Top 10 Spring Plants: Our favourite plants to start the season

After the long winter months it’s time to take advantage of the recent mild weather and inject some spring colour in your garden! Whether your garden consists of balcony pots and containers or an extensive shrubbery, Powerscourt Garden Pavilion has an extensive range of spring bedding, perennials, potted spring flowering bulbs and shrubs to choose from. Why not attend our complimentary Spring Gardening Talk on March 7^th at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion where we would be happy answer any of your gardening queries!

Primula

Primroses make for an excellent garden plant. Flowers form in colourful rosettes from late winter into early spring. Primula vulgaris the common primrose, an herbaceous perennial produces soft pale yellow flowers ideal for woodland and cottage gardens. Annual Primulas range from red, white purple, orange to bright pinks are ideal for pots, containers, hanging baskets and raised beds. Happy in full sun or partial shade.

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Helleborus

Hellebores are flowering perennials that produce striking flowers in late winter and early spring. Helleborus are more commonly known as Christmas or Lenten rose, are ideal for adding colour to shady corners of your garden. Hellebores benefit from a feed of growmore or fish, blood and bone, remove older leaves in winter as flower buds emerge. For some unusual flowers come see our Helleborus range.

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Daffodils

With their golden trumpet flowers nothing introduces springs arrival like the Daffodil. Daffodils vary from height, colour, flower formation, scent and their ability to naturalise, you can choose from our spring flowering bulb range from mid- August onwards. If you have yet to add Daffodils to your pots or containers Powerscourt Garden Pavilion currently stocks a selection of potted bulbs. Plant in well- drained soil in sun to partial shade.

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Tulips

Whether they are used in formal or informal settings, for containers or as bedding plants, Tulips are one of the most popular spring flowering bulbs, valued most for their bright colours, shapes and heights. Enjoy the Tulip Festival in the Powerscourt Gardens from 20^th April -3^rd May which boasts a display of over 12,000 Tulips.

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Snowdrops

The delicate tufts of white flowers from Snowdrops (Galanthus) are a welcoming sign of the brighter spring days. If you haven’t already planted your bulbs in the autumn, we have potted snowdrops available. Plant immediately to prevent drying out. Snowdrops enjoy partial shade and well-drained soil.

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Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’

Long flowering Wallflower ‘Bowles Mauve’ is a hardy bushy perennial with dark grey-green leaves, produces rich mauve flowers from late winter to early summer. Plant in sun to partial shade position in well- drained soil. Cutting back in mid -summer promotes flowers in winter and prevents plants becoming woody.

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Pieris

Pieris are evergreen shrubs that produces bright colourful foliage and small white flowers in spring. Pieris prefer a sheltered position and acidic soil. Add ericaceous compost when planting to lower the ph of your soil.  Our range consists of Pieris floribunda ‘Forest Flame’, Pieris japonica ‘Mountain Fire’, Pieris ‘Flaming Silver’ and Pieris ‘Little Heath’.

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Chaenomeles

Chaenomeles are deciduous, spiny shrubs with small leaves producing cup-shaped, 5-petalled flowers, in spring, followed by edible often green or yellow fruits. Chaenomoles can be used as wall shrubs or as an addition to a shrub border, plant in full sun-partial shade position in well-drained soil. Chaenomles x superba ‘Crimson and Gold’ produces deep crimson flowers followed by yellow fruit.

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Forsythia int Spectabilis

Forsythias are medium sized deciduous shrubs producing profuse yellow flowers before the leaves emerge. Forsythia ‘Spectabilis’ is vigorous spreading shrub, with large deep yellow flowers.

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Camellias

Camellias are evergreen shrubs which have been valued for their rich green foliage and masses of showy flowers. Our Camellia range varies across single flower forms to semi-double and rose-form. Camellia’s require lime free soil and thrive best in sheltered positions, blooms may suffer from frost and rain damage. Feed Camellias with Miracle Gro Ericaceous, Sulphate of ammonia or Sulphate of Potash.

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See you soon at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion!

Claire Hayes, Garden Centre Manager

Planning Your Garden Structure

One of the first things to think of when planning your garden is the skeleton or structure.  First, think about the feel you want for your garden whether tropical, contemporary, cottage, wildlife friendly,  or formal. Next, here are a few more things to consider before getting to the garden centre and filling up that trolley.

