where the roots are, suggests Nick Hamilton, son of the late Gardeners' World icon Geoff Hamilton and owner of Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland. 'Some plants will require more than others, so when considering whether a plant needs water then my view is that if you're not sure, don't water. Don't worry if a plant begins to wilt from under-watering, because if you then apply water, within an hour or so you would never know it was wilting.' Give watering priority to anything which has been planted within the last 12 months, and particularly newly planted trees, Turrell adds. 2. Mulch the surface 'To lock in moisture and protect plants during a hot spell, cover the top of container plants with a mulch such as gravel, bark or a good quality compost. You should also mulch garden beds to help bedding plants retain moisture and give them a nutrient boost,' suggests Dobbies ' plant buyer, Nigel Lawton. 'Add organic mulch such as wood chippings, garden compost or leaf mould to beds to save water and improve moisture retention. A thick layer of mulch will block sunlight, insulating the soil and reducing the amount of water evaporating from the garden,' Carr adds. 'I think a good shredder is a very worthwhile investment as old flower stems, twigs and vegetable material, such as brassica stems, can be shredded down, composted and used as an excellent mulch,' suggests Hamilton. 3. Don't buy new plants If the hot weather is forecast for a few weeks, there's no point planting new plants because you'll just be putting stress on them and on the watering system, Turrell advises. 'Anything that has been established for more than two years should be OK because it already has its roots down deep enough to cope with unusual circumstances. 'But the plants will tell you if they need a drink, when they start wilting or the leaves start to curl up around the edges,' he explains. 4. Take hanging baskets down The compost in hanging baskets can evaporate so quickly that it's best to take them down during a heatwave and put them in the shade where they won't lose water so rapidly, says Turrell. 5. Pick vegetables which are likely to bolt Lettuces are prone to running to seed in hot weather, so pick them young and keep them in the fridge, or shade them with netting to keep the heat of the sun at bay, says Turrell. 6. Find shade 'For those especially vulnerable during extreme heat, temporary shade structures using old bedsheets, garden furniture, or shade cloths can make all the difference,' says Quinney. 7. Huddle patio pots Put patio pots in the shade together to create a microclimate and reduce evaporation, says Turrell. 8. Look after wildlife Make sure birdbaths are topped up because they will need it for drinking and bathing, and put some pebbles in water-filled pot saucers to allow insects to land and drink as well. 9. Leave your grass The grass may look like a mass of straw but it will recover when the autumn rain comes, so if you can stand it looking brown, just leave it, says Turrell. However, if it has been newly laid and hasn't yet been through a winter, you'll need to water it. 'In hot spells, it's best to hold off on applying weedkillers or fertilisers. These can be too harsh when the lawn is already under stress and may cause more harm than good,' says Peter Chaloner, managing director of garden machinery specialists Cobra. 'When grass turns yellow and brittle, it's a sign it's conserving energy due to lack of water. At this point, try to keep foot traffic to a minimum and clear away furniture or toys so the lawn has the best chance to recover undisturbed.' 10. Plant drought-tolerant species If you have spaces you feel you must fill, plug the gap with drought-tolerant species such as lavender, rosemary, salvia and sedum – but remember they will also need watering until they become established. 'Generally, succulents and silver foliage plants like lavender are the best at adapting to warmer conditions, so these are fine to be left as they are, but you should make a point to check up on your other plants throughout the summer months and adjust watering as needed,' says Lawton. 11. Improve your soil 'An excellent way to improve a light soil and increase its moisture retention capabilities is to add organic matter, which could be your own garden compost, green composts or well-rotted farmyard manure. Any one of these can be lightly forked into the surface and then added to the surface as a thickish layer to act as a mulch,' Hamilton advises. 'If you look after your soil, pretty much everything else falls into place,' says Turrell. 'If every year you mulch that soil with as much organic matter as you can, you are helping to prepare for any eventuality.' 12. Use a water butt This is another vital investment, says Hamilton, and can be fitted to trap and hold much needed rainwater – when it does finally come – from all your downpipes. 'I would also consider using the low-pressure leaking pipe that will work from a water butt. When buried just under the soil surface and laid out around the plants that require a bit more moisture, water will just gradually leak out and because it is under the soil, evaporation will be minimal.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ever wondered how to shape your evergreens? Experts share their tips
