Rebuilding a nursery - Copton Ash

[astragalus]

A lot of work accomplished already.  It's going to be amazing.  Please don't forget to photograph the new trough area as you proceed.

[Tim Ingram]

I will Anne! Preparation seems to take forever and then the fun of planting comes - we need to render the troughs and then work out the layout and spacing (and leave a gap for the postman to jump over the wall into the next door neighbour's garden!).

There is so much happening in the garden at the moment, especially woodland plantings under the fruit trees. One of my special interests though is the Umbelliferae/Apiaceae and many of these are emerging - or in the case of the American lomatiums, have been flowering for several weeks. They are such good foliage plants and these are a few examples now:

Peucedanum officinale - 'Hog's Fennel'. This a rare British species only found just north of us at Faversham Creek and eastwards along the coast, and across in Essex. Makes a strong plant flowering in late summer but the new foliage now is attractive.

Thapsia maxima - barely known in cultivation but a really interesting umbel which I must show in flower in the summer. From the Iberian Peninsula, growing in poor sandy soils, and dormant from late summer on like the Giant Fennels. A very striking and tidy foliage plant now, but slow to establish.

Cachrys alpina - just emerging and have yet to see this flower in the garden. We also grow Cachrys trifida and both are going to be exciting to see develop.

Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravens Wing', growing with Paeonia mascula and Brunnera macrophylla.

(We are growing and propagating many rarely grown umbels and they are so often disregarded as garden plants compared to uses in the herb and vegetable garden, but very worthwhile investigating more. The New World species are hardly known at all in cultivation, except for a few alpine genera. I aim to write more about the family in the next year or two).

[astragalus]

Tim, which lomatiums are you growing?

[Matt T]

Great progress, Tim. This must feel good as a nurseryman and be very exciting!

[David Nicholson]

I can't help thinking how disciplined you must be to run a nursery Tim. I can never get ahead in coping with an average garden and greenhouse without giving up the whole of my time.

[Tim Ingram]

Anne - we are growing L. columbianum (very early - only a few flowers left now), grayi and dissectum at the moment. I've tried a lot more from seed - and also Cymopterus - especially some of the smaller alpine species but never managed to establish them for very long. Many probably need nearly bulb frame conditions (and are not of much interest to other gardeners). In fact we find a limited but significant and consistent interest amongst keen gardeners in growing some of the more obscure umbels, which is gratifying. I wrote a booklet about the family for the Hardy Plant Society quite a while ago now and discovered how many other plants-people and nurserymen also had a fascination with them, which makes me want to write more about them again. It is a very significant plant family, and one which everyone recognises but few consider growing more as garden plants.

Matt and David - yes and no. The spirit is there but I don't have quite the energy I used to have so there are spells when progress and discipline comes to a stop! I do also have an amazing wife . Hence this blog and the Kent Diary - they keep me more focussed, and at least are something to look back on and learn as I go. I have always hugely enjoyed growing and propagating plants, but selling them is another matter, and convincing gardeners to be a little more adventurous.

These are pictures of the lomatiums (there are some 90 species in N. America - the largest genus - and plenty that look the same as each other just as in the UK! Not an easy group of plants to identify at times):

[Tim Ingram]

Thought it might be interesting to show this: these are seedlings of Hacquetia epipactis, Lomatium columbianum and Panax trifolius (from Gerd Knoche - thank you Gerd) - and Fritillara pallidiflora on the left - all sown fresh in summer last year and germinating now (the Frit. is two years on). Nothing like growing plants from seed!

[astragalus]

Tim, my favorite is Lomatium martindalii (not sure of that spelling), but it's really difficult in the garden.  The one I find very garden worthy is Lomatium grayi.  It has great foliage, comes up early, and the seed heads are as decorative as the flowers.  Glad to hear you're growing it.

[Tim Ingram]

Not much to do with alpine gardening  - but just watched Sting on bbc iplayer: 'When the Last Ship Sails'. Brilliant! Nice to have a change from plants sometimes...

[Yann]

Just have seen your photos Tim, what a work!

Hope to visit the nursery soon.

[David Nicholson]

Not much to do with alpine gardening  - but just watched Sting on bbc iplayer: 'When the Last Ship Sails'. Brilliant! Nice to have a change from plants sometimes...

I have to agree Tim, I really enjoyed it. I've always thought Sting was too far up his own (as it were!) but this was really good. I sometimes think I would have done better with a small guitar like his rather than struggling to get my strumming arm over my dreadnought.

[Tim Ingram]

Why is it that there is a curious non-linear relationship between the amount of soil you dig out of a hole and the volume of the hole, when you dig it out yourself! Finally got round to removing this annoying tree stump at the end of the area we are going to make a raised standing bed for alpines, having now ordered the materials to go ahead with this project.

[Matt T]

Scientists have indeed been puzzling over this one for a while. It's a complex relationship, other factors including soil type, stubbornness index of the root mass, insolation upon the labourer and frequency of deliveries of thirst-quenching chilled beverages.

If it's any consolation you seem to be making great progress, Tim. Looking forward to seeing the nursery develop this year.

[Maggi Young]

Tim, have you tried tying the dog to the stump and arranging for a rabbit to pass by in the distance?     

[Tim Ingram]

Eventually removed the tree stump! So hopefully now it won't be too long before we can convert this area to a place for bringing on young plants.

It's nice to have stimulation from other things whilst doing these harder jobs and one has been to watch the Kent HPS Chelsea team creating a display over the past week on the Kent HPS website. I have just listened to Colin Moat, who has led the team, being interviewed on Radio Kent by Andy Garland - good interview with a lot to say about the Specialist Plant societies and the friendliness and co-operation between gardeners - and the display looks superb and has created a lot of interest from both the RHS and BBC, so there should be some good coverage on TV I think.