Here are some basics we need to remember when purchasing plants:

The size of the garden and the plants. The plants need to be in proportion to one another and the surrounding space. A large tree in a small garden does not work while a small tree will be lost in a large space. Various sized plants provide the brain with more information adding interest.

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Keep in mind evergreen plants keep colour and wildlife in your garden throughout the year. It’s necessary to note which plants are evergreen so there is a balance during the winter. The most important colour in your garden is GREEN! Try to see the various shades and hues present before adding more. Are there light greens, or blue-greens etc.? What about the hardscaping? Does the gravel hold a pink or golden hue? What trees or neighboring walls are visible outside your garden?

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The shape of the garden and plant shapes are aspects that can help decisions. For a formal garden, balanced symmetry and geometric structures point easily to bold, clear shapes like topiary box balls or pyramids.

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Texture is important, especially in more tropical looking gardens. Nandina domestica offers layered, varied coloured pinnate leaves with panicled flowers. Fatsia or Rodgersia with their large leaves make a bold statement smaller leaves such as Tamarisk, Heather or Thyme promote a calm space.

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Here a few structural plant choices for various garden styles:

Wildlife – Mahonia aquifolium, Hawthorns, Holly, Buddleja

Mediterranean – Olive Trees, Rosemary, Lavender

Contemporary – repeated plantings of most anything, bamboos, Dicksonias, standards of Laurus nobilis, Phormium, specimen trees, grasses

Formal – pleached trees, box hedging and topiary, roses

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Here are a few evergreen structure suggestions to consider:

Acacia dealbata, Agave americana, Arbutus unedo, Astelia, Beschorneria, Cordyline,Dicksonia, Eucalyptus, Fatsia, Mahonia, Myrtus, Nandina, Olea, Phormium, Phyllostachys, Pseudopanax, Quercus ilex, and Yucca.

I hope this gets you thinking about how to plan your garden!

Our next blog will discuss planning for colour year round.

See you at the Garden Pavilion soon 🙂

Mary, Horticulturalist at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion.

Colourful Houseplants

During these damp and dark winter months, we all need some colour and warmth in our lives! This week we take a look at how you can add some cheer to your home with colourful houseplants. Here are my top picks!

Hyacinths:

A very popular bulb for indoor use. It is a spring flowering bulb with a lovely scent available in different colours. Also an ideal gift around X-mas time! It prefers a bright spot and you can pot them up or grow them in water in a decorative vase. Keep them cool during the growing season to prolong bloom.

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Cyclamens:

You can find them in shades of pink, red, white and purples. The foliage is attractive, having silver marbling on the top sides of the leaves. Keep moist but not wet.

Azalea:

You can grow azaleas indoors much like any other houseplant and you get them in shades of red, pinks and whites. Keep them damp and since they prefer slightly acidic soil, you may want to use fertilizer for that purpose.

Christmas cactus:

A beautiful plant that flowers at Christmas time known as Schlumbergera. Put into bright light and keep it on the dry side. Don’t overwater because that might cause bud drop.

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Poinsettia:

This is a traditional Christmas flowering plant that will last through the X-mas season. Be sure that your poinsettia is well wrapped when you take it outside on your trip home because you might get leaf damage with the cold weather. Water only if the soil feels dry and keep in a bright room.

 

We hope this has given you some great ideas for brightening your home this winter! For more ideas, drop in to see our team 🙂

Best wishes,

Monica Schmidt, Horticulturalist at Powerscourt Garden Centre, Wicklow

Climbing Plants

Climbing plants are an essential feature of every garden and they can be used to transform a wall, trellis or fence.
Alternatively, you can grow climbing plants through other plants, especially shrub varieties that flower early in the season. A climbing plant can add that extra colour later in the year.

As well as growing climbing plants simply for the flowers, berries or autumn colour, you can use them to disguise an unsightly oil tank, to screen dustbins or to conceal some other unattractive feature.

Clematis

 

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Planting
Climbing plants will grow for many years so it is essential to prepare the soil well before planting. Dig organic matter deeply into the surrounding soil. Dig the hole deeper and wider than necessary and break up the bottom of the hole. Add some organic matter and lightly fork it into the bottom.

