Creating a border in the shade with clay soil -


It’s highly likely there is some level of shade in every garden – whether that’s caused by a fence, a neighbour’s garage or trees. Thankfully, there is a plant for every space, so here’s information and ideas on how to create a beautiful garden in a perceived tricky spot!
According to the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) there are six types of light/shade:
1. 

: More than six hours of direct sun per day at midsummer.
2. 

: A site that is open to the sky, but screened from direct sunlight by an obstacle, such as a high wall.
3. 

 Three to six hours per day of direct sun at midsummer.
4.

: Mainly reflected or diffused light, for example through open tree canopies all day.
5.

: equates to two or three hours of direct sunlight each day at
midsummer.
6. 

: Receives less than two hours of direct sun per day.


The easiest way to work out where the shady spots are, is to simply look and watch the garden at certain points of the day and make a note of where the sun hits the ground. You can then plant the right plant in the right spot!
So what plants are best for shade and grow in clay soil?
Here are some of my favourite plants that look great together – a tall shrub, medium and short perennials to create a tiered effect which is easy on the eye.



Viburnum × carlcephalum – commonly known as a snowball tree. It’s a shrub that will grow in all soil types and in sun, part sun and shade. They grow to around 3m tall, so are ideal for small gardens that need a tree to add height.
They have scented flowers each May with heart-shaped, dark green leaves, turning red in autumn.


 –
Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’ – commonly known as Foam Flower due to the small spires of blush white flowers from May to July. Ideal for the front of a border as they grow to around 25cm tall. The leaves are pretty too, which are green lobed with a dark centre. 

Hosta ‘Francee’
Beautiful heart-shaped, olive green, puckered leaves with white margins. which blends with the flowers of the Tiarella. Grows to around 55cm tall. They are renowned for attracting slugs and snails, so adding copper rings around the
base of the plant and checking the leaves regularly for signs of them will help to keep the plant healthy.


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Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna ‘Purple Stem’ flowers from December to March. It’s an evergreen shrub with scented, pink-tinged flowers, which are followed by rounded blue-black fruit.
Remember, when planting in clay soil, consider adding organic matter like composted bark or well-rotted manure to improve its texture and drainage.




Kempsey Times

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Pershore Times

Upton Times

Creating a border in the shade with clay soil


Keep all newly planted items well watered. This includes ones planted last autumn.
Sow seeds of herbaceous plants.
Sow or turf new lawns and keep mowing established ones – but not too low.
Treat difficult lawn weeds e.g. clovers, black medic with Weedol Lawn Weedkiller, it has the right ingredients for these weeds.
Hang up a codling moth trap in your apple tree ,or a plum moth one in your plum tree, to reduce the number of maggoty fruit. There is also now a trap
readily available for catching box tree moths which are now quite widespread in our area.
Plant out cabbage, cauliflower and other brassicas but take precautions against root fly.
Keep on top of pest and disease outbreaks, as well as controlling weeds.
Don’t forget your houseplants feed and water them regularly.
Control algae and blanketweed in ponds.



Sow suitable varieties of pansies to flower from autumn throughout the winter.
Sow biennials for flowering next spring onwards e.g. wallflowers, myosotis, sweet williams, foxgloves and honesty.
Plant out chrysanthemums for flowering in borders or for cutting.
Plant out summer bedding plants when frost risk is minimal.
Tie in wall shrubs and climbers to their supports try to train them at 45 degrees or horizontally to encourage flowering.
Trim over aubretia and arabis after flowering to keep them neat.
Prune wall trained pyracantha and chaenomeles after flowering.
Keep strawberry fruits off the soil using straw or mats.
Cut down spring flowering perennials – e.g. pulmonarias and doronicums after flowering to produce a neat mound of new foliage. Untrimmed plants often become mildewed.
Sow swedes, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, French and runner beans outdoors.
Plant out sweet corn in blocks, rather than a long row, as they are wind pollinated.
Take cuttings from dahlias and chrysanthemums for flowering later in summer.
Plant tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers etc. in a cold greenhouse or outdoors if in sheltered site.
Make up summer flowering hanging baskets and containers.



Brighten up your patio with some spectacular frost tender container plants, like brugmansia.
Prune clematis montana straight after flowering, if they are getting out of bounds.
Plant out leeks, marrows, courgettes and melon plants.
Enjoy more herbs by sowing Basil, Coriander and Parsley every fortnight.
Spinach often runs to seed if sown after mid May – so sow leaf beet instead.
Sow some half-hardy annuals for use as winter pot plants e.g. calceolarias, schizanthus and cinnerarias.
Sow ornamental cabbage and kale for winter colour in tubs and borders.
Beware of houseplants getting scorched on sunny windowsills.
Listen to the weather forecast in case of any nasty late frosts.



