Gardening with Patricia Jordan
(archive article – Cyprus Mail, Sunday, April 4, 2004)

April: Showers of colour
It’s lilies, lilies and more lilies in the garden this month
I HAVE just returned to Cyprus after a month away travelling to New Zealand to look at some of the gardens there and also to escape the very wet winter we were enduring.

During our stay, New Zealand suffered dreadful storms and we were marooned for several days in a small town called Greytown -- named after a former Governor of New Zealand called Sir George Grey and not the weather. The storms eventually abated and floodwaters receded so that we could continue our journey to Wellington to cross to South Island, but the short delay gave us the opportunity to look at some rather nice gardens in that area.

North Island New Zealand, although almost semi-tropical in the north, has a similar climate to Cyprus, where apart from the enormous phormiums that grow everywhere and the football-sized agapanthus that grace almost every garden, park and road side verge, the garden plants are similar to those grown here.

I was particularly struck by the great variety of Canna lilies in many different hues, with leaves ranging from yellow striped green to darkest purple. So, a plea to our Cypriot plant importers to give us more colour choices here, although I have noticed a few new varieties about this year.

Grasses, particularly pampas grass, grow abundantly and I saw one that had a soft, plum-coloured plumage, which was very attractive. Grasses give movement to a garden as they gently sway in any slight breeze and they are becoming more popular here too as they add a different texture and form with frothy heads that dance above the ground-hugging plants. The easiest way to control and prune pampas grass is one of the oldest methods known to man -- by burning the crown. This has to be done with great care and during the winter but the new growth will be spectacular.

As it was late summer down there we saw lots of Belladonna Lilies everywhere, which looked most dramatic in great drifts with their aromatic candy pink trumpets flaring out above the plantings. They are native to South Africa originally and are also known as ‘naked ladies’ as the flowers come on thick hollow stems long before the huge fleshy leaves. They prefer to grow in clumps, so try not to divide them up as this will delay flowering next year. Take care when handling them, as they are poisonous if eaten! But then so are a lot of plants.

Bearded Irises (Iris germanica) grow well there too but, like here, they are spring flowerers. In early February as I left to go to New Zealand, a last look around my garden revealed a virginal white iris hidden away in a clump of perennials. This was very early even for Cyprus. The flowers comprise two distinct parts – the upright petals are called the standards and the remaining three petals are the falls and usually have a little fuzzy line down the centre. Unless you want the seed pods for floral art you should dead head the plant after flowering and when the tips of the spear shaped leaves begin to go yellow then that is the time to cut the foliage in a fan shape of about 10 cms. Pull off any dead bits, as the plant needs plenty of hot sun to bake the rhizome. Divide them up about every three years or when the plant becomes congested and plant them out in full sun – this is the joy of growing irises here – they just love a sunny spot and a little fertiliser, low in nitrogen, will help them establish during the rest of the year to give spectacular blooms next season. I have only seen blue and white ones in Cyprus – let me know if you are growing any other colours. In the USA some repeat-flowering irises are available and it would be good to see more available here as they come in the most delightful combinations of colours.

As we progressed through New Zealand and crossed to South Island, the climate became more temperate and the garden plantings were more like those of Northern Europe. Roadside verges were made up of masses of Crocosmia, which is known here as Monbretia, the orange flower heads dancing as every car or truck passed by. I also noticed verbascums with their velvety grey leaves and spikes of yellow flowers, which also like dry hot conditions. In the UK verbascums are one of the favourite plants and they are available in many colours. I have grown Verbascum chaixii ‘Album’ from seed and it is doing well so it would be great to see more of these good garden plants around.

Dahlias everywhere were benefiting from the extra rainfall in New Zealand. They are very fleshy plants and do need regular watering at root level for best results. Some regard them as vulgar but they cannot fail to delight even the most purist of gardeners with their colours and shapes. There are plenty of varieties available in the garden centres at the moment and you will be spoilt for choice.

