Author: gardenspast123

I’m a Craft Gardener with over 20 years of hands-on experience in professional gardening and soft landscaping. As the internet continues to reshape gardening advice, forums, and consultancy services, horticultural knowledge is constantly evolving—making it more important than ever to share proven techniques and alternative approaches to pest control, plant diseases, and weed management. Even the smallest adjustments to garden aspect, soil preparation, planting, or pruning can have a major impact on a plant’s health, vigour, and long-term lifespan. Through my gardening blog and online advice, I aim to educate, motivate, and inspire gardeners of all levels—from complete beginners to experienced green-fingered enthusiasts.

Shrubs for Small Spaces

by gardenspast123, posted in Flowers, Horticulture, Shrubs

Foliage, flowers and berries can all be achieved despite having a small area to play with. There are Conifers, Pines and Junipers which are slow growing but strictly speaking not dwarf. Thuja Teddy, Picea glauca conica and Juniperus green carpet. it’s more they stay smaller for longer. There are, however, compact shrubs that stay in this habit and need little pruning.

Skimmia japonica offers flowers, aroma and berries at different times of the year. Skimmia dislike full sun but too little, they can become leggy. The aspect should be slightly sheltered too. This shrub can be grown in a container and to do so would control the size. They do prefer a more acidic environment and so if necessary its habitat regulated.

Pieris japonica is another choice that can be containerised or planted in the ground. This shrub has interesting foliage that changes from red to pink to cream. It’s an evergreen so provides interest all year and in spring will bear cream flowers. The shrub is hardy but still needs a sheltered spot. It needs sun too. The soil must be on the acidic side and be well drained.

Acer palmatum or Japanese maple come in a variety of sizes. Some are small trees and some larger. A. palmatum ‘Ever Red Tree’ is a dwarf variety that is ideal for a pot or small area. It has a weeping habit and bears attractive leaves. The shrub doesn’t cope well in full sun so partial shade is better.

Azaleas/Rhododendrons come in a variety of sizes. These ornamental shrubs are related but still recognised in their own entiriety. The varieties you would choose would be those suited to rock gardens. R . ‘Percy wiseman’ a semi dwarf offering a pinkish display flowering in succession through a range of colours finishing with a creamy white. Equally, a true dwarf – R. Princess Ann flowering from mid to late spring offering yellow flowers. It will cope in full sun and withstand quite severe conditions.

Spirea is a decidious shrub that flowers in summer can be kept to a reduced size with little maintenance or care. It has an average growth but cutting it back each year will benefit the plant. It prefers a full sun to partial shade aspect but generally will cope. It is quite flexible on the soil it prefers, the aspect too, just that it dosen’t like sitting in water – most plants don’t though – so well drained.

Potentilla ‘Bella Bellisima’ (Pink) or Bella ‘Sol’ (Orange) a small shrub requiring no maintenance at all other than a top snip after flowering. This is for aesthetics as much as a quick dead-head. Potentillas tolerate poor soil. All that they ask is than they have adequate sunlight and are in well drained soil.

Low Risk Perennials

by gardenspast123, posted in Diseases, Flowers, Horticulture, Shrubs, Soil

Good housekeeping of plants/sufficient air circulation can cut the risk of disease and fungal infections but some plants are naturally resilient. Perennials with this trait can be incorporated in the open space and have an impact on neighbouring varieties. While these are not free from problems, under the right conditions very easy to keep.

Phlox can be scented and provide you with summer flowers, the varieties mostly through to autumn. Pinks, purples and whites. Some mat forming and some upright. The perennial is good in most aspects although they need a certain degree of sun. P. ‘David’ is resistant to powdery mildew.

Monarda (Bergamot) a perennial in mid summer to late. Aromatic flowers with a clump forming habit. It is suitable in most aspects, the only condition is the plant is not keen being wet so well drained soil. In certain conditions it can be susceptible to powdery mildew but only if the air circulation is poor and this is easily avoidable. Varieties are more resistant than others. These include ‘Petite Delight’, ‘Colrain Red’.

Paeonia – garden and tree. The soil is important, they tend not to like acidic soil so balanced conditions. Peonies don’t like sitting in moisture so well drained too. Hybrids can often be more resilient and cutting down stems each season will help keep pests at bay. The most important point to remember about Peonys. They don’t like to be moved. P. ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ gives a show late spring to summer.

