Ivydene Gardens Plants: Ground-Cover Plant Name: W
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
• Bee plants for hay-fever sufferers - Bee-Pollinated Index
• Plants that grow in Chalk - A,
• Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers - A,
• Bulbs from the Infill Galleries see Hardy Bulbs, Half-hardy Bulbs, etc in the second row of Topic Table, usually positioned as the first table on the left.
• The complete Camera Photo is displayed on the screen
• Climber in 3 Sector Vertical Plant System
• Plants with Sense of Fragrance

The following Extra Index of Wildflowers is created in the Borage Wildflower Gallery, to which the Wildflowers found in the above list will have that row entry copied to.
Its wildflower flower thumbnail - or foliage thumbnail if it does not have flowers - will be compared with the others in that gallery per month.
The Header Row for the Extra Indices pages is the same as used in this 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, XYZ

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:-

• Aquatic
• Bamboo
• Bedding
• Bulb
• Conifer - Conifers have no flowers and are used for their foliage and cones
• Deciduous Shrub
• Deciduous Tree
• Evergreen Perennial
• Evergreen Shrub
• Evergreen Tree
• Fern - Ferns have no flowers and are used for their foliage
• Grass - Grass is used for its grass inflorescence and foliage
• Hedging
• Herbaceous Perennial
• Herb
• Odds and Sods
• Rhododendron, Azalea and Camellia
• Soft Fruit
• Top Fruit
• Vegetable
• Wild Flower

The plants normally selected by most landscapers and designers are by nature low-growing, rampant, spreading, creep-crawly things and yet the concept of ground cover demands no such thing. The ideal description of a groundcover plant includes:-

• a bold dense mass of leaves completely covering the ground most of the year; evergreens gain gold stars.
• They should require little or no maintenance - if you have to give the plant more than its share of attention, you might as well save your money and spend the time weeding.
• use the plant on ground areas that are difficult to maintain, such as steep banks or boggy patches.
• use the plant to cover areas where not much will grow, such as deep shade or sandy soils.

Ground Cover a thousand beautiful plants for difficult places by John Cushnie (ISBN 1 85626 326 6) provides details of plants that fulfill the above requirements.

Using these groundcover plants in your planting scheme (either between your trees/shrubs in the border or for the whole border) will - with mulching your beds to a 4 inch depth and an irrigation system - provide you with a planted garden with far less time required for border maintenance.

Wildflower Flower Shape and Landscape Uses gallery provides Landscaping List by Use pages which include some of these ground-cover plants. Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0 provides the planting site pages for perennials, which include most plant types except Annuals and Biennials.

Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0. Jane Taylor and her husband grew plants in their garden of 2.5 acres of acidic shale mine waste on ground most of which could not retain water or nutrients and would scarcely sustain even the most tenacious of weeds.
A typical British garden with its flowery borders and green lawns needs the equivalent of 1 (2.5 cms) of rain every 10 days to look its best. By choosing from the plants in the above book, canny gardeners will quickly learn to give their gardens the best chance of looking respectable even through prolonged dry spells.
Start by improving your soil in your garden by studying the diagram showing the interaction between clay, organic matter, silt and sand to make soil and then follow the advice on how to improve your clay, chalk or sandy soil lower down the same page; before reading how you can provide the soil nutrients, including those for clay soil.
Then, choose your plants from:-

• Trees and Shrubs to form the framework,
• Palms and Cycads,
• Conifers,
• Climbers to provide backdrops, shade and cover for vertical surfaces,
• Perennials and Ephemerals for filling the garden with flower and foliage,
• Grasses for vertical outlines as foils and contrasts,
• Bulbs for companion, underplanting and massed display,
• Succulents and Xerophytes; and
• Dry Garden Maintenance - Starting with the Soil, Planting, Windbreaks, Lawns and Lawn Substitutes, and Irrigation Techniques.

Each ground cover plant of this 1000 has further details from her book, if it is in there.

 

Plants for Ground-Cover by Graham Stuart Thomas. Published by J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd in 1970 - reprinted (with further revisions) in 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1. This gives details on many more ground cover plants with inclusion (in the Index) of figures denoting the Hardiness Zones for each species in the United States of America.
 

Plant Name

Major source of honey in the UK Yes/No
Used by
HoneyBees - HB,
Short-Tongued Bumblebees - ST,
Long-Tongued Bumblebees - LT,
Solitary Bees - SOL

Type

The key ingredients a bird needs from your garden are
Shelter,
Food and
Water,
as expanded in Ground-cover Plant
Name W Page from Planting for Garden Birds - A grower's Guide to creating a bird-friendly habitat by Jane Moore. Published by Quadrille in 2022. ISBN 978 178713 8292

Height x Spread in inches (cms)

Spacing distance between plants of same species in inches (cms)

Foliage

Some poisonous ground cover plants are indicated, but there are others in Cultivated Poisonous Plants and
Wildflower Poisonous Plants

Flower Colour in Month(s).

Use Pest Control using Plants to provide a Companion Plant to aid your selected groundcover plant or deter its pests

Comments

United States Department of Agriculture
Plant Hardiness Zone Map -
This map of USA is based on a range of average annual minimum winter temperatures, divided into 13 of 10-degree F zones, that this plant will thrive in USA, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
There are other Hardiness Zone Maps for the rest of the world including the one for Great Britain and Ireland of zones 7a to 10a.
Zone 5-9 indicates that the minimum zone temperature this plant will grow is 5 and top minimum zone temperature is 9 - above this number is too hot or below 5 is too cold for the plant. If your zone in your area of your country is within that range or your zone number is greater, then you can grow it in your garden.

Pruning of
Woody Plants in Groups 1 - 13 and
Herbaceous Perennials in Group 14 with
Ferns in Group 15 and
Evergreen Perennials in Group 16.
 

Waldsteinia ternata
(Waldsteinia trifolia, Waldsteinia sibirica)

Semi-Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height

4 x 24
(10 x 60)

Green in Spring and Summer, Purple-Green in Autumn and Winter

Yellow in
June-July

Vigorous and ideal carpeter, which is attractive throughout the year. Good planted in groups, will carpet slopes, naturalize under shrubs, or edge dry, north-facing borders

You can buy it as already grown matting as Waldsteinia ternata Helix standard Mat.

Full Sun, Light Shade
Zone 4
Well-drained soil - From east-central and southern Europe and also much further east in Siberia and Japan. It will thrive in dry soil, or cool moist, or rich; full sun or in full or part shade.

Weigela
'Bristol Ruby'

Weigela species
No HB, ST, LT

Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height

96 x 72 (210 x 180)

Dark Green

Dark Red in
June-July

Grown for its flowers
Full Sun, Light Shade
Zones 4-10
Moist, fertile, well-drained soil. Prune out older branches after flowering to maintain vigour.

Bee Forage Plants and UK Butterfly with Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants.
 

Weigela florida
'Eve Rathke'

Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height

60 x 60 (150 x 150)

Dark Green

Dark Crimson in
June-July

Arching shrub from Japan, Korea and northeastern China
Full Sun, Light Shade
Zones 4-10
Moist, fertile, well-drained soil.

