In this section we will be following the developments at Landkey Primary School from start to finish to see how they get on with their new garden with updates from Adam. In the meantime, if you have spare plants or seeds that you can offer Landkey Primary School please Click Here for contact information.

It is time for us to take stock and look at what the future holds for gardening. With and increase in milder, wetter winters, summer flooding and heat waves many of our traditional garden plants will become impractical to grow. Many of our traditional spring bulbs will not be able to cope with the wet winters and become prone to diseases whilst traditional herbaceous perennials will not be able to cope with the dry. There is already a huge increase in fungal disease throughout the year, increase in pests, plants just not coming back due to excess wet or dry. Therefore we need to adapt and ensure our gardens become sustainable which our changing world.

Water is precious and a necessity for the garden and one water butt tucked away in a corner is like having a 1 pint petrol tank on your car, it just isn’t enough. There are many different options available to us now to store water, by either linking several water butts together, getting bigger butts or using under ground tanks. For my garden I purchased domestic oil tanks each holding 650 gallons and linked them together with a pond pump inside to supply the water easily. These can be sunk into the ground under a patio or lawn, put along the side of a house or covered with trellis and plants and can be fed by run off from the entire house. A tank can also be used for grey water (bath/shower), though some maintenance is required to keep the tank clean, providing you with an endless supply of water for the garden. It would however be pointless to save all this water to throw it away on plants that aren’t happy in our current conditions and this is where we have to bite the bullet and introduce new plants that will cope with the changes.

Ironically, due to the wet this year I have lost many Gladioli where they have just rotted away. Rather than waste time and resources by incorporating grit to improve the drainage of my soil, they will be coming out and going into pots and in there place I will plant something that will be happy in that type of wet soil. It is pointless spending a fortune on trying to change my soil, using endless chemicals to keep diseases away that wouldn’t be there if I’d planted the right thing in the right place. Instead we need to work with what we have and garden accordingly, working with nature rather than against.

Here’s what you do:

• Get a handful of willow twigs (any Salix species will do)
• Cut them into pieces a few inches long
• Soak the twigs in a few inches of water for a day or two; then remove the twigs
• Use the willow water to soak cuttings in overnight, or to water flats of newly started cuttings, or to help transplants

Now remember since this method isn’t very exact, the strength of the willow water can vary depending on the time of year, the number of twigs, the concentration of hormones in the twigs, and the amount of time that the twigs were soaked.

You will, however, still get a solution that will help your plants root.

There are two categories for Daylilies that refers to when the flowers open through the day. Nocturnal cultivars flowers tend to open late in the afternoon and continue to bloom until the following day. The second type is referred to as diurnal and these open in the morning and bloom until the evening. Nocturnal cultivars that are scented tend to have a much stronger fragrance than diurnal cultivars and is quite similar to the scent of a Honeysuckle.

When it comes to choosing a Daylily for your garden you may be suprised to know that you really are spoilt for choice as there are over 55,000 official cultivars and many more that are not registered. They come in a glorious range of colours with stunning markings along the petals and in the flower throat. There are many nurseries that specialise in Daylilies allowing you to find very unusual varieties that you don’t find everyday in other peoples gardens but one in particular whom I’ve had a lot of dealings with are Cold Harbour Nursery who offer a stunning range to choose from.

There are various containers available for composting or you could try your hand at building one yourself. Prices vary immensley according to their construction and size and so it is wise to shop around and find the best product for your needs.

There are mini greenhouses available made of plastic which are suitable for the smaller garden, giving your seedlings that extra protection from the cold at the beginning of the year. For those with the space the choices are endless from traditional cedar framed to aluminium both with their own pro’s and cons.

Hygiene is a very important factor as in this protected environment pests and diseases can thrive in the warm humid air that a greenhouse provides.

Though fruit can be a little hard work, battling against pests and the birds it is well worth the effort when you taste home grown raspberries or strawberries. Knowing also that they contain no chemicals and havent been sat on shelves for weeks losing their flavour. So if possible give a small area over to this rewarding type of gardening and taste the difference, you’ll never look back

Most councils offer allotments though there are quite often waiting lists. For more information, contact your local Council Services

Though there are several different types of secateur they are based on two types of cutting action – bypass and anvil. Bypass as the name suggests is where the blades bypass each other like scissors with the top blade being sharp and the bottom being flat. Anvil design is where the top sharp blade cuts down on top of a wider flat plate creating a similar type of cut to that of using a knife on a chopping board.

They come in many different styles and can have spring loaded or rachet action. They also come in varying weights and strengths making finding a pair to suit your needs easier.