🌧️ Welcome to this week’s Manic Botanic newsletter!

Hello gardeners,

Well… it’s official. The weather gods have a wicked sense of humour.

“Just get to the weekend, then you can really get stuck into the garden” I tell myself.

And what happened? Non-stop rain all last weekend and into the early part of the week. Not a gentle, romantic drizzle either. The sort of rain that has you staring forlornly out the window at your garden boots by the back door. I must have angered the weather gods at some point the week before. Perhaps it was when I muttered a veiled threat at them about how ‘it better not bloody well rain this weekend’.

On the plus side, it’s given me a chance to catch up on a few bits in The Whitehouse (where it’s at least dry and it’s my happy place), and more importantly, to sit down and prepare this newsletter for you all.

Photos (left to right): standing inside looking forlornly at all the work that needs doing and isn’t getting done (even though rain is actually quite good!); my tomatoes are really starting to take off now; the number of dahlias potted up and waiting for the last frosts to pass is getting longer by the week; rain, rain, go away….

Peonies & irises - Spring stars that need a little backup

Here in the southern hemisphere, spring is really starting to strut her stuff.

The peonies and bearded irises are about start stealing the show and I’m as excited as a toddler in a lolly shop. They’re the divas of the season - gorgeous, extravagant… and slightly high-maintenance, but I wouldn’t be without either of them.

Give them some support

Both peonies and tall bearded irises are notorious for toppling over just as they hit their stride. All that glorious colour ends up face-planting the dirt after a heavy spring rain or a gusty wind.

It’s heartbreaking to see a perfect peony bloom lying flat on the ground, and neither is it fun to spend the day, the week, the season, feeling like a right numpty because you didn’t support your plants.

So do them (and yourself) a favour:

Get peony rings in place before the buds open.
Corral those tall iris stems so the flowers stay upright and visible.

A little prep now saves a lot of disappointment later. I’m the queen of ‘Learning from Disappointment’ when it comes to gardening, so take my word for it - don’t stake now….ugly crying later.

Photos: I prefer to use decorative plant supports where I can, particularly at the front of the border where they’re easily seen. I will use the less attractive stakes at the back where they tend to be obscured by foliage. Over the years, I’ve managed to grow quite a collection of pretty supports.

Peony TLC

As soon as I see those fat red shoots pushing through the soil in early spring, I give them a light copper spray. It helps prevent fungal issues like peony blight.

If you don’t have very fertile soil, you can also give them a feed of nitro-blue fertiliser, particularly if your soil isn’t rich. It gives them a solid start.

Now, if your peony buds form but then turn brown and fail to bloom, here are the usual suspects:

❄️ Late frost: a cold snap just as the buds were forming can damage them.
🍄 Peony blight (Botrytis): often shows as blackened, rotting buds. Remove the affected stems promptly and dispose of them (don’t compost), and consider preventative fungicide sprays in future springs.
🌱 Youth and inexperience: young peonies sometimes take a few years to settle in. If your plant is new, give it time. Peonies can sulk before they shine.

Just remember….peonies were sent to us by the Gods of Gardening to help us develop patience. It’s a slow process for me, but it’s definitely working! I’ve had some peonies that even after four years are only really just getting going.

Photos (left to right): a new peony shoot; starting to bulk up now; Karl Rosenfeld peony; Red Grace peony; Sarah Bernhardt in a vase with burgundy Iceberg roses; Sarah Bernhardt and (I think) Elsa Sass or Duchess de Nemours.

Bearded iris basics

Bearded irises are much lower-maintenance, but there are two key things to remember:

They like their rhizomes sitting high on the surface of the soil. Bury the roots, but not the rhizomes so they don’t sulk or rot.
They can occasionally get rust, so an early-season preventative spray can help keep leaves clean.

These beauties thrive on neglect, but only if they’re planted right.

Photos (left to right): Unknown name intermediate bearded iris; Cascade Springs; unknown - to the point I don’t even know where it came from; Alcazar.

Spring weeds & mulching

While you’re admiring the flowers, don’t let the weeds sneak up on you.

Now is the time to keep laying down mulch, and for bonus points, throw a layer of cardboard or newspaper underneath. It suppresses weeds for longer and breaks down into the soil over time. I’m also trialing wool weed mat under my wood chip mulch. I love the sustainability aspect, and the wool and mulch break down together over time to enhance the topsoil. I think I’m a bit lucky to live in a country where sheep farming is such a big thing. I’m not sure wool weed mat is so readily available in other countries?

