Mary Rose Quigg - Mary Roses 1001 New Country Garden Hints

Published in the UK exclusively for

SELECTABOOK
Folly Road
Roundway
Devizes
Wiltshire
SN10 2HR

Produced by TAJ BOOKS
27 Ferndown Gardens
Cobham
Surrey
KT11 2BH

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Text 2003 Mary Rose Quigg
Design and layout 2003 TAJ BOOKS Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher and copyright holders.

ISBN 1-84406-009-8
Electronic ISBN: 9781844062324

Printed and bound in China

I would like to dedicate this book to my husband Joe as he is the real gardener around our house. My thanks to Karen, Arleen, Orla, Cathal and Brenda for their encouragement and support.

There is a great pleasure in working in the soil,
apart from the ownership of it.
The man who has planted a garden feels that
he has done something for the good of the world

Gardening for some is a way of life, and for others is a nice hobby to keep them occupied. Regardless of the purpose of your garden this collection of valuable hints and tips should help to make day to day tasks more easily completed.

In this environmentally friendly age it is important to use natural products when appropriate and this is the theme throughout this book.

All aspects of gardening are covered from flowers and houseplants to planting shrubs, vegetables, herbs and trees. The garden pests and tools chapters give very useful tips while healthy gardening should assist in avoiding all those aches and pains. The poems and proverbs included always give me great delight and I hope they make the book more enjoyable.

I have had great pleasure in compiling this practical book from hints and tips that I have acquired over the years. I hope that there is something of interest for you in it and that you find it helpful, interesting and entertaining. Most of all let it be useful to you in the pursuit of a perfect garden.

MARY ROSE

A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high oer vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

by William Wordsworth

L EGENDS & L ORE

Some species of flowers are considered unlucky in many parts of the world, particularly when brought into the house.

Honeysuckle, if brought into the house brought bad luck in Wales but foretold a wedding in Somerset.

The wild foxglove is a fairy plant in folk-tradition. The Irish believe that foxgloves in the house are unlucky. It should never be taken aboard a ship. To pick the foxglove offends the fairies that live within the flowers and will bring bad luck, even death, to the picker and his family. Foxgloves are very poisonous.

In the west of England, if snowdrops are brought into the house before the first chickens are hatched, all the eggs will be addled.

In Surrey, to take the first primrose into the house meant sickness and sorrow.

In Norfolk, lilac was considered unlucky.

In the last century in England, a bunch of violets worn around the neck or in the lapel protected against drunkenness.

Red and white flowers in the same vase were unlucky, and even today some nurses will not have these flowers in the same vase on a ward.

Blue and orange flowers were welcome in homes and hospitals as these colours calm the nerves.

The name iris is the Greek word for the rainbow. They were planted on womens graves.

Lavender has a long reputation as an anaphrodisiac.

The rose is known as the queen of flowers. The white rose represents simplicity or happy love, the white rose is for innocence and purity, the yellow rose means perfect achievement and sometimes jealousy and the red rose signifies passion and sensual desire or shame and occasionally blood and sacrifice.

A garden is a friend you can visit any time.

C UT F LOWERS

Pick garden flowers in the cool of the morning or in the evening. If it has been raining and the flowers are wet, shake them gently to remove the excess water.

Choose half-open blooms or buds with a little colour showing. If picked too tightly in bud, they may never open. This is especially true of tulips and roses.

The green pointed sepals around the base of the rose should be starting to turn downwards. Irises and daffodils should be half opened.

Gladioli should be picked when the bottom three or four florets are open and the top florets are still in bud.

Carnations, dahlias, marigolds, hydrangeas, camellias, and chrysanthemums should be picked when they are fully opened.

Take the bucket of warm water into the garden when cutting flowers. Use a sharp pair of secateurs and cut the flower stems at an angle - a slanted cut allows a better intake of water.

Remove all foliage from the lower portion of the stems standing under the water line as foliage left on stems below the water line will rot and pollute the water. Place the flowers immediately in the water.

Never overcrowd flowers. Allow enough air to circulate between each flower. Too many flowers crowded together in a bucket may cause the petals to become squashed and bruised. Place the bucket in a cool dark place and allow the flowers to have a long drink before being arranged.

If purchased flowers can not be placed in water for several hours, the best way to keep them fresh is to place them in a strong plastic bag with some water in the bottom. Secure the bag with a rubber band. Another method is to wrap flowers in damp newspaper. If travelling by car, place the flowers in the coolest spot.

A life with love will have some thorns, but a life without love will have no roses.

The ends of woods stemmed flowers such as roses or chrysanthemums should be crushed with a heavy object or the stems slit up 1(2.5cm) before arranging.

Before putting the flowers in water, snip off the end of each stem. When flowers are first cut, the sap in the stalk congeals and seals the cut end preventing it from absorbing water.

When buying cut flowers such as chrysanthemums or daisy types, always look at their centre. Green is freshly cut and yellow means they have been cut for some time.