Everywhere there were roses. I like roses and for quite a few years I was a judge at the International Rose Trials held every year in Glasgow when all the important growers of roses had their flowers under the sharpest scrutiny. But more of them next month…
Back home in Cyprus, everything is growing so quickly now so there is plenty of weeding and feeding to be done whenever you get a moment. Try not to let your plants dry out, better to give them less water very regularly than great dollops when you remember. Polyanthus are in the shops and along with marigolds bring early colour to the borders. There is still a little time left to sow a few annuals like cosmos, but don’t take any more cuttings now until late September as trying to keep the little plantlets cool during the summer months takes up a lot of time and effort and is best avoided.

Plant of the month – Canna Lily
CANNA lilies come from tropical or sub-tropical America, mostly South America and can be seen in gardens all over Cyprus. The varieties available here grow in soil although some species in other parts of the world prefer to grow in water. They like a sunny spot where the soil has been enriched with some compost and will flourish if there is a regular supply of water.

Plant height varies according to variety and can range from 45cm to 2.5m. They can grow into huge clumps ‘walking’ across the bed as they send up new shoots away from the centre. Cannas are excellent garden plants flowering over a very long period as long as the dead flower heads are removed regularly. They look good in pots but need to be split up every couple of years, as they can get quite large. They will winter outside certainly up to 350 metres, although they don’t like very low temperatures and in mountain regions should be protected from frost.

Rhizomes and potted cannas are available in garden centres now and this is the best time to deal with them. Plant them about 10–15cm deep – not too low or they won’t flower and not too shallow or their tall stems with their huge paddle-shaped leaves could be blown over in any gales. The leaves are surprisingly tender and can be torn by winds. They are also delicious to slugs and snails, so it is best to protect them if you can. Cut down the whole flower stem after flowering to encourage re-growth and take off any spent leaves.

Leaf colour can be dark mauve or light to dark green and some varieties even have stripes. The gladioli-like flowers come in red, orange, yellow, pink, peach and cream with some, like ‘Lenape’ having spots and ‘Lucifer’ with it’s brilliant colouring, shown here.

'Some of the leaves may fall prey to Canna leaf rollers, which as their name suggests cause the leaves to curl up around the insects. They can be uncurled and the insect destroyed. From the UK comes news of a Canna virus attacking mainly the shorter varieties causing stunted growth, distortion or black patches on the foliage as well as other symptoms but we are told not to panic as the Cannas could just grow out of it. Let me know if you have any problems with your plants. Those we grow here all seem to be quite tall so maybe we will be okay.

Gardeners’ question time

MY GARDEN is plagued by small white snails (up to about 1cm in diameter). They seem to be attracted to everything and are ruining a lot of plants. They are even eating holes in my aromatic herbs.
Can you suggest any ways to get rid of them? I have small children so they cannot be poisonous.
Regards
Panayiotis Koumoulis

AS YOU have young children don't even think about putting slug/snail pellets down. Children and animals and slug pellets just don't go! They do work though.
The only sure way of getting rid of them is to pick them off! Readers may suggest that you put half grapefruits down on the ground and they will gather underneath or in the case of slugs, slug pubs - saucers of beer where they will drown their sorrows in beer and die a happy death.
I am sure that there is no European Directive regarding the health of snails so just pick them off and crush them on a hard surface. I throw mine on the road as I have a thing about stamping on them, but my Cypriot friend does just that with great satisfaction. The thing is to know where to look for them. They tend to hide away just under the soil, under the rims of pots and between the plant holes in plant trays. The best time to get them is after a shower of rain or as they are sloping off to bed early in the morning.
Good hunting
Patricia

HOW CAN I prevent cats from scratching in my newly dug borders?
Maria Christofidou

CATS LIKE to roll and scratch in newly dug borders – it is easier for them to cover their toilets with the freshly dug earth. Putting plastic water bottles, half filled with water, onto the places where they lie to roll, can discourage them. Just keep moving them around as the cats try to find new places. Or, if you mulch the newly dug earth with scratchy leaves or shreddings, they will not like this at all! Once the plants start to grow and bush out then they tend to stop.

Why are the leaves falling off my lemon tree?
Alan Baker

AT THIS time of year, the new growth is starting to appear and some of the older leaves become redundant, so they drop off. This year we had a prolonged dry spell after all the winter rain and that could have caused it too, so keep watering on a regular basis.