Topic
Plants detailed in this website by
Botanical Name

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z ,
Bulb
A1, 2, 3, B, C1, 2,
D, E, F, G, Glad,
H, I, J, K, L1, 2,
M, N, O, P, Q, R,
S, T, U, V, W, XYZ ,
Evergreen Perennial
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z ,
Herbaceous Perennial
A1, 2, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L, M,
N, O, P1, 2, Q, R,
S, T, U, V, W, XYZ,
Diascia Photo Album,
UK Peony Index
Wildflower
Botanical Names,
Common Names ,
will be compared in:- Flower colour/month
Evergreen Perennial,
Flower shape
Wildflower Flower Shape
and Plant use
Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape,
Bee plants for hay-fever sufferers
Bee-Pollinated Index
Butterfly
Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly Usage of Plants.
Chalk
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, QR, S, T, UV,
WXYZ
Companion Planting
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R , S, T,
U ,V, W, X, Y, Z,
Pest Control using Plants
Fern
Fern
1000 Ground Cover
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, XYZ ,
Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M,
NO, PQ, R, S, T,
UVWXYZ
Rose
Rose Use
These 5 have Page links in rows below
Bulbs from the Infill Galleries (next row),
Camera Photos,
Plant Colour Wheel Uses,
Sense of Fragrance, Wild Flower

Case Studies
...Drive Foundations
Ryegrass and turf kills plants within Roadstone and in Topsoil due to it starving and dehydrating them.
CEDAdrive creates stable drive surface and drains rain into your ground, rather than onto the public road.
8 problems caused by building house on clay or with house-wall attached to clay.
Pre-building work on polluted soil.

Companion Planting
to provide a Companion Plant to aid your selected plant or deter its pests

Garden
Construction

with ground drains

Garden Design
...How to Use the Colour Wheel Concepts for Selection of Flowers, Foliage and Flower Shape
...RHS Mixed
Borders

......Bedding Plants
......Her Perennials
......Other Plants
......Camera photos of Plant supports
Garden
Maintenance

Glossary with a tomato teaching cauliflowers
Home
Library of over 1000 books
Offbeat Glossary with DuLally Bird in its flower clock.

Plants
...in Chalk
(Alkaline) Soil
......A-F1, A-F2,
......A-F3, G-L, M-R,
......M-R Roses, S-Z
...in Heavy
Clay Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z
...in Lime-Free
(Acid) Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z
...in Light
Sand Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z.
...Poisonous Plants.
...Extra Plant Pages
with its 6 Plant Selection Levels

Soil
...
Interaction between 2 Quartz Sand Grains to make soil
...
How roots of plants are in control in the soil
...
Without replacing Soil Nutrients, the soil will break up to only clay, sand or silt
...
Subsidence caused by water in Clay
...
Use water ring for trees/shrubs for first 2 years.

Tool Shed with 3 kneeling pads
Useful Data with benefits of Seaweed

Topic -
Plant Photo Galleries
If the plant type below has flowers, then the first gallery will include the flower thumbnail in each month of 1 of 6 colour comparison pages of each plant in its subsidiary galleries, as a low-level Plant Selection Process

Aquatic
Bamboo
Bedding
...by Flower Shape

Bulb
...Allium/ Anemone
...Autumn
...Colchicum/ Crocus
...Dahlia
...Gladiolus with its 40 Flower Colours
......European A-E
......European F-M
......European N-Z
......European Non-classified
......American A,
B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M,
N, O, P, Q, R, S,
T, U, V, W, XYZ
......American Non-classified
......Australia - empty
......India
......Lithuania
...Hippeastrum/ Lily
...Late Summer
...Narcissus
...Spring
...Tulip
...Winter
...Each of the above ...Bulb Galleries has its own set of Flower Colour Pages
...Flower Shape
...Bulb Form

...Bulb Use

...Bulb in Soil


Further details on bulbs from the Infill Galleries:-
Hardy Bulbs
...Aconitum
...Allium
...Alstroemeria
...Anemone

...Amaryllis
...Anthericum
...Antholyzas
...Apios
...Arisaema
...Arum
...Asphodeline

...Asphodelus
...Belamcanda
...Bloomeria
...Brodiaea
...Bulbocodium

...Calochorti
...Cyclobothrias
...Camassia
...Colchicum
...Convallaria 
...Forcing Lily of the Valley
...Corydalis
...Crinum
...Crosmia
...Montbretia
...Crocus

...Cyclamen
...Dicentra
...Dierama
...Eranthis
...Eremurus
...Erythrnium
...Eucomis

...Fritillaria
...Funkia
...Galanthus
...Galtonia
...Gladiolus
...Hemerocallis

...Hyacinth
...Hyacinths in Pots
...Scilla
...Puschkinia
...Chionodoxa
...Chionoscilla
...Muscari

...Iris
...Kniphofia
...Lapeyrousia
...Leucojum

...Lilium
...Lilium in Pots
...Malvastrum
...Merendera
...Milla
...Narcissus
...Narcissi in Pots

...Ornithogalum
...Oxalis
...Paeonia
...Ranunculus
...Romulea
...Sanguinaria
...Sternbergia
...Schizostylis
...Tecophilaea
...Trillium

...Tulip
...Zephyranthus

Half-Hardy Bulbs
...Acidanthera
...Albuca
...Alstroemeri
...Andro-stephium
...Bassers
...Boussing-aultias
...Bravoas
...Cypellas
...Dahlias
...Galaxis,
...Geissorhizas
...Hesperanthas

...Gladioli
...Ixias
...Sparaxises
...Babianas
...Morphixias
...Tritonias

...Ixiolirions
...Moraeas
...Ornithogalums
...Oxalises
...Phaedra-nassas
...Pancratiums
...Tigridias
...Zephyranthes
...Cooperias

Uses of Bulbs:-
...for Bedding
...in Windowboxes
...in Border
...naturalized in Grass
...in Bulb Frame
...in Woodland Garden
...in Rock Garden
...in Bowls
...in Alpine House
...Bulbs in Green-house or Stove:-
...Achimenes
...Alocasias
...Amorpho-phalluses
...Arisaemas
...Arums
...Begonias
...Bomareas
...Caladiums

...Clivias
...Colocasias
...Crinums
...Cyclamens
...Cyrtanthuses
...Eucharises
...Urceocharis
...Eurycles

...Freesias
...Gloxinias
...Haemanthus
...Hippeastrums

...Lachenalias
...Nerines
...Lycorises
...Pencratiums
...Hymenocallises
...Richardias
...Sprekelias
...Tuberoses
...Vallotas
...Watsonias
...Zephyranthes

...Plant Bedding in
......Spring

......Summer
...Bulb houseplants flowering during:-
......January
......February
......March
......April
......May
......June
......July
......August
......September
......October
......November
......December
...Bulbs and other types of plant flowering during:-
......Dec-Jan
......Feb-Mar
......Apr-May
......Jun-Aug
......Sep-Oct
......Nov-Dec
...Selection of the smaller and choicer plants for the Smallest of Gardens with plant flowering during the same 6 periods as in the previous selection

Climber in
3 Sector Vertical Plant System
...Clematis
...Climbers
Conifer
Deciduous Shrub
...Shrubs - Decid
Deciduous Tree
...Trees - Decid
Evergreen Perennial
...P-Evergreen A-L
...P-Evergreen M-Z
...Flower Shape
Evergreen Shrub
...Shrubs - Evergreen
...Heather Shrub
...Heather Index
......Andromeda
......Bruckenthalia
......Calluna
......Daboecia
......Erica: Carnea
......Erica: Cinerea
......Erica: Others
Evergreen Tree
...Trees - Evergreen
Fern
Grass
Hedging
Herbaceous
Perennial

...P -Herbaceous
...Peony
...Flower Shape
...RHS Wisley
......Mixed Border
......Other Borders
Herb
Odds and Sods
Rhododendron

Rose
...RHS Wisley A-F
...RHS Wisley G-R
...RHS Wisley S-Z
...Rose Use - page links in row 6. Rose, RHS Wisley and Other Roses rose indices on each Rose Use page
...Other Roses A-F
...Other Roses G-R
...Other Roses S-Z
Pruning Methods
Photo Index
R 1, 2, 3
Peter Beales Roses
RV Roger
Roses

Soft Fruit
Top Fruit
...Apple

...Cherry
...Pear
Vegetable
Wild Flower and
Butterfly page links are in next row

Topic -
UK Butterfly:-
...Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage
of Plants.
...Plant Usage by
Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly.

Both native wildflowers and cultivated plants, with these
...Flower Shape,
...
Uses in USA,
...
Uses in UK and
...
Flo Cols / month are used by Butter-flies native in UK


Wild Flower
with its wildflower flower colour page, space,
data page(s).
...Blue Site Map.
Scented Flower, Foliage, Root.
Story of their Common Names.
Use of Plant with Flowers.
Use for Non-Flowering Plants.
Edible Plant Parts.
Flower Legend.
Flowering plants of
Chalk and
Limestone 1
, 2.
Flowering plants of Acid Soil
1.
...Brown Botanical Names.
Food for
Butterfly/Moth.

...Cream Common Names.
Coastal and Dunes.
Sandy Shores and Dunes.
...Green Broad-leaved Woods.
...Mauve Grassland - Acid, Neutral, Chalk.
...Multi-Cols Heaths and Moors.
...Orange Hedge-rows and Verges.
...Pink A-G Lakes, Canals and Rivers.
...Pink H-Z Marshes, Fens, Bogs.
...Purple Old Buildings and Walls.
...Red Pinewoods.
...White A-D
Saltmarshes.
Shingle Beaches, Rocks and Cliff Tops.
...White E-P Other.
...White Q-Z Number of Petals.
...Yellow A-G
Pollinator.
...Yellow H-Z
Poisonous Parts.
...Shrub/Tree River Banks and other Freshwater Margins. and together with cultivated plants in
Colour Wheel.

You know its
name:-
a-h, i-p, q-z,
Botanical Names, or Common Names,
habitat:-
on
Acid Soil,
on
Calcareous
(Chalk) Soil
,
on
Marine Soil,
on
Neutral Soil,
is a
Fern,
is a
Grass,
is a
Rush,
is a
Sedge, or
is
Poisonous.

Each plant in each WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE will have a link to:-
1) its created Plant Description Page in its Common Name column, then external sites:-
2) to purchase the plant or seed in its Botanical Name column,
3) to see photos in its Flowering Months column and
4) to read habitat details in its Habitat Column.
Adder's Tongue
Amaranth
Arrow-Grass
Arum
Balsam
Bamboo
Barberry
Bedstraw
Beech
Bellflower
Bindweed
Birch
Birds-Nest
Birthwort
Bogbean
Bog Myrtle
Borage
Box
Broomrape
Buckthorn
Buddleia
Bur-reed
Buttercup
Butterwort
Cornel (Dogwood)
Crowberry
Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1
Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2
Cypress
Daffodil
Daisy
Daisy Cudweeds
Daisy Chamomiles
Daisy Thistle
Daisy Catsears Daisy Hawkweeds
Daisy Hawksbeards
Daphne
Diapensia
Dock Bistorts
Dock Sorrels
Clubmoss
Duckweed
Eel-Grass
Elm
Filmy Fern
Horsetail
Polypody
Quillwort
Royal Fern
Figwort - Mulleins
Figwort - Speedwells
Flax
Flowering-Rush
Frog-bit
Fumitory
Gentian
Geranium
Glassworts
Gooseberry
Goosefoot
Grass 1
Grass 2
Grass 3
Grass Soft
Bromes 1

Grass Soft
Bromes 2

Grass Soft
Bromes 3

Hazel
Heath
Hemp
Herb-Paris
Holly
Honeysuckle
Horned-Pondweed
Hornwort
Iris
Ivy
Jacobs Ladder
Lily
Lily Garlic
Lime
Lobelia
Loosestrife
Mallow
Maple
Mares-tail
Marsh Pennywort
Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
Mesem-bryanthemum
Mignonette
Milkwort
Mistletoe
Moschatel
Naiad
Nettle
Nightshade
Oleaster
Olive
Orchid 1
Orchid 2
Orchid 3
Orchid 4
Parnassus-Grass
Peaflower
Peaflower
Clover 1

Peaflower
Clover 2

Peaflower
Clover 3

Peaflower Vetches/Peas
Peony
Periwinkle
Pillwort
Pine
Pink 1
Pink 2
Pipewort
Pitcher-Plant
Plantain
Pondweed
Poppy
Primrose
Purslane
Rannock Rush
Reedmace
Rockrose
Rose 1
Rose 2
Rose 3
Rose 4
Rush
Rush Woodrushes
Saint Johns Wort
Saltmarsh Grasses
Sandalwood
Saxifrage
Seaheath
Sea Lavender
Sedge Rush-like
Sedges Carex 1
Sedges Carex 2
Sedges Carex 3
Sedges Carex 4
Spindle-Tree
Spurge
Stonecrop
Sundew
Tamarisk
Tassel Pondweed
Teasel
Thyme 1
Thyme 2
Umbellifer 1
Umbellifer 2
Valerian
Verbena
Violet
Water Fern
Waterlily
Water Milfoil
Water Plantain
Water Starwort
Waterwort
Willow
Willow-Herb
Wintergreen
Wood-Sorrel
Yam
Yew


Topic -
The following is a complete hierarchical Plant Selection Process

dependent on the Garden Style chosen
Garden Style
...Infill Plants
...12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
...12 Foliage Colours per Month Index
...All Plants Index
...Cultivation, Position, Use Index
...Shape, Form
Index


Topic -
Flower/Foliage Colour Wheel Galleries with number of colours as a high-level Plant Selection Process

All Flowers 53 with
...Use of Plant and
Flower Shape
- page links in bottom row

All Foliage 53
instead of redundant
...(All Foliage 212)


All Flowers
per Month 12


Bee instead of wind pollinated plants for hay-fever sufferers
All Bee-Pollinated Flowers
per Month
12
...Index

Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers
Rock Plant Flowers 53
INDEX
A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L,
M, NO, PQ, R, S,
T, UVWXYZ
...Rock Plant Photos

Flower Colour Wheel without photos, but with links to photos
12 Bloom Colours
per Month Index

...All Plants Index


Topic -
Use of Plant in your Plant Selection Process

Plant Colour Wheel Uses
with
1. Perfect general use soil is composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand, and
2. Why you are continually losing the SOIL STRUCTURE so your soil - will revert to clay, chalk, sand or silt.
Uses of Plant and Flower Shape:-
...Foliage Only
...Other than Green Foliage
...Trees in Lawn
...Trees in Small Gardens
...Wildflower Garden
...Attract Bird
...Attract Butterfly
1
, 2
...Climber on House Wall
...Climber not on House Wall
...Climber in Tree
...Rabbit-Resistant
...Woodland
...Pollution Barrier
...Part Shade
...Full Shade
...Single Flower provides Pollen for Bees
1
, 2, 3
...Ground-Cover
<60
cm
60-180cm
>180cm
...Hedge
...Wind-swept
...Covering Banks
...Patio Pot
...Edging Borders
...Back of Border
...Poisonous
...Adjacent to Water
...Bog Garden
...Tolerant of Poor Soil
...Winter-Flowering
...Fragrant
...Not Fragrant
...Exhibition
...Standard Plant is 'Ball on Stick'
...Upright Branches or Sword-shaped leaves
...Plant to Prevent Entry to Human or Animal
...Coastal Conditions
...Tolerant on North-facing Wall
...Cut Flower
...Potted Veg Outdoors
...Potted Veg Indoors
...Thornless
...Raised Bed Outdoors Veg
...Grow in Alkaline Soil A-F, G-L, M-R,
S-Z
...Grow in Acidic Soil
...Grow in Any Soil
...Grow in Rock Garden
...Grow Bulbs Indoors

Uses of Bedding
...Bedding Out
...Filling In
...Screen-ing
...Pots and Troughs
...Window Boxes
...Hanging Baskets
...Spring Bedding
...Summer Bedding
...Winter Bedding
...Foliage instead of Flower
...Coleus Bedding Photos for use in Public Domain 1

Uses of Bulb
...Other than Only Green Foliage
...Bedding or Mass Planting
...Ground-Cover
...Cut-Flower
...Tolerant of Shade
...In Woodland Areas
...Under-plant
...Tolerant of Poor Soil
...Covering Banks
...In Water
...Beside Stream or Water Garden
...Coastal Conditions
...Edging Borders
...Back of Border or Back-ground Plant
...Fragrant Flowers
...Not Fragrant Flowers
...Indoor
House-plant

...Grow in a Patio Pot
...Grow in an Alpine Trough
...Grow in an Alpine House
...Grow in Rock Garden
...Speciman Plant
...Into Native Plant Garden
...Naturalize in Grass
...Grow in Hanging Basket
...Grow in Window-box
...Grow in Green-house
...Grow in Scree
...Naturalized Plant Area
...Grow in Cottage Garden
...Attracts Butterflies
...Attracts Bees
...Resistant to Wildlife
...Bulb in Soil:-
......Chalk
......Clay
......Sand
......Lime-Free (Acid)
......Peat

Uses of Rose
Rose Index

...Bedding 1, 2
...Climber /Pillar
...Cut-Flower 1, 2
...Exhibition, Speciman
...Ground-Cover
...Grow In A Container 1, 2
...Hedge 1, 2
...Climber in Tree
...Woodland
...Edging Borders
...Tolerant of Poor Soil 1, 2
...Tolerant of Shade
...Back of Border
...Adjacent to Water
...Page for rose use as ARCH ROSE, PERGOLA ROSE, COASTAL CONDITIONS ROSE, WALL ROSE, STANDARD ROSE, COVERING BANKS or THORNLESS ROSES.
...FRAGRANT ROSES
...NOT FRAGRANT ROSES


Topic -
Camera Photo Galleries showing all 4000 x 3000 pixels of each photo on your screen that you can then click and drag it to your desktop as part of a Plant Selection Process:-

RHS Garden at Wisley

Plant Supports -
When supporting plants in a bed, it is found that not only do those plants grow upwards, but also they expand their roots and footpad sideways each year. Pages
1
, 2, 3, 8, 11,
12, 13,
Plants 4, 7, 10,
Bedding Plants 5,
Plant Supports for Unknown Plants 5
,
Clematis Climbers 6,
the RHS does not appear to either follow it's own pruning advice or advice from The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by George E. Brown.
ISBN 0-571-11084-3 with the plants in Pages 1-7 of this folder. You can see from looking at both these resources as to whether the pruning carried out on the remainder of the plants in Pages 7-15 was correct.

