New Beginnings: Lemon Trees, Spring Sowings and Shady Places

Welcome to the first gardening article of 2022 – apologies if you have missed me, but I have been a busy bee. If you are new to LostCousins, these occasional gardening articles are provided to help inspire and entertain. There are plenty of skills and experiences common to gardening and genealogy: sometimes a lesson from one can helpfully inform the other.

First, an update for readers who might have been mildly amused with my efforts to grow lemon trees in the UK. They have overwintered very well in the unheated greenhouse despite last month’s storms blowing out three panes of glass, exposing the trees to night frosts and biting winds (until the manufacturer found enough packing material to send the replacement panels). And the fruit has nevertheless ripened in the winter sun; about 16 sizeable and remarkably sweet lemons from two small trees. A weekly watering with winter feed has been the only care as such. I pruned the trees this week – to tidy the shape and open out the centre – and the following day they were already producing fresh leaf and flower buds. My next task is to repot into larger containers containing a blend of citrus compost, multipurpose compost and garden soil so that they can enjoy living outdoors once the nights are warmer. They will have two new friends – a satsuma tree and a Bearss (yes, the spelling is correct) lime tree – both growing strongly in the greenhouse since January. There will be fun fitting them all back in again after a summer of healthy growth, hopefully with lots of baby fruit to ripen next winter.

By now I expect that gardening readers in the northern hemisphere are busy raising summer vegetable crops, tidying and filling borders, and mowing lawns. And here is a tip from this years’ experience of raising seeds in an unheated greenhouse (with missing panels) during an unseasonably cold April. Many online nurseries deliver small plants in transparent green plastic carriers – these (and the pots that fit them) can be repurposed as seed incubators especially for the harder-to-germinate peppers, chilis and aubergines. They retain warmth and moisture, and the green tint prevents sun scorch. Half of my courgette and cucumber seedlings raised in these boxes needed potting on within only two weeks of sowing, while the other half raised in open trays right next to them are yet to show their first true leaves. If I’m careful, they can be used again and again.

In the southern hemisphere, summer is ending. But both spring and autumn provide excellent opportunities to redesign, revive or replenish parts of the garden that have become neglected or haven’t worked out as anticipated. The main difference is that planting in springtime means a summer of keeping new plants fed and watered, whereas autumn planting avoids some of this effort and allows roots to settle in prior to the high-energy growth phase. But this Spring, I have been replanting a very shady area on the woodland margins which was first planted over 20 years ago when the surrounding woodland canopy was not so dense. Having ignored it in favour planting up sunnier areas, it was time to find perennials that will thrive better than the shrubby peonies, hydrangeas and hardy forsythias which have struggled with increasingly lower levels of light. These have been lifted and put into large pots so that I can eventually move them to better positions.

In preparation, I have spent hours clearing ash saplings with huge runners that mimic a map of the London Underground. Some were several metres long, over an inch thick and much larger than the saplings sprouting from them. This has given me a good workout and the soil is now very well dug!

Deep shade is one challenge; deer, rabbits and other rodents are also problematic in open woodland. So here is my list of “shady friends” which can reliably overcome these challenges, crowd out the weeds over time, and look good en masse for all but the darkest winter months.

Ferns, ferns and more ferns – these take time to grow to maturity; a few are evergreen, most are deciduous. There is a huge range; I have endeavoured to plant native ones in the woodland (such as Dryopteris felix-mas, or the shuttlecock fern) but the slightly smaller Athyriums (Japanese painted ferns) come in some beautiful shades and are ideal for shady corners in most domestic garden settings. They work well in containers, being less vigorous than some of their woodland cousins.

Hellebores – these are wonderfully adaptable, tough and reliable for weeks of early fuss-free colour in shades of white, pink and plum. There is a huge variety of hybrids and any will lift a shady spot, but for this particular project I have chosen helleborus argutifolius – the holly-leaved (aka Corsican) hellebore – for its year-round silver serrated foliage and luminous pale green flowers on large, sturdy stems. This is an evergreen architectural plant which doesn’t dominate.

Narcissi - white narcissi are inexpensive, very dainty and will naturalise into drifts.

Lily of the valley – superb spring fragrance, but VERY toxic to handle (do wear gloves and wash hands after handling) and it can become invasive in smaller gardens.

