Page 46 - Phonebox Magazine February 2008

A Month in the Garden
Linette Applegate of Toddington Manor
As Spring approaches, it is time to look at your garden and prepare it for the coming year. It’s the ideal time to plant any new bare-rooted specimens, such as trees and roses. These will benefit from the addition of slow-release fertiliser to the surrounding soil, which in turn should be applied to all your beds.
Before doing this, tidy any old leaves left on herbaceous plants, by cutting with shears, and rake out rubbish and leaves that have collected under shrubs. This helps prevent pests and disease harbouring in piles of rotting vegetation. Do bear in mind that weeds will still grow this time of year, especially if this month stays frost free and damp. Remove these ensuring deep roots of perennial weeds are dug out completely.
It is also time to prune late-flowering clematis. These flower on the current year’s growth, so cutting the stems hard now will prevent plants becoming tangled and untidy. Cut back to the hard woody stems, removing any green growth from last year. K
Plant of the Month Hebe ‘Red Edge’
This small evergreen shrub forms neat mounds and make very attractive neat plants for informal edging or use at the front of borders. They also look great in containers. Hebes flower best in full sun, but will tolerate shade, preferring well-drained soil.
This particular cultivar of hebe features neat blue or grey-green leaves, with a delicate edge of red which is especially noticeable in winter, Lilac-blue flowers appear on short spikes, fading to white appear during summer. This shrub only requires minimal pruning, just prune uneven or frost damaged branches in late spring. This well behaved plant will reach 0.6m high and 0.45m spread, and rarely succumbs to pest or disease. K
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46 Phonebox Magazine