Narcissus (Daffodil) 9,
Phlox Plant Supports 14, 15

Coleus Bedding Foliage Trial - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, Index

National Trust Garden at Sissinghurst Castle
Plant Supports -
Pages for Gallery 1

with Plant Supports
1, 5, 10
Plants
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9,
11, 12
Recommended Rose Pruning Methods 13
Pages for Gallery 2
with Plant Supports
2
,
Plants 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Dry Garden of
RHS Garden at
Hyde Hall

Plants - Pages
without Plant Supports
Plants 1
, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Nursery of
Peter Beales Roses
Display Garden

Roses Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13

Nursery of
RV Roger

Roses - Pages
A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,
A6,A7,A8,A9,A10,
A11,A12,A13,A14,
B15,
B16,B17,B18,B19,
B20,
B21,B22,B23,B24,
B25,
B26,B27,B28,B29,
B30,
C31,C32,C33,C34,
C35,
C36,C37,C38,C39,
C40,
C41,CD2,D43,D44,
D45,
D46,D47,D48,D49,
E50,
E51,E52,F53,F54,
F55,
F56,F57,G58,G59,
H60,
H61,I62,K63,L64,
M65,
M66,N67,P68,P69,
P70,
R71,R72,S73,S74,
T75,
V76,Z77, 78,

Damage by Plants in Chilham Village - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4

Pavements of Funchal, Madeira
Damage to Trees - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13
for trees 1-54,
14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
for trees 55-95,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
36, 37,
for trees 95-133,
38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45,
for trees 133-166

Chris Garnons-Williams
Work Done - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13

Identity of Plants
Label Problems - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11

Ron and Christine Foord - 1036 photos only inserted so far - Garden Flowers - Start Page of each Gallery
AB1 ,AN14,BA27,
CH40,CR52,DR63,
FR74,GE85,HE96,

Plant with Photo Index of Ivydene Gardens - 1187
A 1, 2, Photos - 43
B 1, Photos - 13
C 1, Photos - 35
D 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
Photos - 411
with Plants causing damage to buildings in Chilham Village and Damage to Trees in Pavements of Funchal
E 1, Photos - 21
F 1, Photos - 1
G 1, Photos - 5
H 1, Photos - 21
I 1, Photos - 8
J 1, Photos - 1
K 1, Photos - 1
L 1, Photos - 85
with Label Problems
M 1, Photos - 9
N 1, Photos - 12
O 1, Photos - 5
P 1, Photos - 54
Q 1, Photos -
R 1, 2, 3,
Photos - 229
S 1, Photos - 111
T 1, Photos - 13
U 1, Photos - 5
V 1, Photos - 4
W 1, Photos - 100
with Work Done by Chris Garnons-Williams
X 1 Photos -
Y 1, Photos -
Z 1 Photos -
Articles/Items in Ivydene Gardens - 88
Flower Colour, Num of Petals, Shape and
Plant Use of:-
Rock Garden
within linked page


Topic -
Fragrant Plants as a Plant Selection Process for your sense of smell:-

Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders

Fragrant Plants:-
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for an Acid Soil
1
, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a
Chalky or Limestone Soil
1
, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented leaves for a
Sandy Soil
1
, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3
Annual and Biennial Plants with Scented Flowers or Leaves
1
, 2
Bulbs and Corms with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3, 4, 5
Scented Plants of Climbing and Trailing Habit
1
, 2, 3
Winter-flowering Plants with Scented Flowers
1
, 2
Night-scented Flowering Plants
1
, 2


Topic -
Website User Guidelines


My Gas Service Engineer found Flow and Return pipes incorrectly positioned on gas boilers and customers had refused to have positioning corrected in 2020.

Ivydene Gardens Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape Gallery:
List by Habit - Foliage Character Bold
from Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0 Emily Brown has been a member of the National Committee of the Garden Club of America as well as a founding member of the Filoli Gardens and an ardent supporter of the Srybing Arboretum in San Francisco. She is writing about perennials for use in America.

 

Evergreen Perennial Name.

Alpine Evergreen Perennial if Text Background is Blue

Flower Colour

Flower Thumb-nail

Flowering Months

/ Form

Height x Spread in inches (cms)
(1 inch = 2.5 cms,
12 inches = 1 foot
12 inches = 30 cms,
24 inches = 2 feet,
3 feet = 1 yard,
40 inches = 100 cms)

Foliage Colour

Comments

Use

List by Habit - Foliage Character Bold


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acanthus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arundinaria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arundo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cynara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eryngium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gunnera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haplopappus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hosta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ligularia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macleaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Papaver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phlomis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phormium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rheum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rodgersia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rumex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yucca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PERENNIAL - EVERGREEN GALLERY PAGES

FLOWER COLOUR
(o)Blue
Orange
(o)Other Colours
(o)Red
(o)Pink
(o)White
(o)Yellow

FOLIAGE COLOUR
Black
Blue
(o)Brown
(o)Bronze
(o)Green1
(o)Green2
(o)Grey
(o)Purple
(o)Red
(o)Silver
(o)Variegated White
Variegated Yellow
White
Yellow
Autumn Colour
4 Season Colour

FORM
(o)Mat-forming
(o)Prostrate
(o)Mound-forming
(o)Spreading
(o)Clump-forming
Stemless
(o)Upright
Climbing
Arching

FRUIT COLOUR
(o)Fruit

FLOWER BED PICTURES
(o)Garden

EVERGREEN PERENNIAL
FLOWER SHAPE GALLERY PAGES

Site Map of pages with content (o)

Introduction

 

scabiosashapecolumbaria1a1aPincushions - The pincushions of plants such as scabious (Scabiosa columbaria from BritishFlora) are in reality compound flowerheads, with a dome of central florets surrounded by larger florets.

 

 

Floral Diagrams: An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution by Ronse De Craene Louis P. (ISBN-10: 0521493463 and ISBN-13: 978-0521493468) ." Floral morphology remains the cornerstone for plant identification and studies of plant evolution. This guide gives a global overview of the floral diversity of the angiosperms through the use of detailed floral diagrams. These schematic diagrams replace long descriptions or complicated drawings as a tool for understanding floral structure and evolution. They show important features of flowers, such as the relative positions of the different organs, their fusion, symmetry, and structural details. The relevance of the diagrams is discussed, and pertinent evolutionary trends are illustrated. The range of plant species represented reflects the most recent classification of flowering plants based mainly on molecular data, which is expected to remain stable in the future. This book is invaluable for researchers and students working on plant structure, development and systematics, as well as being an important resource for plant ecologists, evolutionary botanists and horticulturists." from Product Description by Amazon. Very useful book if you understand the language of botany.

The Daily Telegraph Best Flowers to Grow and Cut by David Joyce (ISBN 0 7112 2366 1) groups plants according to defined characteristics of flower simple shape, elaborated shape, flower details and flower textures. Using that system, this plant gallery has thumbnail pictures in:-

  • Number of Flower Petals
  • Flower Simple Shape, Flower Elaborated Shape and
  • Flower Natural Arrangement Pages

A thumbnail of a plant can be in each of the above 3.
The text menu above links to those pages and the thumbnails in the menu link to the Plant Description Page of that flower.
The next table called
Ivydene Gardens Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape Gallery
contains the links to the above Flower Shape pages.

Explaination of each page is at its bottom.

 

7 Flower Colours per Month in Colour Wheel
below in Table A at the end of this row of tables
contains the links to the above 7 Flower Colours per Month pages

in this EVERGREEN PERENNIAL Gallery. The same Colour Wheel used

  • for Evergreen Perennials only prior to July 2022, and these will be added to
  • from July 2022 it will compare every plant with flowers in this website
    in this EVERGREEN PERENNIAL Gallery.

Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month.
 

 

 

Evergreen Perennials Height from Text Border in this Gallery

 

Brown =
0-12 inches (0-30 cms)

Blue =
12-24 inches
(30-60 cms)

Green =
24-36 inches
(60-90 cms)

Red =
36-72 inches
(90-180 cms)

Black =
72+ inches
(180+ cms)

 

Evergreen Perennials Soil Moisture from Text Background in this Gallery

 

 

Wet Soil

Moist Soil

Dry Soil

 

The Plant Height Border in this Gallery has changed from :-
Blue = 0-2 feet (0-24 inches), Green = 2-6 feet (24-72 inches), Red = 6+ feet (72+ inches) to

  • Brown = 0-12 inches (0-30 cms)
  • Blue = 12-24 inches (30-60 cms)
  • Green = 24-36 inches (60-90 cms)
  • Red = 36-72 inches (90-180 cms)
  • Black = 72+ inches (180+ cms)

 

Flowering months range abreviates month to its first 3 letters (Apr-Jun is April, May and June).
Click on thumbnail to change this comparison page to the Plant Description Page of the Evergreen Perennial named in the Text box below that photo.
The Comments Row of that Evergreen Perennial Description Page details where that Evergreen Perennial is available from.

 

 

 

Ivydene Gardens Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape Gallery:
List By Foliage Character Bold
from Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0

 

Evergreen Perennial Name.

Alpine Evergreen Perennial if Text Background is Blue

Flower Colour

Flower Thumb-nail

Flowering Months

/ Form

Height x Spread in inches (cms)
(1 inch = 2.5 cms,
12 inches = 1 foot
12 inches = 30 cms,
24 inches = 2 feet,
3 feet = 1 yard,
40 inches = 100 cms)

Foliage Colour

Comments

Use

List By Foliage Character Bold


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivydene Horticultural Services logo with I design, construct and maintain private gardens. I also advise and teach you in your own garden. 01634 389677

 

Site design and content copyright ©July 2009.
Page structure amended December 2012.
Colour Wheel clarified January 2013.
Feet changed to inches (cms) July 2015.
Thumbnail and Comments added October 2015. Flower, Form and Foliage Thumbnails and Comments added to Index May 2017.
Evergreen Perennial Name Index and Use Pages added February 2021.
Landscaping with Perennials List Pages added February 2021.
Chris Garnons-Williams.

DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.  

 

 

From Annuals and Biennials chapter in Plants for Ground-cover by Graham Stuart Thomas - Gardens consultant to the National Trust. Published by J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd in 1970, Reprinted (with further revisions) 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1:-

"I think there is a case to be considered for annuals and biennials in ground-cover schemes so long as they will sow themselves freely.
These suggestions may be useful for large areas outside our gardens where a 'show' for a summer or two is needed, while shrubs and perennial ground-covers are being increased for later permanent planting. They are easy to control if one studies the life-cycle with a view to allowing seed to develop if required or to remove it before it is shed.

Use

Plant

Comments

Lawn and ground-cover under conifer trees

Poa annua

The needles under a cedar tree were weekly swept away and the grass, despite fertilizers, top dressing, re-seading and re-turfing, simply would not grow. The needles were left alone and within 12 months the area became self-sown with a close and permanent sward of Poa nnua. This little grass regenerates itself constantly so that it makes a lawn, though each plant has only a short life.

Oxalis rosea

This is highly successful in the shade of conifers or any other tree

Cyclamen hederifolium

This is a perennial, though sowing itself freely when suited and it is here because plants to grow under cedars and yews, somewhat away from the trunks, are very few.

Temporary ground-cover under trees

Tropaeolum or Eschscholtzia

A sheet of 'Gleam' nasturtiums or eschscholtzia; both are free-flowering and easily pulled up, though like all annuals it may be a year or two later before all dispersed seeds have germinated.

Silene armeria and Iberis amara are equally successful, with Sett Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) creating a dwarf ground-cover carpet in late summer.

Ground-cover under trees with high rainfall

Claytonia sibirica (Montia sibirica)

This grows under trees where the grass is thin at high altitude and high rainfall. It covers the area - interpersed with primroses and Oxalia acetosella - with a mass of pinky-white stars a few inches (cms) above the ground.

Claytonia perfoliata is an annual; it is usually classed as a weed but is excellent cover in cool, acid soil, but far less conspicuous in flower

Streamsides, river banks and fringes of boggy ground

Impatiens glandulifera (Impatiens roylei, Annual Balsam)

It is a rapid colonizer because its seeds are ejected with some force from the ripe pods. It seeds with great abandon and grows to 72 (180) or more; its many pink flowers make a great show.

Full sun and drier soils than by streamsides

Angelica archangelica

It very quickly produces great green heads in spring, ripening quickly, with the result that the ground is thickly covered with seedlings in late summer.

Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose) will colonize any sunny waste place and produce yellow blooms for weeks in the summer

Lychnis coronaria is a prolific seeder with rosettes of silvery basal leaves.

Erysimum linifolium (Wallflower) produces lilac flowers

Plants that seed about with abandon

 

  • Phytolacca american Poke Weed) has great spikes of shing black seeds
  • Geranium pratense, a soft blue flower, 36 (90) high, with a basal clump of divided leaves
  • Myrrhis odorata (Sweet Cicely), old garden herb
  • Borago laxiflora with pale blue flowers
  • on neutral, well-drained soil, Lupinus hartwegii and Lupinus polyphyllus, with Lupinus arboreus (Tree Lupin) are useful
  • temporary ground-cover of Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus luteus, which are used agriculturally to enrich the land as a 'green manure'.
  • Verbascum nigrum, produces yellow or white 36 (90) high spikes in summer and it makes good basal rosetttes while it sows itself freely.
  • Foxgloves (Digitalis) and honesty (Lumaria) seed themselves freely and in a way will act as a ground-cover on account of their large basal leaves.

 

 

 

 

From Appendix II Lists of plants for special conditions in Plants for Ground-cover by Graham Stuart Thomas - Gardens consultant to the National Trust. Published by J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd in 1970, Reprinted (with further revisions) 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1:-

Plant

Plant

Plant

 

1. Plants requiring lime-free soils


On limy soils it is wiser not to attempt to grow the genera in this list. They are mainly woodland plants and thrive best in soil in which humus has been mixed.
Species of Ceanothus, Berberis, Chaenomeles, Cytisus, Iris, Lupinus, Pimelia and Myosotideum are not so dependent on humus so long as the soil is acid or neutral.

Arctostaphylos.
Azalea - this is poisonous to bees and its honey to humans.
Berberis thunbergii and varieties.
Blechnum.
Boykinia.
Bruckenthalia.
Calluna.
Camelia.
Carex pendula.
Cassiope.
Chaenomeles.
Claytonia sibirica.
Clethra.
Comptonia.
Cornus canadensis.
Cyathodes.
Cytisus scoparius prostratus (Sarothamnus).
Daboecia.
Dicentra.
Empetrum.
Epigaea.

Erica.
Galax.
Gaultheria.
Gaylussacia.
Houstonia.
Hydrangea macrophylla.
Iris douglasiana.
Iris innominata.
Leiophyllum.
Leucothoe.
Linnaea.
Lithospermum diffusum.
Lupinus.
Luzula.
Meconopsis.
Mitchella.
Myosotideum.
Ourisia.
Pachysandra.
Paxistima.
Pernettya.

Philesia.
Pieris.
Pimelia.
Pyrola.
Rhododendron - this is poisonous to bees and its honey to humans.
Sarothamnus, see Cytisus.
Schizocodon.
Shortia.
Skimmia.
Smilacina.
Soldanella.
Tanakaea.
Vaccinium.
Woodwardia.

 

2. Plants which will thrive in limy soils


While it may be taken that any genus not mentioned in 1 will tolerate lime, many, such as Rosa, prefer the soil to be neutral. The following will thrive in soil that is actively limy, even over chalk, though they will grow equally well without lime.

Acaena.
Acanthus.
Achillea.
Adiantum.
Ajuga.
Alchemilla.
Alyssum saxatile.
Anaphalis.
Anchusa.
Anemone.
Antennaria.
Arabis.
Armeria.
Asplenium.
Athyrium.
Aubretia.
Aucuba.
Ballota.
Berberis (except Berberis thunbergii and varieties).
Bergenia.
Brunnera macrophylla.
Caltha.
Campanula.
Cardamine.
Ceanothus.
Centaurea.
Cerastium.
Ceratostigma.
Choisya.
Cistus.
Clematis.
Convallaria.
Convolvulus.
Cornus alba.
Cotoneaster.

Cotula.
Crambe.
Crataegus.
Cyclamen.
Daphne.
Dianthus.
Dryas.
Dryopteris.
Epimedium.
Erigeron.
Erodium.
Euonymus fortunei.
Euphorbia.
Festuca.
Forsythia.
Fuchsia.
Genista hispanica.
Geranium.
Gymnocarpium.
Gypsophila.
Halimum.
Hebe.
Hedera.
Helianthemum.
Helleborus.
Hemerocallis.
Houttuynia.
Hydrangea villosa.
Hypericum.
Hyssopus.
Iris foetidissima.
Jasminum.
Juniperus.
Lamium.
Lathyrus.
Lavandula.
Liriope.
Lonicera.
Mahonia.
Nepeta.
Osmanthus.
Othonnopsis.

Paeonia.
Peltiphyllum (Darmera).
Phlomis.
Phlox.
Polygonatum.
Polygonum.
Potentilla.
Primula.
Prunus.
Pulmonaria.
Pulsatilla.
Pyracantha.
Pyrus.
Reynoutria.
Ribes.
Rodgersia.
Rosmarinus.
Rubus.
Salvia.
Sambucus.
Santolina.
Sarcooca.
Scabiosa.
Sedum.
Senecio.
Sorbaria.
Spiraea.
Stachys.
Symphoricarpos.
Symphytum.
Taxus.
Tellima.
Teucrium.
Thymus.
Vancouveria.
Viburnum.
Vinca.
Viola.
Waldsteinia.
Zauschneria.

 

3. Plants which tolerate clay.


Few plants establish quickly on very heavy soils over clay, though many of the following will luxuiriate in maturity, provided the area is reasonably well-drained.

Acanthus.
Aesculus.
Ajuga.
Alchemilla.
Anemone x hybrida.
Anemone tomentosa.
Aruncus.
Asarum.
Astilboides.
Aucuba.
Berberis.
Bergenia.
Brunnera.
Caltha.
Chaenomeles.
Clematis.
Convallaria.
Cornus alba.
Cornus stolonifera.
Cotoneaster.
Crataegus.
Daphne.
Epimedium.

Euonymus fortunei.
Forsythia.
Geranium.
Hedera.
Helleborus.
Hemerocallis.
Hosta.
Lamium.
Lonicera.
Mahonia.
Malus.
Peltiphyllum.
Petasites.
Phillyrea.
Polygonatum.
Polygonum.
Prunella.
Prunus.
Pyrus.
Reynoutria.
Ribes.

Rodgersia.
Rosa.
Rubus.
Salix.
Sambucus.
Sarcocca.
Sorbaria.
Spiraea.
Symphoricarpus.
Symphytum.
Telekia.
Tellima.
Trachystemon.
Vancouveria.
Viburnum.
Vinca.
Waldsteinia.

 

4. Plants which will grow satisfactorily in dry, shady places.

Apart from ill-drained clay, this combination of conditions is the most difficult to cope with in the garden.

* indicates those which will not tolerate lime.

Alchemilla conjuncta.
*Arctostaphylos.
Arundinaria.
Asperula.
Asplenium.
Aster macrophyllus.
Aucuba.
*Blechnum spicant.
*Camellia.
*Carex.
*Cornus canadensis.
Cyclamen.
Dryopteris filix-mas.
Duchesnea.
Epimedium.
Euphorbia robbiae.
Fatshedera.