Weigela florida
'Foliis Purpureisis'

Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height

30 x 54 (75 x 135)

Bronze-Green

Dark Pink in
June-July

This is excellent in full sun near the front of a shrub or mixed border, where it combines well with pink or crimson flowers and grey, glaucous or deeper purple foliage. Associate with pinks, old roses, cerise or carmine-pink achilleas, pink convolvulus, cistus, mauve-pink campanulas and mallows, cranesbills, heucheras and Tardiana hostas.

Weigela florida
'Variegata'

Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height

60 x 60 (150 x 150)

White-margined Grey Green

Dark Pink in
June-July

Associate this plant in the front of a shrub or mixed border. In shade, flowering is suppressed so combine it with yellow-green foliage and flowers, or with cream, white or soft yellow flowers. When used in this fashion as a foliage plant, it can be pruned in mid-spring rather than at the usual time immediately after flowering.

Weigela middendorffiana

Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height

60 x 60 (150 x 150)

Bright Green

Pale Yellow in
May-August

Wisteria floribunda
'Alba'

Deciduous Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height

336 x 60 (840 x 150)

Mid-Green

White in
July

"Japanese Wistaria". Drought-tolerant once established in cool climates where winter rainfall is ample, wisterias need moderate to ample irrigation in desert conditions. Zone 5

Whole plant of Wisteria floribunda is poisonous.

Wisteria floribunda
'Violacea Plena'

Deciduous Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height

336 x 60 (840 x 150)

Mid-Green

Violet-Blue in
July

"Japanese Wistaria" has clockwise-twining stems, and slender tresses of lavender-mauve flowers and both are suitable for dry gardens.

Wisteria sinensis

Wisteria sinensis. In bright or warm weather bees visit the flowers for nectar at Kew Gardens, but when conditions are cool they seem to offer little attraction. In other warmer climates, the flowers of wisteria are known to be worked for nectar and pollen
No HB, ST, LT

Deciduous Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height

1200 x 120 (3000 x 300)

Dark Green

Fragrant Lilac-Blue to White in
June-July

"Chinese Wistaria" in Europe is even more vigorous than the Japanese, reaching as much as 1200 (300) and further distinguished by its anti-clockwise twining stems. Zone 5

Wisterias are ideal for training on pergolas or arches, where they provide welcome shade. On a wall, they need careful training to allow each of the tresses of flower to hang free. Wisterias can also be allowed to grow naturally into supporting trees, though their vigour calls for a host of matching size. The lilac-mauve varieties combine well with the yellow Banksian rose, which flowers at much the same season, and in mild climates can be grown free-standing or in host tree.

Bee Forage Plants and UK Butterfly with Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants.
It is advisable to prepare deep planting pockets beforehand, filling these with rich friable soil.Starved wisterias often fail to flower.

Whole plant of Wisteria sinensis is poisonous.

Wisteria sinensis
'Alba'

Deciduous Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height

1200 x 120 (3000 x 300)

Dark Green

White in
June-July

"Chinese Wistaria".

Associate this climber with the yellow flowers of laburnums.

Site design and content copyright ©December 2006. Page structure changed September 2012. Height x Spread in feet changed to Height x Spread in inches (cms) May 2015. Data added to existing pages December 2017. Zone and Companion Data added April 2022. The 1000 Ground Cover plants detailed above will be compared in the Comparison Pages of the Wildflower Shape Gallery and in the flower colour per month comparison pages of Evergreen Perennial Gallery starting in November 2022. 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.  

Height in inches (cms):-

25.4mm = 1 inch
304.8mm = 12 inches
12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
914.4mm = 1 yard

I normally round this to
25mm = 1 inch
300mm = 30 cms = 12 inches =1 foot,
900 mm = 3 feet = 1 yard and
1000mm = 100 cms = 1 metre = 40 inches  

I have included within these pages on 1000 Ground Cover Plants information from other pages within this PLANTS Topic like

• Poisonous Plants
• Flower Arranging
• Rabbit Resistant
• Bee Forage
• Attracts Bird/Butterfly

and links to Rock Garden Plants Suitable for Small Gardens Index Gallery.

Any of these 1000 Ground Cover Plants may well have further details about them in the remainder of the pages in this PLANTS Topic linked to from the PLANTS PAGE MENU above.
 

Think Like A Bird
The key ingredients a bird needs from your garden:

• SHELTER
  Shelter is vital to make birds feel safe in your garden to roosts, rest and bring up their young.
  Shelter mainly comes from trees and shrubs, but climbers such as honeysuckle and clematis trained up trelliswork on the garden fences or walls can offer nesting spots.
• FOOD
  Food supply is crucial to birds (In the USA, 57 million households regularly feed their local birds, while bird lovers in the UK spend more than £200 million a year on bird food, feeders and other bird paraphernalia) - you can put out feeders, but the garden itself needs to be a constant supply of food in its own right. Planting shrubs, trees and climbers that produce plenty of berries is a good start, but many birds are seed eaters, who are supplied by growing seed-bearing annuals and leaving seed heads on herbaceous plants in late summer and autumn for the birds to feed on as food becomes scarcer. Insects will be on these same seedheads, so other birds can eat them.
• WATER
  Water in some shape or form - a pond, a birdbath or even just a saucer on the bird table - is a good idea. You could install a Shallow Dig Tank to collect rainwater at 36 inches (90cm) above ground level and connect its output to a bird bath via a tap timer to get a fresh supply to the bird bath every 3 hours during the daytime. Birds need to drink and also to wash their feathers to keep them in top condition.

Balconies and WindowSills
Making the most of your space can be as simple as adding a hanging basket, a window box and a few feeders. Even these tiny spaces can be brilliant for birds as they are at sky level, making perfect rest and feed stops for birds.

Small Gardens
These gardens often back onto or run alongside other gardens, which gives the birds a 'green corridor' to flit from one garden to another. You could plant a small tree or a cluster of shrubs for shelter and berries. Think about making a garden pond or a bog garden, which provide essential water for drinking and bathing and also attract insects for birds to feed on.

Suburban Gardens
These larger gardens often have mature trees and shrubs which become home to many different resident birds. You could also add a cluster of berrying shrubs or a swathe of flowering annuals and meadow plants. Plant a border of seed-bearing perennials and grasses that you can leave standing as a winter feature - to provide seeds, insects and cover for the birds through the harshest months.

LAYERED PLANTING
Layered planting is planting from top to bottom in stages, so that birds can move freely from one safe space to another:-

1. Top layer is the trees or tree if you have a small garden. You might even be 'borrowing' a tree from a neighbouring garden. Trees provide height and cover to allow birds to swoop down and pick up insects and larger prey.
2. The next layer is the shrubs and climbers - the understorey of dense twigs that birds can use for shelter all year round. The idea is to create something like the natural edge that you get to a patch of woodland, with differences in height to create layers for the brds to perch in, secure and sheltered from predators by twigs and foliage.
   Hedges play a huge part in the garden ecosystem at this middle layer, especially mature ones that have been allowed to fruit. Thich hedgerows also provide shelter for birds, particularly during the nesting season, so it is vital to confine hedge trimming to the winter months and ideally, refrain from trimming the whole hedge, allowing some fruiting and wayward growth.
3. The bottom layer is annuals, perennials and the lawn. This where you can make a lot of impact in no time at all, MAINLY BY DOING NOTHING. Simply letting the plants go to seed and leaving some areas of long uncut grass creates a haven for insects, which will provide food for many birds.
   
