Joseph Atkin's Aberglasney column
Aberglasney’s Head Gardener Joseph Atkin continues his weekly column in the South Wales Evening Post -
With September looming, the garden usually looks dry and a little tired but not this year.
The monsoon summer, which is not as much of a shock as it used to be, provides different types of challenges to other years.
This year, in our area anyway, the foliage is still green and the moisture lovers are more than happy.
This is not the same for the rest of the country many of the gardeners over the border are complaining of no rain. So these different conditions give different gardeners and plants advantages and disadvantages.
An important part of gardening is studying your plants to see how they have done in the conditions that you have.
I have spent a lot of time studying the new woodland garden we have created to see how different plants cope with the conditions.
This is really interesting as the soil in this area is really damp in fact the site has stayed wet all season. It has thrown up a lot of surprises in that there are many plants that are really enjoying the conditions, whereas others aren’t.
The Heuchera are doing fantastically well in extremely wet conditions.
These plants are recommended for dry shade and a variety of other conditions.
What is new to me is that they are happy in boggy conditions making them an ideal plant for almost any condition. They have come through the winter in these challenging conditions as well.
Both the Heuchera and Heucherella have done really well providing plenty of foliage and flower interest all summer.
One of the advantages of these plants is that they come in huge variety.
Another surprise has been Roscoea which has also come through the same conditions and thrived.
Above: Roscoea purpurea is a good late flowering woodlander
This is a plant that I have seen growing in China in very wet free draining conditions which is different to the more boggy conditions it grows in at Aberglasney.
We have a very large stand in full flower at the moment which was a welcome treat as they appear late in the season flower for a long time and cope with these conditions.
In the slightly drier areas wild Lilies are thriving we grow Lilium leichtlinii under the large spruce trees. They need it a little drier but give fantastic splashes of colour later in the season. The flowers are slightly smaller which can be an advantage as they are much more wind tolerant.
There are very many species lilies that can be used in the garden most are less spectacular but can be more reliably perennial. Some of these species lilies like the martagon lily have rhizomes not bulbs like perennial plants. When happy they can produce large clumps and become quite spectacular.
What is really good about these plants is they still look fresh late in the season and brighten up dark areas or woodland gardens.
The Heuchera for instance have been in flower since May where as the Roscoea and the Lilies will give up to a month of colour. This freshness in late season and tolerance of wet ground can be a major attraction late in the season.
All of the plants talked about are available in the trade but the lilies are best bought bare root in the spring. Heuchera are very common in garden centres, for Roscoea you will be best going to a specialist grower.
Above: Heuchera give a good display for months.
Tips for the Week
•Start cutting back spent perennials doing it bit by bit, combined with dead heading will inprove the display as it allows the later plants to bush out
•Seed collection many of the annuals and perennials can be harvested now
•Take cuttings of the tender perennials
•Lift pumpkins and squashes to avoid damage
•Divide Chives to keep clumps fresh for next year
With September looming, the garden usually looks dry and a little tired but not this year.
The monsoon summer, which is not as much of a shock as it used to be, provides different types of challenges to other years.
This year, in our area anyway, the foliage is still green and the moisture lovers are more than happy.
This is not the same for the rest of the country many of the gardeners over the border are complaining of no rain. So these different conditions give different gardeners and plants advantages and disadvantages.
An important part of gardening is studying your plants to see how they have done in the conditions that you have.
I have spent a lot of time studying the new woodland garden we have created to see how different plants cope with the conditions.
This is really interesting as the soil in this area is really damp in fact the site has stayed wet all season. It has thrown up a lot of surprises in that there are many plants that are really enjoying the conditions, whereas others aren’t.
The Heuchera are doing fantastically well in extremely wet conditions.
These plants are recommended for dry shade and a variety of other conditions.
What is new to me is that they are happy in boggy conditions making them an ideal plant for almost any condition. They have come through the winter in these challenging conditions as well.
Both the Heuchera and Heucherella have done really well providing plenty of foliage and flower interest all summer.
One of the advantages of these plants is that they come in huge variety.
Another surprise has been Roscoea which has also come through the same conditions and thrived.
Above: Roscoea purpurea is a good late flowering woodlander
This is a plant that I have seen growing in China in very wet free draining conditions which is different to the more boggy conditions it grows in at Aberglasney.
We have a very large stand in full flower at the moment which was a welcome treat as they appear late in the season flower for a long time and cope with these conditions.
In the slightly drier areas wild Lilies are thriving we grow Lilium leichtlinii under the large spruce trees. They need it a little drier but give fantastic splashes of colour later in the season. The flowers are slightly smaller which can be an advantage as they are much more wind tolerant.
There are very many species lilies that can be used in the garden most are less spectacular but can be more reliably perennial. Some of these species lilies like the martagon lily have rhizomes not bulbs like perennial plants. When happy they can produce large clumps and become quite spectacular.
What is really good about these plants is they still look fresh late in the season and brighten up dark areas or woodland gardens.
The Heuchera for instance have been in flower since May where as the Roscoea and the Lilies will give up to a month of colour. This freshness in late season and tolerance of wet ground can be a major attraction late in the season.
All of the plants talked about are available in the trade but the lilies are best bought bare root in the spring. Heuchera are very common in garden centres, for Roscoea you will be best going to a specialist grower.
Above: Heuchera give a good display for months.
Tips for the Week
•Start cutting back spent perennials doing it bit by bit, combined with dead heading will inprove the display as it allows the later plants to bush out
•Seed collection many of the annuals and perennials can be harvested now
•Take cuttings of the tender perennials
•Lift pumpkins and squashes to avoid damage
•Divide Chives to keep clumps fresh for next year
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