Gardening

Gerry Daly discusses the merits of the 'Forest Flame' and explains how an edging tool can come in handy in the garden.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Flaming pieris
Opening this month, the stunningly beautiful young red leaves of pieris are closely followed by the pearly white flowers. Flame-of-the-forest is the very evocative common name of pieris and it is not surprising that the most popular variety is called 'Forest Flame'. This is an outstanding variety with brilliant young red leaves that turn to shrimp-pink and then to cream before turning to green in summer. Although it is not completely hardy, and sometimes the young growths are nipped by frost, it does fine in all but the coldest parts. In cold areas, it would still need to be near a wall or have some protection from tall overhead trees.

Many other pieris varieties are now available; some are tougher than 'Forest Flame' but are not far behind in beauty. 'Firecrest' for instance is a real beauty, and vigorous, and 'Wakehurst' is now considered relatively hardy. 'Mountain Fire' has dark mahogany-red young leaves, but they open later than the others mentioned and usually miss any later frosts, except in really cold areas. The colour is not as brilliant as 'Forest Flame' but it has its own quality, and it often produces a second show of red leaves later in the year.

This Month in your Garden...

• Trim the edges of lawns where they meet flower borders, paths and driveways.
• Re-pot houseplants that have become too large for their existing pot.
• Clean debris from the filter of a pond-circulating pump before switching it on.
• Apply path weed killers to driveways and paved areas for season long control.
• Sow vegetable seeds, salads and herbs if you want fresh vegetables for the kitchen.
• Prune rose bushes, if not already done, and spray the foliage to prevent blackspot disease.
• Mow the lawn regularly, each week ideally, lowering the blades to the desired height setting.
• Remove any dead plants and fill in gaps left in flowerbeds and borders.
• Apply some lawn fertiliser during showery weather to avoid scorching the grass.
• Apple trees should get some fruit fertiliser now and a spray against apple scab disease.
• Remove weeds from beds and borders because weeds are now in active growth.
• Hedges, especially evergreens, that need regular clipping, can be given a first clip-over now.

Using Garden Tools

Edging tool
An edging tool is specially made for the task of cutting lawn edges where they meet flowerbeds and borders. The edges of most beds and borders will have become a little ragged during the winter and now is the time to cut the edges while the soil is still soft and before growth takes off. The edging tool offers a straight blade to push down into the soil along a marking line stretched taut where the edge is to be made. The edging tool is best if it is heavily made of steel. Versions of light construction are less easy to use, not as robust, but cheaper, and can be made to work too.
 
 
 
 
 

Care for the environment: vegetable oil-based spray!

As new growth begins, greenflies and other pests such as mealy bug and red spider in the greenhouse or porch will become active. To counter these, without using powerful chemicals, a very simple but effective treatment is a spray – based on vegetable oil. Fifty millilitres of ordinary cooking oil are mixed into one litre of water with the addition of a teaspoon of washing up liquid to help disperse the oil. Shake this up well in a hand-sprayer and spray it on the affected plants. For indoor plants, take them outside or the spray oil will land on furnishings. The oil tends to make the leaves greasy

Energy Saving Safety Tips

• Remember to lower the input settings on electric storage heaters as soon as the weather warms up.
• Turn your TV off rather than leave it on stand-by – equipment on stand-by uses up to 20% of the energy it would use when fully on.
• Fit thermostatic radiator valves to your radiators – TRV's allow you to reduce the temperature of your rooms accordingly