Topiary offers a unique way for plants to shape our gardens. Shaping plants into balls, pyramids and even birds doesn't have to be as complicated as it might seem, so you don't just have to admire topiary in the gardens of stately homes and horticultural shows. A new photographic exhibition, On The Hedge, opening at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, charts our relationship with hedges and topiary, from their role in shaping our landscapes and homes, to their environmental benefits. 'From a design point of view, topiary is really important, even if it's just a simple basic structure. A cube, or a cone, or even just a ball of some sort gives really good structure through the winter when a lot of gardens go quiet,' says RHS horticultural advisor, Nick Turrell. 'If your shape – it could be a simple cone or a cube – is repeated through a garden, the eye will immediately pick up on that repetition. In summer, it might just sit in the background but it still provides an important structural framework. 'Then in the winter it looks amazing because the frost sits on it.' 'Yes – it could be knee high, a cube or a dome and you could grow them in a border, like an exclamation mark among all the froth of the flowers. I've done it even in tiny little postage stamp-sized gardens, when you have two or three in the border which adds a good bit of solidity,' says Turrell. If you've only got room for a pot, put your evergreen in as big a pot as you can, which won't dry out as quickly as smaller containers, but be aware that it will require more TLC than if you plant it in a border, he advises. 'It will require a bit more attention. Any plant, whether it's clipped or not, is totally dependent on you for food and water. It will need feeding through the summer, ideally every three weeks. 'After the first season the potting compost will have run out of nutrients so it's down to you to feed it.' If the compost needs changing, the chances are you'll need to repot your topiary into a bigger pot. If you don't have room for that, it will need regular feeding and will benefit from mulching with some well-rotted manure in the autumn, he suggests. Box blight and box tree caterpillar are still a real problem, so find an alternative, he suggests. His top three choices are yew, small-leaved privet and Wilson's honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida). 'With yew, you can have it whatever size you like, it always comes back and it has tiny needles, which lends itself to close clipping.' The small-leaved privet doesn't grow too tall – reaching around 1.5m if you let it – and is quite happy to be clipped, he says. Wilson's honeysuckle is strong-growing, with tiny leaves. You can grow it in a pot and if you occasionally forget to water it, it can bounce back, he says. Look at the size of the leaves of whichever plant you choose, because the bigger the leaf the worse it is to topiarise, he adds. 'You can end up cutting through a broad leaf halfway through when you are clipping it and then the ends can start fraying and going a bit brown, which doesn't look good.' Don't plant, for instance, three of the same species next to each other hoping that they will be dense enough to give you a shape more quickly, because they will eventually end up fighting for space and light, he advises. 'If you're looking for a cone or a ball which is say, a metre high, you can buy them ready-made but they are expensive. If you buy a yew just as a plant, which is 60cm tall, it won't cost as much and as long as you are patient and feed and water it you can start trimming it once it reaches the size you want it to be. 'They will grow fairly quickly. Within 18 months – two seasons – you should start to see the beginnings of the shape, if it's not too intricate, like a cockerel.' 'Keep it simple. A good pair of sharp shears or even some little handheld long-nosed snips are perfect. Don't worry about electric hedge trimmers – it's the difference between using an electric shaver and a razor blade. You get a much better finish with a sharp pair of shears or long-nosed snips. 'Using those tools also encourages you to look carefully at what you are doing, whereas electric hedging shears are a bit slapdash.' Put a frame over the plant – you can buy shaped frames at garden centres and topiary specialists. Anything that grows outside the frame can be clipped to get the shape you want. Position the frame over the top of the plant after you've planted it. They are like a plant support. Once the plant has grown and you have achieved your desired shape, you can remove the frame, or leave it in place as a marker, especially if it is an intricate shape, he suggests. Beginners might start with easy cones or cubes, but you can progress to cloud shapes, birds and animals. There's no hard and fast rule about when to trim but it would normally be in spring or autumn, depending on how fast it grows, he says. Step back every few snips when you are trimming, to check on the shape and the perspective. 'If you cut off too much in one section, you'll probably need to cut the whole lot down to that size,' he suggests. 'It's not the end of the world, it just delays the ultimate size that you want.' If you buy a plant which is already shaped, take a picture of it at the outset, so that if it starts growing fast, you can see what shape it looked like at the start. If you want your topiary to inhabit your flower borders, don't be afraid of planting your colour close to the topiary, which will create a contrast between a crisp, shaped evergreen and a froth of flowers, he says. If you want your topiary to be a stand-alone showstopper in, say, a lawn, don't plant anything nearby which will take away its prima donna status, he suggests. On The Hedge runs at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey from Jun 13 to Sep 28.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Ever wondered how to shape your evergreens? Experts share their tips