Fragaria.
*Gaultheria shallon.
Geranium nodosum.
Hedera.
Hypericum. androsaemum.
Iris foetidissima.
*Linnaea.
Lonicera nitida.
Lonicera pileata.
Lunaria.
Mahonia.
Myrrhis.
Pachyphragma.
*Pachysandra.
Phyllostachys.
Polypodium.
Prunus laurocerausus varieties.

Reynoutria.
Ribes.
Rubus.
Sarcocca.
Skimmia.
Thalictrum.
Trachystemon.
*Vaccinium vitis-idaea.
Vancouveria.
Vinca minor.
Walsteinia.
Xanthorhiza.

 

5. Plants which thrive on moist soils.

Genera marked * are suitable for boggy positions.

Ajuga.
Aruncus.
*Astilbe.
Astilboides.
Athyrium.
Blechnum chilense.
*Caltha.
Clethra (no lime).
Cornus alba.

Cornus stolonifera.
Filipendula palmata.
Filipendula purpurea.
Gunnera.
Heracleum.
Houttuynia.
*Ligularia.
*Lysichitum.
Matteuccia.

*Onoclea.
Osmunda.
Peltiphyllum (Darmera).
Petasites japonicus.
*Primula florindae.
Primula various.
Ranunculus.
Rheum.
Rodgersia.
*Trollius

 

6. Plants which grow well in shady positions.

The bulk of these are woodland plants, growing well under shrubs and trees, but those marked * are not so satisfactory under trees, though thriving in the shade given by buildings. For those requiring lime-free soil, compare with List 1.

Adiantum.
Aegopodium.
Anemone.
*Arabis.
Arundinaria.
Asarum.
Asperula.
Asplenium.
Athyrium.
Aucuba.
*Berberis.
*Bergenia.
Blechnum.
Boykinia.
Brunnera.
Camellia.
Cardamine.

Carex.
Cassiope.
Chiastophyllum.
*Choisya.
Claytonia.
Comptonia.
Convallaria.
Cornus canadensis.
Cortusa.
Corydalis.
*Cotoneaster.
Cyathodes.
Cyclamen.
Cystopteris.
Dicentra.
Dryopteris.
Duchesnia.

Epigaea.
Epimedium.
Euonymus.
Euphorbia robbiae.
Fragaria.
*Fuchsia.
Galax.
Gaultheria.
Gaylussacia.
Geranium, most.
Gymnocarpium.
*Hebe.
Hedera.
Helleborus.

Helxine.
X Heucherella.
Hosta.
Houstonia.
Hydrangea.
Hypericum androsaemum.
Hypericum calycinum.
*Iberis sempervirens.
Iris foetidissima.
Jasminum nudiflorum.
*Jasminum others.
Juniperus x media.
Lamium.
Leucothoe.
Linnaea.
Lomaria.
Lonicera pileata.
Lunaria.
Luzula.
Lysimachia.
Mahonia.
Maianthemum.
Matteuccia.
Meconopsis.
Milium.
Mitchella.
Myrrhis.
Omphalodes.

Onoclea.
Ourisia.
Oxalis.
Pachyphragma.
Pachysandra.
Paxistima.
Patrinia.
Petasites.
Philesia.
Phyllostachys.
Pieris.
Polygonatum.
Polygonum.
Polypodium.
Polystichum.
Prunus laurocerasus.
Pseudosasa.
Pulmonaria.
Pyrola.
Rhododendron, larger-leaved kinds, it is toxic to bees and the honey from it is toxic to humans.
Ribes.
Rubus.
Sarcocca.
Saxifraga.
Schizocodon.
Selaginella.
 

Shortia.
Skimmia.
Smilacina.
*Soldanella.
Symphytum.
Tanakea.
Tellima.
Thalictrum minus.
Tiarella.
Tolmeia.
Trachystemon.
Vaccinium macrocarpum.
Vaccinium vitis-idaea.
Vancouveria.
*Viburnum davidii.
Vinca.
Viola.
Waldsteinia.
Woodwardia.

 

7. Plants which will thrive in hot, sunny places on dry soils.

Those marked * require lime-free soil.

Acaena.
Acantholimon.
Acanthus.
Achillea.
Alyssum.
Ampelopsis.
Antennaria.
Anthemis.
Arabis.
*Arctostaphylos.
Armeria.
Artemisia.
Aubretia.
Ballota.
Bolax.
Bupleurum.
Calamintha.
Campanula alliariifolia.
Campsis.
Ceanothus.
Centaurea.
Cerastium.
Ceratostigma.
*Chaenomeles.
Choisya.
Cissus.
Cistus.
Clematis flammula.
Clematis x jouiniana.
Convolvulus.
Coronilla.
Cotula.
Crambe.
*Cytisus.
Dianthus

Dimorphotheca.
Elaeagnus.
Elymus.
Ephedra.
Erigeron glaucus.
Erodium.
Erysimum.
Eschscholtzia.
Fascicularia.
Festuca.
Filipendula hexapetala.
Genista.
Geranium x magnificum.
Geranium renardii.
Gypsophila.
Halimocistus.
Halimium.
Hebe.
Helianthemum.
Hypericum calycinum.
Hypericum rhodopeum.
Hyssopus.
Iberis amara.
Iberis sempervirens.
Iris graminea.
*Iris innominata.
Iris japonica.
Iris ruthenica.
Jasminum parkeri.
Juniperus.
Lathyrus.
Lavandula.
Leptospermum.
Limonium.
Lupinus arboreus.

Lychnis coronaria.
Moltkia.
Muehlenbeckia.
Nepeta.
Oenothera biennis.
Ophiopogon.
Osteospermum, (see Dimporphotheca).
Othonnopsis.
Oxalis rubra.
Paronychia.
Parthenocissus.
Pennisetum.
Pterocephalus.
Ptilotrichum.
Raoulia.
Reynoutria.
Romneya.
Rosmarinus.
Ruta.
Salvia'
Santolina.
Saponaria.
Satureia.
Scabiosa graminifolia.
Sedum.
Senecio.
Silene.
Stachys olympica.
Teucrium.
Thymus.
Trachystemon.
*Vaccinium oxycoccus.
Viola labradorica.
Zauschneria.

 

8. Plants which thrive in maritime districts.

Many of the following will stand wind and salt-spray, particularly those marked *.

Those marked ** will provide shelter for others and shelter is highly important in seaside gardening.

For genera requiring, lime-free soil, compare with List 1.

Acaena.
Acantholimon.
Achillea.
Alchemilla.
Alyssum.
Antennaria.
Anthemis.
Arabis.
*Arctostaphylos.
*Armeria.
*Artemisia.
Arundinaria.
Asperula.
Asplenium.
Athyrium.
 

Aubretia.
*Aucuba.
*Berberis.
Bergenia.
Beschorneria.
Betula.
Blechnum.
Bolax.
Bruckenthalia.
**Bupleurum.
Calamintha.
*Calluna.
Camellia.
Campanula.
Campsis.

Ceanothus.
Centaurea.
*Cerastium.
Ceratostigma.
Choisya.
**Cistus.
Clematis.
Convolvulus.
Coprosma.
Cornus alba.
Cornus stolonifera.
Coronilla.
**Cotoneaster.
*Crambe.
**Crataegus.
*Cytisus.
*Daboecia.
*Dianthus.
*Dimorphotheca.
Dryas.
Dryopteris.
*Elaeagnus.
*Elymus.
Ephedra.
*Erica.
*Erigeron glaucus.
*Eriogonum.
*Eryngium.
Erysimum.
**Escallonia.
*Euonymus.
Euphorbia.
Fascicularia.
Festuca.
Filipendula hexapetala.
Forsythia.
*Fuchsia.
Garrya.

*Genista.
Geranium.
*Gypsophila.
Halimiocistus.
*Halimium.
**Hebe.
Hedera.
Helianthemum.
Hemerocallis.
Heuchera.
*Hydrangea.
Hypericum.
Hyssopus.
Iberis.
Ilex.
Iris.
Jasminum.
*Juniperus.
Lathyrus.
Lavandula.
*Leptospermum.
*Limonium.
Liriope.
**Lonicera.
*Lupinus arboreus.
Mahonia.
Myosotideum.
Osteospermum, (see Dimorphotheca).
*Othonnopsis.
Oxalis.
Penstemon.
Petasites fragrans.
Phlox.
Phyllostachys.
Polygonum.
Polypodium.
Polystichum.
*Potentilla.

Pulsatilla.
Pyrus.
Reynoutria.
*Romneya.
*Rosa.
*Rosmarinus.
Rubus.
Ruta.
**Salix.
Salvia.
Santolina.
Satureia.
Saxifraga.

*Sedum.
**Senecio.
Silene.
Skimmia.
Sorbaria.
Spiraea.
Stachys.
Symphoricarpus.
Teucrium.
Thymus.
Vaccinium.
Vinca.
Waldsteinia.

 

9. Plants which create barriers.

The following by their dense or prickly character will deter small animals and human beings as well as weeds.

Arundinaria anceps.
Berberis.
Chaenomeles.
Clematis montana.
Clethra.
Cornus alba.
Cornus stolonifera.
Cotoneaster conspicuus.
Cotoneaster conspicuus 'Decorus'.
Crataegus.
Forsythia suspensa sieboldii.
Gaultheria shallon.
Juniperus x media.
Lonicera nitida.

Mahonia japonica.
Pernettya.
Pyrus.
Rosa 'Macrantha'.
Rosa 'Max Graf'.
Rosa x paulii.
Rosa x polliniana.
Rosa 'Raubritter'.
Rosa rugosa.
Rosa virginiana.
Rosa woodsii fendleri.
Spiraea douglasii.
Spiraea menziesii.

 

 

10. Plants for town gardens.

Genera marked * prefer acid soil;

those marked £ will thrive in impoverished soils. Soil in towns is usually deficient in humus.

£Acanthus.
£Alchemilla.
Anemone.
£Asperula odorata.
£Aucuba.
£Bergenia.
Campanula.
Clematis montana.
Corydalis.
*Dicentra.
£Epimedium.

Euonymus.
£Fatshedera.
£Ferns.
£Geranium.
£Hebe.
£Hedera.
*Hosta.
Nepeta.
Parthenocissus.
Polygonatum.
£Potentilla.

Ribes.
Salix.
Saxifraga, Robertsonia section.
Spiraea.
Tellima.
£Vancouveria.
£Vinca.
Waldsteinia.

 

EXPLAINATION OF WHY SOIL IN UK TOWNS IS USUALLY DEFICIENT IN HUMUS.
That is because when a flower bed is weeded, then the weeds are thrown away. This means that the minerals that weed used up from the soil are also thrown away, and the soil has not received any replacement.

 

Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays.
When plants drop leaves, twigs, and other material to the ground, it piles up. This material is called leaf litter. When animals die, their remains add to the litter. Over time, all this litter decomposes. This means it decays, or breaks down, into its most basic chemical elements. Many of these chemicals are important nutrients for the soil and organisms that depend on soil for life, such as plants. The thick brown or black substance that remains after most of the organic litter has decomposed is called humus. Earthworms often help mix humus with minerals in the soil. Humus contains many useful nutrients for healthy soil. One of the most important is nitrogen. Nitrogen is a key nutrient for most plants. Agriculture depends on nitrogen and other nutrients found in humus.When humus is in soil, the soil will crumble. Air and water move easily through the loose soil, and oxygen can reach the roots of plants. Humus can be produced naturally or through a process called composting. When people compost, they collect decaying organic material, such as food and garden scraps, that will be turned into soil.

soil15casestudies

 

The humus provides the organic polymers to interact with the clay domains and bacterium to stick the 2 grains of sand together. This soil molecule of 2 grains of sand, organic polymers, clay domains and bacterium will disintegrate by the action of the bacterium or fungal enymatic catalysis on the organic polymers. So if a continuous supply of humus is not present, then the soil molecules will break up into sand and clay.
Because the idiots in the UK do not know about this, this is why they weed a bed, throw away the weed, not provide anything in return and expect the soil to take care of itself.
When you go to view gardens open to the public how many times can you see bare earth between plants in a flower bed? There needs to be either a green manure or an organic mulch between the plants, so that leaf litter etc can decompose and become humus to provide the minerals and humus for the plants. That is what you see when you visit a forest where the fallen leaves, branches, animals and birds are left to their own devices, except when a newly qualified university student came to look after a local authority controlled wooded park, when she got the local population to help her and her staff to remove all the undergrowth, leaving bare earth!

 

Cultural Needs of Plants
from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-88192-495-4.

"Understanding Fern Needs
Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
What, then, does a fern need?
 

  1. Water - All plants need water. Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
  2. Light - All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
  3. Photosynthesis - For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
  4. Oxygen - Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
  5. Air with roots - Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot. These gases need free access to the roots:-
    • Nitrogen Cycle -
      Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria fix nitrogen which is then converted to ammonia. Ammonia is then assimilated into nucleotides, Amino Acids, vitamins and flavones which are essential to the growth of the plant. The plant root cells convert sugar into organic acids which then supply to the rhizobia in exchange, hence a symbiotic relationship between rhizobia and the legumes.
    • Oxygen Cycle -
      No nutrient absorption occurs at the root zone unless oxygen is present.
    • Carbon Dioxide -
      Plant roots uptake carbon dioxide to provide carbon for parts of the foliage.
  6. Minerals - Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
  7. Temperature - Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.

    The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."

 

Only Earthworms provide the tunnels which transport water, gas and nutrients to and from roots.

When the roots of the plant requires the mineral nutrients dissolved in soil water, oxygen and nitrogen intake and waste gases output, it gets it through the action of the earthworm continously making tunnels to provide the transport system.
6000 species of Earthworm have no special respiratory organs. Gases are exchanged through the moist skin and capillaries, where the oxygen is picked up by the hemoglobin dissolved in the blood plasma and carbon dioxide is released. Water, as well as salts, can also be moved through the skin by active transport.
When the earthworms are denied access to the air above ground as in the case of pavements, driveways and patios; then they die and the system round them dies as well. Since the roots are not getting their requirements; then they also die off, and you are left with insufficient live root to support the tree or other plants.

 

11. Plants suitable for covering rose-beds.

The following are all small plants that will not be strong-growing for the purpose, and will help to make the beds more attractive during the 7 months when Hybrid Teas and Floribundas are not in flower. Small spring-flowering bulbs can be grown through them. The more vigorous shrub roses will tolerate many others among the shorter growing plants in this 1000 ground cover table.

Acaena.
Alyssum saxatile.
Arabis.
Aubretia.
Campanula carpatica.
Campanula portenschlagiana.

Cardamine trifolia.
Corydalis lutea.
Corydalis ochroleuca.
Dianthus.
Lysimachia nummularia.
Phlox subulata.

Primula auricula.
Primula vulgaris sibthorpii.
Pulsatilla.
Saponaria ocymoides.
Saxifraga.
Viola.

 

Collins Aura Garden Handbooks Trees for Small Gardens by Susan Conder. Published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd in 1988.

On page 17 , it shows how to plant a tree in a lawn, but:-

  • Only 1 stake should have been used at 45 degrees and meeting the trunk at about 50 cms (20 inches) with that stake inserted into the ground on the side where the wind usually comes from. It's purpose is to stop the tree from being blown out of the ground and for the tree finding out about the weather, so that it then decides whether to strengthen its trunk before going on to extend its trunk and its branches. When stakes support the tree at 6 feet from the ground and stop it moving, then when that support is removed after 2 or 3 years, the first gale may well snap the tree at that point.
  • The tree is surrounded by grass which will rapidly grow back next to the trunk. Grass will absorb all the rain and any nutrients supplied. Thus like the disaster at Gloucester Council, this planting would have been a total waste of time. The root system of a tree extends to the tips of the branches as shown by their diagram on page 21, so no grass should be allowed from the trunk to this width, but bulbs and a 3 inch (7.5cm) depth of mulch like mown leaves should replace that grass. See further details on the right hand side of the Welcome Page in Table 4.
    Below that above description in Table 4; there is a photo of a tree planted in Chatham in a pavement in June 2023. Tarmac was compacted round that tree. By January 2024, that level tarmac had dipped.
    Conclusion:-
    • the roots of the tree had been killed due to using up all the water in its locality,
    • it had used up what nutrients there were within the scope of its roots,
    • it had its access to receiving oxygen or excreting carbon dioxide blocked by the tarmac above it
    • its soil organisms had died due to lack of water, food and oxygen because their access to it had been blocked by the tarmac above it.
    • so the tree roots had died and rotted away - for those which had not already been killed by the compaction above when the tarmac was laid and compacted.
    • When the Type I Roadstone had been pressed down using a whacker plate, a layer of soil laid; the tree planted in that soil, then the tarmac laid over its roots and also pressed down to level that area with the surrounding pavement, then those remaining tree's roots had been killed.
      Could you survive the pressure of a small plate compactor providing 2,400 (1088.622 Kilogrammes) pounds of force per square foot (12 x 12 inches = 144 square inches = 929.03 square centimetres) with compaction going as deep as 8 inches (20cm) on you?

      RuggedMade's largest plate compactor model can deliver 9,000 pounds per square foot and compact to a depth of 34 inches (85 cms), which is below the roots of this tree that was planted. The vibrating plate compactor will get rid of the airspaces between the solids that it is compacting. That means that no water, air, or organisms to make soil can move between those solids and that soil is dead and will continue that way. That means that gradually we are killing the ground round where we live, work and play including that whackered down drive, patio, artificial grass area and paths in your garden contribute their nails in your coffin.
    • Living organisms like humans need to breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants convert that carbon dioxide back to oxygen. Why is that humans are intent on commiting suicide by destroying plants in putting concrete/ tarmac/ bricks over the landscape and not providing the replacement plant material to provide that oxygen?

On page 23 it has diagrams showing how to remove a large limb. The fourth diagram is incorrect and below is why - you should leave the branch collar on the tree instead of cutting it off. In the centre of each trunk and branch there is a section of nerves used by the tree to get information from all of its branches and trunk and then sending replies of what to do about it. You could say that the Branch Collar is like a junction box, where you cut off after it but not before; otherwise the tree still thinks that branch is still there and then will make invalid decisions. These nerve fibres are the last item in the branches/trunk that rot away.

Branch Collar

thumbbranchcollarriverside

Most gardens of new houses in England in 2023 are too small for trees, and I would recommend using top fruit and soft fruit trained onto the boundaries. If you add a chainlink fence, then you will have plenty of places to tie cordons, espaliers, fans and blackberries. If you want trees, then you can follow their method of putting them into containers as shown on pages 18 and 19, or train the trees as a a 80 (200cm) high hedge and allow 36 inches (90) from the boundary to the lawn for the hedge to grow in with bulbs and mulch between the lawn and the hedge.

