Tuesday 27 January 2009

Sweet Pea, Squirrels and Snowdrops

This is the first cold spell in January for some years but nature still goes ahead – a few early snowdrops and some fragile crocus are in bloom with lots coming up through the plantation.

During some of the sunny spells I hope to move some of the snowdrops to bare areas before they are too far ahead.

I did this last year successfully using a strong trowel. This enabled me to keep the roots covered with soil thus not damaging the roots. Perhaps I shall try some of the large clumps of naturalised crocus at the same time, as I have several places that are bare because of the loss of several trees during storms last year.

During my many years of living here I have seen most forms of native wild life. Last year I thought I saw a red squirrel but later in the year realised we have a colony of grey squirrels instead. Perhaps more than one as my neighbour saw seven at once in the ancient conifer at the bottom of the garden, and I have seen five near the gate at the garage.

I have watched them digging up ‘conkers’ and my grandson has found small potatoes buried in unusual places. Sometimes they appear to be grazing on the grass. They also eat some of the chopped apples I have put out for the birds but what their staple diet is I do not know! I hope the naturalised bulbs and cyclamen are not part of it...

Unfortunately my first sowing of sweet peas in the cold greenhouse were decimated by two mice (eventually caught!). I made a further sowing after Christmas in a deep pot in the porch, transplanting them into empty fruit juice cartons which should give them plenty of root room.

I still have quite a lot of tomatoes from my own seed, so I took a ripe one the other day and cut it open and with a pair of tweezers set the seeds on a pot of compost. I covered the pot with a piece of polythene and set it near the cooker. Three days later they have germinated and have been transferred to the porch windowsill to get plenty of light.

This is a gamble but the seeds have cost me nothing so if I only get a few to survive I may have early fruit. I will make another sowing next month.

Snowdrops

Every garden should have snowdrops as they always seem to me to herald the end of winter which isn’t strictly true as they start to bloom with me soon after Christmas.

They are well worth the initial investment as they will grow anywhere in sun or shade, increase quite quickly, never fail to bloom, and flower over a long period. Clumps of them look as well in woodland conditions as they do in cultivation under planting shrubs or trees.


There are so many varieties to choose from these days. In the past most of them would have been European species such as Galanthus nivalis, Galanthus plicatus or cultivars of the same, but now there are varieties from many countries including hybrids.





In fact on reading a recently published book on snowdrops they mention at least 500 cultivars, so like many other plants they are of interest to collectors who will pay a great deal per bulb. They are best planted in the green when they have finished flowering as when the bulbs dry out and are sold in the Autumn they often fail to establish.


Personally, I find the quickest way to increase them is to sow the seed so when dividing them wait until the seed capsule has formed. When replanting them if possible plant in rich moisture retaining soil but they will grow anywhere.