Gardeners and the Environment

Here at Town and City Gardens we are passionate about gardening, wildlife and our environment. Each day brings another news item detailing the damage which is being caused to our planet. Whilst struggling to squeeze yet another black back into the wheelie bin recently the realisation dawned. There is just too much packaging on every single item we buy today.

A little research indicates that "UK households produce the equivalent weight of around 245 jumbo jets per week in packaging waste. In fact, 3.2m tonnes of the 26m tonnes of household waste produced annually comes from packaging." (wasteonline.org) Do we really need this much packaging and waste ? And of course the story does not end when we chuck the packaging in the bin. It has to be dealt with and with much of the waste being plastics this is no easy job and has serious and long term implications for the environment we live in. Surely there must be more environmentally friendly ways of doing it ? We are interested to know your views on this topic.

 Organic Gardening

Gardening organically means that you are taking a wider view. You are looking at your organic garden as part of the whole ecology of the planet and making your contribution to working in harmony with nature and conserving natural resources. Gardening organically means looking at the whole system not just the plants, you have consider the soil, the water supply and the wildlife which inhabits your garden.

Gardening organically means that you look to find natural ways to replenish what you take from the system. For example, as you grow plants they are taking nourishment from the soil. You need to find a natural way of replenishing the soil and that can be done quite simply by adding organic matter. We all have access to organic matter and an ideal way for Town and City gardeners to create organic matter is to compost. Composting does not have to be hard work. You have a lawn ? Include the grass clippings in your compost. Inside the home collect vegetable peelings, egg shells and the like and add those to your compost too! Gardening organically does not have to be hard work and the results of working with rather than against nature can be extremely rewarding. Read More >>

Wildlife Container Garden

Here is an idea which will help you create a wonderful wildlife container, so even if you only have a small town garden you can still encourage wildlife to visit. This container is planted with marjoram, lemon thyme, oregano and sedum. There plants are all perennials so you are making a year in year out investment which will attract butterflies into your garden.

You will need a large container with a layer of crocks or other drainage material in the bottom. Add a layer of compost and then position your plants in the container. For the best arrangment offset the plants with the lemon thyme in the middle.  More Container Garden Ideas>>

Dahlia Care

One of the most frequently asked questions for Town and City garden is how to look after Dahlia Tubers. It is possible to store the tubers (note that many people refer to a dahlia tuber as a dahlia bulb) immediately they are dug up from the ground. The best way however, is to split the dahlia bulb into individual tubers. Splitting the dahlia bulb has the advantage that only the best tubers need to be stored, and individual tubers can be removed from storage if they deteriorate.

Place the fork approximately one foot from the stem stub and insert it deep into the soil at least eight inches. Then gently pry back on the fork to loosen the soil. Repeat this action to totally encircle the stem stub and loosen the soil. At the last insertion, prying back on the fork should lift the stem stub and the clump of dirt. Taking hold of the stem stub, gently lift while prying back on the fork until the clump comes free. Lift gently on the clump with one hand, letting it partially rest on the soil. Using the other hand, carefully remove the soil from the tuber clump. This must be done gently. Many tubers have rather small necks and can be broken or cracked while loosening the soil or carrying the clump to another location. A tuber with a cracked or broken neck will not grow. Having dug up the dahlia tuber, gently hose it down to remove almost all traces of earth. More >>

Global Warming - Plants Emitting C02!

The really surprising finding came with the calculation that during the heat wave, European plants and their ecosystems were putting more carbon dioxide into the air than they were absorbing.