Strawberries pt2

Strawberries are getting to the end of there season now, you will start to see runners (on non alpine types) and using these you can grow new strawberry plants for next year. In the picture above you can see I have planted mini plants from the runners into pots of compost, these I have pegged in and will leave for 3/4 weeks to root. When rooted I will then replant these into their final postion in the bed. It's worth noting which plants are new plants for next season as 3 season plants should be dug up and disposed.

When planting runners plant the first mini plant and avoid planting on any further mini plants. When you have replanted the mini plant then remove the runner from the main plant. This should take you into early/mid August and either when no more runners appear or you do not wish to grow any more mini plants then you can start to cut the main plant back. When I reach this stage I will post the next steps.

Pots

For patio space you simply can't beat pots to a wonderful display of colour and scent. I favour growing a mixture of flowers and herbs in different pots to create a different display of shapes, color and smell.


Here I have mixed, mint, limemint and pinapple sage with various flowers. Also flowering are various lillies and a chocolate cosmos (if you love chocolate buy this plant).


This is a great way of display flowers, I opted for flowers that would spill out of the sides of the container to create upwards and outwards effect around the well.

Hanging Baskets

This year has seen some real success with hanging baskets. Planted in the spring from plug plants in a compost/watergell/slow feed mix and watered daily, fed weekly the results have been amazing.


Hiddden away in this basket are cherry tomatoes. I tend to top up the general feed with a potash feed for the tomatoes, while not as useful to the flowers it still aids there growth and I think the results speak for them selfs.

Gardening, happy and sad

Monty Don once described some of the emotions that as a gardener you will feel, happy that your plants are doing well, happy that your veg is ready and on the boil, happy that your summers are spent eating all your fruit, happy that your garden is full of life and enjoying all your efforts. Flip the coin, sad that your plants have been destroyed by slugs, greenfly and other garden nasties. Sad that your plants are unwell and no matter what you do they are doomed. Prehaps your just sad that no matter what you do, a plant just won't take, your seedlings die or your bedding plants just wilt the day after you planted them.

Sad I lost my potatoe crop to blight, happy I have had a bumper crop of strawberries, gooseberries and blackcurrents.