Ivydene Gardens Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape Gallery:
 

EVERGREEN PERENNIAL FLOWER SHAPE in Royal Blue -
WILDFLOWER FLOWER SHAPE in Blue -
Click on Text link

Number of Flower Petals

lessershape1meadowrue1a

cosmoscflobipinnatuspuritygarnonswilliams1a

irishcflobladderwort1a

ajugacflo1genevensisfoord2a

aethionemacfloarmenumfoord2a

anemonecflo1hybridafoord2a

anemonecflo1blandafoord2a

Petal-less
Petal-less

1
1

2
2

3
3

4
4 and could be cross-shaped

5
5

Above 5
Above 5

 

Flower Shape - Simple

anthericumcfloliliagofoord2a

argemonecflomexicanaflowermissouriplants1a

geraniumcinereumballerinaflot9b1

paeoniamlokosewitschiiflot1a

magnoliagrandifloracflogarnonswilliams1a

acantholinumcflop99glumaceumfoord1b1

stachysflotmacrantha1b

Stars
Stars

Bowls
Bowls

Cups and Saucers

Globes
Globes

Goblets and Chalices

Trumpets
Trumpet

Funnels
Funnels

campanulacochlearifoliapusillacflofoord1a

clematiscflodiversifoliagarnonswilliams1a

Ericacarneaspringwoodwhitecflogarnonswilliams1a

phloxflotsubulatatemiskaming1a

 

 

 

Bells
Bells

Thimbles
Thimbles

Urns
Urns

Salver-form
Salver-form

 

 

 

 

Flower Shape - Elab--orated

prunellaflotgrandiflora1a

aquilegiacfloformosafoord1a

lilliumcflomartagonrvroger1a

laburnumcflowaterivossiistandardpage1a

brachyscomecflorigidulakevock1b

scabiosacflo1columbariawikimediacommons1a

melancholycflothistle1a

Tubes, Lips and Straps

Slippers, Spurs and Lockets

Hats, Hoods and Helmets

Stan-dards , Wings and Keels

Discs and Florets

Pin-Cushions

Tufts
Tufts

androsacecforyargongensiskevock2a

androsacecflorigidakevock2a

argyranthemumfloc1madeiracrestedyellow1a

agapanthuscflosafricanusbluekevock1a

 

 

Flower stem termin-ating with
a Single Flower

Cushion
Cushion

Umbel
Umbel

Buttons
Buttons

Pompom
Pompom

 

 

 

Natural Arrange--ments

bergeniamorningredcforcoblands2a

ajugacfloreptansatropurpurea2a

morinacfloslongifoliapershape1a

eremuruscflo1bungeipershapefoord1a

amaranthuscflos1caudatuswikimediacommons1a

clematiscformontanaontrellisfoord1a

androsacecfor1albanakevock1a

Bunches, Posies and Sprays

Columns, Spikes and Spires

Whorls, Tiers and Candle-labra

Plumes and Tails

Chains and Tassels

Cloud, Garland and Cascade

Spheres, Domes and Plates

 

 

These 2 systems of comparison:-

  • The Evergreen Perennial has a
    • Plant Description Page
    • its flower colour compared in a 7 Flower Colour per month Gallery
    • its Flower Shape compared in a Gallery, and
    • its Plant Use compared in another Gallery.
       
  • Every Plant detailed in this website has a
    • Plant Description Page or row in a table
      but the cell in the same position in the row describing the plant from one photo gallery does not contain the same information in every other photo gallery
      as demonstrated in the procedure to compare ground cover plants, below
       
    • its Flower Colour thumbnail compared in a 7 Flower Colour per month Gallery
    • its Flower Shape thumbnail compared in a Gallery, and
    • its Plant Use thumbnail compared in another Gallery.
      Each of these thumbnails with their accompanying text box can be copied to any of the photo galleries in this website

      are detailed in the TABLE A on the right.

Procedure by Chris Garnons-Williams to compare ground cover plants in flower/foliage colour, flower shape and plant use, then I am executing this:-

  • Load PLANTS TOPIC and transfer table on Groundcover plants B page to this table in Plants Name A page within EVERGR PER GALLERY.
    Then, close PLANTS TOPIC.
  • Load EVERGR PER GALLERY and load this page from it onto Safari.
    Then load WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY.
    Do 3 plants from the Groundcover plants in this page by updating them from the internet and changing each plant row to brown when updated.
    Put the plants flower thumbnail into the relevant pages in these flower colour/month pages and
    then into the relevant flower shape comparison pages in WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY.
    Then close WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY and
    load PLANTS TOPIC.
    Copy 3 changed and updated brown text rows to the respective rows in Ground cover Plants B page.
    Repeat this row until all the plants in that groundcover plant page have been done.
  • When Page B has been done above then, close WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY and
    load EVGR PER SHAPE GALLERY and
    using the thumbnails from this gallery;
    copy them to the relevant plant use pages in the EVGR PER SHAPE GALLERY.
  • When the above has been done, then close EVGR PER SHAPE GALLERY and
    open up the relevant plant type gallery to
    copy the thumbnail to the valid flower colour/month or
    flower colour comparison pages in that gallery.
  • When that has been done, then
    repeat the process for the next groundcover plant page letter.
    .
    .
    .
    .
     
  • Unfortunately, the indices in these plant photo galleries are not in the same format in each of the cells in that row detailing that plant,
    so the following is required to be done to all the plant photo galleries listed below
    (having started this process in 2023),
    before the above procedure can be executed any further


The process below provides a uniform method for
comparing every plant detailed in the following galleries with
the ones already compared in the relevant plant gallery
from the last list of plant galleries in this cell:-

These are the galleries that will provide the plants to be added to their own Extra Index Pages

The following Extra Index of Evergreen Perennials is created on the right hand side of the page in the P-Evergreen M-Z Gallery, to which the Evergreen Perennial found in the above list will have that row copied to.
The following also contains the Index of Evergreen Perennials on the left hand side of the respective page.
The Header Row for the Extra Indices pages is the same as used in the 1000 Ground Cover A of Plants Topic:-
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z ,

Having transferred the Extra Index row entry to the relevant Extra Index row for the same type of plant in a gallery below; then
its flower or foliage thumbnail will be compared per month in that relevant gallery:-

 

 

This version of these links with a white background contains links to the pages in the Evergreen Perennial Shape Gallery and the Plants Topic

The version of these links with a yellow background contains links to the pages in the Wildflower Shape Gallery and the Plants Topic


Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0 for planting sites for perennials.
Her ideas about Perennials (a plant that lasts for more than 2 growing seasons) include most of the other plant types except Annuals and Biennials for use in America.
She is writing about plants in America and so the descriptions for these plants are based from America with its many zones.
Index:-
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

 

Perennials & Ephemerals chapter of Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0 for plants that are drought tolerant.
 

Woodland Site

Shady Places
Site

Rock
Garden in Sun
Site.
In Shade Site.

Planting on a Sloping Site

Bog Site

Large Perennial Site

Cut Flower Site

Outdoor Room
Site

Strip
Site

Plans for Beds and Borders
Site

Beds
Site

Borders Site

Plant Roots only get their nutrients and water by being associated with
Mycorrhizal Fungi. Fungi have no access to water, plant dies.

Long Bloomers

White Flower Colour

Blue or Almost Blue Flower Colour

Lavender Flower Colour

Lavender, called Blue Flower Colour

Yellow Flower Colour

Orange Flower Colour

Pink Flower Colour

Red & Scarlet Flower Colour

Maroon Flower Colour

Flowering Stem between 24-48 inches (60-120 cms)

Flowering Stem over 48 inches (120 cms)

Bloom by Season
Jan-Feb

Bloom by Season
Mar-Apr

 

Bloom by Season
May-Jun

Bloom by Season
Jul-Aug

Bloom by Season
Sep-Dec

Foliage
Blue-Green

Foliage Grey-Green

Foliage Grey

Foliage Varie-gated

 

Foliage Height
1-7 inches (2.5-17.5 cms)

Foliage Height
8-23 inches (20-57.5 cms)

Foliage Height
24- inches
(60 and over cms)

Foliage
Bold

Foliage Finely Cut, Delicate or Compound
+
Finely Cut

Foliage Aromatic

 

Perennials for Ground Covering in the Full Sun
+
1, 2

Perennials for Ground Covering in Shade

and 3

 

Long Lived

Bulbs to Combine with Perennials including Corms

Grasses to Grow with Perennials

Subshrubs to Grow with Perennials

Annuals to Use with Perennials

Herbs for Decoration as well as Culinary

 

Annuals, Biennials and Perennials to grow Annually

Perennials which Self Sow

Neat Growers - Good for Beds

 

Perennials which prefer Moisture

Perennials which do best on Margins of Water

Perennials which are Drought Tolerant

Perennials which tolerate Dense Shade

Perennials for Poor Soil, Full Sun

Tough Perennials (or easy Maint-enance)


Alpines without a Garden by Lawrence D. Hills. Published by Faber and Faber Limited in 1953 for cultivation of alpines in pans, troughs and window-boxes, particularly in towns, for gardeners who have only windw-sills or verandas, or flat roof spaces.

Colour All The Year in My Garden by C.H. Middleton. Published by Ward, Lock & Co. for culture.

Perennials The Gardener's Reference by Susan Carter, Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly. Published by Timber Press in 2007 for plants for Special Gardens. It also gives details of species and cultivars for each genus.

This white background part of the table is used to incorporate plants that I have detailed in a Plant Description Page or in a row of a Table, therefore it is usually plants with their description for the UK climate with its reduced number of zones.
 

Evergreen Perennial Form

Mat-forming

Prostrate or Trailing.

Climbing

Cushion or Mound-forming

Spreading or Creeping

Clump-forming

Stemless. Sword-shaped Leaves

Erect or Upright.

Arching

Evergreen Perennial Use

Other than Only Green Foliage +
1, 2

Bedding or Mass Planting

Ground-Cover

In Water

Coastal Conditions
+
Coastal

Speciman Plant

Under-plant

Indoor House-plant

Grow in an Alpine House

Grow in Hanging Basket +
Basket

Grow in Window-box

Grow in Green-house

Fragrant Flowers

Not Fragrant Flowers

Attracts Butter-flies
+ Butterfly Usage
of Plants

Attracts Bees +
1, 2, 3
and Forage Calendar

Grow in Scree

Grow in a Patio Pot

Grow in an Alpine Trough +

Rock Plant

Edging Borders

Back of Border or Back-ground Plant

Into Native Plant Garden

Naturalize in Grass

Natural-ized Plant Area

Resistant to Wildlife

 

Early Spring Border Special Garden

Spring Epheme-rals Special Garden

Summer Border Special Garden

Cottage Garden Special Garden

Late Summer Border Special Garden

Autumn Border Special Garden

Shade Border and Woodland Garden Special Garden

Back of Border, Alley, and Too Tall for Words Special Garden

Meadow Garden Special Garden

Evergreen Perennial in Soil

Chalk +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Clay +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Sand +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Lime-Free (Acid) +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Peat +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Any +

A-F, G-L, M-R, S-Z

+ Evergreen Perennials in Pages in Plants

Peony Use
of Peonies in

UK Peony Index

Fragrant Flowers

Flower Arrangers

Hedge

Growing Tree Peonies in Pots

Front of Border

Rest of Border

Not Green Foliage

Rock Garden

Seaside / Coastal

Tree

 

 

This is copied from the Wildflower Shape Gallery
Ivydene Gardens Flower Shape and Use in Landscape for all Wildflower and Cultivated Plants in this Website Gallery

The links have usually changed from linking to pages in the Wildflower Shape Gallery and Plants Topic to the Evergreen Perennial Shape Gallery and Topic Table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0
for planting sites for perennials, which include most plant types except Annuals and Biennials.

Perennials & Ephemerals chapter of Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0 for plants that are drought tolerant.

Wildflowers with the same genus name as for the plant in these following lists with their Species will be added to these lists so that you can then use them with those cultivated perennials for the same purpose in your garden. Their botanical names will be in black.
 

Woodland Site

Shady Places
Site

Rock
Garden in Sun
Site.
In Shade Site.

Planting on a Sloping Site

Bog Site

Large Perennial Site

Cut Flower Site

Outdoor Room
Site

Strip
Site

 

Early Spring Border Special Garden

Spring Epheme-rals Special Garden

Plans for Beds and Borders
Site

Summer Border Special Garden

Cottage Garden Special Garden

Beds
Site

 

Late Summer Border Special Garden

Autumn Border Special Garden

Borders Site

 

Shade Border and Woodland Garden Special Garden

Meadow Garden Special Garden

These pages in this section of Yellow Background are
List of Perennials by Landscaping Site - xxxx with Plant Type, Evergreen or Herbaceous or Deciduous, Sun Aspect and Listed Species from Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. Her ideas about Perennials (a plant that lasts for more than 2 growing seasons) include most of the other plant types except Annuals and Biennials for use in America.
Index:-
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J,
K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T,
U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Long Bloomers

 

Back of Border, Alley, and Too Tall for Words Special Garden

White Flower Colour

Blue or Almost Blue Flower Colour

Lavender Flower Colour

Lavender, called Blue Flower Colour

Yellow Flower Colour

Orange Flower Colour

Pink Flower Colour

Red & Scarlet Flower Colour

Maroon Flower Colour

Flowering Stem between 24-48 inches (60-120 cms)

Flowering Stem over 48 inches (120 cms)

Bloom by Season
Jan-Feb

Bloom by Season
Mar-Apr

 

Bloom by Season
May-Jun

Bloom by Season
Jul-Aug

Bloom by Season
Sep-Dec

Foliage
Blue-Green

Foliage Grey-Green

Foliage Grey

Foliage Varie-gated

 

Foliage Height
1-7 inches (2.5-17.5 cms)

Foliage Height
8-23 inches (20-57.5 cms)

Foliage Height
24- inches
(60 and over cms)

Foliage
Bold

Foliage Finely Cut, Delicate or Compound
+
Finely Cut

Foliage Aromatic

 

Perennials for Ground Covering in the Full Sun
+
1, 2

Perennials for Ground Covering in Shade

and 3

 

Long Lived

Bulbs to Combine with Perennials including Corms

Grasses to Grow with Perennials

Subshrubs to Grow with Perennials

Annuals to Use with Perennials

Herbs for Decoration as well as Culinary

 

Annuals, Biennials and Perennials to grow Annually

Perennials which Self Sow

Neat Growers - Good for Beds

 

Perennials which prefer Moisture

Perennials which do best on Margins of Water

Perennials which are Drought Tolerant

Perennials which tolerate Dense Shade

Perennials for Poor Soil, Full Sun

Tough Perennials (or easy Maint-enance)


Alpines without a Garden by Lawrence D. Hills. Published by Faber and Faber Limited in 1953 for cultivation of alpines in pans, troughs and window-boxes, particularly in towns, for gardeners who have only windw-sills or verandas, or flat roof spaces.

Colour All The Year in My Garden by C.H. Middleton. Published by Ward, Lock & Co. for culture.

Perennials The Gardener's Reference by Susan Carter, Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly. Published by Timber Press in 2007 for plants for Special Gardens. It also gives details of species and cultivars for each genus.

Wildflowers with the same genus name as for the plant in these following lists with their Species will be added to these lists so that you can then use them with those cultivated perennials for the same purpose in your garden. Their botanical names will be in black.
 

Wildflower Form and

Evergreen Perennial Form

Wildflower Form and

Evergreen Perennial Form

Mat-
form

Mat-forming

Prostrate or Trail

Prostrate or Trailing.
 

Climb
 

Climbing

Cushion or Mound

Cushion or Mound-forming

Spread or Creep

Spreading or Creeping

Clump- form

Clump-forming

Stem- less.

Stemless.


Sword-shape
Leaf

Sword-shaped Leaves

Erect or Upright

Erect or Upright.

Arching

 

Arching

Wildflower Use and Evergreen Perennial Use

Other than Only Green Foliage +
1, 2

Bedding or Mass Planting

Ground-Cover

In Water

Coastal Conditions
+
Coastal

Speciman Plant

Under-plant

Indoor House-plant

Grow in an Alpine House

Grow in Hanging Basket +
Basket

Grow in Window-box

Grow in Green-house

Fragrant Flowers

Not Fragrant Flowers

Attracts Butter-flies
+ Butterfly Usage
of Plants

Attracts Bees +
1, 2, 3
and Forage Calendar

Grow in Scree

Grow in a Patio Pot

Grow in an Alpine Trough +

Rock Plant

Edging Borders

Back of Border or Back-ground Plant

Into Native Plant Garden

Naturalize in Grass

Natural-ized Plant Area

Resistant to Wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflower in Soil and Evergreen Perennial in Soil

Chalk +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Clay +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Sand +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Lime-Free (Acid) +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Peat +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Any +

A-F, G-L, M-R, S-Z

+ Evergreen Perennials in Pages in Plants

Peony Use
of Peonies in

UK Peony Index

Fragrant Flowers

Flower Arrangers

Hedge

Growing Tree Peonies in Pots

Front of Border

Rest of Border

Not Green Foliage

Rock Garden

Seaside / Coastal

Tree

 

 

If you want to understand how to look after your plants inside or outside the home,
reading these 4 books will inform you:-

 

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web (Revised Edition) By Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.
"Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants and become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial, often toxic, substances. But there is an alternative to this vicious cycle. We can garden in a way that strengthens the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants.

Teaming with Microbes extols the benefits of cultivating the soil food web. First, it clearly explains the activities and organisms that make up the web. Next, it explains how gardeners can cultivate the life of the soil through the use of compost, mulches, and compost tea. The revised edition updates the original text and includes two completely new chapters — on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form with green-leaved plants) and archaea (single-celled organisms once thought to be allied to bacteria)."

 

Teaming with Nutrients: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition By Jeff Lowenfels
"Just as he demystified the soil food web in his ground-breaking book Teaming with Microbes, in this new work Jeff Lowenfels explains the basics of plant nutrition from an organic gardener’s perspective.

Most gardeners realize that plants need to be fed but know little or nothing about the nature of the nutrients involved. Teaming with Nutrients explains the role of both macronutrients and micronutrients and shows gardeners how to provide these essentials through organic, easy-to-follow techniques. Along the way, Lowenfels offers accessible lessons in the biology, chemistry, and botany needed to understand how nutrients get to the plant and what they do once they’re inside the plant."

 

Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae by Jeff Lowenfels
"Teaming with Fungi is the first book to accessibly explain the essential symbiotic relationship between soil-dwelling mycorrhizal fungi and plants. Almost every plant in a garden forms a relationship with fungi, and many plants would not exist without their fungal partners. By better understanding the relationship, gardeners can take advantage of the benefits of fungi, which include an increased uptake in nutrients, resistance to drought, earlier fruiting, and more. Learn how the fungi interact with plants, how to grow their own, and how best to employ them in the home garden."

