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In this issue
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Back to Schooldays
Rowson's Comment
Around the Block
News in Brief
Stop the War
Mini-march
Lysistrata Day
Fringe Festival
Straight to the Point
Time to Finnish
Day in the Nick
Starting Over
Readers Letters
Herbal Cleansing
Local Music
Tripping Out
Tippling at the Tup
Property
Housing Matters
Very Testi
Art Happenings
Vietnamese Food
Entertainment
Gardening
Marathon Man
Surfing N16
Man in North Bank
Xword
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Issue 1
OnLine Edition
Designed by
The N16 WebWorks
p33
The diminutive
size of outdoor spaces can induce frustration followed by neglect when all attempts to
brighten up the area with containers repeatedly fail. However, a paved courtyard, balcony
or window ledge can be exploited to create a green microcosm by following some simple
rules. Be objective when assessing the potential of your space and avoid being swayed by
the unrealistic romantic notions abounding in gardening magazines.
Sweet peas in shade or suffering from infrequent watering will not display the promised
blooms and die off quickly. Each situation will vary according to the amount of light and
protection from drying and cold winds and will dictate the best choice of plants and
containers.
Regarding containers, the most common problem is inadequate size: plants will
perform like a human being forever confined to a small room. Insufficient feeding and
watering usually aggravates this, leading to straggly growth and few blooms. Therefore,
provide the biggest containers the space can afford. Avoid lots of little ones: they will
not create ‘a cottagey feeling’, just optical confusion and poor plant
performance. They also dry out much faster. If space allows, try grouping two or three of
the same shape in decreasing sizes. The shape and style of containers is also important.
Make sure they are not overornate or out of character with their surroundings.
Again, the smaller the space the more it helps to focus the eye on fewer but more
impressive displays. Decide on one style and avoid mixing oriental glazed with terracotta
swags. A bit of everything just makes it all look ‘bitty’! The same applies to
colour: different ones will distract from the plants and unless skilfully associated
produce a startling ‘harlequin’ effect, so keep to one colour, possibly in
different shades.
Feeding and watering must be regular and attentive: in exposed situations water will be
needed twice a day in summer. If you can’t give your life to gardening (yet), use
slow release fertilisers (conventional or organic) and install a watering system. This is
now inexpensive and well within range of intelligent DIY. For very exposed or difficult to
reach areas, use bowl-shaped containers with carpeting outdoor succulents, such as
Sempervivums and alpine Sedums to create a flat tapestry of colours and shapes with
minimum maintenance (apart from the dreaded vine weevil… news update on this awful
pest in the next issue).
John's and texture ads to come