Ask a Garden Designer
Don't have green fingers? You can still get them dirty. Tad Paluchowski of Clifton Nurseries, London's oldest garden centre, is full of outdoor ideas...
Clifton Nurseries' Tad Paluchowski answers your horticultural queries.
When's the best time to plant herbs?
I'm away a lot - any suggestions for a low-maintenance garden?
All I have is a windowsill and a damp back step. Which plants would pretty them up?
Which garden looks are cool right now?
I have a small terrace. Could I grow any vegetables there?
How do I get an allotment?
How do I keep neighbour's cats out of my garden?
I'd like to compost but only have a small patio and am worried about the smell!
Is it easier to grow from seeds or cuttings?
Any suggestions for super fragrant plants that would mask smells such as food?
I bought some black grass a few years ago, but it really isn't doing anything. Why not?
I'd like to sit out all-year round but have heard gas heaters are bad for the environment. Are there any alternatives?
I've got a bare garden but can't wait for trees to grow. How do I get the instant established look?
We have a fox in the garden. Should we be using an animal repellant?
I often buy those pots of basil or coriander in soil from the supermarket. Can they be planted out?
Are there any house plants that look modern and help to create a contemporary interior style?
You can buy pre-potted herbs from your local garden centre all year round, but tender hers such as basil are only sold from May onwards. Seeds are cheaper but, for those whose fingers aren't so green, they aren't always reliable. For an early summer crop, sow seeds between February and April.
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Choose slow-growing, drought-tolerant plants such as box (which adds structure) and phormium (left, great for its bold shapes). Lavender provides colour and scent, while silverbush, which has a long flowering period, produces beautiful white flowers. Herbs like sage, thyme and oregano don't need pruning too often and stand up well to our new climatic conditions. You could also choose stone paving instead of a lawn, and use gravel to suppress weeds in borders.
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In summer, try growing seasonal flowering plants such as busy Lizzies, pansies and violas on your windowsill. Cyclamen and winter pansies would also do well in cooler months. Also choose these for your step if it's small, but if it's big enough, a shade-loving camellia, rhododendron or azalea
Back to menu
Clever lighting schemes are a great way to make a stylish impact. Plants highlighted with under-lighting or smaller lights threaded through a lawn will instantly update a traditional garden. Striking, modern topiary – a world away from clipped hedges – is having a moment. Look out for abstract-shaped topiaries, such as those sold by Clifton Nurseries.
Back to menu
Of course! If your garden gets six hours of sunlight each day, you can grow veg in anything that holds compost. Recycled crates, bags, plastic dustbins or tins can look striking in a small garden or on a terrace. To start with, try your hand at root vegetables and salad staples (such as lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and courgettes). For a successful crop, water plants regularly and feed them fortnightly with liquid fertilizer.
Back to menu
A decent plot is like gold dust, so waiting lists are long. Make enquiries at your local authority, as most allotments are allocated and managed by your council, even if they don't own the site. There are also trusts who run them and again, local councils would be the first place to make enquiries. Expect to pay around £32.30 a year (depending on where you live) for the standard 250 sq m, (or 10-pole plot, if you want to get with the lingo). If that's too daunting, start with a pint-sized 125 sq m.
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There are no plants that will really repel a cat. A movement detecting watering device may help, tough. Or get a cat of your own to fight them off!
Back to menu
If compost is working properly, it shouldn't smell. Most commercially available composting containers work well and provide plenty of compost if instructions are followed.
Back to menu
Both have their merits. Plants that take well from a cutting tend to also grow easily from seed, so beginners should start with cuttings and progress to seeds as their confidence grows.
Back to menu
Most food smells will overpower anything a plant can produce. However, pot plants such as jasmine, gardenias, narcissi and hyacinths all are super fragrant. Or just have lots of cut flowers – particularly lillies and sweet peas – around the house.
Back to menu
It'll be either too wet or too dry. Or missing out on sunshine. Better to find plants that like the conditions you have, than trying to change the conditions to suit a plant you want.
Back to menu
Start by wrapping up warmly and work hard in the garden and you'll keep warm even on the coldest day. Then find a sunny spot and plant shrubs that will stop the wind so you can sit and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Any quick growing evergreen will do the job. E.g. Pyracantha, Photinia, Poruguese laurel (Prunus Lusitanica) or again, you can get advice on which ones are available to buy instantly in large pots, depending on the time of year
Back to menu
Many garden centres now sell mature trees which can be planted at any time of the year (water well until established) The same goes for shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Instant gardens are available "off the shelf". You just have to pay the price for someone else to grow them for you before they are transplanted to their new home.
Back to menu
Foxes are protected, so your best bet is to call your council.
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They're really only suitable for immediate cropping and then disposal of pot. If you want to get a plant that's hardy enough to plant out, go to your garden centre. Herbs are VAT free (food), too, so good value.
Back to menu
As you would with your decorating scheme, go for bold shapes and clean lines. Cycas Revoluta (shuttlecock); Large Cacti; Sansevieria (Mother-in-law's-tongue), Alloe Vera and large, white Phalaenopsis – Orchids should all do the trick. Bonsai are also particularly effective and allow for versatility with the pots.