Bergenia – “elephant’s ears” – I prefer the white flowering varieties such as Jelle (red stemmed) and Angel Kiss in preference to the more luminous pink and purple varieties. The foliage looks good too.

Bluebells – which our ancient woodland has in abundance – and here is a massive plea to grow only the native bluebell to your area. In Western Europe this is the hyacinthoides non-scripta which has wonderfully fragrant racemes of flowers drooping to one side on a single stem. These are best purchased “in the green” – after flowering and while the leaves can still die back to feed the bulbs. They naturalise freely and often pop up in the sunnier flowerbeds. Non-native varieties (particularly the Spanish bluebell) will hybridise and thuggishly outpace the native species; even if grown in containers they produce a lot of thick leaves, seed and bulblets.

Digitalis – pink, white or “Sutton’s apricot” would tower handsomely against a dull backdrop

Dicentra – love lies a-bleeding, traditionally in shades of pink and particularly charming in white (“alba”)

Vinca minor – this is lesser periwinkle, with shiny dark evergreen leaves and starry bright blue or white flowers. All periwinkles spread and can cope with low levels of light, moisture and nutrients.

Vinca major – the large periwinkle. I have chosen the variety “Ralph Shugert” which is variegated with large pale blue flowers. This will help to lighten the” green carpet” area especially on dull days.

Hardy geranium (cranesbill) – there is a hardy geranium for every aspect but narrowing down for deep shade can be difficult given that most are labelled as “part shade”. The geranium Phaeums and varieties such as Mayflower, Bevan’s Variety, Kashmir (pink or white), Mount Olympus and Biokovo should perform well in dry summer shade. Cranesbills can vary in height and spread - they come in whites, pinks and blues and are wonderful garden multitaskers. Cut back hard after flowering for a second, late summer flush (aka the “Chelsea Chop”).

Acanthus mollis – Bear’s Breeches – for tall architectural interest in partial shade. Very handsome in the usual purple/white with glossy green foliage, “Whitewater” is an unusual standout variety with variegated foliage and creamy white racemes of flowers on pink zig-zag stems.

Hydrangea –facing the morning sun and shaded in the afternoon, two or three of the blue/ white/ lime aspera or smaller paniculata varieties will provide late summer and autumn interest.

I have avoided the popular pachysandra for deep shade ground cover, only because it spreads very rapidly and doesn’t look as exciting as some of the alternatives. Also off my list are brunnera and hostas because although very dramatic foliage-wise, they are snack bars for slugs (and I have enough trouble with them in the veg garden). Cyclamen coum or hederifolium (sowbread) is lovely in spring naturalised under trees; sadly, the rabbits and squirrels have too much fun at my expense digging them up as soon as they are planted- and I don’t like the idea of planting bulbs under mesh.

I must also give a serious reminder that all the plants on this list contain powerful chemicals that are poisonous to animals; very beautiful to admire, but not for little gardeners or playful puppies to chew on. Many will irritate bare skin, so please handle with gloves and wash hands afterwards. The other reminder is to check whether a ground cover plant could become seriously invasive- much will depend on the amount of light, soil and moisture conditions in your garden, but it is better to use non-invasive plants (often described as “clump forming”) than to battle with the roots of a determined a garden thug in a few years’ time. All LostCousins members know the benefits of checking more than one source, and this is certainly true for plant research.

Hopefully I will have inspired some readers to look more fondly and creatively on their shady garden areas. I’m looking forward to sitting in our summerhouse to admire this year’s bluebells and my newly planted shade garden- but my next job is to give it a good clean!

Sian

Where I did my Research and Shopping

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens: the famous gardens and extensive nursery in Colchester, Essex – with an excellent website for plant research (wherever you are based) and online shopping.

Worfield Plants: a new discovery, many of their plants are a bit bigger than average at no extra expense (and nicely packaged too).

Gardening Express: some great bargains (including at the moment 5 fruit trees for £19.99 if you’re quick).

Plants for Shade: their fern range is particularly impressive.

Crocus: reliable, with a wide range.

Books worth considering

Gardening in the Shade (by Alan Titchmarsh, also a keen family historian)

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au

Beth Chatto's Shade Garden

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au

Christine Walkden's no-nonsense container gardening

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au

Growing Citrus: The Essential Gardener's Guide

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au

Warning: if you live outside the UK some of these books might be expensive – compare your price against the UK price before purchasing.