A Meldreth Garden

Firstly apologies, last month the italics indicating botanical names got lost in translation to the magazine. [Editor’s Note: Sorry, my fault entirely.] The RHS naming convention, common name, Botanical name and ‘Cultivar’, e.g., daylily Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' should be used.

A time to look back and learn; firstly no more seed packets of dahlia ‘bishop’s children’ or anything similar. I am left with numerous dahlia plants, only one is garden worthy. The parent far superior to any of its children, with clean intense single red flower and deeply cut foliage.

Many plants will not stand seed being sown too early, anything half hardy and temperamental stands little chance of reaching maturity. When sown early germination was good but plants died soon after potting on. I will be more selective in future.

Overall it has been an excellent year in the garden and on the allotment. I will now start planning for next year as it is time to plant shallots and garlic, etc. A cuttings garden for 2024 is an appealing idea.

Gardens may lose vigour at this time of year but here is a range of plants to maintain good flower colour until the first frosts. Some excellent perennial plants are:

Rock knotweed Bistorta affinis 'Donald Lowndes', pink flower fading to red and good autumn leaf colour. Hokkaido chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum yezoense a spreading perennial 1.5m, with white daisy flowers. Another late flowering perennial shrub is Moroccan daisy Rhodanthemum hosmarienseshort only 0.3m high with white daisy like flowers. Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’, spikes of blue flowers, needs sun and good drainage, 1m high. Classic Japanese anemone Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert', clump-forming perennial about 1.2m tall, good cultivar with pure white flowers. Aster × frikartii ‘Mönch', clump-forming perennial to 0.7m tall, lavender-blue daisies with yellow eye, will stand without staking. Not to my liking, Chrysanthemum 'Mei-kyo' is pretty and for a couple of autumn months it produces small, button-like, pompom flowers in pale purplish pink. Hardy plumbago, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, 0.5m clusters of sharp blue flowers with spectacular autumn leaf colour. Hardy perennial sedum, Hylotelephium 'Red Cauli', red, 0.7m tall. Salvia 'Amistad' a wonderful autumn flowering plant, blue flower 1.5m, needs winter protection or take cuttings to propagate in the greenhouse. Mine died out last winter. A neat little perennial Saxifraga 'Shiranami' 0.25m, best planted in partial shade, white flowers. Alpine herbaceous perennial Chinese gentian Gentiana sino-ornata needs space, it will rot if too wet, a need for acid soil may be a problem here. As well as blue there are white cultivars Gentiana sino-ornata ‘Purity’ is a good white example.

The pruning month: prune faded flowers from buddleja to keep them flowering, when flowering has ended, cut back by a third. Do this with lavatera, tall roses and any other shrubs prey to wind rock that flower on new wood. Prune out any dead, damaged and diseased branches on trees, shrubs and bushes whenever seen. Cut back to the ground the likes of Alchemilla mollis, looking tatty by this time of year. Fast growing hedges such as Leyland cypress Cupressus × leylandii and Portuguese Laurel can be cut back; better still pull them out and plant something better. Prune climbing roses.

Jobs for the Flower Garden

 Plant spring bulbs in pots for a spring show, siberian iris, narcissi, muscari, hyacinths and syernbergia; hold off planting tulips until next month

 Cut back faded perennials that look objectionable and have died down, leave the rest for wildlife

 Move tender plants, including aquatic ones, into a greenhouse or conservatory

 Finish collecting seeds from the garden into paper bags to sow next year

 Last chance to mow lawns and trim hedges, renovate old lawns or create new grass areas by laying turf

 Gather leaves to make leaf mould

 Mulch borders

 Plant winter bedding

 Could sow next year's sweet peas in a cold frame or greenhouse.

Jobs for the Vegetable Garden

 Plant lettuces undercover, plant out spring cabbages

 Harvest and store apples, pears, squash and pumpkins

 Divide established rhubarb crowns to create new plants

 Cut down the stems of autumn fruiting raspberries after fruiting

 Take hardwood cuttings from fruit bushes and shrubs

 Put grease bands around fruit trees to protect from winter moths

 Clear the last of summer crops and put down green manure

 Sow hardy broad bean seed that will over winter, cultivars such as Aquadulce.

Iain McPhee mcpheia1@gmail.com

To view this or past issues online, follow us on: issuu.com/meldrethmatters

Church services, Women’s Group meetings, bell ringing and FOHT events are held in Holy Trinity Ch Holy Trinity Church. MLHG meetings, Parish Council meetings, Food Bank & Village Hub are in the C pm

Village Hub Acro TP Pilates T Tennis Council pm

Village Hub Acro

TP Pilates

Table Tennis

9.30am Slimming World

1.00-2.00 Cam Vale Bus

User Group Meeting, Elin Way Community Centre (see page 11)

7.00pm for 7.30pm Melbourn Dynamos Quiz Night (see back cover)

9.45am Sung Eucharist

8.00am Said Eucharist

9.30am Slimming World

2.00-4.00pm Dementia Memory Café

9.45am Sung Eucharist

9.30am Slimming World pm

Village Hub Acro Trigger Point Table Tennis

Village Hub

Trigger Point

Table Tennis

9.30am Slimming World

7.00 for 7.30pm Film Night: Allelujah

Pre-booked tickets only (see page 4 or scan the QR code)

Refuse Collections Black bins: 10th, 24th

Blue & Green bins: 3rd, 17th

Getremindersonyourmobile:downloadthe BinCollectionsapp hurch. The Mobile Library Service visits Bell Close. Meldreth Marvels Cycling Group meet opposite Community Room in Elin Way. All other events are held in the Village Hall unless otherwise indicated.