 

Teaming with Bacteria: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Endophytic Bacteria and the Rhizophagy Cycle (Hardback) by Jeff Lowenfels
"In Teaming with Microbes, Jeff Lowenfels revealed the fascinating facts around the soil food web, all the tiny organisms that live in soil and aid a plants growth. In Teaming with Nutrients, he explored how those organisms aid in the uptake of nutrients. And in Teaming with Fungi, he detailed the symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi—the most important organism living in the soil. In his new book Teaming with Bacteria, Lowenfels digs into the new science behind how endophytic bacteria supply nutrients to a large array of plants and explains, in accessible language, how this information applies to home gardeners, small-scale farmers, and cannabis growers. Based on cutting-edge science that will help gardeners increase plant health and productivity, Teaming with Bacteria is a must-have addition to every organic gardener’s library.

 

 

Just as
From Annuals and Biennials chapter in Plants for Ground-cover by Graham Stuart Thomas - Gardens consultant to the National Trust. Published by J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd in 1970, Reprinted (with further revisions) 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1 in the Table about Ground Cover in the UK on the right,

then

The Complete Book of Ground Covers - 4000 Plants that reduce Maintenance, Control Erosion, and Beautify the Landscape by Gary Lewis provides the same for America.
Printed in 2022. ISBN 978-160469-460-4.
Besides detailing each plant, providing designing and cultivation chapters, it also provides the following lists:-

  • Winter-growing and spring ephemeral ground covers for multiseason interest
  • Ground covers for tight spaces
  • Ground cover alternatives to lawns
    In the continental United States, turf grass is the most common of all ground covers, occupying about 40,000,000 acres, or 2% of the total land base -
    3 times more than corn and more than any other irrigated crop.
    Americans spend about 30,000,000,000 dollars a year on lawn care including irrigation. Lawns are a green desert for most wildlife, providing little food or habitat.
    If a lawn is not used for recreation and not important for aesthetic reasons, there is no reason it cannot be partially or completely replaced with the ground covers in this list, which are tolerant of foot traffic.
    Ground covers can replace lawns in problem spots such as
    shaded areas where turf grows poorly or in hot,
    dry locations where the lawn dries out too quickly.
    Ground covers can also be valuable on hard-to-maintain steep slopes,
    in wet areas with soft soil,
    in drainage ditches,
    under low-hanging tree branches,
    among exposed tree roots (to stop people using the mowers from cutting these roots. This ground cover can be a legume, so that it will feed those roots as well), and
    where landscape features require awkward repositioning of the mower.
  • Edible ground covers
  • Trailing ground covers
  • Ground covers for green roofs and living walls - see examples in Hedging
  • Ground cover for rain gardens
    Rain gardens are usually shallow depressions that are designed to slow, collect, and hold rainwater runoff from hard, flat surfaces such as roofs, patios, driveways, and parking areas. The collected water can then percolate slowly into the ground, replenishing soil moisture, reducing pressure on the stormwater drainage system, and mitigating the environmental impacts of stormwater drainage into the environment.
  • Fragrant and aromatic ground covers
  • Spring bulb ground cover companions
  • Summer and fall ground companions
  • Ground cover for dry shade
  • Ground cover for sunny slopes
  • Ground cover for hell strips
    The usually narrow, linear spaces between sidewalks and roads have thin, poorly structured soils as a result of road and sidewalk construction, with a high salt content from snow control in cold winter regions and with low soil moisture because irrigation is rarely available
  • Ground covers for saline soils
  • Ground covers for aidic soils
  • Ground covers for alkaline soils
  • Ground covers for moist or wet soils
  • Ground covers resistant to deer and rabbits

 

 

Alpine Plant Gardening

The variety of plants that can be used in alpine gardening is obviously very large and very bewildering at first approach. With a view to easing the task of selection here are lists of alpines most likely to thrive and flourish under certain easily defined conditions and for special purposes, which may be considered first choices, from Gardening with Alpines by Stanley B. Whitehead. Garden Book Club. Published in 1962.

Alpine Plants for a Purpose:-

  • Beginner's Choice for an All-the-year-round-show in
    SPRING,
    SUMMER,
    AUTUMN,
    WINTER.
  • Plants of Foliage Beauty.
  • Alpines for Full Sun, Hot, Dry Positions.
  • Alpines tolerant of Shade.
  • Alpines for Dry Shade.
  • Alpines tolerant of Lime or Chalk.
  • Alpines readily raised from seed.
  • Alpines for the damper places.
  • Alpines for planting between Paving Stones.
  • Scree Plants.

     

The following is a complete hierarchical Plant Selection Process
dependent on the Garden Style chosen
Garden Style
...Infill Plants
...12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
...12 Foliage Colours per Month Index
...All Plants Index
...Cultivation, Position, Use Index
...Shape, Form
Index

with the following pages on Alpine Plants

Alpine Shrubs and Conifers

The Alpine Meadow
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3

The Alpines that Dislike Lime 1, 2

Alpines and Walls
Dry Sunny Walls 1a, b
Tops of Walls 2a, b
Dry Shady and Conifers 3a, b

Sink and Trough gardens
1
, 2

The Alpine Border
1
, 2

Alpines and
Paving
1
, 2

 

 

 

 

 

COLOUR WHEEL USES GALLERY PAGES
compares the use of plants in this website
- WHICH ARE THOSE PLANTS FROM OTHER GALLERIES BESIDES THE WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY - combined with those already compared in
Bedding,
Bulb,
Evergreen Perennial,
Herbaceous Perennial and
Roses
pages as linked to in row
Topic - Use of Plant in your Plant Selection Process
in the TOPIC table - on the extreme left.

 

 

Bedding Out and Bedding Out of Roses

Bedding for Filling In

Bedding for Screening

Bedding for Pots and Troughs

Bedding in Window Boxes

Bedding in Hanging Baskets

EVERGREEN PERENNIAL
FLOWER SHAPE GALLERY PAGES

Site Map of pages with content (o)
with the only page in this Gallery containing Tables A, B and C

Introduction

Bedding Foliage

Bedding:- Spring

Summer

Winter

Foliage Only

Other than Green Foliage

Trees in Lawn

Trees in Small Gardens
 

Wildflower Garden

Attract Bird
Attract Butterfly
1
, 2

Climber on House Wall

Climber not on House Wall

Climber in Tree

Rabbit-Resistant
 

Woodland

Pollution Barrier

Part Shade

Full Shade

Single Flower provides Pollen for Bees
1
, 2, 3

Ground-Cover
<60
cm
60-180cm
>180cm

Hedge

Wind-swept

PERENNIAL - EVERGREEN GALLERY PAGES

FLOWER COLOUR
(o)Blue
Orange
(o)Other Colours
(o)Red
(o)Pink
(o)White
(o)Yellow

FOLIAGE COLOUR
Black
Blue
(o)Brown
(o)Bronze
(o)Green1
(o)Green2
(o)Grey
(o)Purple
(o)Red
(o)Silver
(o)Variegated White
Variegated Yellow
White
Yellow
Autumn Colour
4 Season Colour

FORM
(o)Mat-forming
(o)Prostrate
(o)Mound-forming
(o)Spreading
(o)Clump-forming
Stemless
(o)Upright
Climbing
Arching

FRUIT COLOUR
(o)Fruit

FLOWER BED PICTURES
(o)Garden

Covering Banks

Patio Pot

Edging Borders

Back of Border

Poisonous

Adjacent to Water

Bog Garden
 

Tolerant of Poor Soil

Winter-Flowering
 

Fragrant

Not Fragrant

Exhibition

Standard Plant is 'Ball on Stick'

Upright Branches or Sword-shaped leaves

Plant to Prevent Entry to Human or Animal

Coastal Conditions

Tolerant on North-facing Wall

Cut Flower

Potted Veg Outdoors

Potted Veg Indoors
 

Thornless

Raised Bed Outdoors Veg
 

Grow in Alkaline Soil A-F,
G-L, M-R,
S-Z

Grow in Acidic Soil

Grow in Any Soil

Grow in Rock Garden

Grow Bulbs Indoors

 

Potted Fruit Outdoors

Potted Fruit Indoors

Fruit Outdoors

Plants for Outdoor
Containers Index
A-C,
D-M,
N-Z

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Copied from
Ivydene Gardens Extra Pages of Plants
Coastal Conditions Garden Use List

 

PLANTING IN COASTAL AND WINDSWEPT LOCATIONS

The purpose of this article from Caerhays Estate is to try to help solve the problem of exposure and avoid wasting time and energy planting things which are frankly unsuitable and therefore an expensive mistake.  There is no one right answer to what is suitable in any particular garden but there are often a great many more wrong answers.  There is also the need for patience while your planting gets established and good luck in avoiding the worst of the weather in the early years after planting.

.

 

Plants for coastal areas from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Coastal and Windswept Locations - Coastal Plants from Burncoose Nurseries in the UK

California's Coastal Plant Communities in America.

 

Hedges, Screens and Windbreaks from Notcutts information is below the Hedge Garden Use Table.

Thorny Hedges are described in the Thorny Hedge Garden Use Page.

Trees to provide a Windbreak are described in the Windbreak Garden Use Page.

Trees to put in Lawns are described in Trees for Lawns Garden Use Page.

Plants to put with trees in Woodland are described in the Woodland Garden Use Page.

Plants to filter dust from the environment and offset the pollution from traffic can be found in the Pollution Barrier Garden Use Pages.

 

Gardening by the sea has the problems posed by salt-carrying gales and blown sand. Copious amounts of compost and mulch to conserve soil moisture, and the following defensive planting will protect the more tender plants from strong winds in your garden:-

 

 

Trees for the first line of wind reduction:-
Acer pseudoplatanus
Crataegus
Populus alba
Quercus Ilex
Salix
Sorbus aria

 

Conifers for the first line of wind reduction:-
Cupressus macrocarpa
Pinus radiata
Pinus nigra
Pinus maritima

 

Shrubs for the first line of wind reduction:-
Arundinaria
Berberis
Eleagnus commutata, Eleagnus ebbingei
Escallonia
Euonymus ovatus
Hebe brachysiphon, Hebe salicigolia, Hebe speciosa
Hippophae
Olearia haastii
Pyracantha
Rosa piminellifolia, Rosa rugosa
Sambucus
Senecio
Symphoricarpos
Tamarix
Ulex

 

 

Trees for the second line of wind reduction:-
Acer platanoides
Alnus
Betula
Castanea
Fraxinus
Ilex

 

Conifers for the second line of wind reduction:-
Juniperus
Pinus sylvestris
Picea omorika

 

Shrubs for the second line of wind reduction:-
Aucuba
Arbutus
Buddleja davidii, Buddleja globosa
Choisya
Cistus
Colutea
Cotoneaster
Eucalyptus
Fuchsia
Garrya
Genista
Griselinia
Hypericum
Olearia macrodonta
Pittosporum
Ribes
Rosmarinus
Salix
Spartium
Viburnum tinus

 

 

Shrubs for the third line of wind reduction:-
Any from the Hedge Garden Use or Thorny Hedge Garden Use pages.

 

 

"Plants offered on this site are propagated and grown on our small family nursery.
Coastal areas have requirements of their own, they can suffer from salt laden air, howling gales, very high light levels and in some cases shallow dry soils over shale or rocks.

Creating a shelter belt - Although coastal conditions can often seem harsh and unforgiving, by planting a tough outer belt of salt and wind tolerant shrubs and trees it is possible to provide protection for many other plants including quite exotic and tender species.

Coastal conditions are warmer due to the influence of the sea, which keeps the temperature up; as the sea temperatures tend to be warmer than the land." from Seaside Plants in Devon, England who sell mail-order throughout the EU (European Union).

The overall amount of sunlight received depends on aspect, the direction your garden faces:-

North-facing gardens get the least light and can be damp

South-facing gardens get the most light

East-facing gardens get morning light

West-facing gardens get afternoon and evening light

Sun Aspect, Soil Type, Soil Moisture, Plant Type and Height of Plant are used in the Plant Photo Galleries in the comparison of thumbnail photos

 

Ivydene Gardens Extra Pages of Plants
Growing Edibles in Containers Garden Use List


Indoor Edible Garden: Creative ways to grow herbs, fruits and vegetables in your home by Zia Allaway. Published by Dorling Kindersley Limited in 2017.
ISBN 978-0-2412-4897-3. Printed and bound in China.

"INTRODUCTION
Whether you live in an apartment with no outdoor space, or simply want to try a few tender crops, this book opens up a whole world of possibilities for growing your own food indoors. Most of the projects are very easy too, so you will need no previous experience if you want to enjoy your own freshly picked produce."

Contents

1
Planning an indoor edible garden.

  • Where to grow your edibles.
  • Bright sunlight zones.
  • Partially sunlit zones.
  • Cool zones.
  • Best indoor edibles.
  • Choosing a container.
  • Types of container.

 

2
Herbs & edible flowers

  • Introducing herbs & edible flowers
  • Herbs & edible flowers in pots for a windowsill
  • Thyme
  • Scented Geranium & herb windowbox
  • Basil
  • Grow your own herbal teas
  • Edible orchids mounted onto bark
  • Edible flowers
  • Edible flower ladder
  • Grow lemongrass from shop-bought stems
  • Cocktail herbs & fruits
  • Mint
  • Herbs in hanging jars
  • Oregano & parsley
  • Sage & Rosemary

3
Sprouts, leaves & roots

  • Introducing sprouts, leaves & roots
  • Sprouts in jars
  • Sprouts
  • Microgreens in muffin cases
  • Microgreens
  • Transform your shelves into a mini greenhouse
  • Salad leaves
  • Table-top spicy leaves
  • Tangy garlic shoots
  • Chives & spring onions
  • Pots of tasty roots
  • Radishes
  • pots of crunchy carrots
  • Carrots
  • Oyster mushrooms in 14 days
  • Mushrooms

4
Fruiting vegetables

  • Introducing fruiting vegetables
  • CChilli & herb ball
  • Chilli peppers
  • Mediterranean mix
  • Aubergines
  • Tiny tomatoes in a colander
  • Tomatoes
  • Tomato flowers
  • Tamarillo tree tomatoes
  • Cucumbers on wheels
  • Cucumbers
  • Cucamelons in hanging crates
  • Raise sweet peppers in colourful pots
  • Sweet peppers

5
Fruit

  • Introducing fruit
  • Wild strawberry shelves
  • Strawberries
  • Fruit & flower windowbox
  • Grow your own curry leaves
  • Lemons & limes
  • Oranges in pots for a sunny room
  • Oranges
  • Fruity fig tree
  • Peaches & nectarines
  • Pineapply guavas
  • Cape gooseberries

6
Expert's tips

  • Planning your indoor edible gardening year
  • Choosing the right compost
  • Watering & feeding indoor edibles
  • Sowing from seed
  • Pruning, training & pollinating fruit crops
  • Common pest & diseases
  • Preserving your harvests
  • Useful resources
  • Index

 

Why not grow edibles in containers outside?

See bottom of page.

rosewithfrostonit1

Frosted flowering rose!!!

 

Choosing the right compost for indoor edibles:-

  • Multi-purpose compost is best for annual crops that will not be in a pot for more than a year; hanging baskets.
  • Seed and cutting compost is best for sowing seeds in pots and trays; potting up cuttings and young seedlings.
  • Soil- or loam-based compost - also known as "John Innes no 3" compost is best for perennial crops, such as fruit trees and shrubs, which will remain in the same pot for more than 1 year.
  • Ericaceous compost is best for lemon, lime kumquat, calamondin and orange plants that require acidic soil conditions.

 

Aggregates for indoor edibles:-

  • Mulches - This is spread over the top of compost to prevent its surface drying out quickly and to lock in the moisture available to plants' roots.
  • Vermiculite and perlite - Vermiculite is a mineral heated to produce lightweight, spongy grains, while perlite is a volcanic rock, also heated to form similar white-grey absorbent grains. Both hold onto moisture, then release it slowly. They can be mixed with compost or used to cover small seeds, keeping them moist while allowing light through to aid germination.
  • Horticultural gravel and grit - A layer of gravel in the base of a waterproof pot creates a reservoir for water to drain into, supports the plant roots and compost above, and helps to prevent waterlogging. Grit mixed with compost increases drainage and provides good growing conditions for drough-loving plants such as Mediterranean herbs.

 

Watering indoor edibles:-

  • Watering from below - Do not flood a plant with too much water. Pour the water into the saucer below the pot or the outer pot when using Amberol pots.
  • Prevent waterlogging - "Rachel the Gardener lays a small piece of horticultural fleece down in the base of the pot, then tips in the compost. This keeps ants and earwigs from crawling up into the base of the rootball, and does not interfere with the perfectly normal and natural drainage of the pot. When potting on, it's easy to pull it away from the root ball: and in some cases, it helps to stop the plants pushing tap roots out through the drainage hole and rooting themselves in the shingle! In addition, at my various Clients' gardens, I usually encourage them to stand their large pots in saucers during the summer, to prevent them drying out too rapidly, but in autumn I go round and turn the saucers upside down, so each pot is standing on a low plinth, to allow extra drainage - and to avoid them sitting with their roots in water - through the winter."
  • Avoid fungal infection - Water the compost only, not the plant's leaves, flowers, or fruits, as it can encourage diseases such as grey mould and downy mildew.
  • Use a rose head - Use a watering can fitted with a rose had to water all seedlings and young plants, which may otherwise be dislodged by a stream of water.

 

Surface soil moisture is the water that is in the upper 10 cm (4 inches) of soil, whereas root zone soil moisture is the water that is available to plants, which is generally considered to be in the upper 200 cm (80 inches) of soil:-

  • Wet Soil has Saturated water content of 20-50% water/soil and is Fully saturated soil
  • Moist Soil has Field capacity of 10-35% water/soil and is Soil moisture 2–3 days after a rain or irrigation
  • Dry Soil has Permanent wilting point of 1-25% water/soil and is Minimum soil moisture at which a plant wilts
  • Residual water content of 0.1-10% water/soil and is Remaining water at high tension
  • Available Water Capacity for plants is the difference between water content at field capacity and permanent wilting point

Sun Aspect:-

  • Full Sun: At least 6 full hours of direct sunlight. Many sun lovers enjoy more than 6 hours per day, but need regular water to endure the heat.
  • Part Shade: 3 - 6 hours of sun each day, preferably in the morning and early afternoon. The plant will need some relief from the intense late afternoon sun, either from shade provided by a nearby tree or planting it on the east side of a building.
    Dappled Sun - DS in Part Shade Column: Dappled sunlight is similar to partial shade. It is the sun that makes its way through the branches of a deciduous tree. Woodland plants and underplantings prefer this type of sunlight over even the limited direct exposure they would get from partial shade.
  • Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, with filtered sunlight during the rest of the day. Full shade does not mean no sun.

Acid Site - An acid soil has a pH value below 7.0. Clay soils are usually acid and retentive of moisture, requiring drainage. The addition of grit or coarse sand makes them more manageable. Peaty soil is acidic with fewer nutrients and also requires drainage.

