Gardening expert Diarmuid Gavin reveals the ingenious hack he uses to stop his favourite plants succumbing to the elements
The weather outside has been somewhat frightful of late – and that’s all the more reason to get into the garden now to save some of the plants that could succumb to the wind and rain. Storm Claudia, anyone?
My top tip involves an old pair of tights – so stop before throwing those holey numbers out. Instead of consigning them to the bin, use them to tie in climbing roses to prevent wind damage. Take your old nylon tights and tie them in a figure of eight between stem and support. It works well every time – and you’re saving rubbish from landfill to boot. It’s a win win.
Elsewhere, this week I’ve been loving the Liriope ‘Okina’ – or Lily Turf. Lily turf is a very resilient plant for shady areas. I grow it under some acers and every year am delighted by the violet-purple spikes of flower that appear from early autumn.
Their foliage is quite grass like and strappy and ‘Okina’ is a variety with unusual leaves. They emerge quite white, become speckled and then deepen to green over the year. Grow in moist soil in full or partial shade. Now is an excellent time to invest.
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Other jobs for the week
- If you are forcing hyacinths for Christmas, have a peep at them to check their growth. Leave them in the dark under black plastic until at least an inch of growth is showing.
- Plant up some hippeastrum bulbs for striking indoor displays.
- Lawn mowing may be over but you can give your garden a neater appearance for the winter by cutting the edges with a lawn edger for a crisp finish.
- Warm weather in October and November means there have been quite a few weeds growing so on clement days, try to pull out a few.
- It’s the right time to prune deciduous hedging but leave evergreen hedges until the spring. Clean tools before putting them away for winter. Fill a small bucket with sand and oil and dip the metal parts of the tools in. This will clean and oil them for winter.
Plants your kids can get excited about
Carnivorous plants exert a fascination, particularly to children. The idea that a plant can gobble up an insect is gruesome and intriguing.
The best known of these is the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). If an insect or spider is detected, it opens its serrated jaws, (well, leaves really), and traps the prey inside. The method of digestion is also quite gory – it’s a slow death for the victim who is slowly broken down by degradative enzymes over a period of a week or so.
Once fully digested, the leaves open and the husk of the insect is ejected.
The reason carnivorous plants eat insects is due to lack of nutrients available in their environment. Many originate from poor boggy soil and wet savannahs with little in the way of nitrogen and other minerals available and so they turn to small creepy-crawlies for sustenance.
This gives us some clues about how to look after them. You are trying to replicate their original conditions as much as possible.
They need to be in acidic moist soil and use rain water only as they are too delicate for tap water which contains chlorine. Keep their feet wet during the growing season by standing in a saucer or tray with water.
In the case of the Venus flytrap, it doesn’t need a heated greenhouse – an unheated greenhouse with the windows open so insects can come in is perfect or a sunny windowsill indoors. Cut back the leaves at this time of year – they will be dying back anyway but keep somewhat moist over winter, somewhere cooler as they are dormant and they will regenerate in the spring.
Sarracenias are probably the most ornamental of the carnivorous plants. Also known as pitcher plants, their leaves are long and slender, tubular in shape, creating a slide for insects to drop into and await their deadly fate. This plant will happily gobble up bluebottles, houseflies and wasps – a truly organic method of pest control. The top of the tube or hood is often brightly coloured or patterned to lure the prey in.
Sarracenia “Juthatip Soper” is a beautiful cultivar with deep pink and purple colouration. These are hardy so could be an interesting addition to a boggy garden.
There are also some native meat-eating plants such as Common butterwort (Pinguicula). This can be found in bogs and fens and has a pretty purple flower. The cup-shaped leaves are sticks and once an insect lands, there is no escape.
Bladderwort (Utricularia) is an aquatic native that grows in ponds and bog pools and floats on the top. It catches its dinner by using tiny underwater bladders that open at the speed of light when triggered by its prey. The microscopic aquatic creatures are sucked in and the trap door is then shut tight. Game over.
And then there are the sundews (Drosera). Their delicate frond-like leaves are covered with tiny hairs coated in sticky liquid. An insect landing by mistake will be stuck and the whole leaf curls around the insect, ready to devour it.
Carnivorous plants may be grisly but they are also fascinating, beautiful, quite easy to grow and provide a great way of introducing children to the wonderful world of plants.
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