Trugg and Barrows Garden Diary; November 2011

October was another dry month with only the one day of any rain to speak of. The ground is so dry that we are still irrigating the garden which is very unusual for this time of year. It has also been a warm month (with some fantastic sunrises and sunsets) which is delaying leaf fall and the die back of the tops of herbaceous plants. Although we are now well into what would normally be for us the end of year tidying up period, little of this has been done so far.
For those of you who do not mind their gardens being a little bit disheveled there is a lot of truth in the view that neat and tidy gardens can be environmentally unfriendly places. I hold that as gardeners we should consider ourselves in partnership with our garden, rather than its controller. As partners, we can begin to appreciate the balance between actions and the growth and survival of plant, insect and animal life. Birds, hedgehogs, frogs, toads, newts and insects all play a part in keeping everything in balance. They are nature’s gardeners and do a far better job of preserving plants than any chemicals or over-tidy human gardener. To this end, leaving the cutting back of herbaceous plants and the tidying up of leaves until late winter/early spring is good practice and is something that we should all consider. This is what I have done in my own personal little garden for years and have found no need to spray any chemicals. However I would strongly recommend not allowing fallen leaves to accumulate on your lawn for more than a week or so.
Delaying the cutting back of the tops of herbaceous plants in the garden until spring also helps to increase the survival rate of many overwintering perennials, especially those with marginal hardiness such as Penstemons and Salvias. On the down side, leaving the tops until spring may mean that along with the beneficial insects; pests and pathogens may be overwintered. From a pest control standpoint, removing the tops in the autumn may be necessary on occassion (but only if you absolutely have to).
Buried Treasures – Trillium, Arisema and Paris.
This month I would like to continue the planting theme but this time talk about those underground additions to the garden; bulbs, corms and tubers. You might have to search a little harder to find these unusual plants but this should not put anyone off.
Trillium.
Known colloquially in the United States as the ‘wake-robin’, the genus Trillium gets its name because everything comes in threes, from the paddle shaped leaves to the petals which surround the reproductive parts of the flowers.
The plants are native to both North America and Asia and there is a nifty trick for telling where some of the species originate. Trilliums are divided into pedicellate, where the flowers are borne on a stalk, and sessile where there is no stalk. Sessile Trilliums occur only in North America which in fact holds 42 of the approximately 48 species.
Adult plants arise from a shallow or surface creeping stem or rhizome and distribute seed by means of an elaiosome: a fleshy appendage which is extremely attractive to ants (myrmecochorous for those who enjoy complicated terminology) who take away the seeds to feed on the elaiosome, discarding the seeds which germinate only after two winters.
All Trilliums are spring flowering woodland perennials, that thrive in soil with plenty of leaf mould occurring in the upper layers. Once established, however, some species are remarkably adaptable and persistent.
Arisema.
These are some of the strangest looking plants that you might find in the garden. They do not flower in the traditional sense; rather they produce a spathe which is a hood-like projection surrounding the spadix where the reproductive parts of the plant are found. They look vaguely carnivorous and do attract insects for pollination.
The spathe is the most conspicuous part of the plant often striped vertically with green, purplish brown or white. The leaves emerge before the flowers from early spring to early summer and in autumn the spathe is replaced by a spike of coloured berries.
Naturally they are found amongst the leaf litter on the woodland floor, often underneath shrubs, and this can be where they are displayed to advantage in the garden. Arisemas form decent sized clumps that can be divided when mature.
Some of the rarer species can be difficult to establish but A. candidissimum is one of the easiest and prettiest, with a spathe which is striped rose pink and accompanied by a slight scent.
Paris.
At first glance you might think that this genus (allied to Trillium) has little to offer yet the more you look the more you find.
Native to the woodlands of Europe and east Asia they are perfectly adapted to the shade and moisture of the woodland floor. Just like Trillium they emerge in spring to take advantage of the light streaming through the deciduous canopy before retreating below ground as summer brings heat and less moisture.
The stems that emerge are erect and develop a whorl of four or more leaves at the top (a bit like a cocktail umbrella), above which sits the flower. This will not attract the gardener interested in showy colours but the four to six sepals and even narrower petals make it look as though a spider is perching on top.
Over the next month we will continue to tidy the kitchen garden and the pleasure grounds and this is the thing to do in your own garden, but remember, try not to be too much of a stickler for tidiness and the wild things in your garden will fair much better.
Recently a few poeple have asked me how to best look after ‘Christmas’ plants such as Poinsettia, so next month I’ll have a go at talking about this.
Please note: images have been removed from this pages because some of them may have been used without permission.