Advice and inspiration with Nige Flower, horticulture expert at Moss & Moor, Ilkley
Anyone for tennis?
June is here and we are into the tennis season in a big way. We’re lucky enough to have world-class tennis on our doorstep. The Lexus Ilkley Trophy starts this month and then… Wimbledon. It made me think about the elements of grass court tennis that we love so much. The beautifully clipped green sward of lawn, bowls of luscious strawberries and those gorgeous planters of white, green, and purple flowers used to identify the championship surroundings in the British LTA colours.
Lawns are not now only for suburbanites; or the cricket, tennis, and bowling fraternity, out on a Sunday morning with their lawn mowers and edging shears. Lawns have been recognised as critical habitats and food sources for many insects and pollinators. ‘No mow May’ is an initiative to get gardeners to leave their lawns to grow, and allow clover, self-heal, and dandelions to flower their socks off and support insect life. I’ve adopted this for the past few years and have seen other wildflowers pop up to take advantage of my ‘laziness’ such as cardamine and one bee orchid!
Last autumn I planted pheasant eye narcissus, snakes head fritillaries and camassia bulbs in the lawn. These all tolerate growing through the grass and flower from March through to June. I planted these varieties because they naturally grow in water meadows and with our wetter winters. To show the ‘neglect’ is intentional, I mow a few paths through the area, avoiding the emerging bulbs to encourage my visitors to wander through. I mow at the end of June to allow the bulbs to die down naturally for next year. I’ve seen an increase in biodiversity including cinnabar moths, yellow brimstone butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets. What could be a better reason than that?
GARDEN TO VISIT
YorkGateGardenatAdelisabeautiful Arts and Crafts garden tucked away at the top of the suburbs of Leeds and offers a great opportunity to find gardening tricks that you can use in your own gardens. From decorative chequered paths to the unusual wall -trained conifers, there’s something to inspire everyone. The glasshouse is my favourite part of the garden with the stunning collection of succulents grown in aged terracotta pots, but the long borders around the plant centre are also bursting with planting ideas you can use at home. Well worth a visit this June.
PLANT OF THE MONTH
THE FUTURE IS ROSE-Y
June is the month for roses and our white Yorkshire rose typifies our love of these flowers. Introduced to Europe in the 12th century, the British immediately took the scented blooms to our hearts. There are now roses for every area of the garden, patio roses for pots, climbing roses for north walls, roses for dry sandy soils... The trick