May Gardening


Lift and divide herbaceous plants.
Plant alpine and herbaceous plants.
Lightly mow over the lawn.
Prepare sites for new lawns.
Prune rose bushes soon if not already done.
Plant onion, garlic and shallot sets.
Start Begonia and Gloxinia tubers into growth indoors.
Buy seedlings or baby bedding plants to grow on at home.



Support all tall growing herbaceous plants from early in the season. Try growing some ornamental vegetables in the flower garden, e.g. red leafed
lettuce and runner beans.
Prune Blueberries.
Sow hardy annual flowers like Eschscholzia, Godetia, Clary, Mignonette etc. direct in the garden borders.
Treat moss, scarify and aerate lawns as well as feeding the grass, you can now get moss killers that digest dead moss, so no raking or use traditional Lawn Sand.
Prune late summer flowering shrubs, like Buddleia and Caryopteris, as well as
Hydrangea paniculate varieties and Hydrangea arborescensc Annabelle.
Prune down hard shrubs with coloured stems like Cornus, as well as hardy Fuchsias.
Trim over winter flowering heathers cutting to the base of the flower clusters.
Buy and plant pots of herbs.
Sow seeds of hardy herbs in the garden, like parsley.
Plant seed potatoes – but beware of frost once the shoots emerge from the soil.
Vegetable seeds to sow now include: broad beans, lettuce, leeks, parsnips, peas, radish, salad onions, spinach, Swiss chard and spinach beet.
Sow summer bedding under glass: dahlias, impatiens, petunias, phlox drummondii, salvias, asters, tagetes, mesembryanthemums, alyssum,
nicotiana, marigolds and zinnias.
Plant lilies outdoors in borders and tubs.
Lay out growing bags in the greenhouse to warm up the compost before planting.
Sow fruit and vegetable plants for growing on in a heated greenhouse, e.g. tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, cucumbers, etc. or you could decide to buy
plants later.



Plant less robust hardy evergreen shrubs e.g. Hebe and Ceanothus.
Lay turf or sow lawn seed.
Start feeding pond fish more frequently as the water temperature rises.
Vegetables to sow now include: Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, summer cabbage and summer cauliflower.
Dwarf French beans can be sown under cloches.
Watch out for the build up of pests and diseases.
Treat pots against vine weevil attacks using Bug Clear Vine Weevil Killer. It protects your plants for three months.
An organic answer is a half inch deep layer of horticultural grit over the compost surface to deter egg laying.
Marginal plants in ponds can be divided if overcrowded, but watch out for frog spawn.



You can’t race the seasons and seeds do not have to be sown exactly when the packet tells you. My advice with outdoor sowings is watch the weather
not the calendar, as seed sown later when conditions are right usually catches up and surpasses crops put in earlier that had to suffer during bad weather.



March gardening tips - Reg moule


Colour of the Year – Peach Fuzz
Every year Pantone creates a ‘Colour of the Year’ and this year it’s “Peach Fuzz”.
This shade has been chosen as it captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It’s a velvety gentle peach tone whose
all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.
This can be easily incorporated into our flower borders and pots, and here’s my suggestions on plants to use and also what to coordinate with them.
Peach-coloured flowers are a great way to add a pop of colour to your garden. They are soft, warm, and inviting, and can create a beautiful contrast against purple foliage. Here are three of the best peach-coloured
flowering plants that are available here in the UK:
Salvia ‘Peach Parfait’
Salvias are one of my favourite perennials to include in any border due to the variety of
colours available and they are just so reliable (in my opinion!) as they’re semi-evergreen, bushy and are loved by pollinators. This particular variety has a
gorgeous purple stem, grows to around 90cm tall, and will continually flower from June until first frosts. Ideal for any sunny border or container. Using the colour of the purple stem, it will go well with a purple leaved plant such as the evergreen Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ and a dark purple flowering Verbena (which is also
long flowering). Plant them individually in containers of different sizes and group them
together to make a colourful display on your patio.
The Salvia is available from
Hayloft Plants- Salvia Peach Parfait
Digitalis Dalmatian Peach
Foxgloves are one of my favourite flowers, especially when they’re planted in swathes
under a white-stemmed silver birch tree such as the Jacqmontii. Foxgloves come in many colours but this ‘Peach’ variety
is semi-evergreen and biennial which means they bloom during their second year before setting seed. It grows to around 90cm tall.
Rosa Dannahue
With so many beautiful pastel roses to choose from, this new variety called Dannahue is an apricot beauty! Named after
Danny Clarke, aka ‘The Black Gardener’. It’s a repeat flowering English Shrub rose which grows to around 110cm tall, so its gorgeous for a border or container. Obviously it’s
scented and adored by bees!
What’s not to love about this beauty?
This would look gorgeous with Verbena bonariensis as it grows to around 1.5m tall and then underplant it with Geranium
‘Rozanne’ which flowers from June to October. All loved by pollinators and the
sunshine!
These are just a few of the many peach-coloured flowering plants that are available in the UK.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, there’s a peach-coloured plant out there that’s perfect for you.



colour of the year

Continue planting trees, shrubs and perennial plants if conditions are suitable.