Alkaline Soil - An alkaline soil has a pH value above 7.0. Soils that form a thin layer over chalk restrict plant selection to those tolerant of drought.

Bank / Slope problems include soil erosion, surface water, summer drought and poor access (create path using mattock to pull an earth section 180 degrees over down the slope). Then, stabilise the earth with 4 inches (10cms) depth of spent mushroom compost under the chicken wire; before planting climbers/plants through it.

Cold Exposed Inland Site is an area that is open to the elements and that includes cold, biting winds, the glare of full sun, frost and snow - These plants are able to withstand very low temperatures and those winds in the South of England.

Dust and Pollution Barrier - Plants with large horizontal leaves are particularly effective in filtering dust from the environment, with mature trees being capable of filtering up to 70% of dust particles caused by traffic. Plants can also help offset the pollution effects of traffic. 20 trees are needed to absorb the carbon dioxide produced by 1 car driven for 60 miles.

Front of Border / Path Edges - Soften edges for large masses of paving or lawn with groundcover plants. Random areas Within Paths can be planted with flat-growing plants. Other groundcover plants are planted in the Rest of Border.

Seaside Plants that deal with salt-carrying gales and blown sand; by you using copious amounts of compost and thick mulch to conserve soil moisture.

Sound Barrier - The sound waves passing through the plant interact with leaves and branches, some being deflected and some being turned into heat energy. A wide band of planting is necessary to achieve a large reduction in the decibel level.

Wind Barrier - By planting a natural windbreak you will create a permeable barrier that lets a degree of air movement pass through it and provide shelter by as far as 30 times their height downwind.

Woodland ground cover under the shade of tree canopies.

 

 

In the case of some genera and species, at least two - and sometimes dozens of - varieties and hybrids are readily available, and it has been possible to give only a selection of the whole range. To indicate this, the abbreviation 'e.g.' appears before the selected examples ( for instance, Centaurea cyanus e.g. 'Jubilee Gem'). If an 'e.g.' is omitted in one list, although it appears beside the same plant in other lists, this means that that plant is the only suitable one - or the only readily available suitable one - in the context of that particular list.
 

 

Plant Name

with link to mail-order nursery in UK / Europe

Plant Names will probably not be in Alphabetical Order

Common Name

with link to mail-order nursery in USA

 

Planning your Indoor Edible gardening year will help you to produce a year-round indoor edible garden, showing what to sow and plant through the seasons, and when you can expect a harvest from the crops in Indoor Edible Garden: Creative ways to grow herbs, fruits and vegetables in your home by Zia Allaway. Although most plants grow from spring to autumn when conditions are optimum, remember that you can still enjoy fresh salad leaves, sprouts, and fruits (such as citrus), in winter when light levels and temperatures are lower.

 

 

So, having harvested them, one needs cookery recipes to prepare gastronomic delights for your delight and delectation.

Which compost to use for the relevant indoor plant is stated above.
Growing zones mostly indoors:-

  • Zone 1 - South-facing windows
  • Zone 2 - Other windows
  • Zone 3 - Beneath a skylight
  • Zone 4 - Walls
  • Zone 5 - Dark corners
  • Zone 6 - Centre of room
  • Zone 7 - Cool South-facing room
  • Zone 8 - Outside windowsill

 

Comment

 

Indoor edibles with Zones.

Ocimum basilicum

Sweet Basil

Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers Using Ed's Amazing Pots System (Portable, Organic, Trouble-free, Secret Soil Formula) by Edward C. Smith. Published by Storey Publishing in 2006. ISBN 13: 978-1-58017-556-2.
Contents

  • Part One: Get Growing in Containers
    • A new way to grow vegetables
    • A pot for every plant
    • What's in the Pot?
    • Tools and Accessories
  • Part Two: Putting it all together
    • Getting Started
    • Of seeds and six-packs
    • Designing for containers
    • Caring for your Container Gardens
    • Managing Pests and Diseases
    • Harvesting the Bounty
    • When winter draws near
  • Part Three: Incredible edibles
    • The best vegetables
    • Herbs for every pot
    • The edible bouquet
       

The combination of using the Self-Watering Containers as described in the "A pot for every plant" chapter and his secret soil formula described in the "Whats in the pot" chapter will guarantee healthy strong growth of vegetables and herbs grown in containers.

Zones 1,2,3.
Annual herb, providing fresh, spicy leaves for many months from spring to autumn.
Also
Ocimum basilicum 'Spice' (Spice Basil),
Ocimum basilicum 'Dark Opal' (Dark Opal Basil),
Ocimum minimum 'Bush' (Bush Basil),
Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflorum (Thai Basil) and
Ocimum x citriodorum (Lemon Basil)

Allium schoenoprasum

Garden Chives

Zones 1,2,3,7,8.
Mild, onion-flavoured leaves from mid-spring to autumn. Leaves appear year fter year but die down each winter and sprout again in spring.
Also
Allium tuberosum (Garlic Chives)

Cymbopogon schoenanthus

Lemongrass

Zones 1,2,3
Grow this tall grass-like plant in a large container in a sunny room or deep windowsill and harvest the lemon-flavoured stems - ideal for Asian dishes - from late spring to late summer.

Mentha piperita f. citrata 'Basil'

Basil Mint

How to extract Mint oils from leaves, since we need mint oil in the following recipe.

Favourite Easy to Make Recipes - Simple Ideas for First Cookery. Published by J. Salmon Ltd. ISBN 1-902842-68-5.
Peppermint Creams
First carefully sieve the icing sugar into the bowl, and then gradually mix in the condensed milk to form a stiff paste. Next, add the peppermint oil and work the mixture with the hands until the flavouring is evenly distributed. Dust a pastry board or work surface with icing sugar, turn out the mixture on to it and roll it to about 0.25 inch (6mm) thick with a rolling pin dusted with sugar. Alternatively put between 2 layers of non-stick paper and roll out. Now stamp out into small rounds (size according to preference) with a plain cutter, or use for example an inverted sherry glass. Re-roll the remaining mixture until it is all used up. Place the mints on a tray or dish and leave in a cool place to dry out.

Zones 2,3,6,7,8
Tall deciduous herb that produces masses of fresh-flavoured leaves on sturdy stems from late spring to autumn; dies down over winter.
Also
Satureja douglasii (Indian trailing mint),
Mentha suaveolens 'Pineapple' (Pineapple mint),
Mentha x piperita f. citrata 'Chocolate' (Chocolate mint),
Mentha suaveolens (Apple mint) and
Mentha x piperita f. citrata 'Lime' (Lime mint).

Origanum vulgare

Marjoram, Oregano

 

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
A compact deciduous herb with green, yellow or variegated foliage. Leaves appear from spring to autumn but die down each winter.
Also
Origanum majorana (Sweet marjoram),
Origanum vulgare 'Aureum' (Golden origano) and
Origanum vulgare 'Country Cream' (Variegated oregano).

Petroselinum crispum

Flat-leaved Parsley

A Book of Welsh Soups & Savouries recipes from the traditional heart of Welsh cookery, including traditional Welsh Cawl by Bobby Freeman. Published by Y Lolfa Cyf. in 1987, Seventh impression 2006.
Parsley Pie
One tends to wonder about this recipe: why the sugar in the custardy filling? I'm inclined to think it is a carry-over of an old idea from the times when sugar went in almost everything, before the distinction between sweet and savoury seasoning took place. The idea persists in the sugar-baked ham.
Line a deep pie dish with the pastry. Mix the flour with a little of the milk, beat the eggs with the rest of the milk, add to the blended milk and flour with the salt, sugar and parsley. Lay the bacon cut in small dice in the pie, pour the custard over, bake in a fairly hot oven ... minutes or until the mixture has nicely set and cooked through. The same pie can be made with leeks instead of parsley.

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
Flat- or curly-leaved varieties both do well in pots in a sunny room, providing leaves from spring to late autumn.
Also
Petroselinum crispum (Curly-leaved Parsley).

Rosmarinus officinalis

Common Rosemary

 

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
An aromatic shrubby herb, the small needle-like foliage is evergreen, but best only harvested from early spring to late autumn.
Also
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Miss Jessop's Upright' (Miss Jessop's Rosemary) and
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus' (prostrate rosemary).

Salvia officinalis

Common Sage

Beeton's New Book of Garden Management - A compendium of the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, and a Complete Guide to Gardening in all its Branches. Published by Ward, Lock & Co. Limited
Sage will grow freely from slips (Slip is A part of a plant cut or broken off for grafting or planting; a scion or cutting), which may be taken in the autumn as soon as the plants have ceased flowering, or in the spring of the year. It may also be proagated by layers in spring or autumn.

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
An evergreen shrubby herb that produces fresh green, purple or variegated new leaves from spring to autumn each year.
Also
Salvia officinalis 'Icterina' (Icterina sage),
Salvia officinalis 'Purpurasens' (Purple sage),
Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor' (Tricolor sage),
Salvia microphylla var. microphylla (Blackcurrant sage) and Salvia elegans 'Scarlet Pineapple' (Pineapple sage).

Thymus vulgaris

Common Thyme

Tiny Tabletop Gardens 35 projects for super-small spaces - outdoors and in by Emma Hardy. Published in 2017 by CICO Books. ISBN 978-1-78249-413-3.
Herbs in vintage containers
Herbs are perfect plants for containers because they look beautiful, are easy to grow, and provide delicious flavours for you to use in cooking for months on end. To create a little herb bed when you don't have a garden, collect some old cans(tins) and bowls from secondhand markets and tabletop sales. Group the containers in a pleasing arrangement and then plant them with a range of herbs you like and enjoy:-

Some suggested plants - Lavandula 'Pretty Polly (lavender), Origanum vulgare (Oregano / wild marjoram), Rosmarinus offcinalis (Common rosemary), Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens' (purple sage), Thymus 'Golden Queen' (Lemon thyme) and Thymus 'Silver Queen' (thyme).

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
This small-leaved evergreen herb forma a mound of edible foliage all year; harvest from early spring to late autumn and allow the plant to rest in midwinter when it is not growing.
Also
Thymus 'Worfield Gardens' (Alpine thyme),
Thymus serpyllum (Wild thyme), Thymus pulegioides 'Archer's Gold' (Lemon thyme),
Thymus 'Silver Posie' (Silver posie thyme) and
Thymus 'Coccineus Group' (Creeping red thyme).

Dendrobium
'Berry Oda'

Dendrobium orchid

 

Great Containers - making - decorating - planting - by Clare MatthewsPublished by Hamlyn in 2004. ISBN 0 600 60947 2.
Contents
Colour
Making containers work
The collections

  • opulence & riches
  • passion & daring
  • cool sophistication
  • pretty romantics
  • contemporary
  • sun-baked mediterranean

Decorative techniques
Plant care.

Yellow is a versatile colour and one that abounds in the garden, from pale yellows with a fresh purity, through clear yellow, to deeper golden yellows. In containers, yellow can be used to create a number of effects - clear bright yellows are eye catching, pale yellows are suited to simple pretty displays, while the deeper golds and mustards reflect less light and have a more opulent feel.
The second photo on page 18 has the following text - This joyful spring display has a harmony gebnerated by the combination of yellows and limegreen. The color of tulip 'Golden Girl', Narcissus 'Yellow Cheerfulness' and the pansies is actually emphasised by the lilac-blue backdrop.

Zones 2,3,6,7
The cucumber- and kale-flavoured blooms make beautiful cake decorations.

 

Pot marigold

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
These colourful orange or yellow flowers have a peppery flavour and will bloom all summer if you set them in a sunny area.

 

Scented pelargonium

Zones 1,2,3,7,8
Esy to grow on a sunny windowsill. You can eat both the flowers and the foliage.

 

Tulip

Zones 2,6,7,8
Buy young plants about to flower in spring ( dry bulbs planted in autumn won't develop indoors).

 

Viola

Zones 1,2,3,4,7,8
These diminutive-flowers are available in bloom year-round and are easy to grow in small pots.

'Bolthardy' Beetroot

Vegetables: Grow Them, Cook Them, Eat Them by Charlotte Popescu. Published by Cavalier Paperbacks in 2004. ISBN 1-899470-25-5.
Beetroot and Chocolate Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Grate the beetroot using plastic gloves to avoid staining your hands red. Stir the sugar, grated beetroot, vanilla essence and beaten eggs into the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and chocalate together in a microwave or over a gentle heat and stir to combine before adding to the cake mixture. Spoon into 2 greased 17.5 cm, 7 inch cake tins and bake in the oven at ... for ... minutes or until a skewer in the cakes comes out clean. To make the filling beat the icing sugar into the butter and add the lemon juice and zest. Sandwich the cakes together and sift a little icing sugar over the cake before serving.

Zones 2,6,7,8
Sow beetroot in spring for a crop of sweet roots later in the summer and autumn.
Also
'Burpee's Golden' beetroot and
'barbietola di Chioggia' beetroot.

Daucus carota subsp. sativus

Carrots

Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook by Steve Meyerowitz. Fifth Edition Published 1999. ISBN 1-878736-86-8
Carotene Energizer
Carrot juice, with its abundance of carotene, is as orange as orange juice and not at all acidic.Its sweetness offers quick energy. Mix this juice with beets, a liver stimulant, and you have one of the most healthful elixirs. The addition of cucumber and parsley, while not core ingredients, offsets the sweetness of the carrots. Both are known as cleansers for the kidney and urinary system. Their chlorophyll-rich healing green colour added to the orange makes this a nicely balanced drink.

Zones 2,6,7,8
Long or short varieties are available to grow in pots indoors; sow seeds in spring and summer for 2 crops later in the year.
Also
Nantes',
'St Valery',
'White Satin',
'Purple Haze' and
'Royal Chantenay'.

 

Garlic greens

 

Zones 1,2,3,7
The bulbs will not bulk up indoors, but you can still enjoy the garlic-flavoure leaves they produce in just a few weeks.

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce

 

Zones 2,4,5,6,7,8
Green- or red-leaved lettuces can be grown for most of the year in a bright area out of direct sunlight or under a grow light, providing you with fresh salad leaves in an array of colours.
Also
Cos Lettuce,
Green Batavian Lettuce,
Little Gem Lettuce,
Lolla Rossa Lettuce,
Green Oak Leaf Lettuce and
Red Oak Leaf Lettuce.

 

Microgreens

Tiny Tabletop Gardens 35 projects for super-small spaces - outdoors and in by Emma Hardy. Published in 2017 by CICO Books. ISBN 978-1-78249-413-3.
Micro-green Tower
Eating micro-greens is very popular at the moment and they are surprisingly easy to grow. The idea involves growing seedlings - which are harvested when they they are still small - a and then adding them to salads, where their intense flavours can be enjoyed. You can, of course, grow micro-greens in flat trays, which will provide you with ample seedlings, but this towering planter is a fun way to grow them and would make a lovely centerpiece for an al fresco lunch. Just provide a pair of scissors and your guests can help themselves.

Other Edible Plants Projects:-

  • Blueberries in a tub,
  • Strawberries in rusty troughs,
  • Salad baskets,
  • Herbs in vintage containers and
  • Berries in an urn.

Zones 1,2,3,4,5,7
One of the easiest crops to grow indoors, microgreens (Microgreens are simply the young seedlings of edible plants that, given time, would grow into mature crops.) produce fresh , tiny leaves and can be grown year-round. There is also a wide selection and colours to choose from.
Beetroot,
Kale,
Red Amaranth,
Fenugreek,
Radish,
Basil,
Mizuna,
'Red Frills' mustard

 

Mizuna

 

Zones 2,4,5,6,7,8
These leafy crops hail from Asia and have a spicy flavour that tastes great in salads and stir-fries. They are easy to grow from seed each year and require similar conditions to salad leaves.

 

Mibuna

 

 

Mushroom

From Cooking in 10 minutes or The adaption to the rhythm of our times by Edouard de Pomaine. Published in 2008 by Serif. ISBN 978 1 897959 61 9.
Fillets of Sole with Mushrooms.
Buy some ready-prepared fillets of sole. Buy at the same time .... mushrooms.
When you reach home, cut off the sandy base of the mushroom stems. Wsh them in plenty of water, and throw this away together with the sand it contains. Begin again. Do not peel them, it is a waste of time - and mushroom. Cut them in slices. Wash them once more and lift them out of the water. Dry them. Put a frying pan with a piece of butter the size of .... on the gas. Warm for a minute. Turn. Cook for a ..... Add the mushrooms. Turn the gas full on. The mushrooms ooze water. Salt. Pepper. Add ... of dry white wine. Let it boil hard. The water evaporates. The ten minutes are over. Reduce the heat. Add a piece of butter mixed with a little flour. Let it melt, stirring all the time. Pour it into a dish. Serve.
After cooking there should be just enough juice to make sufficient sauce. So watch and regulate the evaporation carefully.

Zones 2,4,5,6,7
You can try a variety of mushrooms, which are easy to grow from kits, all year round, and many are ready to harvest after just a couple of weeks.
Also
Lentinula edodes (Shiitake mushroom),
Flammulina velutipes (Enoki Mushroom),
Pleurotus eryngii (King oyster mushroom) and
Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom).

Pak choi

Simply Beef & Lamb by EBLEX which is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
Sizzling Beef with Pak Choi Noodles
Put the beef in a large bowl, season with pepper, soy sauce, sherry, ginger and half the oil and marinate for ... minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick wok or pan. Remove the beef from the marinade and stir-fry for ... minutes. Add the spring onions, pak choi or broccoli, bean sprouts, Thai fish sauce, chilli and noodles. Stir-fry for ... minutes, tossing occasionally. Add the reserved marinade and cook for a further ... Add the lemon zest and serve immediately.

Zones 2,4,5,6,7,8
These leaves with their mild mustardy flavour, can be grown as microgreens or larger crops indoors for a summer to autumn harvest.

Raphanus sativus

'Cherry Belle' Radish

 

Zones 2,3,5,6,7,8
A fast-maturing crop, the seeds can be sown in pots every month for crunchy radshes in summer and early autumn. The larger white winter radishes should be sown in autumn.
Also
'Scarlet Globe' Radish,
'Zlata' Radish,
'Sparkler' Radish,
'Amethyst' Radish,
'Kulata Cerna' Radish,
'French Breakfast' Radish and
'Mooli' Radish.

Allium cepa 'White Lisbon'

White Lisbon Spring onion

Maw Broon's Cookbook - for every day and special days by Jeannie Broon. Published by Waverley Books in 2007.
ISBN 978-1-902407-45-6.
Chapit Tatties with Sibies
Boil the potatoes until they are soft. Drain and return them to the heat to dry slightly before mashing. Finely chop the white and green of the spring onions and cook in the milk. Beat this mixture into the mashed potatoes until they are fluffy and smooth. Season to taste and serve a generous helping onto each plate, topping with a dod (a dod = a dob which is a small amount of something, especially paste) of butter.
26 other recipes for Mashed Potatoes.

