Sustainable bedding ?

That explosion of colour that is bedding will be detonating very soon. This is how parts of the garden have looked over the last few years.

We tried to choose one or two main colours, usually a rich dark main like dark blue or purple, and a brighter, lighter colour like pink or lilac. Though it looked fine, I have had growing feelings of guilt over how wasteful it all is. Mountains of peat taken from wetlands, wasted heat growing on the bedding plants, fuel used to transport them all over the country ... then a few months later they are on the compost heap. until next year when we all do it all again.

We started thinking and talking about it, trying to find ways to make it a little more ecologically sound and sustainable.

We decided we could use peat-free compost and our own home made compost and grow our own bedding plants, so at least we would be saving peat wetlands and fuel for transportation. It is still wasteful though, as it is still not permanent and thus is demanding of resources.

So ... this is our new plan for this season.

We have grown a certain amount of bedding from seed, Ammas, Cosmos, dahlia 'Bishop's Children', Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy', Ricinus Communis and Coleus,

Many pots have now been given permanent hardy plantings of, for example,  hostas, Castor Oil,  Agapanthus (hardiest we could find) and Hemerocallis.

This year we will have to buy very little actual bedding, a couple of trays of things which are hard to grow but indispensable, like Surfinias and some hanging basket plants.

I am also experimenting with Bedding roses this year too. I saw an advert online for Bedding Rose 'Garden Party' a lovely little pink rose growing to only about 30cm x 30 cm. They can be used in tubs and baskets and at the edge of borders too. In theory this ticks all the boxes because they are hardy, perennial and sustainable.

I was originally going to buy 10, but then I saw that 20 was much better value than 10, and 50 was much better value than 20 and ... so it went on ! I ended up buying 72 baby bedding roses.  They are basically rooted plugs - always a bit of a shock when you open up the box and see just how TINY they are ! However, they are growing on already and look very healthy.

Today I potted them on and I am keeping them in the greenhouse, to enhance growth.

I like to do mini experiments when I am in the greenhouse, and to compare rates of growth when conditions are varied a little. I planted these 72 babies in 3 different sized pots, and I will be interested to see how well they do !

You don't need to be a grafter ...

You really don't need to be a grafter! Honestly!  For years and years I thought you did. I thought that all roses had to be grafted on to a root stock before they could be propagated. Untrue ! Turns out that the graft is for the convenience of the rose grower rather than the rose, and that, in many cases the rose is healthier and more long-lived when grown on its very own roots.

For those who are looking puzzled, grafting is a way of propagating roses in which one plant is fused together with another. One rose is usually selected for its hardy, healthy roots, whilst the other (the 'Scion') is selected for its blooms, fragrance, flower type etc. 

Most roses are grown commercially in this way. The point where the two roses join is called the graft union and it is the knobbly bit at the bottom of the stem. It causes endless debate when it comes to planting - whether it should be planted above or below the soil level (but that is a whole other story).

Last seasons babies

As soon as I realised that I could just take straightforward cuttings I was out with the secateurs pretty damn fast. I love roses, especially the English roses, and although they are worth every penny, they are expensive plants to buy. I took the cuttings with scant regards to the books, starting from June and stopping about October, when the opportunity presented itself, so they included semi-ripe to hardwood cuttings. I have had a really high rate of success, probably about 80%. I took them as you would take most other  cuttings, cutting below a bud and using hormone rooting powder. They survived even when I couldn't resist having a look at them, to check if they had rooted! (Why do I do that ? can't resist).

This is a climber ! White Cloud, New Dawn, Cinderella ? Who knows ?

They stayed outside until it got a bit nippy and then I moved them into the greenhouse, which I don't suppose they needed, but maybe they appreciated. They are now growing away very strongly and I have even planted my first baby outside in the big wide world.

Now, here's the rub ... although I used a permanent marker to write the labels, it didn't live up to its name ! When I checked the labels, most are just a blue blur ! So I have little idea, at this stage, whether they are climbers, English roses or anything else. I suppose time will tell.

I can't wait for them to start blooming, so that I can identify them. The only ones which I can still read are 'Graham Thomas' and 'Cinderella', which are two of my favourites, so at least I know I have rooted those successfully.

I have also invested in a top of the range, truly waterproof pen so that my labels will still be readable after a few months outside !

'Cinderella' and the old Broom !

I looked at this little corner today and knew there had to be some *sweeping* changes ! Brooms tend to be short-lived anyway, and this poor thing has been bending further over as each year passes ! I thought about staking it to hold it upright, but it wouldn't have any of it.

So, it had to go... Mercifully it was shallow rooted, so digging it up was an easy task.

The bed is just a blank canvas at the moment, but lurking just beneath the soil are various Hostas, with delphiniums behind them. There is a young hedge of Berberis Thunbergii Atropururea planted in front of the fence. So I wanted something to complement all those plants, and something to give a little height too.

Here it is when the Hostas are at their best, and just before the delphiniums began to flower.

Now, last year I took LOADS of rose cuttings, most of which are now growing on strongly, and some of which are ready to be planted out from the greenhouse, where they have been protected over winter.

I selected a healthy, vigorous baby 'Cinderella', a most gorgeous, full petalled pink climber, which is a repeat-flowerer from late Spring to the frosts. It will grow to about 2m if you let it. 

I planted it royally! I dug a deep hole, lined it with four year old well rotted manure, added a slow release rose fertiliser, planted the cutting (without any angst about whether the union should go above/ below soil level!!) and mulched with manure. 

It was only then I realised the fatal flaw in my planning ... 'Cinderella' is a climber and it had nothing to climb up ! Being a 'make-do-and-mend' gardener at heart, I got some canes and some wire and some old chicken wire ... then half remembered something that was lurking at the back of the shed !

At the end of last summer, ever watchful for a bargain, I bought a discounted obelisk, which I promptly put in a dark corner of the shed for the winter, then almost - but not completely - forgot ! It was flat- packed, but my man-who-does whipped his screwdriver out and built it pretty damn quick !

Just the jobkins !

So, there you have it ... the story of Cinderella and the old Broom !!