   Replacing the grass lawn with artificial grass in an average-sized garden is equivalent to filling it with 950,000 plastic drinking straws - to dry out the ground underneath. Fake grass - used by 1 in 10 UK households with an outside space - only lasts for 5 to 10 years. It is very difficult to recycle and often ends up in landfill. Most of the worms and soil insects that thrive under a real lawn won't survive under artificial grass. This means fake grass won't be attractive to birds, nor does it absorb carbon dioxide or have a cooling effect in summer - from December 2022 Gardening Which.

Planning and Planting
There is a simple formula to planning a space and that is to have layered planting around the edges with an area of open space - either lawn or patio - in the middle. This works whatever the size of your garden, even if it is a courtyard garden or balcony and you are growing everything in pots.
Boundaries are the perfect places for bird habitats. Plant a hedge or a mixture of flowering and fruiting shrubs to give the birds shelter and nesting spaces. If you have fences or walls, then grow climbers such as Honeysuckle, Wisteria or Ivy on them using chainlink fencing from 24 to 60 inches (60-150cms) from the ground to tie them to, or train shrubs like Firethorn on them. Wall-trained fruit trees are also a good option.
Trees are one of the best resources for birds, giving them shelter, good perches and keeping them safely above predators like your neighbours cat. Try Minarettes or Trained Fruit Trees. Try some in pots.
Herbaceous plants fill in that bottom layer between the lawn and the shrub/climber layer. Look for 'single flowers', which will attract bees for the pollen/nectar and the maximum number of insects for the birds. Any herbaceous plant that produces copious seeds is good for the seed-eating birds, while ornamental grasses provide excellent shelter and good nesting material.
Let the wildflowers like Clover and Selfheal flower in the lawn and it will be abuzz with insects to attract the birds.
Long grass or meadow is an addition to the garden. You can either just let the grass grow or clear the ground and either plant one of the flowering meadow mixes or wildflower turf specificially formulated to attract birds. Wildflower Turf has an introduction into how to successfully install Wildflower Meadows training day.

This is very similar to the 3 Sector Vertical Plant System for Climbers in Infill3 Plants:-

THERE ARE 3 SECTORS UP A HOUSE WALL OR HIGH WALL:-

1. Above 120 inches (300+ cms) in height - The Higher Reaches. This is only likely to occur on house walls and other tall buildings with climbers and trained trees/shrubs covering all the way up to 36 inches from the guttering at roof level ( to prevent ingress to the internal roof space or blockage of the guttering). The following pages in this gallery cover The Higher Reaches:

• House-Wall Ramblers

• Non-House-Wall Climbing Twiners

• Non-House-Wall Self-Clinging Climbers

The climbers in the Climber Plant Gallery have been placed into one of these 3 heights with the Text Box Boundary in:-

• Blue for 0-36 inches (0-90 cms)

• Green for 36-120 inches (90-300 cms)

• Red for above 10 feet.

 

2. 36-120 inches (90-300 cms) in height - The Prime Site. As the plant moves upwards to about 6 feet, conditions change: plants still benefit from the reflected heat and stored heat of walls warmed by the sun but have more light and air. Many climbers will have established a trunk below and now begin to spread themselves. This middle section is visually important, because it is at eye level and just below that that we should display those items to which we want to draw most attention. Most of the shrubs that are suitable for growing against walls are between 3 and 10 feet in height. The following pages in this gallery cover The Prime Site:

• 2a Wall Shrubs

• 2b Fruit Trees

• Plants for Wildlife-use as well

• Raised Bed for Wheelchair Users

 

3. 0-36 inches (0-90 cms) in height - The Base. This gives the most sheltered conditions in the garden, with soil and air temperatures above those of the surrounding area. This area will suffer less buffeting from wind. Soil care will be ensuring a high humus content - to enrich the nutrient value and help to create reservoirs of moisture. Light intensity will depend on the aspect of the wall (North-facing will get very little sunlight) with the surrounding buildings and plants, including trees. The following pages in this gallery cover The Base:

• 1a Base of Wall Plants

• 1b Annuals

• 1c Herbs and Vegetables

• 1d Cut Flowers, Cut Foliage

• 1e Scented Flower or Foliage

• 1f Foliage Use only.

 

Season -
Spring,
Summer,
Autumn,
winter

Layered Planting

1.Top Layer with link to its Ground Cover Page or Wildflower Botanical Page

Layered Planting

2. Middle Layer with link to its Ground Cover Paor Wildflower Botanical Pagege

Layered Layer

3. Bottom Layer with link to its Ground Cover Pageor Wildflower Botanical Page

Birds you are likely to see

Things to Do

Spring

Crataegus species (Hawthorn) are usually grown as hedges, but Crataegus schraderiana can grow as a small branching tree.

Prunus species.

Amelanchier species.
 

Cornus species.

Sambucus species.

Viburnum species.

Wisteria species

Lawn flowers - Daisy
(Bellis in Wildflowers), Clover (Trifolium), Dandelion (Taraxacum in Wildflowers).

Oenethera species in Wildflowers

Anthriscus sylvestris in Wildflowers.

Baptisia species.

Tits, Finches, Thrushes and Sparrows are busy feeding broods of chicks.

Summer visitors such as Swallows, House Martins, Goldfinches and Swifts start to arrive.

Cuckoo

An area of lawn untreated with chemicals and dotted with wildflowers is a huge boon to birds. Leave some areas to grow long and wild, and mow others to make space for sitting or games or as lawn paths to the garage or back gate, while still allowing flowers to bloom. Many plants such as Clover also cope with drought better than grass, meaning your 'lawn' will look healthier through the summer months. EccoDal Grass Grids can replace your parking area concrete or pavers, make paths and sitting area/ gamesarea in your garden and be filled with soil and grass/wildflower seed. Then, you have grass with wildflowers to help birds over the winter instead of concrete.

Put out food for busy parent birds.

Make sure there is water at hand for bathing and drinking as the weather gets warmer. Keep the water dish and birdbath freshly topped up and clean.

It is easy to grow some quick flowering annuals to attract insects into the garden and provide seeds. Cornflowers, Pot Marigolds and Love-in-a-Mist are easy to grow.

Birds thrive on weeds, especially Goldfinches, who love Dandelion, Teasel and Thistle seeds.

Summer

Fruit Trees - Apple (Malus), Pear (Pyrus) Plum (Prunus). Above can be bought as Minarettes or Trained Fruit Trees.

Rosa species - Grow the single-flowered forms to attract insects and aim for species and varieties that produce hips - like Rosa moyesii, Rosa 'Paul's Himalayan Musk' and Rosa glauca - as many birds such as Fieldfares and Mistle Thrushes will eat these. Tits and Blackbirds use the thorny cover of climbing species as shelter from predators.

Fruit Bushes - Red-currant, Black-currant, Blackberry including thornless, Logan-berry (Ribes and Rubus species). Ken Muir also sell half-standard redcurrant. and a range of edible hedging to form an attractive screening and attract wildlife into your garden.

Spiraea species.