Plant shallot sets (in colder areas start them off in pots of compost in a cold frame)

If you do not have a cold frame just buy a large clear plastic storage box, drill some holes in the bottom put in a layer of grit, pop on the lid and there is a cold frame.

Look after garden birds by providing food and water- try to tailor the food to the birds you have around.

In heated greenhouses sow Antirrhinums, Begonia semperflorens, Verbenas and Pansies for summer bedding.

Otherwise buy seedlings or baby bedding plants later to grow on.

Sow sweet pea seeds, growing them on in a cold greenhouse or frame.

Buy seed potatoes and stand them on end in trays or egg boxes to chit (begin to shoot)

Potatoes are easy to grow in pots above 30cm (12in) in diameter. To this end store some first early seed potatoes in the fridge bringing some ouT to chit every ten days. The previously chitted ones are then planted in pots and kept in a frost free place to grow. You will then have a succession of

new potatoes to harvest every fourteen days or so.

Complete the pruning of apples, pears and soft fruits.

Prune Clematis that have their main flowering period from July onwards back hard to about 30cm (1ft) above the soil.

Cut back dead stems of herbaceous perennials to ground level.

Stock up on pots, labels, twine and other quickly consumed sundries before the season gets into full swing.

Prune back old, woody Mahonia stems to keep the plants bushy.

Buy Begonia and Dahlia tubers as well as other summer flowering bulbs such as

Cover strawberry rows with cloches for an earlier crop.

Prune Buddlejas and the Spiraeas with colourful foliage, like Spiraea Goldflame, back hard.

Check wall trained plants to see if they require watering as it can get very dry at the base of a wall.

In heated greenhouses sow Dianthus, Lobelia, Ageratum, and multi-bloom Geraniums for summer bedding.

Dig up, divide and re-plant overcrowded clumps of snowdrops.

Prune winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) by trimming back by two thirds shoots that have flowered.

Sow summer cauliflower in trays under glass.

February gardening tips by Reg Moule

Protect vulnerable plants from frost damage and scorching due to cold winds.

Warm up the soil for early sowings by covering an area with a polythene sheet, or

cloches. If weed seedlings germinate under this all well and good, just hoe them off.

Seed potatoes are around now, buy them soon while there is still a good choice of

varieties available. Stand them in trays with the end with the most buds uppermost

in a light, frost-free place to begin to sprout or “chit”. Plant them outdoors in late

January is the best month for winter washing fruit trees and rose bushes, using Vitax

Keep off frosted or wet grass. If dry give the lawn a trim over before getting the

Check over Hellebores and remove any foliage showing the characteristic black

blotches of leaf spot disease. Even if this means removing most of the leaves there is

Remember to feed your garden birds and make sure that water is also available for

them. Try to tailor the feeds given to the bird species that visit your garden.

Continue to prepare the vegetable garden for the new season, unless it is too wet to

dig. If you get desperate you could always spread your weight by working off a

Apples and pears, but not plums, cherries or any stone fruits, as well as currants,

gooseberries, and summer fruiting raspberries can all be pruned now.

If you have a heated greenhouse, plant up some sprouted seed potatoes in 12 inch

pots of John Innes compost No 3. The crop should be ready in April.

Seeds are uppermost in gardeners’ minds at the moment. Make sure that you buy

yours soon as some varieties may be in short supply.

Check over your trees and shrubs, as this is a good time to prune off any dead,

diseased or misplaced branches except on plums and cherries which are pruned in

If your greenhouse is empty, clean and disinfect it ready for the new season. In an

unheated greenhouse, or cold frame, sow some early salads. Try winter lettuce,

forcing radishes, spring onions and stump-rooted carrots.

Avoid overwatering foliage plants, while plants in flower are likely to need more

frequent watering. Keep an eye open for pests and diseases.

Cut back climbing plants, like Virginia creeper, ivy, climbing hydrangea etc. grown on

house walls by at least 45cm (18in) from all window and door frames. The plants can

continue growth in spring without obstructing them.

The ready germinated seedlings and young plug plants should be available now

ready for growing on in a heated greenhouse. This method removes some of the risk

of growing your own plants from seed, as well as offering young plants that can only

Privet hedges that have been allowed to get out of control can be cut back hard at

this time of year. This will encourage strong new growth from the base.

Hedges are often ignored when it comes to feeding, so give them a dressing of

pelleted chicken manure now. It will provide a gentle boost through the growing

This is a good time to apply garden lime, especially in the vegetable plot. Lime and

manure should never be applied at the same time, so where manure was dug in

Gardening

Creating a border in the shade with clay soil

May Gardening

March gardening tips - Reg moule

colour of the year

February gardening tips by Reg Moule

January Gardening Tips by Reg Moule