Sedums are perennials but also succulents due to their fleshy leaves. So these plants are often good in dry conditions and drought tolerant. They provide attractive foliage and flowers, they like full or partial sun at the very least. These plants are low maintenance but very effective. They attract beneficial insects too.

Geraniums are very good at the front of borders, the smaller varieties anyway. These generally are hardy and need minimal maintenance save cutting back spent growth. G. ‘Rozanne’ will provide flowers throughout summer. A condition is that the soil is well drained and they get sun. G. Macrorrhizum will give you aromatic foliage early to mid summer and are white rather than purple.

Verbena offers attractive lilac flowers in late summer. It encourages beneficial insects too. It needs some shelter but the stems are relatively tough. V. bonariensis is quick to establish and can be put almost any position because of it’s habit. It will not block out other plants. It is probably best to cut back when new growth appears in spring. Again, for this plant powdery mildew is usually what thwarts it and with good housekeeping this can be avoided. In warm, dry weather the spores are likely to be more active.

Easy Maintenance Shrubs

by gardenspast123, posted in Flowers, Horticulture, Shrubs

An ideal method of planting would be to incorporate those flowering, providing foliage in your garden and needing no care at all. Right? Of course, only if you like them! With careful planting, you can achieve an amass of colour throughout most of the year with little pruning and no special time to do it.

Weigela is a shrub that seems to becoming popular again. It loses its leaves in winter but provides an abundance of colour in the summer months. The more sun it gets – the more flowers you’ll have, but it will cope in partial shade. Pruning is needed to retain shape but it accepts minimal interference. It will need to be cut back to a bud or leaf node after flowering. This will be off last years growth. No other care is needed.

Cistus – an evergreen which flowers so much you never notice the petals are spent. A plant which is good in poor soil. It prefers a full sun aspect (as in it’s name – sun rose, rock rose) and can cope with dry conditions. They are stable in adverse conditions (toughened to the elements), although protection in cold and exposed areas is advisable. No pruning is necessary since if the growth gets too woody, it is better to remove and replace. The growth ceases to regenerate in its normal fashion.

Potentilla will come in many colours (oranges, whites, reds, pinks and yellows) and flower in late spring to end of summer. The plant is low maintenance and generally trouble free. The pruning is only to keep the size down or a quick snip on top for aesthetics. If in doubt, prune plants after flowering when you want them to flower as normal the following year. Potentillas are fully hardy and need little care. As long as they are not in complete darkness, partial shade is fine. The plant is decidious and from autumn to spring they are dormant plants. The plant will tolerate poor soil and no nutrients. It will source its own. If anything it’s wild form can be found on damp cliff edges and embankments, waste sites or neglected areas.

Forsythia is a shrub that provides flowers followed by foliage in mid spring. The plant will thrive in full sun but can cope in partial shade. It can be used as a hedge although often it’s an upright shrub. It normally copes in most soils. The plant will need some maintenance but requires no technical expertise. It needs to be pruned only to retain its shape and size. Cut back to shape after flowering and remove some stems altogether from the base to encourage circulation and new growth. It can become invasive if ignored, so do keep it trim each year.

Junipers, both the ground cover and shrub variety can be left and will provide the foliage interest you were after. When they’re established they can withstand quite adverse conditions and tolerate a dry environment. Junipers are tolerant of most soil but need light – to deprive them of this will afflict their growth. Their shape will become distorted and cannot be reversed. There are several varieties growing from the ground cover – J. horizontalis to J. chinensis of small, large and upright tall.

Euonymous fortunei will provide you with a number of cultivars that can be adapted in your open space. ‘Emerald Gaiety’ a small busy shrub but can climb if trained by a wall. ‘Emerald n Gold’ a yellow and green variegated evergreen that will appear pinkish in the colder months. ‘Silver Queen’ a larger example. Its foliage slightly different. A cream and green variety wih a bushy habit but will have a pinkish tinge in winter. These shrubs, carpets and climbers (compact or mound forming) only need to be pruned to the desired shape. The variegated foliage should continue to regenerate in this form. If a solitary green shoot appears this needs to be cut out. It is the plant reverting to its original form before it was crossed.

Interesting Hedging.

by gardenspast123, posted in Diseases, Flowers, Horticulture, Shrubs

Hedging has often been used as a method to mark a boundary. Seemingly uninteresting and purely fit for purpose. In recent times, a more unorthodox approach has been taken to offer colour, foliage interest and if encouraging wildlife at the same time even better.