Lavendular species.

Lonicera species.

Clematis species.

Helianthus species.

Nigella species.

Centaurea species.

Tropaeolum majus.

Thistles - Cirsium in Wildflowers, Carduus in Wildflowers, Eryngium and Echinops species.

Solidago species.

Blue Tits and Great Tits feeding their family. Robins. Sparrowhawk and Little Owl.

In summer, birds need plenty of water.

Early-flowering annuals and grasses are a rich source of food for seed-eating birds.

The kitchen garden is a source of insects on herbs, fruit and vegetables, as long as you don't spray them with chemicals. Add to the pulling power by planting Companion Plants and flowering herbs such as Rosemary (Rosmarinus), Marjoram (Origanum) and Fennel (Foeniculum).

Minarettes® are slender, columnar fruit trees which bear their fruits on short spurs along the length of a vertical stem rather than on long spreading branches. They are perfect for today's smaller gardens because they can be planted as close as 60-90cm (2-3ft) apart as well as being ideal for growing in tubs on patios or balconies. When mature, Minarette® trees are 1.8-2.4m (6-8ft) tall and crop prolifically.   A large range of apples, pears, plums, gages, damsons and cherries are available as Minarettes®.

Autumn

Sorbus (Rowan) species

Callicarpa americana.

Coton-easter species.

Euonymus species.

Berberis species.

Ornamental Grasses - Stipa,
Pennisetum and
Carex species.

Sedum species.

Knautia species in Wildflowers

Michaelmas Daisy -
Aster species,
Symphyo-trichum species.

Sanguisorbia species

Goldcrest, Firecrest, Fieldfare, Redwing, Waxwing, Tawny Owl, Robin

Clean out nestboxes and put up new ones.

Prune shrubs and trim hedges. Leave berrying shrubs alone until birds have picked them clean.

If you are thinking about construction work, this is the time since there will be little disruption to birds.

Do not be too snip-happy with the secateurs. Leave stems of herbaceous plants such as Asters, Globe Thistle and Goldenrod as long as you can. Not only will birds have the seeds, but Wrens and Blackbirds will use the shelter the stems provide to move around the garden in search of insects.

Keep the bird table topped up with fallen fruit and water. Leaving fruit on the ground will always attract hungry birds, too.

Winter

Malus species (Crab Apple, like
Malus floribunda, Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet',
Malus x robusta 'Red Sentinel')

Pyracantha species.

Ilex species.

Hedera species.

Pennisetum species.

Phlomis species.

Dipsacus species in Wildflowers.

Cynara cardunculus

Grey Heron, Kingfisher,
Jay,
Nuthatch,
Fieldfare,
Redwing,
Tit,
Long-tailed Tit,
Starling,
Chaffinch,
Greenfinch

Leave things alone in the border. Do not cut back any late-flowering perennials until late winter, so that they can offer shelter for small birds and insects.

Leave the seed heads of Echinacea, Sanguisorba, Aster and Rudbeckia until midwinter. Seed-eating birds will nibble their way through them as winter progresses.

Leave any leftover Apples and Pears and other fruit for the birds.

Predators
With somehing like 7,000,000 cats in the UK, there is somewhere between 30,000,000 and 75,000,000 garden birds a year that get caught and killed.
Using a special cat deterrent that emits a high-pitched sound inaudible to humans is reputed to be effective - CATwatch the RSPB approved ultrasound cat deterrenr to keep cats away from the garden,
as is placing 2 bells on the collar of a cat, which helps alert the birds to their presence.
Only let the cats out during the day. If you are not the cat owner and want to discourage them from visiting, put half full plastic bottles in the border of a garden. This is something that game keepers do as the light reflection is supposed to deter other animals.

Websites
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - rspb.org.uk

British Garden Birds - garden-birds.co.uk

Birdspot - birdspot.co.uk

Birds and Blooms - birdsandblooms.com

National Audubon Society - audubon.org

Light Sandy Soil is usually fairly infertile, and it also dries out quickly. In such cases, use drought-tolerant plants, such as ones that grow in dry soil conditions (see plants in the Dry section of the Moisture column of the soil type, aspect and moisture list page) and also do the following actions, since any nutrients in the soil are usually washed out very quickly.

Acid soil is most common in places that experience heavy rainfall and have moister environments. Areas in red have acidic soil, areas in yellow are neutral and areas in blue have alkaline soil in the World Map. Find Me Plants has further details on other plants for acidic soils, when you set Soil Type in Part 1: Surveying the planting area to Sandy/Gritty, or Light Sand or Stony/Sub-Soil.

Action to assist in Light Sandy soil maintenance:-

• Mulch the beds with a 4 inch (100mm) deep layer of Spent Mushroom Compost to improve fertility and drainage; preferably in the Autumn in between the existing plants, and top it up each year after that with a Bark Mulch instead (available from garden centres or Gardenscape). This will stop the Light Sandy soil from drying out through the action of sun and wind on its surface, and to provide carbon to aid in soil formation and fertility. Adding clay in water solution as a spray will also greater improve the soil structure.
• If starting a new lawn or bed, add the 4 inch layer of Spent Mushroom Compost mulch and rotovate that in. If you also add an inch deep of clay, before rotovating that in as well, then that will provide part of the glue in creating a better soil from the sand. Heel and rake the ground for a new turf (or to be seeded) lawn, before laying or seeding it. Insert plants in new bed, before installing the irrigation system and then applying a 4 inch layer of this mulch on top of it.
• Spread 5Kg of Dolodust (Dolomitic Lime), with 2Kg of Maxicrop Seaweed Meal over a 25 square yard or 25 square metre lawn area, each April. This will improve the fertility of the lawn by providing calcium and the trace elements (See What is Soil Texture Page and How are chemicals stored and released from soil Page in the Soil Section for further details). Spreading the same amount of Dolomitic Lime and Maxicrop Seaweed Meal on the flower/vegetable beds at the same time would also be beneficial.

Sources of further information:-

• Notcutts Catalogue of 1994 - retail catalogue of their plants for sale. It has Plants for a Purpose pages including one on Light sandy dry soil including trees for gravel workings.
   
• The Royal Horticultural Society Gardeners' Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Editor-in-Chief Christopher Brickell. Published by Dorling Kindsley Limited. Reprinted and updated 1990, 2/1990, 3/1990. ISBN 0-86318-386-7. The Planter's Guide suggests lists of plants that are suitable for growing in particular situations, or that have special uses or characteristics including Plants for Sandy Soil.
   

