Winter in Cumbria and book reviews

Winter has finally arrived in Cumbria and despite the very cold weather we have also had some lovely sunny, sharp winter days. There is a sprinkling of icing sugar snow capping some of the higher peaks and the sun makes the water in the Lakes shine a deep blue. No doubt we are in for more frost and snow shortly but today is another perfect bright day although not warm enough to entice me out into the garden.

We have reviewed quite a few books on the Reckless Gardener website recently. Take a look - there are some really good gardening books out lately and several would make fab presents for Christmas. We have reviewed Dear Christo - a really lovely book with excellent pictures and some great memories of the late Christopher Lloyd and Gt Dixter. We have also reviewed Val Corbett's 'Winter in the Lake District' rather appropriate for this time of year. Some really stunning photographs in this book which really bring out the very essence of the Lakes at this time of year.

I also enjoyed Amy Stewart's book 'Wicked Plants - The A-Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate and otherwise offend. Published by Timber Press, this little book is packed full of information about some of our more deadly and less inviting plants with stories and legends. Having read this I feel the Aconite must go! Great little book and certainly of interest to every gardener. Amy tends a poison garden of her own in California and confesses that she is enchanted by the plant kingdom's criminal element - you will be too.

London's Green Awards are on show at the Garden Museum in Lambeth so if you are looking for a bit of inspiration on how to make your bit of London greener, or more biodiverse go along and see how other gardener's in the capital have tackled it. There are monthly winners in these awards which are organised by the Conservation Foundation and they are always looking for new nominations. Check out www.conservationfoundation.co.uk for further information.

As we are nearing Christmas I notice the onslaught of Poinsettia plants in shops and nurseries. Apparently, this year there will be several shades on sale - not just the lovely deep red we all enjoy but some stunning ivory and soft pinks as well? I haven't seen any myself as yet but I am realiably informed they are out there. So for something stunning get a soft pink Poinsettia and set it against a lime and silver background for a totally un-conventional Christmassy look. Poinsettia has been voted the third most evocative symbol of Christmas in a pan-European survey run by Poinsettia breeders - some 100 million are sold throughout the season.

Despite the heavy frost we had the other evening the garden here in Cumbria seems to be relatively happy and we even have some roses still flowering. I've left the bracts on some of the perennials to add to the wintery feel. If you find your garden under tons of snow or soaking wet from all that rain and you can't get out to do any jobs then sit by the fire with a nice cup of coffee and look through all your gardening catalogues and give yourself some inspiration for the new year ahead. Another gardening season awaits - its only just round the corner really!

Rain, fungi and good books

Having spent a very busy weekend in Glasgow - not gardening I hasten to add - we returned to Cumbria to find that the rain man had once again visited and was continuing to shower us with his benevolence. An Australian relation had been telling me how short of water they are in Oz and that the situation was getting worse - if only we could transport some of our Cumbrian rain to Oz then the matter would be solved.

Climate change and  conditions is something all gardeners know about - it seems strange that one part of the world should suffer so much from drought while others have more than their fair share of rain. We shouldn't grumble - every time it rains I will think that at least we are not short of that very valuable commodity - in this part of the UK at any rate.

This blog I am looking at a couple of christmas present ideas you can use for your gardening friends and relatives.

Everyone agrees that as you get older time flies and I find it hard to believe that it is nearly 10 years since rootgrow TM Mycorrhizal fungi started to be used for tree planting in the UK. In that time it has been endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) as one of the most important sustainable components in tree planting success. In 2003 the wide spread use of rootgrow TM in rose planting began to show positive effects in overcoming replant problems. I have used it for several years and have found it a real asset particularly if you are replanting new roses on old rose sites. There is an unlimited supply of rootgrow TM thanks to PlantWorks pioneering growing techniques. They use only UK origin species of mycorrhizal fungi so it is are highly effective in UK soils. Once rootgrow TM granules are planted with a rose or a tree they germinate and start to grow as fungal mycelium exploring the soil for nutrients and water, quickly bringing into balance the root to shoot ratio which ensures rapid establishment significantly reducing mortality.

They have used rootgrow TM at RHS Garden Wisley for some years for planting trees and shrubs and are now starting to use it for planting perennials. You can buy rootgrow TM from most garden centres. To find out more information about its use log onto www.rootgrow.co.uk

I would be more than delighted to find a couple of packets in my Christmas stocking, so there is an idea for your gardening relatives and friends.

We are reviewing several good books at the moment at Reckless Gardener so keep posted on the website for the reviews. Just published is 'Winter in the Lake District' Val Corbett's collection of stunning Cumbrian winter photographs. If you love the Lake District you will love this book. Val captures the wide winter landscape as well as seasonal festivities close to home from Christmas to the annual marmalade competition. Another fab idea for Christmas presents.

Allan Pollok-Morris has followed up his inspired  book 'Close' with a second edition 'Close - landscape design and land art in Scotland' with a foreword by Sir Roy Strong. The amazing photography in this book captures the quintessential qualities which set Scottish gardens and gardening apart and greatly expands on the subjects from the first book as well as visiting new works in Scotland. Allan's first book was included in The Independent's four garden books of 2008 and The Daily Telegraph top 10. This revised edition is set to be another stunning success. Watch out for our review in
www.recklessgardener.com

Planning a new garden or re-planning an old one can be a problem for those of us not trained in garden design. So I was interested in some new design software which has just been launched called The Weatherstaff PlantingPlanner. This software acts like a personal garden designer - it asks you what you want from your garden and then produces a bespoke planting plan to meet your needs. Designed and produced by a small firm in Gloucestershire, it has simple interactive screens to enable you to draw out your border shape and once you have entered details about your planting area's growing conditions and select your ideal colour scheme, mood and style, the PlantingPlanner whizzes you through thousands of plant combinations and generates stunning planting plans. Details about the PlantingPlanner can be found on www.plantingplanner.com

In September at an environmental conference, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) scientist, Dr Tijana Blanusa, highlighted the merits of certain plants in helping reduce the higher temperatures found in cities.  She identified one plant in particular - Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina) which represents silvery and hairy leaved plants as maybe being very important in the future. A number of studies have shown the importance of roof vegetation in decreasing summer-time air temperatures and in counteracting urban heat island effects. Dr Blanusa's paper was presented to the World Green Roof Congress, and looked at the three broad leafed perennial plants and a Sedum mix, the most popular plant for roof covers. The first year of her research has showed that Lamb's Ears significantly reduced the surrounding air temperature near the surface of the leaf during early afternoon on a hot summer day by some 1.5 degrees.
 

“With our climate getting warmer gardeners will be playing an even more important part in helping reduce the effects,” says Tijana. “Getting planting right in urban spaces, which as we all know can be very limited, is particularly important and can have a major effect in not only helping reduce urban temperatures but will also provide other environmental benefits.”

Roy Lancaster will be headlining the student run lecture series at Writtle College, Chelmsford on 7th December when he talks about 'Plants, People and Places'. The lecture series for 2010/11 has some very interesting speakers and further information about tickets, prices etc can be obtained by emailing greg.allen@writtle.ac.uk - Details of speakers/dates can also be found in the Reckless Gardener calendar - http://www.recklessgardener.com/events/events-diary