Zones 1,2,3,5,7.
The mild-flavoured stems do not take up much space indoors, but they need bright but cool conditions to mature.
Also
Allium fistulosum 'Performer' (Performer Spring Onion) and
Allium cepa 'Apache' (Apache Spring Onion)

Sprouts the miracle food. The complete guide to sprouting by Steve Meyerowitz - 6th edition in 1999. ISBN 1-878736-04-3.

The Sprouters Handbook by Edward Cairney. Reprinted by Aryll Publishing in 2002.
ISBN 1 874640 48 3.
"Sprouting for permanent weight loss.
Most people gain weight, not so much because they eat too much but rather that they eat the wrong food at the wrong time. Ideally we want a food which is high in nutrition and energy but low in potential weight gain factors. One of the reasons we overeat is that the appetite control centre in the brain, which closely monitors the food we eat, often finds it difficult to know when we've had enough for it relies on a series of complex information for its decision making. However when food is incomplete because vital parts have been destroyed through cooking and processing, the information will be incomplete and the data handling process confused and we go on eating until we feel physically full. This is why traditionally we always finish a meal with a sweet pudding heavily laced with sugar. By sending our blood-sugar level through the roof, it's a crude but effective way of shutting off our appetite.
The more dynamic a food is, the better chance it has of maintaining energy levels without the risk of weight gain. Because of their dynamic nature, raw sprouts can solve this problem by providing energy for exercise and nutrition for health maintenance without running the risk of weight gain.
The waste problem -
another major consideration to be faced during weight loss is the amount of toxins which end up in the bloodstream as a result of fat deposits being broken down. Our layers of fat are used to store away toxic residues, which our elimination systems have been unable to dispose of. It's a bit like sweeping rubbish under the carpet for want of a better place to put it. The method works fine until the carpet is removed exposing the problem. This is precisely what happens when we start to burn off old fat deposits which have been carried around for years. This is where the sore heads and feeling like death-warmed-up comes from. Fat is burned off and toxins get dumped into the bloodstream. This period is often referred to as a healing crisis when the elimination system struggles to cleanse the body of this very unpleasant legacy. How quickly we get through this crisis depends largely on the foods we eat and the drinks we drink. The toxic residues in the bloodstream are acidic requiring alkaline-forming foods to neutralise them. All sprouts are alkaline-forming even when they come from acid-forming grains like wheat. The high plant enzyme content of sprouts is important because they help support the pancreas, liver and kidneys also acting as scavengers in the bloodstream helping to neutralize and remove waste."

Zones 2,3,4
Ideal for any home, nutrient-rich sprouts can be grown in glass jars in a bright location such as on a windowsill or kitchen counter.
Broccoli,
Green lentils,
Alfalfa,
Chickpeas,
Mung beans,
Adzuki beans

Solanum melongena

Aubergine

 

Zones 1,2,3
Keep the plants, which can grow up to 36 inches (90 cms) in height, close to a window in bright sunlight if you want to guarantee a good crop of round or Zeppelin-shaped purple or white fruits.
Also
'Black Beauty',
'Thai Aubergines',
'Raja' and
'Pinstripe'.

Capsicum species

Chilli pepper

Jamie's 15 minute meals by Jamie Oliver. Published by Penguin Books in 2012. ISBN 978-0-718-15780-7
Veggie Chilli
Put the chillies, peeled and halved red onion, paprika and cumin seeds into the processor, squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher, then add the coriander stalks (reserving the leaves) and 2 tablespoons of oil, and whiz until fine. Tip into the pan, then add the deseeded and roughly chopped peppers, drained chickpeas and black beans, a pinch of salt and pepper; and the passata, stir well and put the lid on. Fold the tortillas in half, slice into 0.5 cm strips, sprinkle on to a baking tray and pop in the oven until golden and crisp.
Put most of the coriander leaves, a pinch of salt and pepper, half a peeled avocado, the yoghurt and the juice from ... limes into a jug and whiz with a stick blender until silky. Check and adjust the seasoning of the chilli, leave the lid off. Remove the tortillas from the oven into a bowl, cut the lettuce into chunky wedges and add to the bowl. Scoop and dot over curls of avocado. Peel the cucumber into ribbons and finely slice ... chilli, then scatter both over the top.
Make a well in the middle of the chilli and tip in the rice, then pop the lid on for the last few minutes to warm the rice through. Pour the dressing over the salad, pick over the remaining coriander leaves, finely slice the remaining chilli and sprinkle over the top along with the halved cherry tomatoes, then toss everything together. Serve with dollops of yoghurt.

Zones 1,2,3,8
These compact woody plants will live from year to year, and are covered with colourful fruits from summer to early autumn. The little white flowers that precede the fruits are pretty too.
Also
Chilli 'Apache',
Chilli 'Prairie Fire',
Capsicum annum 'Jalapeno' (Jalapeno),
Capsicum annuum 'Cayenne' (Cayenne chilli),
Capsicum chinense 'Dorset Naga' (Dorset Naga chilli),
Capsicum annuum 'Loco' (Loco chilli),
Capsicum baccatum Aji Amarillo' (Aji Amarillo Chilli),
Capsicum baccatum 'Lemon Drop' (Lemon Drop chilli) and
Capsicum annuum 'Chilly chili' (Chilly Chili chilli.

 

Cucamelon

 

Zones 1,2,3,8
These trailing plants can be grown in large hanging baskets in a sunny room, and produce small fruits that look like baby watermelons and taste of cucumber with a hint of lime. Harvest when fruits are grape-sized and firm. Try them sliced and mixed into salads, salsas, and vegetsable dishes, or eat them whole as a healthy snack.

Cucumis sativus

Cucumber

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit - Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces by Rhonda Massingham Hart. Published by Storey Publishing in 2011.
ISBN 978-1-60342-998-6.
Training cucumbers to grow up.
Cucumbers really benefit from trellising. Even "dwarf" varieties produce superior fruit when levitated above ground, whether climbing a support or cascading down the sides of a container or hanging basket. Most are extremely susceptible to diseases brought on by the high humidity and poor air circulation so typical of grounded vines. Missshapen fruit is also a common product of grounded vines. Those same plants, however, will develop straight fruit when hanging from a support. Cucumbers climb by tightly coiling tendrils, whose slow-motion grasp is ever reaching upward. A soft tie here and there helps train them in the right place, especially on a vertical or angled trellis. Fence-type trellises with wire mesh for plant support work work well for cucumbers.A-frames, pipe and wooden-lattice designs can also be used with good results. Some gardeners caution that wire or metal may overheat and burn the tendrils or leaves, but the leaves should shade the frame well enough to prevent this. Wire and pipe can be wrapped with florists' tape or cloth strips to prevent it from burning the vines. The zigzag design of an A-frame trellis is very popular for cucumbers. It is easily relocated year after year to facilitate crop rotation, and cucumbers find the sloping sides easy to scale.

Zones 1,2,3
You need a lrge sunny room to accomodate this climbing plant, but the tasty fruit, which have much more flavour than those you can buy in the shops, make them worth growing.
There are 2 main groups: indoor greenhouse types, and smaller outdoor "ridge" varieties. Both can be grown indoors, but the outdoor types need to be hand-pollinated, and should not be grown near indoor cucumbers: if the male flowers (those without a tiny fruit behind them) of outdoor varieties pollinate indoor varieties, they make the latter's fruits taste bitter. Many greenhouse types are "all-female", producing only fruit-bearing female flowers that don't need pollinating, but they may produce male flowers, which must be removed.
Also
'Cucino' greenhouse variety,
'Delizia' greenhouse variety,
'Carmen' greenhouse variety and
'Bush Champion' outdoor, compact variety.

Capsicum annuum

Sweet pepper

 

Zones 1,2,3
Also known as 'bell' peppers, these compact plants produce large green, yellow, red or purple fruits in late summer or early autumn. Unlike chillies, sweet peppers have a mild flavour. Sweet peppers come in a range of colours, although most green types will eventually ripen to yellow, orange, or red, and will sweeten as they mature.
Mohawk',
'lunchbox Mix',
'Tequila',
'Thor' and
'Luteus'

Solanum betaceum

Tamarillo

 

Zones 1,2,3
If you have a big sunny room to accomodate this large-leaved, handsome plant, you will be rewarded with beautiful yellow or red fruits that taste like a blend of tomato and kiwi fruit.
 

Solanum lycopersicum

Tomato

Eating for Victory - Healthy home front cooking on war rations. Foreword by Jill Norman 2007, 2013. Published in 2013.
ISBN 978-1-78243-026-1
Pulping Tomatoes
Wash and drain the jars and lids (probably Kilner Jars). Put the rubber rings to soak in cold water. Put the jars somewhere to get hot.
Skin and cut up tomatoes and cook in a covered saucepan with 0.25 teaspoon salt to every 2 lbs of tomatoes, adding just enough water to prevent burning. Very little water is needed. When the tomatoes are thoroughly pulped pour at once into the hot jars. Wipe the top of the jar with a clean cloth and seal immdediately with rubber ring, lid and screwband, clip or other grip. Tighten the screwband up and THEN UNSCREW HALF A TURN TO ALLOW FOR EXPANSION.
Put the jars in BOILING water in a deep pan as described in "Preserving Tomatoes in Brine", bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. The jars must be completely covered by the water.
Remove the jars one at a time and tighten the screwband or see that the clip or other grip is properly in position. After cooling 24 hours test as described in the "Oven Method".

Zones 1,2,3,8
For summer or early autumn crops, choose compact bush, or patio, types for hanging baskets and windowsills, or cordon tomatoes with red or yellow fruits that grow up a stake.
Also
'Tumbling Tom',
'Balconi',
'Tigerella',
'Satyna',
'Black Cherry',
'Sungold',
'Vilma',
'Olivade' and
'Moneymaker'

x Citrofortunella microcarpa

Calamondin

 

Zones 1,2,3,7
When grown in a sunny area, this diminutive orange will produce a bumper crop of small sour fruits, which are ideal for making marmalade, from late winter to late spring. The plants need to be housed in a cool but bright room in winter.

Physalis peruviana

Cape gooseberry

 

Zones 1,2,3
These sun-loving bushy plants produce small white flowers, followed in late summer by cherry-sized yellow or orange fruits that are encased in decorative papery husks.

Ficus carica

Fig

The Lincolnshire Cook Book. Published by Meze Publishing in 2015. ISBN 978-1-910863-05-3
Doddington Hall Mulberry Frangipane
Pre-heat the oven to ... Cream together butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time keeping the mixer on until incorporated fully. Add all the dry ingredients to the mix. Pour into an 8 inch (20 cm) tin and top with the mulberries or any other seasonal fruit of your choice such as plums, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, figs, apples or cherries. Bake at ... for approximately ... until golden. To serve, sprinkle on a few chopped almonds and some powdered sugar. Add vanilla ice cream and more fresh fruit if you like.

Zones 1,2,3,6,7
Set a potted plant in a bright room in direct sun, and your fig should produce a few ripe fruits each year from summer to early autumn. The plants need cooler conditions in winter.
'Violette de Sollies',
'Brunswick' and
'Brown Turkey'.

Citrus species

Lime

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Cookbook - Everyday Recipes for the Living, Dead and Undead by Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Limted. Published in 2016. ISBN 978-1-78472-230-2
Chunky Vomit Dip
Ogres traditionally prepared this foul-smelling delicacy as a dipping source for larger human joints and pan-fried organs. However, its popularity spread and you can now find it in pop-up bodily fluid bars everywhere. Certain human ailments give the vomit a sickly sweet aftertaste so always source from those who are sick with terror, as opposed to illness. If unsure, this vegetable version of the dip will suffice in an emergency.
Sufficient for 6 monster servings of dip.
Halve and stone the avocados, then scoop the flesh out of the shells and place in a bowl. Add the tomato, chopped coriander and cumin and roughly mash together with a fork. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or Crispy Skin for dipping.

Zones 1,2,3,7
Very similar in size and appearance to lemon trees, limes need a bright, sunny, warm location from spring to early autumn and a cool but bright room in winter. The makrut lime differs slightly in appearance from other limes with its large divided leaves and knobbly green fruits.
Citrus x aurantiifolia (Key Lime),
Citrus hystrix (Makrut (Kaffir) Lime) and
Citrus x latifolia (Tahiti Lime).

Citrus sinensis

Sweet Orange

Cookery Year - A month-by-month collection of delicious seasonal recipes by The Reader's Digest. Copyright 1973. Reprinted 2009. ISBN 978 0 276 42893 7.
Dundee Marmalade
Wash all the fruit thoroughly. Place the whole fruits in a large pan with the water and cover. Bring to the boil and cook over low heat for about 90 minutes or until the fruit pierces easily.
Lift out the fruit and leave until cool enough to handle. Slice the fruit, scaping out all the pips and adding them to the pan with the cooking liquid. Chop the fruit roughly.
Boil the fruit juices rapidly for 15 minutes or until reduced by about half. Strain the liquid into a preserving pan, add the chopped fruit and bring to the boil. Stir in the sugar and black treacle and boil the marmalade until it reaches a temperature of ... and setting pont is reached. Skim, stand, pot and then cover when cold.

Zones 1,2,3,7
As well as the delicious fruits, these citrus trees also produce scented blossoms that will perfume your home. Keep the plants in a bright, sunny spot in summer, and a cool but bright room during the winter.

Citrus x limon cultivars

Lemon

Beeton's Shilling Gardening - Beeton's New Gardening Book - A popular exposition of the Art and Science of Gardening, and every thing that pertains to the garden and its culture in all its branches. Published by Ward, Lock & Co.
From the Preface - may be stated to be the best and largest shillingsworth on the subject ever placed at the disposal of the British public (A hardback book of 456 pages for 1 shilling = 12 pennies = 5 new pennies of 2018. Bradshaw's shilling handbook of Great Britain and Ireland was published in 1860)

Attachment of plants to stakes and supports.
As regards the means of attaching plants to sticks and supports of all kinds (the support is vertical the plant stem is about 30 degrees from it), if it be a tree or a stake, or the stem of a hard-wooded plant, such as the honeysuckle, &c, that may be tied without danger of injuring the bark, tarred cord may be used. Of course, climbing plants may be tied loosely so as to not to cut into the bark or stem in any way; but when a tree is tied to a supporting stake, it must be bound to it tightly. To prevent injury to the bark, something soft must intervene between the string and the tree and the stake. There is nothing better for this purpose than a piece of old Victoria felt carpeting, a strip of which may be wrapped 3 or 4 times round the stem, or folded to form a wad, and paced on the side of the tree to that opposite to that on which it is touched by the stake; but if the latter mode be adopted, it is desirable to place another thickness or 2 of the felt between the tree and the stake, to prevent them from being in absolute contact. The tarred cord may then be tied as tightly as it is possible to tie it.

This tree was tied with plastic baling twine to a fence when very young. The white section shows the width at which it was tied. This tree top snapped in the wind.

Please never use plastic twine or wire to tie a plant.
gardenmaintenanceimprove1
Please also do not use tarred cord as it will last too long and cause the same problem as above, use garden twine which will rot within a few years and then allows the plant' stem to expand. For trees or shrubs remember that the stake is only a support for the first 3 years at most, in order to stop the plant from being uprooted and to allow the stem above the 18 inches (45 cms) where it is tied to being able to sway in the breeze and strengthen rather than being tied at 60 inches (150 cms) and then when the support is removed the tree trunk is not strong enough and breaks in a strong wind. If you going to support climbers then also use garden twine, since when you cut it to move or remove that branch every 2 or 3 years, it can then lie on the ground and be recycled by your friendly earth organisms!

Zones 1,2,3,7
These beautiful plants need bright sunny conditions for a good crop of fruits to develop and ripen, but also require a cool but bright room in the winter when they are resting.
Citrus x limon 'Meyer' (Meyer Lemon)

Citrus reticulata

Mandarin Orange

Zones 1,2,3,7
This is a variety of orange plant, and requires heat and bright sun from late spring to autumn when the fruits are starting to develop, followed by cool conditions throughout the winter.

Prunus persica var. nectarina
'Lord Napier'

Nectarine

Zones 1,2,3,7
Nectarines, like their close cousins, peaches, produce sweet juicy fruits in summer, but you will need to fertilize the flowers by hand to ensure they fruit when growing them indoors.

Citrus japonica

Kumquat

Zones 1,2,3,7
Tall and elegant, kumqut plants produce pear-shaped fruits with edible skins from early spring to summer, but to grow successfully the following year, they need a cool room in winter.

Prunus persica

Peach

Zones 1,2,3,7
The peach tree's sweet furry-skinned fruits appear in summer, and require bright sunlight to ripen. Keep the tree in cooler conditions in winter after it has lost its leaves.
'Avalon Pride' and
'Bonanza'

Acca sellowiana

Pineapple guava

Zones 1,2,3,7
The fruits of this evergreen tropical plant, which appear in late summer or autumn, are small and sweet with a pineapple flavour. The flowers are also edible. This shrub requires bright sunlight and warmth in summer, but keep it in a cooler room in the winter.

Fragaria species

Strawberry

 

Favourite Easy to Make Recipes - Simple Ideas for First Cookery. Published by J. Salmon Ltd. ISBN 1-902842-68-5 - This book contains a selection of simple recipes, which are straightforward to prepare. They are ideal for beginners and children, or for anyone who wants quick and easy recipes to make and enjoy. There are many other titles available in this series from J. Salmon Ltd.

Strawberry Cream Dessert
First put the strawberries into a bowl and mash to a pulp with a fork; then stir in the sugar. Rub the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and then fold in the lightly whipped cream. Put the gelatine into another bowl, add the hot water and let it dissolve. Set aside to allow it to cool and then mix it gently into the fruit/cream mixture and keep stirring until it begins to set. Then pour the mixture into the individual sundae glasses (or if preferred into a jelly mould) and leave to set completely before serving. If in a mould, stand the mould in hot ater for a few seconds to loosen before turning out and serving.

Zones 1,2,3,4,6,7,8
Choose from wild or alpine strawberries, which produce small fruits over many weeks from late spring, or plants with full-sized strawberries that ripen in summer or early autumn. These regular strawberries need a bright position to produce the best crops, but the wild types will fruit in areas that are out of direct sunlight. There are 3 types: wild, summer fruiting, and perpetual (everbearing). Wild plants have small fruits, but are tolerant of shade; summer-fruiting types produce heavy crops from early to midsummer; and perpetual varieties produce berries from summer to autumn.
Fragaria x ananassa 'Albion' ('Albion' - perpetual type),
Fragaria vesca (Wild Strawberry - wild type),
Fragaria x ananassa 'Honeoye' ('Honeoye' - summer-fruiting type),
Fragaria x ananassa 'Frau Mieze Schindler' ('Frau Mieze Schindler' - summer-fruiting type) and
Fragaria x ananassa 'Mara des Bois' ('Mara des Bois' - perpetual type).