Gardening in Sandy Soil by C.L. Fornari. A very useful book and one you can have on a Kindle in December 2017. A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin with this Index:-

• The benefits of Sandy Soil
  • Drainage
  • Root Penetration
  • Air Circulation
  • Digging
• The disadvantages of gardening in sand
  • Rapid water loss
  • Nutrient loss
• Strategies for Success: using amendmentss
  • Soil amendments
  • Green amendments
  • Amending new beds
  • Amending established beds
• Fertilizing
• Mulch
  • Mulching materials
  • How much mulch
  • Problems with mulch
• Choosing plants
  • Sandy soils and pH
  • Moisture-loving plants in sandy soil
  • Vegetables in sandy soil
• Plants for sandy soils - I have bought the book and read it, but unfortunately I have not added its recommended plants.
  I would at least recommend that its list is carefully looked at by the Americans; for whom it was written.
  • Ground covers and Grasses
  • Annuals
  • Perennials
  • Shrubs and Trees

Action to assist in other soil types in:-

• Read 'Explaination of how soil works' and 'Negative impacts on the soil food web' for Any and Peat
• Chalk
• Clay
• Acid (Lime-Free)

The following is from "A land of Soil, Milk and Honey" by Bernard Jarman in Star & Furrow Issue 122 January 2015 - Journal of the Biodynamic Association;_

"Soil is created in the first place through the activity of countlesss micro-organisms, earthworms and especially the garden worm (Lumbricus terrestris). This species is noticeably active in the period immediately before and immediately after mid-winter. In December we find it (in the UK) drawing large numbers of autumn leaves down into the soil. Worms consume all kinds of plant material along with sand and mineral substances. In form, they live as a pure digestive tract. The worm casts excreted from their bodies form the basis of a well-structured soil with an increased level of available plant nutrients:-

• 5% more nitrogen,
• 7% more phosphorous and
• 11% more potasium than the surrounding topsoil.

Worms also burrow to great depths and open up the soil for air and water to penetrate, increasing the scope of a fertile soil.

After the earthworm, the most important helper of the biodynamic farmer is undoubetdly

• the cow. A cow's digestive system is designed to make use of roughage such as grass and hay. Cow manure is arguably the most effective and long lasting of all the fertilizing agents at the farmer's disposal and has been found to have a carry over effect of at least 4 years. It is also one of the most balanced and it contains no grass seeds, since they have been completely digested.
• Pig manure is rich in potassium, attractive to earthworms and beneficial on sandy soils.
• Horse manure increases soil activity and stimulates strong healthy growth, but it does contain grass seed and other seeds."
   

Plant Combinations for Sandy Soil

Action to assist in Light Sandy soil maintenance is given in the row above and this is required annually.

Plants

Comments

Sun lovers - You can achieve a design with grey-leaved plants, interspersed with smaller or larger groups of taller perennials and a single shrub. Because the grey-leaved plants predominate they are used as a basis, with suggestions for plants which can be combined with them.

Grey Foliage with white and yellow flowers and plants that combine with these

• Yarrow (Achillea chrysocoma),
• pearl everlasting (Anaphalis),
• mouse ear (Cerastium),
• Raoulia,
• catchfly (Silene uniflora 'Robin Whitebreast') and the
• bunnies' ears (Stachys byzantina 'Silver Carpet')

all have grey leaves and either white, yellow or inconspicuous flowers.

If the above plants are planted together; the effect of different heights and size of leaf will be rather messy and unclear. Plant the above as the background ground cover and the ones in the next column within that background.

• Acaena buchanii and Acaena magellanica being silver-leaved species of the pirri-pirri-bur form pretty vigorous ground cover. Add a few groups of grey-leaved grasses for their contrasting shape to make an interesting picture. The ground-covering Festuca glauca and Koeleria glauca are especially suitable, to which can be added the tall, also grey-leafed blue oat grass Helictotrichon sempervirens, for a striking feature.
• Gypsophila, with its delicate flowers, can best be planted next to a plant which has a strong leaf structure, for example Geranium renardii.
• For a taller feature among the grey-leafed ground cover you can choose one of the beautiful cultivars of the common German flag, Iris germanica. The tall, sword-shaped leaves which are grey-green, stand out very well here.
• The Yucca has a similar structure, forming a stout clump of leaves with tall sprays of white flowers.
• The tall mulleins, especially Verbascum bombyciferum, with splendid rosettes of grey, felty leaves and yellow flowers like huge torches that can easily reach 60 inches (150 cms), a real must.
• Annuals that deserve a place in this predominantly grey planting include Gazania pinnata with yellow flowers and the white Senecio cineraria.

The above comes from Ground Cover. How to use flowering and foliage plants to cover areas of soil by Mineke Kurpershoek. Published by Rebo Productions Ltd in 1997. ISBN 1 901094 41 3

Contents

• Chapter 1 What are ground-cover plants?
• Chapter 2 Plant combinations for normal garden soil
• Chapter 3 Plant combinations for sandy soil
• Chapter 4 Plant combinations for clay soil
• Chapter 5 Woodland, heaths and wet soil
• Chapter 6 Shrubs for slopes and large beds
• Chapter 7 The A to Z of plants for ground cover.
   

To locate mail-order nursery for plants from the UK in this gallery try using search in RHS Find a Plant.

To locate plants in the European Union (EU) try using Search Term in Gardens4You and Meilland Richardier in France.

To locate mail-order nursery for plants from America in this gallery try using search in Plant Lust.

To locate plant information in Australia try using Plant Finder in Gardening Australia.

To see what plants that I have described in this website see
Plant Botanical 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

Top ten plants that are bad for bees from Countryfile Magazine

"Lavender, alliums, fuschias, sweet peas - keen gardeners know the very best flowers to entice bees to their gardens. But what about plants that are  bad for bees? Here is our expert guide to the top ten plants that you should avoid to keep bees happy and buzzing, plus the perfect alternatives.

1. Rhododendron
Spectacular and beautiful, not many people know the common rhododendron hides a poisonous secret – its nectar is toxic to bees. It’s common practice for beekeepers to keep their hives closed until the flowering season is over. The resulting honey from rhododendrons has also been known to contaminate honey, making it unsafe for humans to eat.
Alternative: Clematis have beautiful, wide flowers and are 100 per cent bee-friendly.

2. Azalea
Rhododendron’s sister, azaleas are also toxic to bees.
Alternative: Foxgloves (Digitalis) are a bee favourite and despite being poisonous if consumed by humans, they are both honey and bee safe.

3. Trumpet flower, or angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens)
Though ornamental and sweet smelling, the trumpet flower’s nectar can cause brood death in bees and is best avoided.
Alternative: Try honeysuckle (Lonicera) instead for deliciously scented results.

4. Oleander (Nerium oleander)
Harmful to butterflies as well as bees, oleander has a severe effect on hives. Nectar taken to the hive concentrates as it dries out, which increases the amount of toxins and usually results in a mass hive wipeout. 
Alternative: Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are equally as bright and arguably more attractive in small or large gardens.

5. Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
Pleasantly aromatic and attractive as they are, bees are often poisoned by the vines and flowers of the yellow jessamine and its toxins are said to be as severe as hemlock.
Alternative: Plant Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) in tubs and along fences for a pretty, easy-to-grow substitute.

6. Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Part of the blueberry family, the mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub with sweet, white or pink flowers when in bloom. Pretty they may be, but the honey produced by mountain laurel is toxic to humans and is often bitter tasting.
Alternative: Lilacs (Syringa) are both beautiful and wonderfully sweet smelling. Easy to grow and are loved by bees and butterflies. 

7. Stargazer lily (Lilium 'Stargazer')
Stunning but deadly to cats, stargazer lilies’ pollen is poisonous to bees.
Alternative: Hollyhocks (Alcea) are impressive and just as beautiful as the stargazer but bee-friendly.

