Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
22nd April 2023
Coronation Containers
I’m not that great at planning, or even thinking, too far ahead these days – and it’s largely proving to be a positive thing, being more ‘in the moment’ – however, this week I’m sharing an horticultural ‘head’s up’.
From 1st –7th May, the Royal Horticultural Society will be promoting gardening across the UK via their annual National Gardening Week. This year they have announced, “The theme for National Gardening Week in 2023 is ‘create your coronation container’ to celebrate His Majesty King Charles III and his love of horticulture. The King is known as a champion of the environment and a supporter of the nation’s passion for gardening, so we are inviting people to produce jubilant planting schemes to mark the beginning of his reign.
Let your imaginations run wild by creating colourful planting schemes or displays in whatever space you have available, whether that is a window box, a hanging basket, or even an old pair of wellies. You could also feature a nod to His Majesty in the form of his favourite flower, the delphinium, or perhaps Alchemilla mollis, the preferred plant of The Queen Consort.”
Virtually anything can be used as a ‘container’ to plant up. Over the years I have seen a lot of creative offerings from a teacup containing clover (the bees loved it) to an old builders’ bulk bag containing an impressive array of vegetables! Then there are the repurposed clothes – everything from old jeans and hats to bras and boots planted up with a variety of colourful annuals. And then of course there are the ‘miniature gardens’ like the ones my brother and I used to enter at Llangattock village fete. I recall our father being quite competitive in this particular class and giving us an unprecedented amount of advice for landscaping little ‘tray gardens’. If my memory serves me right, my bother’s ‘tiny’ lawn even had stripes on it, although I can’t for the life of me remember how. I do, however, remember having a row for ‘upcycling’ one of Mum’s little powder pack mirrors to resemble a garden pond.
And you can, of course, join the celebrations on the Royal Horticultural Society social media channels – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. They are asking for images of your creations that capture the coronation spirit using the hashtag #nationalgardeningweek.
Oops … I Compost Again
I had two thoroughly enjoyable days last week, sorting out ‘abandoned’ compost areas for two different clients. Inspired by another client who is the ‘composting queen’, I have a new-found fascination for the production process of the ‘black gold’. I used to be a bit haphazard about composting, fully understanding its benefits but not always having the enthusiasm and energy to match. But as I’ve got older, I have become slightly obsessed by ‘good compost heaps’ – they have to be neat and productive and respected. I now find myself highly irritated by those that just leave their compost offerings – be it veg peelings, grass clippings or weeds – in a heap on the surface instead of spreading it out neatly.
Apparently, ‘designer compost” has become the ‘latest luxury must-have’ as a rise in DIY gardening and growing environmental awareness are ‘fuelling demand for top-notch compost’. To obtain this, producers are feeding farmyard animals with organic fruits and vegetables to ensure the muck they produce is of the highest quality. It seems that the better quality the ingredients are ‘going in’, the better the quality the product is ‘coming out’.
Bake One More Time
As well as becoming a devoted compost maker, I have also become a dedicated cake maker. For the last few weeks, every Sunday I have made a Bara brith so I can have a slice every day in my lunch box. And after one unusually stressful day last week I went home and decompressed by baking a cake! I highly recommend it.
Working with my brother last week – and sharing my fruit cake – I mentioned, ‘It’s all about compost and cake for me these days, it must be my age!’
Quick as a flash he replied, “At your age it’s usually Jam and Jerusalem.’
British Spears
Tomorrow (23rd April) is St George’s Day, and just as leeks are synonymous with St David’s Day, thanks to the Vale of Evesham’s British Asparagus Festival, asparagus has become the symbol for St George’s Day, marking the start of the asparagus season.
The season only lasts for about six weeks from 23rd April into early June, and some of the best asparagus in the world is said to come from the Vale of Evesham – also known as the UK’s fruit and vegetable basket.
As well as the usual festival festivities, the Asparagus Festival also hosts Jemima Packington, the world’s first and only ‘Asparamancer’ – someone who is able to predict the future by tossing a handful of asparagus spears in the air and ‘reading’ how they land. Jenny has, apparently made lots of accurate predictions over the years. I bet no one saw that coming.
Asparagus is very labour-intensive to grow and as such, is rarely seen in veggie plots and allotments these days. A well-established asparagus bed is a thing to treasure. Today asparagus breeders concentrate mainly on developing male hybrids – a major investment taking 15-18 years for a new variety to become available to gardeners.
Virtually pest free, it is said ‘weed and greed’ are the main enemies of asparagus – don’t harvest too much too soon.
The asparagus spears are actually the young shoots of a cultivated lily plant and nicknamed ‘sparrow grass’. They’re considered to be one of the delicacies of the vegetable world, often with a price tag to match (whether home-grown or bought), and have a distinctive love-it or hate-it flavour. The young, very slender asparagus spears are called ‘sprues’.
The more familiar green spears or ‘sprues’ are typically British, whilst French asparagus is purple. In contrast, Spanish, and most of the Dutch asparagus is white because it’s grown beneath the soil and cut just as the tips emerge.
All types are highly nutritious containing high levels of vitamins A and C, potassium, iron and calcium. Asparagus is also supposed to help ease a hangover and relieve inflammation of the joints.
Nice to have a plant that ‘gives back’ to gardeners.
Happy St. George’s Day!
Love the look of that cake. I enjoy a slice of Bara Bryth with butter on too.
Days are getting longer and warmer. Enjoy!