When planting close to a wall it is necessary that the plant is at least 30cm away from it, or even a little more. This is because the soil at the base of a wall is often very dry. For the same reason, if you are growing the plant through a bush or tree plant it away from the trunk.

When planting a climber, make certain that the level of the soil around the plant stem is the same as it was when the plant was in its container. An exception to this rule is clematis, which should always be planted 3-7cms deeper.

Wisteria sinensis

Training and Pruning
Fan young shoots out so that they cover a wide area rather than make a single column. Then tie them into the support if necessary. The amount of pruning required will vary with the plant, from none at all to cutting almost to the ground each year, as with some clematis. Seek advice when purchasing as to the individual climbing plant’s pruning requirements.

Tying
The best way of tying the plant to its support is to form a figure-of-eight with the string, crossing it over between the plant and the support. Tie the knot at the back of the support if possible or at the side.

Clematis Montana

Wall Supports
Climbing plants are useful for softening the walls of a house or for concealing an eyesore such as a garage or oil tank. In some cases it may be necessary to construct a trellis or screen. In others, the plants can be attached directly to a wall.

• If the wall has to be painted regularly, use a trellis fixed to a frame. Attach this with hinges at the bottom so that it can be eased away from the wall without breaking the climber, allowing the wall to be painted. Use rotating blocks at the top to hold it in place.
• A more permanent method is to attach horizontal wires to the wall. These can be fixed with vine eyes which are hammered into the wall so that the eye is about an inch from the surface. A tensioning screw at one end will keep the wire taut.
• A less common method is to use wall ties. Special nails with a lead strip attached to the head. The nail is hammered in next to the shoot and the strip wrapped around it. A simple method is to use strips of canvas or plastic doubled around the shoot and then nailed to the wall.

Clematis viticellas

Freestanding Supports for Climbing Plants
Today, there is a wide range of supports which can be used for growing climbing plants. Many of these are decorative features in their own right. Whatever method you decide on, it is essential that the support is properly anchored, making sure it is firmly in the ground. A climbing plant in full leaf will act as a sail and the wind blowing on it can exert tremendous pressure.

• Freestanding trellis panels, pergolas, arches and arbours can all be clothed with climbing plants. When calculating widths of arches etc, always allow for the thickness of the plants that will be grown up the sides.

Climbers can be divided into these four groups based on their time of flowering or growth habit:

Common Honeysuckle / Lonicera periclymenum

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• Early flowering: 

Clematis Montana ‘Rubens Clematis Alpina ‘Frankie’

• Summer flowering: 

Jasminum officionale Wisteria senensis

• Late flowering:

Clematis vitcellas Clematis texensis

• Foliage:

Hedera colchica ‘Sulphur Heart Parthenocissus

tricuspidata ‘Veitchii’

Lathyrus latifolius

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• Climbing plants can be grown through trees, shrubs and even other climbers. Clematis is one of the most popular climbers for this. Take care when using climbing plants which are too rampant, like Russian vine, which would otherwise swamp and even kill its host.
• Fences can be brightened up with climbers. They can be tied directly to a wire fence but with a boarded fence panel you will need to attach wires. Nailing wire or plastic netting to the fence gives plenty of fixing positions.
• Temporary or more permanent supports can be made from wigwams of poles, canes or pea sticks. Annuals such as sweet pea can be grown through pea sticks and then the whole lot discarded in the winter.

Bord Bia It’s Garden Time

With thanks to Bord Bia for this article. For more information on Bord Bia and for further gardening tips and advice, visit http://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/gardening/itsgardentime/pages/gardentips.aspx 

Top Ten Bedding Plants Ireland

To help you get some kind of return in terms of colourful blooms in the open ground or in baskets,window boxes and containers this summer, choose from my top ten and delight in their performance up to mid October and later.

1) Busy Lizzies

Top spot goes to Impatiens (Busy Lizzies) especially the newer hybrids in shades of pink and lilac. They are ideal for damp, shady places and are a superb choice for Irish gardens and typical Irish summers!

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2) Petunias

Petunias fill my second spot, especially the surfinia  strains. For general bedding choose the multiflora strains for while their blooms may be smaller than those of the Surfinias, they’re borne in large numbers and stand up to wet weather much better.

