Plants for the Garden
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:26 pm
Mr Bond asked me to post some advice on plants for Garden Railways.
The truth is I don't know much (anything), its all down to my wife Christine. This is what she says....................
Here are some recommended plants for garden railways.
Thymes, these are some of the best plants, and they are so good at covering the ground they can spread very quickly. If you end up with too much growing in one place they may be gently pulled apart to place elsewhere. Every time your trains go past, small parts of plants will be removed and deposited elsewhere along the line. Seed will be dispersed and low and behold a new plant starts growing in another place. That is nature at its very best. We have a large amount of bees attracted into the garden. This is a fantastic joy for both family and visitors. The bees love the thyme and remember, if you leave them alone you won’t have any problems. The best thyme we have is a creeping thyme, the colour is outstanding and every person that has seen it has commented on it. It flowered for about two months. I think of it as the happy curve in our line. I trimmed it back taking all the dead flower heads off after blooming and another flush had started. It is very low growing and close knit which helps with the curve and slope holding the soil together.
Thymus serpyllum “Minor” is another good one. You may find it in garden centres under thyme minimus, as a typing error in a 1975 catalogue that has continued today. It is a mat forming low creeping tiny grey leaves with mauve flowers, happily left alone, it spreads.
Thymus “Doone Valley” has bright green and gold variegated leaves and a heavenly scent, with a fruity lemon flavour, brush your hands over it and rub your hands together, take a deep breath in, it’s a must have for your garden. It has purple flowers and may be used in cooking for meat, fish, fruit salads and baked custard. Not just good for nature but also nurture and railways!
Sedum or stonecrop is another fantastic plant. There are lots of different types available, and as long as you purchase the alpine varieties you can’t go wrong. These plants will grow anywhere and from the smallest piece dropped anywhere. They will root so easily, a young child could plant them. If you bought one plant and pulled it apart into the smallest pieces and placed it just on the soil it will root. When you take it from the pots look at the root structure along the stem you will see minuscule hairy roots, this is a succulent plant and will grow near rock or on the smallest piece of soil. It usually has yellow flowers on this plant, it will flower its head off and shine like the sun for weeks and weeks. Place a piece of cardboard or plastic sheeting to collect the parts of the plant that you are about to cut off when it has finished blooming, look into the plant to see where it has died back to and with a positive hand cut off the dead stems. Don’t worry, it may look a little bare for a while but remember your eyes need a rest from such a fantastic colour. As winter approaches you will look forward to seeing it again next year. Look through the parts you have cut off, drop these on some soil that my be bare and press them into the soil they may take again, have the patience to wait and see, you may be surprised.
Purchase, Sedum Spathulifolium “Cape Blanco” this is a low growing carpet forming silver-white succulent foliage with yellow flowers in late spring to mid summer. They look like little rose heads in the pots. You can split them in the same way as the thymes, but be careful not to knock each individual flower head. After flowering remember cut back the same way, ready for next year and a bigger plant. The height of this plant is 5cmx30com spread. (RHS AGM plant).
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit is awarded to plants judged to have excellent garden qualities. These plants have a symbol on the labels. They have been tested for their ability to survive most problems novice gardeners encounter.
When you make your purchases look for a few things. Check that the plants came from Britain, they should have a British flag on the label. You are helping our country’s nursery men and women to work.
Christine Skillicorn (Mrs INJIN!)
The truth is I don't know much (anything), its all down to my wife Christine. This is what she says....................
Here are some recommended plants for garden railways.
Thymes, these are some of the best plants, and they are so good at covering the ground they can spread very quickly. If you end up with too much growing in one place they may be gently pulled apart to place elsewhere. Every time your trains go past, small parts of plants will be removed and deposited elsewhere along the line. Seed will be dispersed and low and behold a new plant starts growing in another place. That is nature at its very best. We have a large amount of bees attracted into the garden. This is a fantastic joy for both family and visitors. The bees love the thyme and remember, if you leave them alone you won’t have any problems. The best thyme we have is a creeping thyme, the colour is outstanding and every person that has seen it has commented on it. It flowered for about two months. I think of it as the happy curve in our line. I trimmed it back taking all the dead flower heads off after blooming and another flush had started. It is very low growing and close knit which helps with the curve and slope holding the soil together.
Thymus serpyllum “Minor” is another good one. You may find it in garden centres under thyme minimus, as a typing error in a 1975 catalogue that has continued today. It is a mat forming low creeping tiny grey leaves with mauve flowers, happily left alone, it spreads.
Thymus “Doone Valley” has bright green and gold variegated leaves and a heavenly scent, with a fruity lemon flavour, brush your hands over it and rub your hands together, take a deep breath in, it’s a must have for your garden. It has purple flowers and may be used in cooking for meat, fish, fruit salads and baked custard. Not just good for nature but also nurture and railways!
Sedum or stonecrop is another fantastic plant. There are lots of different types available, and as long as you purchase the alpine varieties you can’t go wrong. These plants will grow anywhere and from the smallest piece dropped anywhere. They will root so easily, a young child could plant them. If you bought one plant and pulled it apart into the smallest pieces and placed it just on the soil it will root. When you take it from the pots look at the root structure along the stem you will see minuscule hairy roots, this is a succulent plant and will grow near rock or on the smallest piece of soil. It usually has yellow flowers on this plant, it will flower its head off and shine like the sun for weeks and weeks. Place a piece of cardboard or plastic sheeting to collect the parts of the plant that you are about to cut off when it has finished blooming, look into the plant to see where it has died back to and with a positive hand cut off the dead stems. Don’t worry, it may look a little bare for a while but remember your eyes need a rest from such a fantastic colour. As winter approaches you will look forward to seeing it again next year. Look through the parts you have cut off, drop these on some soil that my be bare and press them into the soil they may take again, have the patience to wait and see, you may be surprised.
Purchase, Sedum Spathulifolium “Cape Blanco” this is a low growing carpet forming silver-white succulent foliage with yellow flowers in late spring to mid summer. They look like little rose heads in the pots. You can split them in the same way as the thymes, but be careful not to knock each individual flower head. After flowering remember cut back the same way, ready for next year and a bigger plant. The height of this plant is 5cmx30com spread. (RHS AGM plant).
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit is awarded to plants judged to have excellent garden qualities. These plants have a symbol on the labels. They have been tested for their ability to survive most problems novice gardeners encounter.
When you make your purchases look for a few things. Check that the plants came from Britain, they should have a British flag on the label. You are helping our country’s nursery men and women to work.
Christine Skillicorn (Mrs INJIN!)