Back to menu
When's the best time to plant herbs?
You can buy pre-potted herbs from your local garden centre all year round, but tender hers such as basil are only sold from May onwards. Seeds are cheaper but, for those whose fingers aren't so green, they aren't always reliable. For an early summer crop, sow seeds between February and April.
Back to menu
I'm away a lot - any suggestions for a low-maintenance garden?
Choose slow-growing, drought-tolerant plants such as box (which adds structure) and phormium (left, great for its bold shapes). Lavender provides colour and scent, while silverbush, which has a long flowering period, produces beautiful white flowers. Herbs like sage, thyme and oregano don't need pruning too often and stand up well to our new climatic conditions. You could also choose stone paving instead of a lawn, and use gravel to suppress weeds in borders.
Back to menu
All I have is a windowsill and a damp back step. Which plants would pretty them up?
In summer, try growing seasonal flowering plants such as busy Lizzies, pansies and violas on your windowsill. Cyclamen and winter pansies would also do well in cooler months. Also choose these for your step if it's small, but if it's big enough, a shade-loving camellia, rhododendron or azalea
Back to menu
Which garden looks are cool right now?
Clever lighting schemes are a great way to make a stylish impact. Plants highlighted with under-lighting or smaller lights threaded through a lawn will instantly update a traditional garden. Striking, modern topiary – a world away from clipped hedges – is having a moment. Look out for abstract-shaped topiaries, such as those sold by Clifton Nurseries.
Back to menu
I have a small terrace. Could I grow any vegetables there?
Of course! If your garden gets six hours of sunlight each day, you can grow veg in anything that holds compost. Recycled crates, bags, plastic dustbins or tins can look striking in a small garden or on a terrace. To start with, try your hand at root vegetables and salad staples (such as lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and courgettes). For a successful crop, water plants regularly and feed them fortnightly with liquid fertilizer.
Back to menu
How do I get an allotment?
A decent plot is like gold dust, so waiting lists are long. Make enquiries at your local authority, as most allotments are allocated and managed by your council, even if they don't own the site. There are also trusts who run them and again, local councils would be the first place to make enquiries. Expect to pay around £32.30 a year (depending on where you live) for the standard 250 sq m, (or 10-pole plot, if you want to get with the lingo). If that's too daunting, start with a pint-sized 125 sq m.
Back to menu
How do I keep neighbour's cats out of my garden?
There are no plants that will really repel a cat. A movement detecting watering device may help, tough. Or get a cat of your own to fight them off!
Back to menu
I'd like to compost but only have a small patio and am worried about the smell!
If compost is working properly, it shouldn't smell. Most commercially available composting containers work well and provide plenty of compost if instructions are followed.
Back to menu
Is it easier to grow from seeds or cuttings?
Both have their merits. Plants that take well from a cutting tend to also grow easily from seed, so beginners should start with cuttings and progress to seeds as their confidence grows.
Back to menu
Any suggestions for super fragrant plants that would mask smells such as food?
Most food smells will overpower anything a plant can produce. However, pot plants such as jasmine, gardenias, narcissi and hyacinths all are super fragrant. Or just have lots of cut flowers – particularly lillies and sweet peas – around the house.
Back to menu
I bought some black grass a few years ago, but it really isn't doing anything. Why not?
It'll be either too wet or too dry. Or missing out on sunshine. Better to find plants that like the conditions you have, than trying to change the conditions to suit a plant you want.
Back to menu
I'd like to sit out all-year round but have heard gas heaters are bad for the environment. Are there any alternatives?
Start by wrapping up warmly and work hard in the garden and you'll keep warm even on the coldest day. Then find a sunny spot and plant shrubs that will stop the wind so you can sit and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Any quick growing evergreen will do the job. E.g. Pyracantha, Photinia, Poruguese laurel (Prunus Lusitanica) or again, you can get advice on which ones are available to buy instantly in large pots, depending on the time of year
Back to menu
I've got a bare garden but can't wait for trees to grow. How do I get the instant established look?
Many garden centres now sell mature trees which can be planted at any time of the year (water well until established) The same goes for shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Instant gardens are available "off the shelf". You just have to pay the price for someone else to grow them for you before they are transplanted to their new home.
Back to menu
We have a fox in the garden. Should we be using an animal repellant?
Foxes are protected, so your best bet is to call your council.
Back to menu
I often buy those pots of basil or coriander in soil from the supermarket. Can they be planted out?
They're really only suitable for immediate cropping and then disposal of pot. If you want to get a plant that's hardy enough to plant out, go to your garden centre. Herbs are VAT free (food), too, so good value.
Back to menu
Are there any house plants that look modern and help to create a contemporary interior style?
As you would with your decorating scheme, go for bold shapes and clean lines. Cycas Revoluta (shuttlecock); Large Cacti; Sansevieria (Mother-in-law's-tongue), Alloe Vera and large, white Phalaenopsis – Orchids should all do the trick. Bonsai are also particularly effective and allow for versatility with the pots.
Back to menu
