Weeding the Web

Queen Elizabeth, a royal rose

Congratulations, Ma'am, and thank you.

I couldn't let this weekend to by without celebrating the Jubilee. It's quite something. Go on, admit it. I bet that even if you're usually quite curmudgeonly about the royal family, you're quietly moved by the whole event. After all, having the same Head of State for 60 years is quite something for a country. 

Having a queen at all is something to treasure.  We enjoy a continuity of history that doesn't happen when a president gets elected every four years and we have an apolitical head of state - one who represents us to the world, unsullied by whatever political hue the UK bears at the time.

So, in celebration, I've investigated roses. A couple were launched at Chelsea this year just for the occasion: Peter Beales came out with Queen's Jubilee Rose (a fully double-flowered shrub rose, white with pink flush) which is nice, but I'm not keen on double flowers; David Austin offered Royal Jubilee (large, deep pink flowers, petals curving inwards) whichI think is, frankly, quite horrible.

Forget-me-not good; forget-me-not bad

Weeds or flowers? The forget-me-not divides opinion. I can't actually think of a much prettier flower. At this time of year the beds are hazed with a limpid blue, combining superbly well with primroses and cowslips. But then, my forget-me-not is the biennial Myosotis sylvatica. It has soft, strap-like leaves, self-seeds freely and is easy to pull up.

Over at my father-in-law's house, the forget-me-not is completely different. It has rougher, heart-shaped leaves, is perennial, has spread freely, and is a pig to pull up. Husband has just spent days - yes, days - wrestling with roots systems that grow into thick, tough clumps, and don't like to leave the ground. This is not Myosotis, but the false forget-me-not, Brunnera macrophylla or Siberian bugloss - the flowers are remarkably similar, although they lack Mysotis's cheerful splash of yellow in the eye of the flower, and the blue seems just a touch duller.

I like this one too, and, if you need ground cover in dry areas, then Brunnera fits the bill. Not much in the way of weed seedlings will get past the thick foliage of a Brunnera bed. I consulted Graham Rice's Planting the Dry Shade Garden, and, sure enough, he devotes three pages to it, as there are now a number of selections giving silvery leaves and, sometimes, white flowers.

He describes them as great for absent-minded gardeners as they survive in scantily watered containers. However, he also describes them as never invasive, spreading only slowly. Well, all I can say is that it had managed to colonise every corner of a good-sized garden, and gave the impression of a plant that self-seeds with abandon. I'd love to hear whether you've had this problem with them too.

You'd think Brunnera would have been off the list of desirables, but we recently added a different form: Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'.  Having hunted one down, we're now seeing them everywhere (dammit!). Not surprising, as it is gorgeous. Its green leaves overlaid with silver make a lovely contrast with Dicentra and hellebores at this time of year, and at twilight they shine ethereally. It's also much better behaved. See a variety of silver-leaved Brunneras, and how well they grow in cold conditions, at Northern Shade Planting.

Thank goodness the daffodils are over

It's not something I'd expect to say but, with the daffodil season nearly over, I'm quite relieved. Why? Well, every year, just as daffodils burst into being, so does the Daffodil Campaign. This year seemed particularly successful, judging by the number of lapels adorned with the rather fetching daffodil pin.  In case you've missed them (and I can't think you have, as they seem to be everywhere), they're the sign of a donation given to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

It's a much-loved, much-needed charity, providing nursing care to over 31,000 terminally ill patients each year, everywhere from remote Scottish islands to big cities. I know that, were I in the position to need them, I'd be deeply grateful. But...

...is there anyone else out there who wishes, despite the worthiness of the charity, that the branding hadn't worked so well? Or am I unique in now connecting one of the loveliest and most prolific of spring flowers with devastating disease?

Top tips to keep cut flowers fresh

Fresh flowers from the garden. Nothing beats them, does it, for celebrating the fact that Spring has arrived?

My family is now resigned to my “natural” approach to flower-arranging, which is stuffing them in a vase and being grateful they’re all upright. Having gone to all that trouble, though, it’s good to make them last as long as possible.

Of course, that goes for bought bunches too and it’s lovely to be able to tell your floriferous benefactor, “They’ve lasted three weeks!” which gives him or her a warm glow at not having wasted their money.

So, with Mother’s Day this weekend, and Easter hot-foot after that, I thought I’d investigate exactly what you should do to extend the life of your cut flowers and this is what I’ve found.

General Points

1. Cut flowers when it’s cooler, first thing in the morning or in the evening. 
2. Keep the arrangement out of direct sunlight, out of draughts, and away from heat sources.
3. If possible, put the flower arrangement somewhere cool overnight.
4. Clean your vases before use. This reduces the proliferation of bacteria, which will block the stems and reduce water uptake.