Greenock Garden Guru: Gardenfest and advice moving to winter

IT was an early morning for a number of keen gardeners as they gathered at Cardwell Garden Centre for the presentation of awards for this year’s online gardening competition.

The competitive gardeners were joined with some of the members of Gourock Horticultural Society who regularly attend gardening talks at Cardwell.

Special guest was David Goodwin, editor of the Greenock Telegraph, who had come along specially to present the awards to the winners.

The winner of the Best Community Garden was Largs Station which is tended by a group of volunteers whose efforts bring lots of cheer and pleasure to many commuters, visitors and townsfolk of the seaside town.

Taking the top place for the best nature friendly garden was the Inverkip Hub.

Hanging baskets brighten up the walls of the building in Inverkip and bring a bit of cheer and colour to many people by the great effort tended by Arthur Mitchell of Inverkip.

The entry for the best planted containers was won by Shelia Keill of Gourock in an effort which was certainly a worthy medley of colour and variety.

However, to find the best overall garden in the competition one had to travel down the coast a bit to the garden of Hugh Gibson of Largs who has a wide variety of plants and even vegetables growing in his large corner site garden.

Hugh - who also won last year - grows many dahlias, chrysanthemums and is also a top ranking for fuchsia. Hugh helps many friends and neighbours with their gardens and he also keeps poultry.

David Goodwin concluded the proceedings by thanking all the gardeners and their families for their great efforts and hope they will be entering again next year.

Herb for This Week – Rosemary

THIS attractive but tender evergreen shrub needs a well-drained soil in a sunny sheltered spot and you can grow it in the shrub border or the herb garden or in a tub close to a south-facing wall.

Regular picking and spring pruning should keep it about two feet in height. It’s needle-like leaves and blue flowers are highly aromatic and suitable for the kitchen.

Winter frosts and icy winds in spring can kill some of the shoots but new growth will soon appear from the base of the plant. Rosemary is fairly strongly flavoured and well accompanies dishes such as lamb and pork. It is best used by adding a few sprigs to the meat before roasting and then removing them before eating.

Summer Heathers Need a Snip

HEATHERS are great plants to have in the garden and there are plants for every season in the year.

However, once the flowers fade it is important that you snip off the old fading flowers otherwise the plant will become quite woody and you will not get new flowers appearing on woody stems.

Use a small pair of scissors to cut off the old flowers and you will get another flush of flowers next year. Do this with every season’s heather.

There are other plants that should be treated likewise, such as lavender, so that the stems will not become woody.

It will do no harm to remove the faded blooms and prevent unwanted woody growth. Once you get into the habit of doing this quick task you will be sure of new flowering every year.

Brilliant Display of Summer Bedding at the Pierhead in Gourock

IF you have been passing the pierhead in Gourock recently, you cannot but be amazed at the splendid display of summer bedding plants which are still giving a bright and colourful autumnal background to the centre of the town.

Obviously, these plants will not last much longer but the council gardeners are to be congratulated on their great efforts. Well done to them all.

The Dreaded F -Word

JUST the other day when watching the news on television I heard that dreaded word for the first time as we come into autumn. Of course, this was referring to frost which some forecasters reckon could be with us soon.

Gardeners need to be on the alert for frost – even air frost – around or below 4C can cause damage to tender plants and hence we should be ready to cover them with fleece or old newspapers. Make a point of listening to the forecasts each evening.

Even plants in the greenhouse need to be protected on cold nights and the same goes for plants sheltering in the cold frame.

Planting Bear-rooted Plants and Shrubs

OVER the coming weeks you can plant bare-rooted shrubs such as sweet William and similar plants. Roses can still be purchased as potted plants but from November onwards until early spring bare-rooted roses can be planted.

Other bare-rooted plants are best planted as soon as possible when there is still some warmth in the soil.

Raspberry canes can be planted anytime from now while the soil is still warm.

The same goes for new hedge as these can be procured and planted during the autumn but ensure that the new hedge plants are well firmed into the soil.

Soft fruit bushes such as blackcurrants and red currants should be planted over the coming weeks.