Friday Gardening Group: Friday 20th September

A warm and sunny morning in the Garden House and after introductions we had some time discussing plant names and plant families. Bridge explained that using Latin names for plants provides an international language for plant identification. We need to try and use the correct Latin plant name when writing labels.
The Latin names provide information about the origin of a plant or its form, colour or size.

The Latin name of a plant begins with the Genus (always with a capital letter) followed by the name of the species (always with a lower case letter).

For example Pat Smith's favourite plant from Bridge's garden is the oriental poppy 'Patty's plum'

The correct Latin name for this is Papaver orientale 'Patty's Plum'

Patty's Plum is the cultivar name and indicates that it is a cultivated variety and should always be written with a capital letter and within single inverted commas.
It is part of the Papaveraceae family of plants - family names always end in aceae e.g the Rosaceae family (the rose family) which is a medium sized plant family of 90+ genera including Alchemilla, Sorbus, Cotoneaster and Prunus (plums, cherries etc).

Activities in the garden this week:

Hardy annual sowing - best to sow in modular trays with one seed in each cell and cover with vermiculite. Some general purpose composts may need to be sieved so compost is fine enough to enable the seeds to develop healthy roots. They will need to be kept in a greenhouse or cold frame over winter and when large enough potted on before planting out from March onwards.Sowing hardy annuals now gives you a head start next year but they can also be sown in the spring. Hardy annuals being sown now include Ammi majus, Calendula officinalis 'Indian Prince', Agrostemma or corncockle and Orlaya grandiflora. Sweet peas can also be sown now for next year - 2 seeds per pot.
Pruning summer fruiting raspberries - cut back to the ground the old canes that have fruited and leave 3 or 4 of new canes which need to be tied in to supporting wire. Very tall growth on the new canes can be cut back a little.
Hedge cutting - the hawthorn hedge needed quite a haircut
Inspecting the wormery and sorting out the compost -always a popular job!
Auricula inspection and re-potting
Organising plant supports/staking/ seed collection and rose identification
Bricklaying by the greenhouse

Book recommendation:

Chris Beardshaw -How does your garden grow

Hardy Plant society

Bridge recommended joining this group - there is a local Sussex branch and they run some good talks etc/ organise seed swaps and recommend nurseries. Check out their website http://www.hardy-plant.org.uk/

Garden recommendation from Catherine R:

Chateau de Miromesnil near Dieppe -a little chateau which has stunning kitchen garden.

A busy morning in the Garden House