Come What May, Make A Note & Harnessing Adventures

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
22^nd May 2021

Come What May

So that’s why they call it May – it may rain, it may be sunny, it may hail, it may be hot and it may be cold …

The recent unseasonable (or unreasonable) cold weather has given gardeners a bit more time to get on top of things in the garden before growth begins in earnest – and it will, trust me – and it has also meant that the tulips displays have lasted longer than usual.  I love tulips anyway – and also as cut flowers – but I will definitely be stocking up on the spring flowering bulbs in the autumn.  A huge range of varieties to choose from means it is possible to get lovely tulip displays from March through to May, so it is worth doing a little bit of work and choosing your varieties according to flowering times as well as colour and/or type.

Tulips are stunning grown en mass in pots, used as spot colour in beds and borders or planted to grow up through spring flowering ground cover like forget-me-nots and pulmonaria.  You can either compliment the companion plant – I saw a lovely combination of purple tulips growing through the pink and purple flowers of pulmonaria this week. A ‘happy accident’, the client confessed, but very effective nonetheless.  Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White’ would also provide a nice neutral backdrop to your chosen tulips.

Or you can be contemporary and choose colours that will clash and provide ‘a riot of colour’  – always say you did it deliberately if questioned.

If in doubt, white tulips look great planted through and next to everything.  Keep tulips to a single variety in a pot for a posh, classy look, or mix them up for more of a bold ‘bag-of-sweets’ look. If growing on their own in a pot, make sure you squish loads in by layering them – nothing looks like you were trying to save money more than a couple of lonely looking blooms.

Like daffs, let the stems die back naturally before removing.

Make A Note

One of my top gardening tips is to keep a little diary especially for your gardening plans.  Fired up with enthusiasm now, I am absolutely sure that I won’t forget to get my tulips in the autumn, but I probably would if I didn’t write it in my little garden diary.  It’s a great way to make a note of what’s flowering and what you like and also what needs to be removed/moved in the winter.  Taking photos will also help enormously.  You think you’ll remember a certain combination you want to replicate or something that ‘needs work’, but from experience it will mutter down into the ‘forgotten file’ of your mind before the leaves come off the trees.

Simply turn to October and jot down ‘buy tulips’ – you’ll be very smug with your system next spring.  I just have to remember where I put my diary now.

Tulips are technically perennial, but intensive breeding to get the best blooms means that many varieties only flower reliably for one year. Many gardeners’ plant new bulbs each autumn to ensure a good display and Monty says if you’re growing tulips in pots, you need to plant fresh bulbs each year.  No disrespect to Monty but I just leave mine alone and have had a great display in some of my pots for three years now.  If you do replace bulbs in pots and containers, then plant the old ones in borders to give them a chance of coming again.

Be warned, mice and squirrels love tulips too – but for breakfast rather than their beauty. If you have had trouble with them this year, don’t give up, sprinkle chilli flakes or powder on the surface of the pots next year before the bulbs emerge.  And that’s something else to put in your diary!

Harnessing Adventures

Whilst at Marloes Sands recently, I took the opportunity to try out Yogi’s new mode of transport. Since she ruptured her cruciate ligaments a couple of years ago I have often been in search of suitable ways of making sure we can keep enjoying our time outdoors together.  When she was really lame the perfect solution was the Sporty Dog Stroller from www.petsownus.co.uk, and it proved to be an excellent way to keep me fit too.  Since she has improved hugely in the last 12 months, I have been looking for ways that enable us to keep mooching about in the mountains and is portable enough to use just when she gets tired.  It’s not been an easy research but at last I have the perfect solution.

Tim is the founder of Ruff Rescue and is a roughty-toughty adventurer.  When he started taking his equally adventurous dog, Ruger, to some of the more challenging environments with him, he became fearful about what would happen if Ruger became injured whilst they were out in the wilds. That inspired Tim to create his first product – a lightweight and comfortable harness that could be used to carry a dog out of the most inhospitable environment.

Tim then realised that there was a niche for people to be able to take their four legged friends with them on outdoor adventures – safely and comfortably – and so the Pup Traveller was created.  It is slightly misleading in so far as ‘pup’ is used as a term of endearment, rather than an indication of age restriction for the harness.  Although Yogi is obviously chuffed to be referred to as a pup again.

I was a little sceptical that the Pup Traveller would be comfortable enough to carry Yogi for any length of time, but I needn’t have worried.  She was incredibly comfy and relaxed in it straight away.  I think the big test as to whether they enjoyed it or not is always the ‘next time’ you try to get your dog into a harness. There was no problem with Yogi, who was very keen to be carried up the steepest sections of coastal paths in her super-duper sling.

The clever design also means that there is no pressure on her cruciate ligament as there is with some of the other dog carriers, where the dog is in a ‘sit and beg’ position.

You can wear both harnesses on your front or back. Yogi prefers to see where she’s going, so she goes on my front, which means I can still wear my rucksack, which also helps to balance me up.  Both harnesses are small and light enough to pack away in a rucksack until you need them and the Pup Traveller is really comfy for me too – which is always a secondary consideration, but a bonus in this case.

Thankfully, it’s something that not many of us have probably had to consider, but I think if you are often hiking in more remote areas with your dog, the Back Country Rescue Harness is an essential bit of kit, especially if your dog is not portable enough to tuck under your arm in difficult circumstances.  The large size will comfortably – and impressively – carry a dog weighing up to 125 lbs.

But it is the Pup Traveller that is proving invaluable for me and Yogi.  It is enabling us to walk much further and to conquer even more summits now that I know I have the option to give Yogi a whiff when she needs it.

You can find more details about both harnesses at www.ruffrescuegear.com or find them on Facebook @Ruffrescuegear.  As Tim says, “Adventure awaits …”