Grow lilies for summer scent

Lilies are in glorious bloom at the moment and if you place a pot or two next to your front door now, you can look forward to the scent being carried into your house for a few weeks this summer.

You can either buy ready planted bulbs, or think ahead to next year. Buy the bulbs from a reputable nursery in the autumn, look for ones that are scented e.g. the Oriental lilies. As with all bulbs, always buy fresh, smooth bulbs and plant as soon as possible. Dried and shrivelled subjects should be avoided

· Plant in groups of 3 or 5 in a pot of well draining compost, equal parts ericaceous and john innes no.1 compost is the ideal mix
· Partly fill the container with compost to a depth which allows the bulbs to be buried two and a half times their height. Tap the container to settle the compost. Place the bulbs on the surface of the compost, spaced about twice their width apart. The growing tips should face upwards.
· plant bulbs towards the edge as this promotes upright growth. We recommend three bulbs to a 10 inch pot.
· Cover the bulbs with compost and finish about 2.5 cm below the rim of the pot.
· Tilt pots on their sides over winter to prevent them from becoming waterlogged or store under cover, but do not let them dry out completely.
· When in flower always try to water lilies from the base of the plant, if lily blooms get too wet and don’t have time to dry out before nightfall then fungal diseases can occur.
· Dead heading fading blooms is encouraged, but leave all remaining stem and foliage, as this will continue to put energy back into the bulb.
· Feed occasionally with a phosphorus rich fertilizer. Slow release fertilizers work well.
· These lilies should last for several years before they become pot-bound.

Wet weather problem: Slugs and snails

Do you have any plants in your garden that look like this? One of the most likely causes of ragged holes like this are slugs or snails:

Slugs and snails are probably among the most destructive pests that you can have in the garden and they are a particular problem in wet, warm weather, just like we have in Oxfordshire at the moment. We planted a garden up this morning and counted at least ten large, fat ones hiding in different places looking for a juicy young plant to eat. So warfare began.
Gardeners have several types of ammunition available, but if I could invent a total solution to the slug problem I would be a very rich woman and be blogging from my yacht.
Before resorting to chemical warfare here are some tried and tested ideas:

1. Direct assault. This consists of finding the whereabouts of the enemy (not always easy) and eliminating on sight. This was the tactic we used this morning. Our chosen method of killing was drowning in the conveniently newly built wildlife pond (but a bucket will do.)
2. Squashing them underfoot, or with a spade, or any other hand assault weapon, for the birds to eat.
3. Pouring salt on them will dehydrate slugs and snails and is a slow lingering death if you really hate them.
   
4. Throwing into the neighbours’ garden is a very last resort and not to be recommended if you want to remain on friendly terms (with your neighbour that is.)
5. Look for the enemy in places they like to hide, e.g. old pots and containers, dry stone walls (a particular problem for us in the Cotswolds,) under decking or bags of compost.
   
6. Fill a small bowl with stale beer. Put it in the areas where the slugs are active. Stale beer attracts the slugs and they drown.
   Old grapefruit skins will entice the enemy into an overnight shelter and in the morning they can be picked off and destroyed as above.
7. Put a layer of grit, coffee, oats, salt, eggs shells, cedar bark, or lime (not on acidic soil) around particularly vulnerable plants. If you’re new to gardening you’ll soon get to know what these are, but delphiniums, hostas, and lupins are particularly vulnerable.
   
   When using plants in a design for clients I tend to steer clear of plants that are vulnerable to slugs and use plants that are less susceptible. If you have a garden that is full of slugs, this is probably your best option.
   

Garden Design tip for dealing with sheds

It's not a difficult decision to place a shed when designing your garden is it? Or is it?

What the owner of this garden has done is make the shed a focal point. Along with the washing line and blue fences. It's a very, very common mistake.

The solution to the shed problem, in this case was obvious. There was a space round the side of the house which allowed it to be tucked away out of sight. The rotary washing line was replaced with a retractable one and the fences were painted green.

Painting fences, pergolas, sheds etc in the garden, not only gives the wood an extra preservative layer, but will make it ‘disappear’ into the background. So if you have a shed as a focal point at the bottom of the garden, and if it really can’t be moved to a less dominant position try this trick:

The shed has almost disappeared simply by painting it green. We also gave the garden a makeover so that it was more accessible for the elderly owner who was finding it more and more difficult to bend down. Raised beds are the answer to that problem. Simple!