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Lighten up for summer
I'm currently sprucing up my patio in preparation for the summer and have decided to add some light to the scene to create atmosphere when I'm chilling out with my glass of wine in the evening during the warmer months.
I'm currently sprucing up my patio in preparation for the summer and have decided to add some light to the scene to create atmosphere when I'm chilling out with my glass of wine in the evening during the warmer months.
I learned my lesson with lighting some time ago, after installing a wall light on the back of the house, which just shone in everyone's faces and did nothing for the garden or the patio.
Remember that a little light goes a long way at night, so don't over-light the area as extremely bright garden lighting often has a garish, unwelcoming look.
Instead, decide what features to light and to what intensity. Use lighting selectively, making use of the darkness and enhance the best elements at the same time as concealing the worst.
There are so many different lights on the market it's difficult to know what to choose, but if you have any borders around your patio, subtle solar lights within flowerbeds or along paths can create a relaxing mood, although they are unlikely to provide enough practical light to enable you to see your guests. I particularly like the new Gardman Luna stainless steel solar light (12.99), a contemporary, rust-proof light which provides both good looks and a long life (for stockists phone 01406 372 227).
If you don't have a natural spot to place solar lights, you can buy patio umbrellas which are fitted with solar lights in the canvas, but remember that they will only provide a limited amount of light.
Low voltage garden lighting products are easy enough to connect but the transformer connection and installation of any other mains voltage lights or equipment can lead to dangerous situations if not done correctly, so hire a registered electrician to do the work.
The key to successful garden lighting is flexibility: use spiked fittings so the position of the lighting can be changed to suit the changing seasons and planting growth.
You can also buy water features which have lights incorporated to create a mood. In a small shady planting area of my patio I recently installed a textured glass pyramid (Stonesdale, 199.99), one of the Alan Titchmarsh range of contemporary water features, which has multi-coloured LED lights inside. At first I felt it was a bit of a throwback to the Seventies with its changing coloured lights, but now that I have planted around it with ferns and other shade-loving plants, it looks more subtle and certainly provides a talking point among guests.
Incidentally, the Alan Titchmarsh range also includes polished stainless steel balls, tubes and other contemporary designs (for stockists phone 0113 244 2299).
If you have particular garden features which you want to highlight, think about lighting them individually. Big patio pots containing impressive architectural plants can be enhanced with some lighting underneath. You can buy cheap plastic uplighters and push them into your containers to cast interesting shadows in the evening.
Of course, the cheapest form of lighting is candles, which can give a surprising amount of light when placed in groups on a table. Go for the outdoor types which have a thicker wick to stop gusts of wind blowing them out.
If you don't have easy access to electricity - and don't want to fork out for the cost of an electrician - there are loads of candle holders and oil lanterns available. For a splash of colour, place Weaver nest tea light holders in colours of aqua, fuchsia, olive or tangerine, on branches of overhanging trees (available from Fairwind, www.fairwindonline.com/020 8374 6254).
BEST OF THE BUNCH - Erysimum (perennial wallflower)
These pretty perennials do not need replacing every year like their biennial counterparts, and nearly all are evergreen. They thrive in sun and on well-drained soil enriched with organic matter. Trim them after flowering to remove faded flowers and straggly shoots and keep them neat. Good varieties include E. 'Bowles' Mauve', which grows to around 75cm (30in). Its spikes start flowering in March and peak in April, but then it flowers intermittently until late autumn. Place it with silver-leaved Mediterranean-style plants and dwarf bulbs and you won't go far wrong. Other good varieties include the compact, low-growing E. 'Wenlock Beauty', whose copper flowers fade to mauve, while 'Plantworld Gold' produces gold flowers which age to purple. Erysimum don't last forever, though. They will need to be replaced around every three years.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - French beans
If you've space in your greenhouse or on the windowsill, start sowing your French beans now for a summer crop which will be both tasty and highly ornamental. They need a warm, sunny site with fertile soil. Sow them with two seeds per pot at 5cm (2in) deep and plant out once they are around 8cm (3in) tall, once all danger of frost has passed.
Set up a wigwam or double row of canes around 20cm (8in) apart for climbing French beans, which produce white or pale mauve blooms followed by green, yellow, purple and red-flushed pods. Unusual varieties include 'Violet Podded Stringless', which has slim pods that are bright purple but turn dark green when cooked, or 'Borlotto', which produce light green pods flecked with red which turn bright red when mature.
Dwarf French beans are best grown in small blocks when nearby plants provide support. Alternatively sow them in single or double rows. Good varieties include 'Kenyan', which produces slender, stringless pods, and 'Purple Teepee', with beautiful purple pods.
Harvest the pods when they are large enough and snap crisply in half.
I always find that planting some sweet peas with beans helps increase the crop, as the sweet peas encourage bees which will pollinate the flowers of the beans.
THREE WAYS TO... Merge vegetables into a flower border
1. Grow dwarf plants at the front of the border, including lettuces and beetroot, which add contrasting colour and foliage to ferny carrots and parsley.
2. Use asparagus and salsify in the middle of a border as flowering or foliage plants.
3. Save space at the back of the border for tall crops such as sweetcorn and globe artichokes, combined with climbing beans on wigwams.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
:: Plant gladioli corms in succession from now until the end of spring to extend their flowering season.
:: Plant out young sweet peas raised from autumn sowings.
:: Prepare celery trenches for planting out young plants raised under glass.
:: Stand containers on pot feet or bricks to ensure good drainage.
:: Transplant young seedlings of cabbages and other brassicas sown in seed beds earlier in the year.
:: Sow courgette, marrow, squash, tomato and sweetcorn in pots indoors.
:: Cover the rows of strawberry crops with tunnel cloches, opening the sides each day to allow access for pollinating insects to reach the early flowers.
:: Keep netting or fleece handy to cover fruits in flower on cold nights to protect them from frost.
:: Divide large waterlilies now.
:: Dig out problem weeds like buttercups, daisies and dandelions from lawns.
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 7 C
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