8. Heliconia Exotic and interesting, heliconia, or lobster-claws as its sometimes called, is very toxic to bees. You should not prune your heliconias, as the 'stem' is actually made up of rolled leaf bases and the flowers emerge from the top of these 'pseudostems'. However, each stem will only flower once, so after flowering you can cut that stem out. This is recommended, to encourage more flowering, to increase airflow in between the stems of your plant, and also to generally tidy it up and improve the appearance.
Alternative: Although not quite as exotic, hyacinths are fragrant, gorgeous and easy to grow. Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous; they contain oxalic acid. Handling hyacinth bulbs can cause mild skin irritation. Protective gloves are recommended.

9. Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia -
All parts of the plant contain andromedotoxin and are considered poisonous)
Not to be confused with the herb, bog rosemary is acutely poisonous and the honey produced from the nectar of Andromeda polifolia contains high enough levels of grayanotoxin to cause full body paralysis and potentially fatal breathing difficulties due to diaphragm paralysis.
Alternative: Why not try planting a classic rosemary bush (Rosmarinus officinalis) – aromatic, resilient and favoured by bees.

10. Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)
Now most commonly recognised as decorative Christmas flowers, amaryllis are gorgeous in bloom but their pollen produces toxic honey. Bulbs, chewing or ingestion of the bulbs, leaves or flowers poisons goats and sheep with Lycorine (An emetic) and small amounts of alkaloids.
Alternative: Dahlias are a highlight of late summer gardens. Beautiful and simple to grow, dahlias often flower until the first frosts of the year."

This is another list of Plants toxic to bees, which includes:-
Aesculus californica,
Angelica triqueta,
Asclepias species,
Astralagus species,
Astralagus lentiginosus,
Camellia thea,
Corynocarpus laevigata,
Astralagus miser v. serotibus,
Cuscuta species,
Cyrilla racemiflora,
Ochrama lagopus,
Solanum nigram,
Sophora microphylla,
Tillia species,
Veratrum cailfornicum,
Zygadenus cenesosus.

The following details come from Cactus Art:-

"A flower is the the complex sexual reproductive structure of Angiosperms, typically consisting of an axis bearing perianth parts, androecium (male) and gynoecium (female).    

Bisexual flower show four distinctive parts arranged in rings inside each other which are technically modified leaves: Sepal, petal, stamen & pistil. This flower is referred to as complete (with all four parts) and perfect (with "male" stamens and "female" pistil). The ovary ripens into a fruit and the ovules inside develop into seeds.

Incomplete flowers are lacking one or more of the four main parts. Imperfect (unisexual) flowers contain a pistil or stamens, but not both. The colourful parts of a flower and its scent attract pollinators and guide them to the nectary, usually at the base of the flower tube.

Androecium (male Parts or stamens)
It is made up of the filament and anther, it is the pollen producing part of the plant.
Anther This is the part of the stamen that produces and contains pollen. 
Filament This is the fine hair-like stalk that the anther sits on top of.
Pollen This is the dust-like male reproductive cell of flowering plants.

Gynoecium (female Parts or carpels or pistil)
 It is made up of the stigma, style, and ovary. Each pistil is constructed of one to many rolled leaflike structures.
Stigma
This is the part of the pistil  which receives the pollen grains and on which they germinate. 
Style
This is the long stalk that the stigma sits on top of ovary. 
Ovary
The part of the plant that contains the ovules. 
Ovule
The part of the ovary that becomes the seeds. 

Petal 
The colorful, often bright part of the flower (corolla). 
Sepal 
The parts that look like little green leaves that cover the outside of a flower bud (calix). 
(Undifferentiated "Perianth segment" that are not clearly differentiated into sepals and petals, take the names of tepals.)"

The following details come from Nectary Genomics:-

"NECTAR. Many flowering plants attract potential pollinators by offering a reward of floral nectar. The primary solutes found in most nectars are varying ratios of sucrose, glucose and fructose, which can range from as little a 8% (w/w) in some species to as high as 80% in others. This abundance of simple sugars has resulted in the general perception that nectar consists of little more than sugar-water; however, numerous studies indicate that it is actually a complex mixture of components. Additional compounds found in a variety of nectars include other sugars, all 20 standard amino acids, phenolics, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, vitamins, organic acids, oils, free fatty acids, metal ions and proteins.

NECTARIES. An organ known as the floral nectary is responsible for producing the complex mixture of compounds found in nectar. Nectaries can occur in different areas of flowers, and often take on diverse forms in different species, even to the point of being used for taxonomic purposes. Nectaries undergo remarkable morphological and metabolic changes during the course of floral development. For example, it is known that pre-secretory nectaries in a number of species accumulate large amounts of starch, which is followed by a rapid degradation of amyloplast granules just prior to anthesis and nectar secretion. These sugars presumably serve as a source of nectar carbohydrate.

WHY STUDY NECTAR? Nearly one-third of all worldwide crops are dependent on animals to achieve efficient pollination. In addition, U.S. pollinator-dependent crops have been estimated to have an annual value of up to $15 billion. Many crop species are largely self-incompatible (not self-fertile) and rely almost entirely on animal pollinators to achieve full fecundity; poor pollinator visitation has been reported to reduce yields of certain species by up to 50%."

The following details about DOUBLE FLOWERS comes from Wikipedia:-

"Double-flowered" describes varieties of flowers with extra petals, often containing flowers within flowers. The double-flowered trait is often noted alongside the scientific name with the abbreviation fl. pl. (flore pleno, a Latin ablative form meaning "with full flower"). The first abnormality to be documented in flowers, double flowers are popular varieties of many commercial flower types, including roses, camellias and carnations. In some double-flowered varieties all of the reproductive organs are converted to petals — as a result, they are sexually sterile and must be propagated through cuttings. Many double-flowered plants have little wildlife value as access to the nectaries is typically blocked by the mutation.

There is further photographic, diagramatic and text about Double Flowers from an education department - dept.ca.uky.edu - in the University of Kentucky in America.

"Meet the plant hunter obsessed with double-flowering blooms" - an article from The Telegraph.

THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 10,000:-

• THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE 2 QUARTZ GRAIN SIBLINGS, and
• HOW ROOTS OF PLANTS ARE IN CONTROL IN THE SOIL
• before continuing in this website.

Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources)

Choose 1 of these different Plant selection Methods:-

1. Choose a plant from 1 of 53 flower colours in the Colour Wheel Gallery.

2. Choose a plant from 1 of 12 flower colours in each month of the year from 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery.

