Have Your Say with our Blogs and letters from St Albans Review

One time Watford Observer columnist Ann Janes returns to the newspaper fold with her gardening blog in which she shares some personal views and tips on how to prepare, plany and maintain your garden. Ann has a life long love of beautiful gardens, both great and small, and is particularly interested in the history of garden design. She will also aim to address your gardening problems if you post them at the end of her column.

HITCHIN LAVENDER - A HERTFORDSHIRE DELIGHT

It was so peaceful just to walk along the fields planted with row upon row of lavender. The bright sunshine brought out the wonderful colour and the perfume was a joy.

THE GOLDEN DAYS OF SUMMER

I have picked my first courgettes.

THE NOT SO LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Gardens are all about enjoyment

GARDENING ISN'T ALL JOY

However careful you are at some point your garden will come under attack from a variety of different pests.

TO GET THE TRUE TASTE OF TOMATOES - GROW THEM YOURSELF!

'Why bother to grow tomatoes when you can buy them so easily in the local shop?'

IT'S NEARLY JUNE

Three weeks to the longest day!

BUSY TIMES

This is one of the busiest months in the garden.

MORE JOBS FOR MAY

Dare I mention the dreaded ‘weed’ word?

IT'S MAYTIME

What a lovely month this is and there is so much to look forward to. As gardeners we will have been thankful for the overnight rain and welcomed the sunshine this morning. Despite all its promise May can still have a sting – there was a frost just a few nights ago – I hope none of you were caught out. It is still a bit too early to plant out tender bedding unless you are prepared to listen to the weather forecasts and be ready with the horticultural fleece. This is a really busy time with lots to do in all parts of the garden and one important job that is all too easily overlooked until it’s too late is putting in stakes for tall plants. Most of the taller varieties do better if given some sort of staking. Home made stakes using either cane or brushwood will do a good job economically. If you find it’s more convenient to buy one of the many proprietary systems that are on sale in the garden centres these too are really efficient but a bit more expensive. The most important thing is to get them in place before the real growth starts. By starting early you will be a step ahead and the new flowering stems will soon hide the support.

BLUEBELLS AND A WEDDING

On Friday I went with my partner to see the bluebells at Ashridge and what a vision they were. After coffee we set off on a recommended short walk but managed to miss the turning and soon found ourselves deeper in the woods surrounded by a haze of blue as far as we could see, it was magical. The range of colour from almost navy to the palest blue was visually stunning which, combined with the wonderful perfume from the flowers, made for an unforgettable experience. There are times when gardeners just can’t compete with nature. We both agreed that missing the intended pathway turned out to be a blessing as we slowly wandered amongst the trees for a couple of hours in this most beautiful place before we made our way back to the visitor centre and a welcome cup of tea.