Climbing Roses

Roses should be in full bloom throughout summer with their beautiful fragrant flowers bursting with colour. We have chosen 3 of our favourites for you to admire.

The Falstaff- These have lovely crimson purple full petaled flowers surrounded by rich foliage. These roses are strong, bushy and upright and provide a wonderful old rose fragrance.----->

Teasing Georgia- This rose has beautiful two tone yellow flowers with a centre of deep yellow and outer petals that are pale yellow. It has a good resistance to disease and flowers well each year.--->

Generous Gardener-This climbs with strong and elegant arching. It has dark green foliage and fragrant pale pink flowers.----->

Whitehalls Plant of the Month

Whitehalls plant of the month is the Penstemon. Penstemons have become very popular over recent years particularly for their flowers. They are available in a wide range of colours which produce stunning blooms over a long period during the summer. Our store stocks

Apple Blossom, Blue Springs, Garnet, Heavenly Blue, Patio Coral, Patio Wine, Raven,

Sour Grapes and White Bedder all at £7.99 in a 3Litre pot.

Grape Vines

Grape vines are a great fruit to grow. The selection of vines has progressed rapidly over the past 10 years. It is now possible to grow a choice of varieties outside that will provide dessert and wine grapes. Vines are also good as they are all self fertile and most of the outdoor varieties are self thinning and do not require much attention.

When planting grapes there are some factors that need to be considered. They need as much sun as possible so it is good to choose a south facing wall. Well drained soil is also important and if water logging is a problem for you it is advisable not to attempt growing grapes. The best soil to plant grapes in is gritty or sandy soil enriched with organic matter. Most soils can be used except clay and chalk. It is good to plant grapes in October to November or February to March. There should ideally be a space of 1.5m between each vine.

Some popular vines include Chasselas, Phoenix, Regent and Thompson Seedless.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are a wonderful way to brighten up your garden and add some instant colour. These plants can go in borders, beds, baskets and tubs. As the risk of frost is now over it is safe to put them straight into your garden. Pansys, Busy Lizzies, Geranium and Osteospurmum are amongst some of the popular bedding plants. Bedding plants need to be watered regularly and dead headed to allow new growth. Multi purpose compost is fine for general bedding plants. You may want to add a fertiliser to the soil when planting such as Bone Meal, to give it extra nutrients and help with growth. General bedding like to be grown in a sunny position but will tolerate slight shade.

Top 3 plants for May

Clematis Montana Var Grandiflora- This is a lovely climber which produces single white flowers with cream anthers. These are produced for about 4 weeks at the end of spring beginning of summer. It also bears wonderful foliage throughout summer and is a quick climber.This clematis can grow upto 10m tall and 4m wide.

Allium x Hollandicum-( please see image) This is an upright bulbous perennial. During the summer period it produces thick, round heads of many star shaped purple flowers. Many people dry the attractive seed heads out during the autumn as they are good for dried flower arrangements. Alliums prefer to be grown in the full sun but will tolerate light shade. They like fertile well drained soil and can grown to 1m tall.

Choisya Aztex Pearl AKA Mexican Orange Blossom- The Aztec pearl is a robust evergreen shrub. From late spring to late summer is produces pink tinted white flowers with a sweet scent. The leaves are a glossy green and provide a lovely aroma. These plants like to be grown in the sun but can tolerate part shade. They can be planted in multi purpose soil and the flowers should be deadheaded so the next lot of flowers are healthy

Removing Pond Weeds

Your pond should be cleaned out early to prevent weeds taking over. Blanket weed and Duckweed are two major pond weeds that should be cleaned out. Duckweed is particularly difficult to get rid of if it becomes established. It can be easily be removed using a net and scooping it out of the pond.
Blanket weed is an algae which looks a bit like candy floss. Again it is easily removed, all you need to do is twist it around a garden cane or old broom handle. Once it has been removed leave it at the side of the pond with an end trailing into the pond so that pond creatures can easily go back into the pond. After that it can be added to the compost bin. To reduce the likelihood of these weeds try adding Oxygenating plants to the pond as they help to reduce the growth of algae.

Gardening Tips for May

-Protect your plants from Slugs

-Use water fertiliser on aquatic plants

-Take care of your lawn by feeding, weeding and mowing regularly

-Prune spring flowering shrubs that have finished flowering

-Finish planting evergreen shrubs

-Protect your crops from carrot fly

-Continue sowing vegetable plants

-Plant Dahlias near the end of the month.