3. Choose a plant from 1 of 6 flower colours per month for each type of plant:-

Aquatic
Bedding
Bulb
Climber
Conifer
Deciduous Shrub
Deciduous Tree
Evergreen Perennial
Evergreen Shrub
Evergreen Tree
Hedging
Herbaceous Perennial
Herb
Odds and Sods
Rhododendron nectar is toxic to bees
Rose
Soft Fruit
Top Fruit
Wild Flower

4. Choose a plant from its Flower Shape:-

Shape, Form
Index
Flower Shape

5. Choose a plant from its foliage:-

Bamboo
Conifer
Fern
Grass
Vegetable

6. There are 6 Plant Selection Levels including Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers in
Plants Topic.

or

7. when I do not have my own or ones from mail-order nursery photos , then from March 2016, if you want to start from the uppermost design levels through to your choice of cultivated and wildflower plants to change your Plant Selection Process then use the following galleries:-

• Create and input all plants known by Amateur Gardening inserted into their Sanders' Encyclopaedia from their edition published in 1960 (originally published by them in 1895) into these
  • Stage 1 - Garden Style Index Gallery,
    then
  • Stage 2 - Infill Plants Index Gallery being the only gallery from these 7 with photos (from Wikimedia Commons) ,
    then
  • Stage 3 - All Plants Index Gallery with each plant species in its own Plant Type Page followed by choice from Stage 4a, 4b, 4c and/or 4d REMEMBERING THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE SELECTION FROM THE CHOICES MADE IN STAGES 1 AND 2
  • Stage 4a - 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery,
  • Stage 4b - 12 Foliage Colours per Month Index Gallery with
  • Stage 4c - Cultivation, Position, Use Index Gallery and
  • Stage 4d - Shape, Form Index Gallery
  • Unfortunately, if you want to have 100's of choices on selection of plants from 1000's of 1200 pixels wide by up to 16,300 pixels in length webpages, which you can jump to from almost any of the pages in these 7 galleries above, you have to put up with those links to those choices being on
    • the left topic menu table,
    • the header of the middle data table and on
    • the page/index menu table on the right of every page of those galleries.

There are other pages on Plants which bloom in each month of the year in this website:-

• 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
• Plants Blue, Orange, Red, Yellow, White, Other Colours which lead on to other pages
• Colour Wheel - All Flowers per Month 12
• Bedding
• Bulb
• Climber
• Deciduous Shrub
• Deciduous Tree
• Evergreen Perennial
• Evergreen Shrub
• Evergreen Tree
• Herbaceous Perennial
• Rhododendron
• Rose
• Wild Flower

• Plants for Cut Flowers in
  January
  February
  March
  April
  May
  June
  July
  August
  September
  October
  November
  December
• Climber 3 sector Vertical Plant System with flowers in
  Jan,
  Feb,
  Mar,
  Apr,
  May 1, 2
  Jun,
  Jul,
  Aug,
  Sep,
  Oct,
  Nov,
  Dec

• Indoor Bulbs for
  December
  January
  February
• Indoor Bulbs for
  March
  April
  May
• Indoor
  Bulbs for
  June
  July
  August
• Indoor Bulbs for
  September
  October
  November
• Plant Bloom
  Dec-Jan
  Feb-Mar
• Plant Bloom
  Apr-May
  Jun-Aug
• Plant Bloom
  Sep-Oct
  Nov-Dec

Pruning

Pruning Made Easy - A gardener's Visual Guide to when and how to prune everything, from flowers to trees by Lewis Hill. Published by Storey Publishing as one of its Storey's Gardening Skills Illustrated Series in 1997.
ISBN 1-58017-007-2. Lewis Hill owned Berryhill Nursery.

The illustrations combined with the text tell you precisely what to do in the above book.

I have spent a long time investigating the state of the trees in pavements within Funchal in Madeira and I have taken 100's of photos to show what happens when any tree is pruned and allowed to rot followed by the inside rot being set light to. You can look at the welcome page, and below this leads on to the start page of the 100's of photos linked to in the comments on cavity repair, for further details.
 

• This information about pruning is very useful to people not living in England in 2023, since by 2030 much of England is going to run out of water and therefore the English population that it affects will have to move out of their existing homes into another country; leading to a major financial mortgage and housing value crash in England.
  Southern Water Authority is responsible for water undertakings in Medway from 1973.
  "Twenty-five years from now we will have lost a third of our water sources through climate change, seen a reduction in the amount of water we are allowed to take from rivers and underground sources, and our population will have grown by 15%. Without action, we predict a supply and demand deficit by 2030 equivalent to around 50% of our current supply. Our Plan proposes 43 performance commitments for the five-year period from 2020 to 2025, directly aligned to 10 key outcomes to create a resilient water future." from Southern Water. Southern Water has £5,100,000,000 of debt, so how does it intend to execute these performance commitments?
  Medway has a population of 274,015 in 2014, which has grown to 280,000 by January 2023. So Medway has increased its population by more than 2% in 9 years where our water supply has shrunk by more than 18%. See further details about 'Lack of drinking water from Southern Water by 2030' in Mission Statement page.
  Since West Midlands, London, Parts of the South West, East Midlands, East of England and South East regions of England are at risk of running out of water by 2030, cemeteries and churchyards in England will then be abandoned as its 35,000,000 population has to leave.
  From South East Rivers Trust report on Water, water everywhere ... or is it? - "By 2050, the South East of England will need to find at least an additional one billion litres of water per day to meet demand in the region. That is about a fifth of the water used in the region today, and equivalent to the water use of seven million people per day.  Demand for water will exceed supply by 2030."
  Since the privatised water companies in England are so much in debt (due to asset stripping and borrowing to pay the high dividends and payments in salary and bonuses to their staff during the 30 years of privatisation), it is extremely doubtful if anything has been done about it for the last 30 years or for the next 7.
  They and the government blame the increasing population in overusing the decreasing
  a) by 33% of the rainfall water resource plus
  b) the reduction that the water companies will be allowed to take from rivers and underground sources plus
  c) the reduction in the rainfall being allowed into the ground by the new buildings, roads etc covering it.
  Further details concerning the involvement of the government in this fraud; is on the Welcome Page;
  for those from America, Canada and other countries who will experience the loss in their retirement pension value from this future market crash in the UK.

Chapter

Contents

Comments

Reasons to prune

Pruning with a purpose.
Pruning when planting or transplanting.
Pruning to train.
Pruning to control size.
Pruning for appearance.
Pruning for health.
Pruning for production.
Pruning for rejuvenation.
Pruning to create a barrier.

Tools and Equipment

Clippers and loppers.
Sharpening pruning shears.
Shearing equipment.
Tree paints and sealers.
Tool storage.

Pruning Methods

A proper pruning cut.
Pruning at different life stages.
When to prune.
Training.
Shearing.
Pinching.
Removing large limbs.
Beheading.
Disbudding.
Thinning fruit.
Basal pruning.
Root pruning.

Ornamental trees and shrubs

Pruning a bare-root shrub.
Pruning container-grown or balled-and-burlapped plants.
Pruning flowering trees.
Pruning Flowering Shrubs.
Pruning a viburnum.
Pruning a lilac.
Restoring an old flowering tree or shrub.
Turning a shrub into a tree.
Pruning shrubs that produce fruit or berries.
Plants with coloured bark.
Shrubs and trees that need special care in pruning.
Pruning roses.
General rose maintenance.
Pruning a hybrid tea rose.
Pruning shrub and species roses.
Pruning climbers and ramblers.
Pruning tree roses.
Choosing a tree or shrub.