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3) Lobelia

Whether you use the trailing or bunching forms, sheets of colour will be yours, but do remember that nowadays lobelia comes in many shades and not just the old and reliable blues. ‘Cambridge Blue rather than to the darker ‘Crystal Palace’ will provide you with a wonderful sky blue effect all summer

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4) Begonia

Begonia semperfl orens come next, for Begonia these fibrous-rooted reliables perform semperflorens excellently in poor summers. There are chocolate brown varieties such as ‘Cocktail’ with its shiny leaves and white blooms, as well as the more commonly used green-leaved, pink or red-flowered forms.

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5) Cirrus

Set off any bedding scheme to perfection Senecio cineraria and provide texture and colour by including a selection of foliage plants. Senecio cineraria has masses of silver coated leaves. I prefer to use the form sold as ‘Cirrus’ for it has broad leaves and a blue/silver colouring, but any variety of S. cineraria will give a decent account of itself.

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6) French Marigolds

French marigolds will succeed where most other summer bedding plants fail, so for a bright splash of colour over a very long period, these are the ones to choose. There are quite a number of yellow, orange, and brown coloured forms to choose from. These plants are very easy to bring to perfection.

7) Nemesia

Nemesia is another favourite with its vast range of colours on blooms which can be 2cm across. These plants are more suited to our wet weather and can suffer in hot, dry conditions. For this reason, keep the plants well watered in dry spells and once the main flush of blooms has finished, give the plants a topping with the garden shears to induce a further blooming later on.

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8) Bedding Dahlias

For easy maintenance, a reliable performance and a dash of the dramatic, bedding dahlias come next, despite what many say, is their tendency to attract earwigs! If you like a particular colour, dig up the underground tuber come the Autumn, clean off any adhering soil and store in a cool, dry and dark place.

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9) Godetia

A much loved and easy-to-grow summer plant is godetia especially the ‘Dwarf Mixed’ strain which grows to just under a foot in height. These are superb for the front of a border giving a riot of colour in stripes, blends and picotees which continue from July to the end of September. Try these from seed in April or as shop-bought plants in late May.

10) Cosmos

Last but not least comes a ‘seethrough’ plant called cosmos. This tall, slender plant produces large blooms and delicate ferny foliage which you can easily see through. It thrives on poor, light soils giving colour, shape and form from the end of June to the first frosts. They are available as small plants from the end of May.

Bord Bia It’s Garden Time

With thanks to Bord Bia for this article. For more information on Bord Bia and for further gardening tips and advice, visit http://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/gardening/itsgardentime/pages/gardentips.aspx 

Getting Into Bedding Plants

The view across your neighbours’ back gardens can be a varied and instructive sight during the month of June for there are those who still regard this valuable space as nothing more than a place to hang the washing and
exercise the cat.

Others have a sole interest in, say, roses, and for the better part of every year all one can see from the upstairs windows are gaunt bushes against a cold and forbidding foreground. There is no excuse, because with a minimum of effort even the novice gardener can add interest and colour to their garden by introducing bedding plants.

Bedding plants are a marvellous source of instant colour and should, if watered well and regularly dead-headed, keep blooming throughout the summer right up until September and even later.The majority of bedding should be strategically placed so that it can be enjoyed from the house and can easily be watered every day in hot weather.

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Preparation
Prior to planting, the soil requires forking and breaking down to what is known as a fine tilth (crumbly texture). A balanced fertiliser should be incorporated and the ground raked smooth. Additional feeding with liquid preparations can follow once the plants have become somewhat established and made a little growth.

Planting
Spacing should be regular at around 30cm but much will depend on variety chosen. More precise information can be obtained when making your purchases at the garden centre. By all means create patterns of colour when planting large beds and use as many varieties as you wish but don’t randomly mix or jumble them together.

 

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Care
Water immediately after planting and give additional water on a twice weekly basis until they’re fully established and growing strongly. You can add a liquid feed at every watering if diluted to half the recommended amount. Finally, deadhead (pinching off the dying blooms) often in order that the varieties chosen continue to produce further flushes of bloom. To do less than this would be a signal to the plants to stop producing follow-on blooms, for stimulation is vital from planting to removal.

Next time! Our next blog article will focus on the top ten bedding plants in Ireland!

