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.

MORE ON FEEDING OUR GARDEN BIRDS THE RIGHT WAY!

Birds are wonderful visitors to our gardens and repay our care by eating huge quantities of pests in the summer months. A few days ago I talked about a really informative leaflet I had found issued by the RSPB called ‘Food fit for birds?’ Quite apart from general information on the importance of keeping bird feeding stations etc really clean and not putting out stale or mouldy food it went into some detail on different foods. Many fats are suitable for bird feeding but on the whole should be only used in winter. These can include hard fats from unsalted, uncured cuts of meat put out in large pieces. Makes sure they are anchored down as larger birds may fly off with the whole piece. Polyunsaturated margarines and vegetable oils are not suitable as they provide much less energy and can smear on the birds’ feathers. Peanuts are a rich in fats and a valuable food source in cold weather but never, never put out loose nuts, especially during the breeding season. Always use a rigid container where the birds have to peck out small portions or chop them up finely. Salted peanuts are a definite no. Aflatoxin is a poison produced by a fungus sometimes found on peanuts and can be harmful to people and birds. Always buy your supplies from a credited dealer who can guarantee the product is free from aflatoxin.

FEEDING GARDEN BIRDS SAFELY

Hearing on the news that we have just experienced the coldest December for over a hundred years, and I can’t think that many of us are surprised at that particular piece of information, I wonder what toll it has taken on our bird population. I recently picked up a really informative leaflet issued by the RSPB called ‘Food Fit for Birds?’ which gives clear guidance on the some of the best ways to feed garden birds safely and while some of the points made are well known others may surprise you.

HOUSEPLANTS CAN SUFFER IN THE COLD TOO!

Snow, snow and even more snow, the outlook appears to be gloomy for most of us in the run up to Christmas. Some consolation is the sheer beauty we see looking out over the winter wonderlands that are our gardens. A friend, who against all his wishes was awake very early on Saturday morning, said that the dawn breaking was spectacular and for just a short while the sky was ablaze with brilliant pink.

THE ROSE GARDENS AT CHISWELL GREEN

It seems that Gardening Which? are championing The Gardens of the Rose at Chiswell Green. They have again highlighted the desperate situation that the Royal National Rose Gardens find themselves in. This affects rose lovers everywhere but particularly all of us who live in the area.

COLD WEATHER

In most gardening magazines we read a lot about what we should be doing in our gardens at any particular time of the year and most of it is very helpful. But however helpful it has to be tempered with common sense, if the weather conditions aren’t right obviously we need to adapt, such as not doing spring digging if the ground is water-logged. This needs to be borne in mind particularly in late autumn and winter when so much depends on temperature and the state of the soil. Having woken up to snow at the weekend it is obviously not the time to be doing outside planting. However, when the soil is still fairly warm late autumn would be a good time to divide large clumps of Helleborus orientalis while they still have time to re-establish. All other types should be left until next spring. For best results plant in a shady position in a moisture-retentative, well-drained loam. To get them off to a good start dig in plenty of organic matter. Using either a sharp knife or a small spade divide the large clumps into smaller sections and take care to ensure that each has at least one mature leaf. Cut away any damaged roots before replanting. Finish off by covering the whole area with a thick mulch to help conserve moisture and at the same time enrich the soil.

November planting

Every season brings its own jobs and now is the ideal time to be planting bare-rooted trees and shrubs. Having chosen your new tree or shrub you want to give it the best possible start and the first thing is to prepare the site carefully.

THE REMINDER OF COLD WEATHER

November often brings us the first real taste of bad weather, a sure reminder that winter isn’t too far away. We look out warmer clothes to wear cheering ourselves up with thoughts of the spring and summer yet to come. Cold winds and the first frosts are all too often sharp reminders that there is a general lowering of temperature – having to scrape the windows of my car this morning for the first time this season was a taste of things to come.

DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH MODERN STYLE?

I was appalled to read in this month’s Gardening Which? that the car parking problem for the Rose Gardens at Chiswell Green has still not been resolved. It seems that the future of these beautiful gardens is really uncertain as planning permission for a new visitor car park has been rejected.

BIG DECISION - TO TIDY OR NOT?

October this year has been a bit of a mixture, some lovely sunny days, some rainy days and a few heavy overnight frosts. I hope you had all managed to protect your tender plants or brought them inside in time.

A SPLASH OF AUTUMN COLOUR

October can be such a lovely month, given bright sunshine and a touch of crispness in the air we just want to bustle around making the most of the time we have left before winter closes in. I can’t believe that I have been in my new home for just a year now. Some things that I planned have been completed and others are still to be tackled, but that is life. October has always been my favourite month and possibly enjoyed even more as its time to put the garden to bed and start to make plans for the coming year. Gorgeous, rich colours are something we all associate with autumn. And even small gardens don’t have to lose out on all the dramatic colours that this season brings.