Crataegus (Hawthorn), often found in the countryside, is fairly common as is Ligustrum (Privet). These can be taken back quite harshly. Both flower if not pruned but provide generous habit for birds and animals in the winter months. The foliage tends to become denser the more it is pruned. Although the flowers aren’t particularly the feature of the plant, Hawthorn is highly scented.

Another common choice is Conifer, although the growth habit differs hugely. A major problem can be when the hedge becomes too thick. The growth doesn’t regenerate in the same way. A conifer needs to be shaved periodically so it never becomes overgrown. To take this back too quickly will kill the hedge. This is why you see brown conifer hedges. They look very trim but aren’t very green. The level of cut has been on a par with a privet and unlikely to fully recover.

The term Conifer is used generically at times (wrongly or rightly) and linked to relations in the larger group from Junipers to Cypress, Cedars, Pine, and Larch. Some more suitable than others and some species are low growing and more popular as a free standing shrub. This is in particular to Junipers, P. mugo – dwarf pines, both available in a number of greens including a blue. Standard pines can certainly die from below if suffering from a fungal infection, leaving them unsightly and not providing any habitat in the colder months.

Taxus baccata (Yew) another choice that becomes denser the more it is pruned. It is largely used in estates, I’ve most often seen it around the era of the Arts and Craft movement. It’s used in topiary as is Buxus sempervirens (Common Box). Common box is often used as a specimen plant and also as a parterre. Aphids can often be a culprit for these not performing.

Berberis (Barberry bush) is an evergreen and can come in green and purple varieties. They’re very hardy and grow in the most adverse of conditions. They provide foliage, flowers and berries and are almost trouble free. The berries usually orange/yellow. They have spiky stems and so good as a security feature. Pyracantha (Firethorn) too has the same characteristics although these berries are orange/red with white flowers.

Cotoneaster is an certainty for a successful hedge. These shrubs are incredibly resilient and offer berries and habitat whether it’s the shrub variety C. mycrophyllus or the ground cover C. horizontalis. So tough, it could live in a skip figuratively speaking.

An unconventional choice now becoming more popular are mixed hedges, these often can include Photinia and Elagaenus. These both offer interesting foliage. They are easy to keep trim and if necessary will take a bit of hack. Photinia will provide a fantastic array of colour all year round. Photinia coupled with Pittosperum variegatum will make the most striking of spring displays.

Colder Conditions

by gardenspast123, posted in Horticulture

Certain plants in the coming months will require more protection. If in a container moved to a coveted position. If underground, dug up and moved for storage. Measures taken to protect from frost bitten winds and additional insulation.

Dahlia’s more commonly but Lilies too should be taken up and moved into storage. It will protect them from rot and give you the opportunity to discard the diseased ones and divide to propagate. Don’t dry them but provide a moist, air permeating environment. No light but they need ventilation. Bergenia’s (Elephants Ears) a rhizome should be uprooted, but unless the conditions are really extreme, they are usually okay save for the dead debris around the base that can be removed in spring. If you do, a dark space but very dry. Otherwise they will rot. They will go to sleep underground and appear dormant rather like Heuchera.

Some Cestrum’s (Jasmine) may need semi permeable fleece wrapped around them. This will be from the cold and wind although they will need to breath. In milder conditions and so the light can meet it will need to be removed for prolonged periods. Tree Ferns, Passiflora (Passionflower unless by a wall) too. Bourganvillea’s are a scrub plant in Spain yet for most of us are something for a container.

Small plants can be overwintered in greenhouses. Often these are bought as annuals. Geraniums, Margurites and Begonias. In warmer climates they remain in the ground. We buy them to repeat the next year but some flower over and over with the proper care.

Borderline Plants, often in containers moved to a warmer spot or indoors like Cordyline that are notoriously known for being thwarted by the mildest of frosts. Citrus trees too need some protection but usually out of exposure and often can withstand a cold snap.

If the plant remains outdoors, steps can be taken to alleviate the plant from the exposure. A method to create a frame and overhang protective fleece can be maximised when there is a cluster of afflicted plants. Equally effective for free standing specimens – straw, mulch, manure around the base to protect the root system. The leaves and outer layer may show signs of blight but can be cut out when this passes.