Bord Bia It’s Garden Time

With thanks to Bord Bia for this article. For more information on Bord Bia and for further gardening tips and advice, visit http://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/gardening/itsgardentime/pages/gardentips.aspx 

Vaccinium Red Candy, our February Plant of the Month

Vaccinium Red Candy (Also known as Lingon berry or Cowberry) has clusters of pink flushed white bell shaped flowers which rely heavily on bees to pollinate them. The white flowers are followed by gorgeous, shiny red berries from mid-late summer.

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These berries have a tart flavour , and can be harvested and eaten straight away. If you have a sweet tooth try crushing them up with a bit of sugar , or cooked and sweetened to make a jam! The cowberry crop is very reliable; you are guaranteed to get berries every year. Harvest the berries very quickly after ripening before the birds get them.

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Cowberries are a low-growing, evergreen shrub which spreads by underground stems to make a wonderful lush green clump about 30cm high. Originating from the arctic this plant is incredibly robust and will withstand temperatures of – 40oc !

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The cowberry prefers full sun and moist but free draining soil. It will grow in sandy or normal soil. Being an ericaceous or acid loving plant mix plenty of ericaceous or brown gold compost into the hole when planting. Feed with sequestrene iron or any good ericaceous plant food. Available at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion, Wicklow for €9.99

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Here is a recipe for Cowberry Jam

Here is a recipe for Cowberry Cake

Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Justin Smith, Horticulturalist at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion

December Gardening Jobs

The months have slipped by so quickly that Christmas is upon us once again. We hope that this years gardening tips and advice have produced some green fingers amongst our readers!

While some our of our attention is drawn to Christmas Shopping and Festive Cheer let’s not neglect our outdoor space, there are still odd jobs to do in December!

Protect your tender plants

Very tender plants, for example, Lemon Trees should be brought into a covered area now – a conservatory or porch or a frost free greenhouse. Cover half hardy plants with mulch to protect them. For longer plants get the frost fleece out!

Feed the Birds

As the weather gets colder, the birds will be running out of resources, so its important to start feeding them. Vary the food you put out, mixed seed, nyger seeds, fat balls and peanuts will attract different types of birds into the garden. Ensure the water in the bird bath does not freeze over.

Clean Up

Clear gutters and drains, remove fallen leaves from the garden and insulate outdoor taps with lagging to prevent freezing.

With Best Wishes for the Festive Season and New Year from all at the Garden Pavilion.

Poinsettia (Eurphoria pulcherrima) The Traditional Christmas Flower

Most people are familiar with the Poinsettia plant at Christmas time. Their showy red bracts make them ideal for decorating the house and they also make a great gift.

A beautiful story is told of Peptita, a poor Mexican girl, who had no gift to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve mass. As she walked mournfully to the church her cousin Pedro tried to comfort her by saying, “even the most humble of gifts once given in love will always be accepted by him”.

Peptita gathered a bunch of weeds from the roadside, for this was the only gift she could offer. As she approached the crib her mood lifted. Forgetting how humble her gift was, she laid the weeds at the base of the manger. Suddenly, the ordinary weeds burst into brilliant red blooms. This miraculous event was named ‘Flores de Noche Buena’, or ‘Flowers of the Holy Night’. We call these flowers Poinsettia.

To care for your Poinsettia

Keep your Poinsettia in a bright spot in your house where it will receive indirect sunlight. Poinsettias do not like to be cold so keep them warm and out of cold draughts. Allow to slightly dry before watering and never leave the plant standing in water.

Plant of the Month – Leucothoe

One of my favourite Autumn plants, the Leucothoe family, is a large one known and admired for its beautiful evergreen foliage. They are frost hardy and prefer moist, peaty, acid soil thriving in semi shade. Lovely white flowers appear in May.

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While older varieties can tend to be large plants the newer varieties are much more suitable for the smaller garden and indeed grow very well in pots (use ericaceous compost).

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Leucothoe axillaris “Little Flames” is literally like having a small fire in the garden! This plant is highly regarded for its amazing autumn colour and with the cold in winter the red foliage becomes even more intense. Growing to only 50cm, this plant is ideal for the front of a border or in pots. Plant with red cyclamen in a pot for a spectacular colour display.

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Leucothoe axillaris “Curly Red” is a very neat and tidy shrub, again growing to only 50cm. This is a densely branched evergreen, featuring leathery, curly red leaves in autumn, turning purple in winter.

Available now from €8.99 at Powerscourt Garden Pavilion