Wealden Times | WT263 | April 2024 | Garden Supplement inside

The Priceless Gardens Supplement
Moss and lichen on top of a damp rock
“...nature has
been turning
green waste
into compost
for millennia.
There is no
need to spend
money on
expensive
accelerators”
The northern garden at Tofukuji temple, Kyoto
conditions have evolved to cope with
this shortage, but I suspect that other borderline hardy and
Mediterranean garden plants might not be so lucky. Luckily
this wet weather has happened whilst plants have been
dormant rather than during their actively growing period in
the summer, when the outcome could be far worse.
The answer for another day is by resolving to improve
your soil’s structure and drastically improve drainage. This in
turn will provide food for earthworms who spend their lives
conveniently creating drainage channels for you. And as Ken
Thompson, says, nature has been turning green waste into
compost for millennia. There is no need to spend money on
expensive accelerators. The main thing is to have patience
and perhaps not to add too much in the way of tough
woody debris unless you’re really not in a hurry. This sort
of material slows things up by taking time to break down
into that rich, crumbly material that your garden wants and
needs. However, I like the look of those huge compost heaps
at Great Dixter which reach great heights during the year
and which can then be returned into the border once they
have broken down into something deliciously friable. In the
meantime, they are great for growing pumpkins on.
We’ve tried both bespoke wooden compost bins and a
loose compost heap and the latter has proved to be the best.
Everything goes on it apart from
stinging nettle roots and bramble
as they are both quite difficult to
eradicate – but having said that, some
nettles are left for wildlife. There’s
so much to learn but it is a gradual
process and, in the end, you learn from
your own experience in your
own garden.
I’m trying to remember where I saw
ladies in large hats studiously picking
the grass out from a mossy sward on the TV. I think it
must have been a programme about Japanese gardens as
they celebrate moss and work wonders with it. You may
have seen the Japanese garden designer, Kazuyuki Ishihara,
winning gold medals year after year for his exquisitely
beautiful, tranquil and mossy gardens. We waste time and
money on doing the opposite – that is, trying to eradicate
moss. Of course it can be reduced by drastically improving
the drainage or by using nasty compounds which are a
definite no no. Or alternatively, we can just not worry
about it, especially in our exceedingly damp climate. Have
a closer look at it. It is rather beautiful stuff and is worth
celebrating. I could say the same about our moles. They
tunnelled around about three months ago creating about
thirty five mole hills here. We’ve put aside this beautifully
sifted soil for adding to future planting holes or maybe pots
and, lo and behold, the moles seemed to have moved off.
I’m secretly rather relieved.
Sue Whigham can be contacted on 07810 457948 for
gardening advice and help in the sourcing and supply of
interesting garden plants.
istockphoto.com/ David Fenton / Nayomiee/
priceless-magazines.com
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