 

 

 

 

 


A Book of Welsh Soups & Savouries recipes from the traditional heart of Welsh cookery, including traditional Welsh Cawl by Bobby Freeman. Published by Y Lolfa Cyf. in 1987, Seventh impression 2006.
Contents

  • Cawl
  • Leek and Potato Soup (Cawl Cennin)
  • Hare broth (Cawl Coch Ysgyfarnog)
  • Michaelmas Goose (Gwydd Mihangel)
  • Broad Bean Broth (Cawl Ffa)
  • Brandy Broth (Cawl Mawr)
  • Market Pie (Katt Pie)
  • Faggots (Ffagoden)
  • Glamorgan Sausages (Selsigen Morgannwg) - made from breadcrumbs, hard cheese, onion, egg, mustard, herbs, butter, pepper and salt.
  • Green Pancakes (Crempog Las)
  • Rabbit Pie (Pastai Gwningen)
  • Sweet Lamb Pie (18th century)
  • Mashed Turnips with Liver (Stwns Rwdan a Iau)
  • Chicken and Leek Pie (Pastai Cyw Iar a Cennin)
  • Salt Duck (Hwyad Hallt)
  • Onion Cake (Teisen Nionod)
  • Welsh Chicken (Ffowlyn Cymreig)
  • Parsley Pie (Pastai Persli)
  • Mum's Supper (Swper Mam)
  • The Miser's Feast (Ffest y Cybydd)
  • Honeyed Welsh Lamb (Oen Cymreig Melog)
  • Gower Oyster Soup (Cawl Wystrys Gwyr)
  • Laverbread for breakfast (Bara lawr a Brecwast)
  • Roasted Cheese (Caws Pobi)


Cawl - Wales' national dish
"The basic dish of meat, root vegetables, potatoes and leeks, and sometimes cabbage, finds many variations, nor is made exactly the same in 2 kitchens together. Like any other 'national' dish it has regional variations, and in North Wales it tends to be called lobscows from the English 'sheep broth'.
Cawl is traditionally eaten in wooden bowls with hand-carved wooden spoons which vary in design from region to region. There were also pretty, flowered pottery cawl bowls. Bread and cheese are taken with the cawl to make an extremely satisfying meal.
But in times of hardship the broth would be drunk first, on its own. Then the meat eaten with some potatoes. Next day, root vegetables would be cooked in the left-over broth, still rich with nourishment. This was known as cawl twymo (second cawl), or cawl ail-dwym (re-heated cawl). Otherwise the meat would be taken out when cooked, the vegetables added to the broth, and when this was served in bowls everyone helped themselves to the meat from a large wooden platter in the centre of the table.
Basic instructions:
Precise quantities are unimportant, so these are just a guide. For a weight of 2 lbs (about 1 Kg) meat - about 2 large parsnips, 3 large carrots, 1 small swede rurnip, 2 medium onions, 2 or 3 leeks and 1.5 lbs potatoes (650 grammes) (the tiny, marble-size new potatoes are most prized). You will need a big pan to hold all this, covered with cold water, so reduce quantities by half if you only want 3-4 servings. Flavour with plenty of thyme or winter savoury, parsley, bayleaf and 1 or 2 cloves, and I like to add celery. Season with whole black peppercorns (leave the salt to add later). Some cooks thicken the cawl with a handful of oatmeal or flour and water paste.
I leave the leeks out of the cooking altogether and sprinkle them on top of the bowls of cawl, chopped very fine, with plenty of freshly-chopped parsley, so they are crisp, crunchy and peppery. If you do cook them, don't add them until the final 10 minutes of cooking time. The same applies to cabbage if you include it.
Cook the tougher meats for an hour or so first before adding the vegetables, which should be cut up roughly (not finel) to ensure the character of the dish. And brown both meat, onions and vegetables first in a little oil or dripping.
Varations on the basic theme:
Bacon and Brisket: this is my favourite combination and most will agree it is the best - the brisket gives the cawl a very particular quality and taste. A hock-end of bacon - smoked for preference - pairs well with an equal weight of brisket. Make sure everyone gets a portion of both in their bowl. Since cawl is in fact better reheated, you can lift the surplus fat off the top next day when it is cold.
Bacon only: very fatty home-cured bacon was tradtionally used (plenty of 'stars' on its face) but nowadays our taste and lifestyle are for something leaner. Again a kock-end is useful, or shoulder bacon, or you can be extravagant and use a piece of gammon or other lean cut.
Lamb and shin: again the addition of mutton improves the flavour - shin of course will require substantial pre-cooking.
Quick cawl: for this version everything - meat and vegeables - is cut up small and cooks relatively quickly. The result is more stwe-like than truw cawl, and not so good. This version was almost always thickened with flour and water and therefore looked whitish. A direct descendent is:
'Magimix' cawl: inevitably, the ease with which the food-processor chops the vegetables to small dice is irresistable to cooks who have made more brews of real cawl in a kitchen where runnig water was a luxury than city-spoiled seekers after tradition like myself care to think about - and who can blame them? It's not proper cawl though!

 

Roasted Cheese (Caws Pobi)
This is the truw 'Welsh Rarebit' as far as the Welsh are concerned. They wre inordinately fond of it from the earliest times in its simple form: later it developed into one of the many regional 'rarebits' or 'rabbits' as a cheese sauce on toast.
The original was simply a piece of hard cheese roasted, or toasted, on one side only, before the fire, on a piece of barley or other wholegrain bread. Now with the micrwave we can take a gigantic backward leap across the centuries, for nothing makes caes pobi more ciorrectly and faster than a few seconds in the MW.
 

 

 


Eating for Victory - Healthy home front cooking on war rations. Reproductions of official Second World War instruction leaflets. Foreword by Jill Norman 2007, 2013. Compilation copyright Michael O'Mara Books Limited, published in 2013.
ISBN 978-1-78243-026-1
Contents

  • Foreword
  • Dried Eggs
  • One pot Meals
  • Making the most of meat
  • High teas and suppers
  • Potatoes
  • Foods for fitness
  • Cheese
  • How to fry
  • Puddings
  • Your vitamin ABC
  • What's left in the larder
  • Herrings
  • How to preserve tomatoes
  • Cakes, biscuits and scones
  • Making the most of sugar
  • Cooking for one
  • A salad a day
  • Suggestions for breakfast
  • Easy to make soups and broths
  • How to make soups and broths
  • How to make short pastry
  • Fruit bottling
  • Green vegetables
  • Making the most of the fat ration
  • Extras for the expectant mother
  • Cookery conversion tables


From the foreword:-
"At the end of the First World War, the government took stock of the food problems faced during that period. During the great depression at the end of the 1920's, when unemployment exceeded 2 million, the poorest people could just about afford to buy sufficient calories to stay alive, but not to buy the milk, fruit and vegetables that would ensure they had sufficient protein, minerals and vitamins. In the 1930's a study organized by the Britsh Medical Association showed that only the richest part of the population received a surplus of these basic dietarty constituents; all the rest, some 40 million people, were deficient to some extent, and 4.5 million were deficient in all constituents:-

  • Calcium deficiency was one of the biggest problems, which prompted the government to promote the drinking of milk in schools (Make milk available by selling it in vending machines rather than the school provides it free to every pupil - January 2018. Therefore do we in 2018 have children deficient in Calcium due to the same reasons as in the Great Depression?).


The outbeak of war in 1939 made it imperative to apply the findings of nutritional science to feeding the population. Unfamiliar foods such as dried eggs and dried skimmed milk were introduced, and it was necessary to teach the public how to use them. This led to an extensive programme of cookery teaching and of education in nutrition, by means of leaflets of the kind reproduced here, books, posters, radio broadcasts and demostrations. Some 18 million people listened to the early morning five-minute BBC radio programme, The Kitchen Front. This gave the public lasting guidance about the healthiest way to feed themselves and to make the best use of their rations. Every man, woman and chld had a ration book. Everyone was entitled to the same amount:-

  • except that agricultural and manual workers were allowed extra cheese for their lunch boxes,
  • pregant women and children were allowed additional milk and eggs, and
  • children under 5 were allowed orange juice, blackcurrant juixce, rosehip syrup and cod liver oil, but only half the meat ration.


At the beginning of the war, the government launched the Dig for Victory campaign, to encourage people to dig up their rose beds and herbaceous borders and plant vegetables instead. By 1943 it was estimated that over 1 million tons of vegetables were being grown in gardens and allotments, and many lawns had been turned into chicken runs. The leaflets distributed by the Ministry of Food fell into different categories:-

  • some gave helpful recipes to get the best from the rations, by making pies, stews and puddings, using up stale bread in stuffings to serve with meat;
  • others concentrated on making healthy vegetable soups and salads, or suggesting different ways of preparing potatoes. Their high vitamin C content meant potatoes were a vital part of the diet; posters of 'Potato Pete' encouraged cooks to scrub potatoes instead of peeling them.
  • Some leaflets explained new ingredients, like dried eggs, and how to reconstitue and use them;
  • others on preserving or What's Left in the Larder? ensured nothing was wasted, and
  • another set concentrated on nutritional aspects, like Foods for Fitness and Your Vitamin ABC.

The information in Foods for Fitness and Your Vitamin ABC is just as relevant today as it was 60 years ago, and the former ends with a salutary note that is worth heeding now: 'Appetite is a good guide to our needs of ... energy foods and, if we take more than we require, we generally store the surplus as fat.
During the war, although there were privations and shortages, people generally had a good diet. When the war ended, it was found that the average food intake was much higher than when it began. This was mostly because many poor people had been too poor to feed themselves properly, but with virtually no unemployment and the rationing system, with its fixed prices, they ate better than in the past:-

  • School dinners, milk, orange juice and cod liver oil provided poor children with more nutritious food than they had had before.
  • People at all levels of society took nutrition seriously and fed their families sensibly with the rations and whatever vegetables and fruit were available, and
  • with less sugar and fewer sweet snacks there was less tooth decay.
  • As a whole the population was slimmer and healthier than it is today; people ate less fat and sugar, less meat and many more vegetables.


 


Why not grow edibles in Containers?

The following information from America written into the white background rows of this table about growing edibles in containers is from this book:-
Just the Facts : Dozens of Garden Charts - Thousands of Garden Answers by the Editors of Garden Way Publishing (ISBN 0-88266-867-6). Copyright 1993 by Storey Communications, Inc., which is based in Vermont - a state in the northeastern United States.
 

Suggested Varieties

Plant

Growing Tips

High or Low Light

Bush: Romano, Royal Burgundy, Venture
Pole: Scarlet Runner

Beans

Soak seeds in water overnight to improve germination. Use trellis or support for pole beans.

High Light

Detroit Dark Red, Early Wonder, Burpee's Golden, Cylindra, Boltardy

Beets

3-4 inches (7.5-10 cms) between plants if harvesting roots;
2 inches (5 cms) between plants if harvesting only tops.
Plant any time indoors in sunny window. Avoid overcrowding

High Light

Spartan, Italian Green Sprouting, DiCicco

Broccoli

1-3 plants per 5 gallon container. Continue fertilizing after first harvest to encourage secondary heads.

High Light

Jade Cross Hybrid, Long Island Improved

Brussel Sprouts

2-3 plants per 5 gallon container. Sprouts must mature during cool temperatures. Stake when plants are 10-14 inches (25-35 cms) tall. Remove tops of plants if necessary to force sprout development. Will produce year-round in southern states. Mild frost improves flavor. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Low Light

Earliana, Early Jersey Wakefield, Copenhagen Market, Red Ace, Ruby Ball Hybrid, Red Head Hybrid

Cabbage

2-3 plants per 5 gallon container. Don't plant in same container as cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, kohlrabi, chinese cabbage, kale or collards because of disease spred. Maintain uniform moisture.

Low Light

Little Finger, Ox-Heart, Baby Finger, Royal Chantenay, Spartan Bonus, Nantes, Short N Sweet, Gold Pak

Carrots

2 inches (5 cms) between plants. Use soil-less mix. Place plastic cover over container to improve germination. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Low Light

Early Snowball, Snow Crown Hybrid, Purple Head

Cauliflower

1-2 plants per 5 gallon container. Avoid moisture stress during early growth or they-ll form small heads. Tie large outer leaves together over developing head to prevent discoloration. Grow as winter crop if you have mild winters.

High Light

Burpee Hybrid, Bush Whopper, Salad Bush, Park's Burpless Bush, Pot Luck, Burpless Early Pik

Cucumbers

2 plants per 5 gallon container. Support maturing fruit in a sling tied to support or suspend dwarf varieties in hanging basket. Plant vine varieties in long rectangular planter box with trellis.

High Light

Slim Jim, Ichiban, Black Beauty, Small Ruffled Red, Thai Green, Bambino

Eggplant

1 plant per 12-18 inch (30-45 cms) pot. Likes heat reflected from nearby wall or hang black plastic behind plant. Challenging to grow indoors but it will produce fruit under lights at 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit.

High Light

Broadleaved Batavian, Salad King, Green Curled, White Curled

Endive

To improve flavour before harvesting, gather outer leaves and tie loosely with string for 14 days. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Low Light

Most varieties

Garlic

Need 8 inch (20 cms) deep container. Plant cloves 2 inches (5 cms) deep and 5 inches (12.5 cms) apart. Water well during warm weather. Lift bulbs when foliage shrivels in late summer. Tie in bunches and dry in sun.

High Light

Most varieties

Herbs

Annual herbs can be brought indoors during cold weather. Perennials should be placed in cold frame or cool basement for winter. Repot once a year. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Light requirement depends on variety

Oak Leaf, Buttercrunch, Sal;ad Bowl, Dark Green Boston, Ruby, Bibb, Little Gem

Lettuce

Can grow indoors year-round in sunny window. Leaf varieties are easiest. Fertilize weekly. Shield from intense sun.

Low Light

Consult seed catalogs for best varieties

Melons

6-8 plants in a 12 x 48 inch (30 x 120 cms) box with trellis or support. Or 2 plants per 5 gallon container. Grow best against south facing wall. Make support out of galvanized, welded-wire, 2 x 4 inch (5 x 10 cms) screen. Support developing fruit with nylon sling attached to support. Reduce watering as melons near maturity.

High Light

Sugar Snap, Snowbird, Alaska, Little Marvel, Frosty, Green Arrow, Burpee Sweet Pod

Peas

3-6 plants per 5 gallon container. Edible pods are easiest. Plant in long planter boxes with trellis. Yields are reduced in containers so plant a large crop.

High Light

Bell: Bell Boy, Keystone Resistant, California Wonder, New Ace, World-Beater, Sweet Banana.

Hot: Red Cherry, Long Red Cayenne, Jalapeno, Thai Hot

Peppers

1 plant per 8-10 inch (20-25 cms) pot. Stake the plants in windy areas. Bring the pots inside when the outside temperature drops below 60 degrees or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

High Light

Chippewa, Sable, White Cobbler

Potatoes

Use a 30-gallon trash can with hole drilled in the bottom for drainage. Plant 3 seed potatoes in half soil/compost in the bottom. When the potato sprouts are 6 inches (15 cms) high, cover them with soil/compost, leaving a few leaves showing. aContinue to cover with more medium whenever the sprouts are 6 inches (15 cms) high until the medium reaches the top of the can. Water heavily and don't fertilize. At the end of the season, dump the can over and shovel out your harvest.

High Light

Cherry Belle, Scarlet Globe

Radishes

Plant weekly for continuous harvest all summer. When days shorten in fall, bring indoors under lights to extend harvest. Plant in any container at least 8 inches (20 cms) deep. Grows well with carrots, lettuce and beets in large planter. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Low Light

Bulbs: White Sweet Spanish,Yellow Sweet Spanish, Southport White Globe, Southport Yellow Globe

Bunching: Evergreen, White Bunching, Kujo Green Multistalk

Shallots / Onions

Outside, plant onion sets 2 inches (5 cms) apart in spring. Plant mature shallot bulbs 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cms) deep, 4-6 inches (10-15 cms) apart in early fall. Overwinter plants, protecting from freezing. Mature shallots can be harvested in summer. Don't let either plant dry out. Grow indoors under lights for 12 hours/day at 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit.

High Light

Melody, Long Standing Bloomsdale, America, Avon Hybrid

Spinach

Best grown in spring and fall. Indoors, keep temperatures between 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Grow indoors in sunny window.

Low Light

Zucchini: Green Magic, Burpee Golden Zucchini, Burpee Hybrid Zucchini.

Acorn: Table King, Cream of the Crop Hybrid.

Butternut: Early Butternut, Burpee Butterbush

Squash

1-3 plants per 5 gallon container or 1 plant per 12 inch (30 cms) pot. Use trellis. Support fruit with nylon sling tied to trellis.

High Light

Fordhook Giant, Burpee's Rhubarb Chard

Swiss Chard

1 plant per 12 inch (30 cms) pot or 2-3 per 5 gallon container. Outside, plants will die back in winter and resume growth the following spring. Grow indoors year-round in sunny window.

Low Light

Standard Size: Early Girl, Better Boy VFN.

Dwarf Determinates: Patio, Pixie, Red Robin, Sugar Lump

Tomatoes

Dwarf determinates (patio or cherry types) grow 8 to 36 inches (20-90 cms) tall. Dwarf inderminates grow 36-60 inches (90-150 cms) tall and produce larger, more standard size fruit. They are easily supported with a short stake. 1 plant of standard variety per 5 gallon container. Dwarf varieties can be planted in smaller pots or hanging baskets. Need consistent watering. Grow indoors under lights in warm location.

High Light

Apple: Garden Delicious, Starspur Compact Mac.

Apricot: Stark Goldenglo, Goldcot.

Cherry: Compact Lambert, North Star.

Nectarine: Nectar Babe, Stark Honeyglo.

Peach: Honey Babe, Stark Sensation.

Naval Orange: Washington.

Grapefruit: Oro Blanco.

Avocado: Mexicola.

Banana: Dwarf.

Fig: Dwarf

Fruit Trees

Plant early spring. Buy disease resistant varieties. Need at least 8 hours sun/day. Move to protected area during winter where tree can go dormant without soil freezing. If outdoors, mulch container with straw or newspapers and cover with large appliance box. Water well in early winter and not again until spring. Can train trees as espaliers, with branches growing flat against trellis.

High Light

Blueberries: Berkeley, Bluecrop, Blueray, Earliblue, Jersey. Choose 2-3 year-old certified plants 12-36 inches (30-90 cms) tall. Plant bare-root stock in early spring.

Strawberries: Alexandria, Baron Solemacher, Blakemore, Surecrop, Solana, Tioga.

Raspberries: Allen, Brandywine, Bristol, Latham.

Blackberries: Darrow, Oregon Thornless, Thornfree.

Fruits, small

For strawberries, use strawberry pots or commercially available strawberry barrels. Some fuits, like blueberries, require 2 different varieties for pollination. Blueberries do especially well in containers because it's easy to keep soil acid enough. During the winter, move all fruits to an unheated garage or basement, mulch the soil, and cover with a protective cover such as GardenQuilt.

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