Mulching will save your sanity. Believe me, future-you will thank you, and there’s no better gardening feeling than being able to look outside and pat yourself on the back while thinking about how much of a legend you are for prioritising mulching!

Top tip: don’t pile mulch up against tree trunks and plant stems. It promotes collar rot by trapping moisture around the base of the plant.

Photos (left to right): Heuchera (also known as Coral Bells); Hosta (mulch helps keeps the slugs and snails at bay); new Rhododendrons. The mulch has cardboard under it to double the weed suppression characteristics and then it all breaks down together into the topsoil to help amend my clay over the years. I also use wool weed mat under wood chip mulch as an alternative to cardboard (cardboard is free though!).

Vege beds and greenhouses

The weather is warming up and that means soil is drying out. Keep the water coming….not so much that it gets waterlogged, but consistently moist. That’s what most veggies prefer.
Succession sowing is the key to ongoing food production. Sow a few seeds every few weeks so your produce all matures at different times, giving you an ongoing supply.
Protect young seedlings from slugs and snails. Use a pet-friendly slug bait if necessary. It doesn’t take much, just a sprinkle, to keep the slugs at bay.
Keep a close eye on your plants so you can deal to any issues quickly.
As the weather warms up make sure your greenhouse is well ventilated. Even though we’re early in spring, it can still get pretty hot in there on a warm day. From this time of year onwards, I tend to leave the big front doors of mine wide open to encourage good airflow. I have a bead curtain and a trellis ‘fence’ across it to prevent bigger, dog-shaped interlopers.

🍂 A note for my northern hemisphere friends

You’re heading into mid-autumn - the winding-down season. Winter is nearly upon you, for which you have my commiserations (unless you’re a gardener who is also a snow-bunny, in which case, bring on the ski season!)

By now you’ve probably cut back, pruned, and cleared. But here’s one autumn task worth doing before the soil freezes:

Soil-building.

Spread compost, well-rotted manure, or even a green-manure crop if your frost arrives late.

Autumn is prime time for feeding the soil so the microbes can work through winter. Come spring, your soil will be crumbly and alive, which makes everything easier.

As you head into winter, I’ll talk more about plants that can be included in your garden planting plan to provide a bit of colour through the cold season, so keep an eye out for that in future newsletters.

🌟 New This Week Behind the Garden Gate

If you’re a member, here’s what’s been published this week:

🌱 Garden to Table: feeling overwhelmed with the idea of companion planting? Don’t know where to start? Keep companion planting simple when you’re starting out.
🌹Feature plant: my deepest dive yet and it’s all about roses. Love them or hate them, if you want consistent seasonal colour, roses should be a ‘go to’. It took me a while to learn this, but now I’m fully on board the rose-growing boat. I’ve gone to town on providing you with everything you need to know to successfully grow a rose.
🐈You know those days when…..your pets get up to mischief in the garden and really do some damage? Read about that day last summer that really wasn’t funny at the time, but is now. I even turned it into a kiddies storybook!
🌷 Snapshot Shed: new photos of my latest tulip displays - they’re coming to an end now, which is always sad, but the ‘consolation’ prize is a pretty good one….peonies and bearded irises!
💻 Earn an Income from Your Garden: a candid new post about why building an online gardening business isn’t a “get-rich-quick” scheme (and what to focus on instead).
🙃 Friday Fails: my new page sharing honest stories of gardening missteps, so you’ll know you’re not alone when things don’t go to plan. This week I’ve kicked it off with my disastrous Azalea experiment.
And coming soon - a deep-dive on the creation of Cluckingham Palace, the development (including building specs) of my berry enclosure, and plenty more relating to growing your own food.

Rain or shine, it’s a good week to take stock, tackle the little jobs, and make plans for the season ahead.

And if it’s raining where you are too… well, at least we can console ourselves with a good cup of tea and the promise of better days (and better blooms) to come.

Happy gardening!

Sign up to Behind the Garden Gate here

Photo: ‘Make me a winter queen standing in my garden’, I said. ‘Sure, here you go’, said ChatGPT. This just ain’t getting any better is it!