Gardening with Patricia Jordan
This summer we have had the usual swallows and martins regularly flying over our pool in the mornings and evenings, skimming the fencing around it as they make their ‘bombing raids’. Wonderful hoopoes were very evident earlier, even cheekily trying to get into the house! We also have ‘collared doves’ and ‘turtle doves’ who drink timidly at the pool’s edge, but alas our bird population has greatly diminished over the last few years. We used to see the occasional wagtail, and ‘Cyprus wheat ears’ were other favourites. During the winter a cheery robin sometimes accompanied me whilst I gardened and wasn’t at all frightened by my movements. Great tits no longer visit us and nowadays all we see are sparrows and the lemon-bodied serins. At certain times of the year crows are a menace as they wait for our pecans to ripen and they sometimes dip crusts of bread around the pool edge to soften their finds – not from us, I might add!
Where have the tiny tree frogs gone? They were so cute as they clambered up poles and stalks and rested on my calla lilies. They were able to make as much noise as an ordinary bullfrog during the evenings! We would often be visited by toads, not that I really like them, as I would be the one to rescue them from hazardous places. The only creatures that have been everywhere this year have been different species of lizards from really tiny babies to the big ones who like to lie in the sun on the roofing tiles of our veranda, long tail hanging over the edge. I noticed that they eat foliage and dead flowers, but don’t know what comprises the rest of their diet. I think that they have proliferated this year due to the absence of neighbourhood cats, once the bane of my life, which have greatly diminished this year.
We had one solitary male dragonfly, a ‘Red Darter’, and perhaps a female, when other years we would see many of them resting not only on sticks around the pool, but even on the car aerial if their particular perch was occupied. We often used to wonder what happened to them during the winter, although I know that some dragonflies fly south as they cannot survive cold winters. The nymphs of dragonflies live in water, often beneath ice in colder climes. They feed actively and grow all winter to emerge as adults in early spring, so hopefully we won’t have too cold a winter!
I think I can only blame the urbanisation of the area as more and more houses are built around here and that is such a pity. I grow many flowering plants to attract bees and butterflies, but how do I attract the other wildlife back into my garden that also gives me much pleasure.
What to do in the garden this month
It is still difficult to work up enthusiasm to do more than maintenance in September, but there is always clearing up to be done under trees and bushes as they begin to shed their leaves. Whilst this would normally be regarded as mulch or an addition to otherwise poor quality soil in other countries, here it may block irrigation points or harbour nasty insects amongst the dry leaves. September is also too early to sow seeds, although there is no reason why you can’t peruse the many seed catalogues available on line these days. I have been collecting seeds all summer starting with the first annuals, like cerinthe and sweet peas to later perennials like hollyhocks and more recently cleome. They have been cleaned up and put into envelopes with the name and date on them and given a winter in my fridge, even though it is summer. They do need this cold period in order to germinate when you are ready to sow them. Some seeds have a very long life and nowadays many countries and organisations have ‘seed banks’ to preserve plant genetic diversity, which is very important for a variety of reasons – climate change, natural and man-made disasters and for research. Mine are just to share with my gardening friends!
Planting winter vegetable plugs is also a job for next month, or but you can prepare your plot by digging in any compost you have made, but choose a cooler day to do that job.
I have been looking at various ‘veranda gardens’ recently and wondering why I don’t do more on mine apart from putting pots of pelargoniums around the edges. I really have enough work to do in the garden, but it must give those who live in apartments a very ‘good feel’ factor to bring the outdoors almost into their living rooms. Of course veranda gardens bring their problems of watering, high winds and exposure to the sun just like ‘real’ gardens, but all these problems can be overcome to some extent. If trees and shrubs are planted in pots early on in their lives they can always be moved up a pot size as they grow and eventually they will give some shade. Walls can be covered in potted climbing plants or tastefully hung with favourite souvenirs or attractive plates. Grouping plants together makes for easier watering and fills blank corners making them more attractive. Everyone likes to dine al fresco and even if your veranda is small there might still be room for a table and chairs to eat out under the stars. How pleasant it is to be able to relax with a glass of wine amongst your plants. It’s all good for the soul!
Towards the end of the month spring bulbs should be appearing in the garden centres. Choose them carefully; I know I say that every year, but it is important. Check that the bulbs are firm and not showing any signs of mould. There is such a choice of bulbs available now that it may be difficult to know what to grow. One year I tried snowdrops, native to mainland Europe, but apart from the first year when they flowered reasonably well, they didn’t survive long. It’s strange that tulips started life at this end of the Med and look at them now! One of my favourites that blooms as the weather cools down is Sternbergia lutea, a member of the Amaryllis family and sometimes mistaken for an autumn crocus.
Refresh tired planters with bright and cheerful potted annuals like petunias as they don’t last the summer with their roots being so near to the surface that they get burned and die. We may just have a shower of rain later in the month, so keep an eye out for the re-emergence of snails. However, there will probably not be enough rain yet to thoroughly wet the ground, so don’t think about planting much yet, as plugs and bulbs planted in dry ground will not make roots. It can all wait a while!
Flower of the Month : Cleome hassleriana
Although this lovely summer annual came originally from South America it grows extremely well in our Cyprus gardens. Grown in many Northern European gardens since the early 1800s it is a rather unusual summer favourite in our flower borders here. It has several common names like ‘Spider Flower’, ‘Pink Queen’ or ‘Grandfather’s Whiskers’ because of the long thread-like stamens and the equally long, thin seed pods that appear as the flower is dying off.
It can become quite a tall plant, reaching perhaps 150cm, so should be grown towards the back of flower beds so as not dwarf smaller plants, but it will grow equally well in large flower pots. Victorian gardeners liked to have potted cleomes in their glass houses (a feature of many large gardens at that time), and they gradually found their way into cottage gardens as well. The flowers, with four petals and six long stamens, may be white, pink, rose or purple and are pollinated by bees and butterflies. They are said to have a not unattractive musky scent. Watch out for prickles on the underside of the lower palmate leaves though.
As Cleome is an annual, propagation is by sowing the seeds, which need to be chilled before they will germinate. If you want to collect the seeds, watch out for the seed pods to turn yellow as they ripen. Be quick though, as when they are ready, the pods split open and cast their seeds everywhere. Once the seeds have been harvested, pop them into an envelope in the fridge in order to give them a winter. I have found that scattering the seeds on the top of a large pot and barely covering them with soil makes them germinate quicker than in a seed tray. Grow these plants in moist but well-drained soil and in full sun for best results. Insects are not usually a problem and neither do they seem to be affected by any diseases.
