GARDEN DESIGN
The French create ornamental gardens or potager ’ s with panache and you can , too . Choose varieties for your Greenhouse to create a display that is both ornamental and edible . Tomatoes of different colours , from yellow to black , white or orange aubergines and bright skinned peppers and chillies are among the best plants for creating a glamorous Greenhouse display .”
1970s Gardens grow trendy Foreign holidays and ever-more diverse cuisines in 70s and 80s Britain saw us broadening our horizons in our Greenhouses and gardens . We had many more varieties of vegetables , flowers , and shrubs to experiment with , but we still liked to plant out in neat , regimented rows in very segmented layouts . The marigolds were still precisely 12 inches apart , but you might also find figs in the Greenhouse , or a grape vine , and certainly Gardeners ’ Delight tomatoes . At Hartley Botanic in the 1970s , they felt combining the Greenhouse with the garden shed would be helpful for the new breed of the busier gardener , hence this Grow & Store dual-purpose structure ( Greenhouse / Store ) was developed . We were all using very much more plastic too , in pots , seed trays , watering cans and those newfangled growbags .
1970s Greenhouse growing fundamentals Inspiration book : ‘ The Readers Digest Gardening Year ’ ed . Roy Hay 1974 where it is needed , is correct and the idea of wedging a sliver of wood into the spout of your watering can if you have mislaid the ‘ rose ’ is a great one . This will help to reduce the strength of the flow of water , so compost is not washed out of the pots .”
70s growing inspiration : make sure you clean your pots ! “ Sow seeds in pots or trays , cleaning the containers thoroughly before use . Sow the seeds thinly on the surface of the compost covering all but the smallest with finely sieved compost , coarse silver sand or horticultural vermiculite .”
Matthew Biggs said , “ I wrote an article a while back in the RHS ’ magazine about whether you need to wash your pots or not . I think it is good practice to keep everything clean as is suggested in this extract from the 1970s , it makes your Greenhouse look more professional and avoids the spread of pests and diseases . It is important you take extra care when cleaning nonplastic , such as terracotta , as these alternative materials tend to have rougher surfaces where nasties can lurk . Scrubbing your pots in warm water with environmentally friendly disinfectant is a job for late in the season , when they can dry out in the sunshine on the patio or lawn . Carefully washed terracotta pots look immaculate when they are all lined out on the Greenhouse bench together . What is the point of having a beautiful Hartley Botanic Greenhouse or Glasshouse if your floor is unswept or your pots are dirty ?”
Hartley Botanic ’ s Hartley 6 Grow and Store representing the 1960s and 70s on the RHS Chelsea stand
70s growing inspiration : consider your watering “ It is important not to splash the foliage of pot plants like Begonias . Apply water gently , from a can with a long spout , close to the rim of the pot . If necessary , wedge a sliver of wood in the spout to reduce the flow .”
Matthew Biggs said , “ There is much debate as to whether or not you should water plants ’ leaves as they can scorch in the sunshine . You certainly should avoid wetting the foliage of Greenhouse plants with hairy leaves . This 50s tip suggesting you should apply water to the roots
70s growing inspiration : try your hand at bedding plants “ Sow seeds of Coleus , tuberous and fibrous rooted Begonias , celosias , abutilons and streptocarpus in February . Place in pans or seed boxes in a propagating frame heated to 16-18C ( 61-64F .)”
Matthew Biggs said , “ All of these plants were really popular in the 1970s , before the age of ‘ plug plants ’ when it was common for gardeners to grow their own bedding plants from seed . It is still a lot cheaper to do this , but seedlings of bedding plants do need lots of care .
I think the main benefit we can take from this today is the pleasure around watching these plants grow from start to finish . I have been gardening for many years and there is still a wonderful sense of excitement and anticipation as your seedlings start to emerge . There is a clear psychological benefit to caring for plants , it an absorbing and satisfying experience which brings a little mindfulness into our lives .”
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