Playing Mother Nature

01/11/2006

Just the other day I was talking to a friend about gardening, (I do have other topics of conversation, honest. It's just that they aren't suited to a gardening column). My friend lamented that she had left it “too late” to get her tulip bulbs into her garden.

Strictly speaking if it were cold, or the ground frozen or the weather was behaving itself in any way that resembled “how it was when I was young” I would agree. But, I planted some bulbs just two weeks ago myself on a very warm, sunny afternoon that more closely resembled early summer than late autumn.

Bulbs do require a period of dormancy and the threat is that if weather continues to be warm they will start to emerge too early and could be damaged by sharp frosts. To help prevent this, ensure that bulbs are planted deeply enough, two and a half, to three times the height of the bulb.

Adding a layer of mulch will help to prevent early appearances happening in the first place so, if you do notice the emergence of foliage in the middle of winter, cover the growing tips with a good thick layer of chipped bark or compost.  As it rots down the mulch will add nutrients to the soil for the following year.

It may not be too late for the lawn, grass or whatever you call your green area either. I can remember my father cleaning off his mower and putting it away at the end of September looking forward to not seeing it again until the following March when it would start to grow again. Well, in recent years I have mown grass in December, and I continue to cut it if it is still growing except in very cold weather or hard frosts.

Nature does not obey all of the “rules” all of the time, and neither should we gardeners. Plants seed themselves freely around my garden and some seem to find the most inhospitable place (according to the books) and grow happily, whereas, a hardy specimen of the same plant bought from a garden centre planted in the same place might curl up and die.

Experimentation and experience are the keys to successful gardening so try things out. If it works, hurrah. If it doesn't you've increased your knowledge base.

I understand that if you are just getting to grips with gardening you may be confused with my ideas. Well, here's an example in support of my theories: packets of seeds may instruct you to sow in early Spring, or late Spring. But when does Spring really start? March 21st it says in my diary, (it also says that Aneurin Bevan announced his plans for the NHS on that day in history - remarkable things, diaries. I don't know how they do it for £2.50).
But, in my book (the one I keep in my head), Spring starts when the Spring-like weather sets in. You have to use your common sense.

Packets that suggest a spring planting usually mean when the soil is warm, so if we have a particularly wet, cold March don't sow your seeds directly into the open garden. This year spring was late and I started off many seeds indoors instead of open ground.

Likewise summer didn't go by the book this year. My crop of sweetcorn frazzled in the excessive heat wave, and the courgettes had to be watered constantly to prevent them drying out. 

So, whether it is too late for my friend to get her tulips in, depends on the weather, whether the gardening books agree or not!