THE GARDEN MUSEUM ….the U.K.

New Talk! InstaGarden: Social media’s impact on gardens and gardening Social media has made gardens, gardening, and gardeners more accessible than ever before. We are now able to visit gardens all over the world and learn from gardening experts all from the comfort of our smartphones. The ways in which we find and filter inspiration has changed but is the experience of visiting a garden in-person irreplaceable? What can those who share gardening content on social media tell us about its power and influence? We’ll be exploring this brave new world in a talk with garden designer Jo Thompson (@jothompsongarden), garden designer and writer Sean Pritchard (@sean_anthony_pritchard), and Iford Manor Head Gardener Steve Lannin (@stevelannin). Tues 14 March, 7pm £15 Standard, £10 Friends / Young Fronds £10 Livestream Book tickets Flowers From The Frontline Raffle Jewellery designer Phoebe Walsh is holding a fundraising raffle with the opportunity to win the some of the artworks and jewellery exhibited in Flowers From The Frontline. Winners will be drawn at a closing ceremony on 17 February, but attendance is not required to be eligible for the prizes. 100% of the sales from every raffle ticket will go towards Sunflowers For Peace and Artists Support Ukraine Foundation. Flowers From The Frontline was a collaboration between Phoebe and Kyivian artist Olga Morozova, who collected and pressed flowers from the new frontlines around her city. The flowers were sent to Phoebe, who encased them in miniature flower pressing books in recycled sterling silver. £10 per raffle ticket. One ticket enters you into a draw to win five original artworks and jewellery prizes. Enter the raffle Job Opportunity: Marketing Officer Come and work with us! We’re looking for a new part-time Marketing Officer: this exciting new role will provide marketing support across our programme of events and exhibitions, with a particular focus on festivals, fairs, and developing our local community audiences. Think this could be the job for you? We want to hear from you! Find out more Plant of the Week: Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’ By Matt Collins, Head Gardener The flowering of little reticulata irises in our courtyard pots is, for me, the kick-off for spring, however early into the new year they appear. There may be frosts still to come, and even the risk of snow later this month, regardless, their striking petals and magnetising falls are an irreversible vernal signal of winter losing its grip. So it feels the appropriate choice for the first ‘Plant of the Week’ of 2023. Trialling and testing bulb species and cultivars in containers — to complement the lush courtyard planting as it charges upwards once again — is one of my many joys gardening at the Museum. Typically, our big bulb period is mid-March through early May, as I tend to favour later-flowering options like ornithogalum, allium and species tulip. This means that our early reticulata irises flower somewhat isolated and alone (bar a few snowdrops), in 7-10 little pots dotted around the garden. But I wouldn’t be without this very beautiful February exception: the reticulatas have their energising moment, they break the winter gloom, and then disappear before the true spring rush. This year, Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’ has arrived yet earlier than our previous iris cultivars, which, following a season marked by spells of such fiercely bitter weather, is all the more appreciated. We pot up our bulbs in mid or late November but no sooner; too early only risks rot and unnecessary squirrel exposure. Under the courtyard walkway a mess is made of compost, grit and bark chips as we empty old containers and mix and prepare new soils for new bulbs, and those saved and stored from the previous spring. Planting combinations are only decided on the day: which bulbs will be paired for visual impact or seasonal succession; which will stand alone. It’s an exercise in creative and practical planning that I enjoy undertaking with each year’s Horticultural Trainee (this year, Caroline Cathcart, pictured), though of course spring results always vary; you never quite know with bulbs. Varieties most likely to invite Lambeth’s squirrel population over the wall — in particular, tulips and croci — are topped with stems of holly, which seems to offer enough protection when bolstered with an inch or two’s topping of grit (we remove the holly around now, once shoots have surfaced). The irises, however, develop under the additional precaution of a crate topped with perspex… they’re worth the extra trouble! We try out a different reticulata each year: most recently, ‘Painted Lady’ (2021— a light grey-violet), ‘Alida’ (2022 — soft blue) and now ‘Blue Note’ (deep blue to purple-violet). The three year succession points to a clear development of preference, namely an escalating intensity of colour — ‘Blue Note’ is without doubt my favourite yet: velvet tipped and honey centred; its white flush speckled like a guinea fowl feather. With their blooms comes an assurance of change and a lightness in the air. About our gardens Object of the Week: Photograph of Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness, by Howard Sooley This week marked Derek Jarman’s birthday, he would have turned 81 years old on Tuesday 31 January. Our 2020 exhibition My garden’s boundaries are the horizon explored his love of gardening, and the garden he created at Dungeness. Jarman acquired Prospect Cottage, a fisherman’s shack on the shingle, for £32,000, when he came across a ‘For Sale’ sign while filming on the beach with Tilda Swinton. Having been diagnosed with HIV in 1986, he resolved ‘to get as much out of life as possible’ and started creating a garden. A garden without a boundary, Jarman’s garden stands beside a nuclear power station: the shingles, wind and salt from the sea provide an extreme version of the ‘right plant, right place’ garden philosophy. It evokes an uplifting sense that if a garden can be made here, it can be made anywhere. Explore our Derek Jarman online exhibition Images: InstaGarden image (c) Sean Pritchard; Flowers from the Frontline image courtesy of Phoebe Walsh; Plant of the Week Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’ (c) Matt Collins; Derek Jarman’s garden at Prospect Cottage, Dungeness (c) Howard Sooley Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB gardenmuseum.org.uk

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Birds and Blooms – June/July/August/September

Birds and Blooms Magazine is an awesome way to learn about birds, houseplants, gardening, bushes, trees, climates, crawly creatures and plant identification. We have offered the opportunity prior for you to read this simple but very informative publication. It’s a great evening read. No TV and you learn so much. Let us know if you woukd like to view them. We can drop them by your location for a weeks lend. Then we can pick them up and pass them to the next location. Birds and Blooms is so worth your time. 

