The greenhouse effect: Protect your plants this winter
BUT sometimes there are advantages available in giving tough plants the possibility of slightly protection, and the Victorians had a trick or two up their sleeve.
In the times of Downton Abbey, when “the enormous house” employed umpteen gardeners, in addition to having a walled kitchen garden within which the produce for Mrs Patmore’s kitchen can be raised and taken to the cook daily, there has been mostly more than a few greenhouses dedicated to flowers in addition to fruit: carnations, arum lilies, orchids and chrysanthemums would have greenhouses to themselves. There will be gardenias for the master of the house’s butonhole – the Victorians liked nothing greater than forcing hardy shrubs out of season.
Now when you’ve got an unheated greenhouse that stands idle, say from now until April if you happen to plant your tomatoes, why not bring some shrubs into bloom early and enliven your living quarters?
Forsythia, magnolia, flowering currant and lilac can all accept extra protection and encouraged to flower weeks ahead of their normal season.
Bought on the nursery or garden centre now, potted up in 12in or 15in pots of John Innes No.3 potting compost and stood outside until the hot Year, they are going to settle into their containers and will be brought under cover in January, February or March. By having a couple of at your disposal you could bring them into the greenhouse several weeks apart so you have a succession of blooms.
There is not any apply heat, the safety the glass provides might be encouragement enough to get shoots bursting and flowers blooming earlier than those outdoors. Bright light is all they want.
Keep an eye fixed on them for water (they may not need liquid feed until later in spring) and when the flowers begin to show colour, bring them indoors to embellish the home.
What did the Victorians do for us? They showed us the manner in terms of filling the home with unexpected flowers.
Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and each day inside the Daily Express. For more info on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.
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