Topiary offers a unique way for plants to shape our gardens. Shaping plants into balls, pyramids and even birds doesn't have to be as complicated as it might seem, so you don't just have to admire topiary in the gardens of stately homes and horticultural shows. A new photographic exhibition, On The Hedge, opening at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, charts our relationship with hedges and topiary, from their role in shaping our landscapes and homes, to their environmental benefits. 'From a design point of view, topiary is really important, even if it's just a simple basic structure. A cube, or a cone, or even just a ball of some sort gives really good structure through the winter when a lot of gardens go quiet,' says RHS horticultural advisor, Nick Turrell. 'If your shape – it could be a simple cone or a cube – is repeated through a garden, the eye will immediately pick up on that repetition. In summer, it might just sit in the background but it still provides an important structural framework. 'Then in the winter it looks amazing because the frost sits on it.' Can you have topiary in a smaller gardens? 'Yes – it could be knee high, a cube or a dome and you could grow them in a border, like an exclamation mark among all the froth of the flowers. I've done it even in tiny little postage stamp-sized gardens, when you have two or three in the border which adds a good bit of solidity,' says Turrell. If you've only got room for a pot, put your evergreen in as big a pot as you can, which won't dry out as quickly as smaller containers, but be aware that it will require more TLC than if you plant it in a border, he advises. 'It will require a bit more attention. Any plant, whether it's clipped or not, is totally dependent on you for food and water. It will need feeding through the summer, ideally every three weeks. 'After the first season the potting compost will have run out of nutrients so it's down to you to feed it.' If the compost needs changing, the chances are you'll need to repot your topiary into a bigger pot. If you don't have room for that, it will need regular feeding and will benefit from mulching with some well-rotted manure in the autumn, he suggests. What are the best plants for topiary? Box blight and box tree caterpillar are still a real problem, so find an alternative, he suggests. His top three choices are yew, small-leaved privet and Wilson's honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida). 'With yew, you can have it whatever size you like, it always comes back and it has tiny needles, which lends itself to close clipping.' The small-leaved privet doesn't grow too tall – reaching around 1.5m if you let it – and is quite happy to be clipped, he says. Wilson's honeysuckle is strong-growing, with tiny leaves. You can grow it in a pot and if you occasionally forget to water it, it can bounce back, he says. Look at the size of the leaves of whichever plant you choose, because the bigger the leaf the worse it is to topiarise, he adds. 'You can end up cutting through a broad leaf halfway through when you are clipping it and then the ends can start fraying and going a bit brown, which doesn't look good.' Only buy one plant for each shape Don't plant, for instance, three of the same species next to each other hoping that they will be dense enough to give you a shape more quickly, because they will eventually end up fighting for space and light, he advises. 'If you're looking for a cone or a ball which is say, a metre high, you can buy them ready-made but they are expensive. If you buy a yew just as a plant, which is 60cm tall, it won't cost as much and as long as you are patient and feed and water it you can start trimming it once it reaches the size you want it to be. 'They will grow fairly quickly. Within 18 months – two seasons – you should start to see the beginnings of the shape, if it's not too intricate, like a cockerel.' 'Keep it simple. A good pair of sharp shears or even some little handheld long-nosed snips are perfect. Don't worry about electric hedge trimmers – it's the difference between using an electric shaver and a razor blade. You get a much better finish with a sharp pair of shears or long-nosed snips. 'Using those tools also encourages you to look carefully at what you are doing, whereas electric hedging shears are a bit slapdash.' Put a frame over the plant – you can buy shaped frames at garden centres and topiary specialists. Anything that grows outside the frame can be clipped to get the shape you want. Position the frame over the top of the plant after you've planted it. They are like a plant support. Once the plant has grown and you have achieved your desired shape, you can remove the frame, or leave it in place as a marker, especially if it is an intricate shape, he suggests. Beginners might start with easy cones or cubes, but you can progress to cloud shapes, birds and animals. There's no hard and fast rule about when to trim but it would normally be in spring or autumn, depending on how fast it grows, he says. Step back every few snips when you are trimming, to check on the shape and the perspective. 'If you cut off too much in one section, you'll probably need to cut the whole lot down to that size,' he suggests. 'It's not the end of the world, it just delays the ultimate size that you want.' If you buy a plant which is already shaped, take a picture of it at the outset, so that if it starts growing fast, you can see what shape it looked like at the start. If you want your topiary to inhabit your flower borders, don't be afraid of planting your colour close to the topiary, which will create a contrast between a crisp, shaped evergreen and a froth of flowers, he says. If you want your topiary to be a stand-alone showstopper in, say, a lawn, don't plant anything nearby which will take away its prima donna status, he suggests.