In the September issue we discovered an article about grasses. And we have a current client who wanted grasses as a backdrop to their newly established garden, which we actually planted. We visited the nursery and we selected six Pink Buhly Grass plants at about $75, and planted them last Friday. As you can see in the photo below they are lush and full and very attractive as a filler.

Please contact us to reserve your week of reading at:

ContessasHome@gmail,com or at 703-548-1882

“Contessa” says….., it’s all good!

Repotting Houseplants

Today we repotted houseplants. This  allows their roots to grow well…, in new and larger containers. We cannot let a plant die. It’s never happened once. We love having our house plants outdoors all summer, but it’s equally lovely and rewarding to bring them indoors.  We can always find a spot for them.

Once you remove them from the older and smaller pot, gentlybstretch they’re roots out just a little bit and shake off their old soil as much as you can. We recommend you discard the old soil and plant them in a fresh potting soil medium. Keep the top of the plant even with the top of their new container. This  might mean using more soil than you did when you first planted them. We do not recommend you plant them lower in the pot, just to save soil. They won’t grow to their potential if you skimp on new soil. It’s a process of allowing them to stretch out and grow more.  The process is so rewarding and We have never been disappointed by using this technique. Give it a shot. We think you will be pleased at your success. Enjoy! 

”Contessa” says…., it’s a good thing.

Repotting Houseplants

Remove plant from current pot. Turn your plant sideways, hold it gently by the stems or leaves, and tap the bottom of its current pot until the plant slides out. …

1. Loosen the roots. Loosen the plant’s roots gently with your hands. …
2. Remove old potting mix. ..and discard any dead growth.
3. Add new potting mix. …
4. Add plant. …top off with soil, press down gently to secure.
5. Water and enjoy.

Simple,  but… today might be a perfect day to do this. Purchase a high quality “potting mix.”  Bring your plants outdoors today as we have filtered sun today. Not only will your plants enjoy a clean and larger pot, they will also enjoy the wonderful fresh air today. When you take them back in later today, you will notice a new vigor. They love to be cleaned and cared for. Take a large bucket or bowl outdoors with you and put about 3 inches of water in it. Once you have your plant moved back into its pot, set it in the water and let it drink from the bottom. This way you can see just how much water it’s drinking. In fact, we highly recommend that you water all your indoor plants from the bottom. It’s better for the roots and you are less likely to get bugs, and fungus and avoid overwatering. Place your watered plant back in its saucer and enjoy its revived beauty. We find this so therapeutic, and it’s fun to do. Enjoy your feeling of accomplishment.

“Contessa” says….it’s a good thing.

Gardening in January

We are preparing a list now, of gardening tasks for January. If you have your own ideas, please forward them to us. We will revise our list as your suggestions come in. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Planning now and brainstorming for our 2022 gardening season is essential, so do send us a note with topics you have special interest in. Thank you so much. Stay tuned……

THE GARDEN CONTESSA

Time to repot plants indoors

 

What is this plant and should it be repotted?  

This Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica) has definitely outgrown its planter. It would greatly benefit from repotting. First, search your own selection of spare pots. You definitely need a drainage hole and the new planter should be twice the size of the current root ball. In fact, if it has been in the current planter for some time, you may have to break your pot to remove it. The goal in replanting is to provide more rich new soil to surround it with, and better drainage. If it has a good supply of soil distributed around it in the new planter, it will stay wet longer. You might consider waiting until spring, but if it’s stopped producing any new growth just go for it now. A great project for a day when you are shut in from wind, snow or rain. And repotting indoors is advantageous in terms of it re-establishing itself. Once you have moved it,
try to place it up on top of a table near daylight, as it “recovers” from being moved and replanted. It normally takes a couple of weeks before the root system starts to root itself into the new soil that you have now provided.

When you remove the large plant from the old planter some small baby sprouts may pull away. If they have any roots, now would be an excellent time to start a new plant in a smaller pot. And if the root ball is very compacted, it’s also an excellent time to loosen it ever so slightly with your hands, by holding the lower half of the root ball and just stretching it out a little bit. Then when you put it in the new planter, just be sure, once you have added soil around it and covered it; to place your hands around the top of the plant, and with some force, push down around the top. Now pack some extra soil around the top, to make sure it’s well balanced and secure.

Our advice on watering all indoor plants is to make sure you have a drainage saucer that is adequate to hold some spare water. Water your plants from the bottom by filling the saucer. An hour or so later, go back and fill the saucer again. Repeat until it stops drinking water. This way you can tell how much its drinking and you won’t disturb the soil on the top of the planter.

Repotting is such fun, and so satisfying to do with a plant that you’ve had a very long time. It will look wonderful and fresh. Preservation of our beloved houseplants is a “good thing to do.”  

“…..so says Contessa”