From shrubs and trees for the smaller garden by Frances Perry. Published by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd in 1961:-

When pruning trees.
Never leave dead, damaged or diseased branches. Remove these as soon as possible or the trouble may spread. Paint with a wood preservative such as Stockholm Tar any cuts over 0.5 inch (1 cm) in diameter. Pine tar is a product from our trees. By treating wood with pine tar, you are adding natural substances that the tree itself uses to protect itself from e.g. mildew and algae. Impregnation with pine tar also prevents moisture penetration like Imprex 845, instead allowing the wood to breathe. This helps prevent the wood from drying out and cracking.
Remember cherries, prunus and even rhododendrons can contract Silver Leaf disease. Never leave dead wood lying about and in an infected area paint the wounds and prune between May and July (when the spores of Silver Leaf are inactive).
Remove large branches in at least two sections to prevent damage farther down to the trunk or lower branches.
NEVER LEAVE STUMPS.

Shrub pruning.
Shrubs should be carefully examined once a year.
Start by checking over the bush and removing broken, dead or diseased branches. Old, worn-out and weak shoots should next receive attention and must be taken out entirely or shortened back to a younger or stronger shoot. One important object of thinning is to admit light and air and many shrubs which have become leggy grow out again freely from the older stems when cut hard back at the right season.
Further pruning of deciduous shrubs will be closely related to their method and time of flowering, a point on which the gardener must satisfy himself with every species he grows.
a. Shrubs flowering in early spring on wood made the previous year. Examples - Jsminum nudiflorum, Forsthia suspensa, Clematis montana and Prunus triloba plena. As soon as the blooms fade, cut back the flowering shoots, almost to the old wood. New shoots will soon break and thus receive the longest possible season in which to grow and ripen. These in turn will carry the next season's flowers.
b. Shrubs flowering from April to July on wood made the previous year. Examples - Lilacs, ribes, spiraeas and philadelphus. These require very little pruning and often flower well for years with little attention. Thin crowded shoots and remove weak twigs, and if the bush is traggly and over-tall (a common fault with lilacs and philadelphus) remove a few of the worn-out branches at ground level and shorten back the top flowering shoots to strong young growths on the main branches. This may spoil next season's flowers but the plant will eventually benefit and be brought back to more reasonable proportions.
c. Shrubs flowering in late summer on growths of the current year. Examples - Bufddleia davidii, Tamarix pentandra, Clematis jackmannii and Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles.' In order to encourage strong flower shoots, cut back all last year's flowering stems to within a few inches (cms) of the old wood in January or February, that is before growth commences.

Evergreen shrubs.
Do not prune evergreens in winter, but in spring, just before the recommencement of growth, or, with plants like Berberis stenophylla (which blooms in April) immediately after the flowers fade.
Autumn flowering heaths may be improved by having the old flowering shoots trimmed back in spring. Cutting them over with shears is usually sufficient.

Pruning and clipping hedges.
Freshly planted hedges must not be allowed to run up until a thick dense bottom has formed. Cut the plants back hard and repeatedly until this is achieved. Height will come later but in future years it will be found difficult to induce new shoots from the bottom of a thin hedge.
Prune evergreen hedges hard in spring when the fresh new growths quickly mask the scars of cutting. Very old yew or holly hedges should not be treated too drastically. Reduce them gradually, the top one year and one side in each of the next 2 years.
Young, fast-growing hedges need 3 or 4 clippings during the season, and mature hedges 1 or 2 - in spring and late summer. The clipping of beech, hornbeam and similar deciduous hedges is best performed in winter or in August. At the latter season beech produces short new growths which retain their leaves during the winter.
Ivy on walls or fences may be clipped with shears or a hedge trimmer in April, but it is better to use secateurs in August to remove any long, loose shoots.
Shrubs grown for the beauty of their stems in winter, notably Salix britzensis, Salix vitellina and certain Cornus species should be treated like the deciduous shrubs in category c. The object is to obtain as much new growth as possible each year and to that end the previous year's shoots are spurred back hard in March to within 1 or 2 eyes of the old wood.

Pruning hints.
Prune so that the maximum time is allowed for fresh growth before a new flowering season comes round. All tools used for pruning should be kept very sharp."

Shade trees

Basic tree shapes.
Choosing the proper tree.
Pruning at planting time.
Maintenance pruning.
Basal pruning.
Care of mature trees.
Tree surgery.
Cavity repair.

Cavity repair.
"1. Clean out the cavity carefully. Remove all dirt, old bark, insects, and rotten wood right down to soil wood, much as a dentist cleans out a tooth prior to filling it, If possible, flush out the area with clean water." Fine.

"2. Smooth out the rough edges with a heavy-grit file" No, that would tend to remove the remains of the branch collar and further damage the tree.

"3. Fill the hole with a good tree-cavity sealer. Asphalt compounds, such as those used in patching driveways and roofs, are suitable..."
No, asphalt as well as concrete are solid and may shrink slightly as they dry out leaving a gap where the water, insects can get back in and rot the tree.

I suggest the following:-
"Solution to holes in trees.
Remove ... rot within the hole. Then blast the remaining rot with a high pressure water hose to try and clear more of the rot. Spray with Boron (a water based preservative kills only wood boring insects - not spiders, birds or bats) as a treatment for insect, wet and dry rot attack. While it is still wet, apply a layer of Expanding Foam to the bottom of the hole. Immediately place bottles on this and allow to set for 5 minutes. Apply another layer of expanding foam and another layer of bottles. The aim of the bottles is to occupy space, they are not there as a deterrent. That is why the foam has to be in contact with the inside of the tree not the glass bottle. The poisons in the foam will kill anything eating it and the foam does stick better when wet with water. Keep up this operation until the hole is covered. 
Leave to set and then paint the foam surface twice with a recommended water-based, but not oil-based, sealant.

Solutions to stop creating holes in trees.
When a branch is cut off, remember to cut it off on the other side of the Branch Collar - see figure in next row. (See Figure 1 - Optimum position of the final pruning cut in "Guide to Tree Pruning" by the Arboricultural Association which shows the branch collar within and outside the tree. My Comments: I disagree with their recommendation not to apply wound paint as you can see the result if you do not paint trees which are dehydrated, starved and gassed as these trees in the pavements of Madeira are.) 
Once that is done, then immediately apply Boron and 2 coats of protective sealant as used for holes in trees above." from Photo Damage to Trees in Madeira Page 1.

I also saved the yew tree in my local churchyard.

Branch Collar

Pruning evergreens

What is an evergreen.
Needled evergreens.
Shearing basics.
How to shear.
Shearing specimen evergreens.
A shearing timetable.
Shearing dwarf evergreens.
Creating a dwarf evergreen.
Shearing windbreaks and screens.
Pruning needled evergreens.
Broadleaf evergreens.
Renewal pruning.

Pruning hedges

Starting a new hedge.
Shearing a hedge.
Making an arch in your hedge.
Reviving an old hedge.
Formal hedges.
Hedges for barriers.
Flower- and berry-producing hedge plants.
Hedges needing careful maintenance.
Annual hedges.
Low-maintenance hedges.

Artistic pruning

Topiary.
Topiary frames.
Espalier.
Creating a cordon.
English fences.
Pollarding and coppicing.
Pruning a Japanese-style garden.

Pruning fruit trees

Pruning a bare-root fruit tree at planting time.
Pruning a young fruit tree.
Fruit-tree pruning styles.
Prune for quality fruit.
Repair pruning.
Prune to manage your tree's size.
Prune to keep your tree healthy.
Managing suckers.
Dealing with sunscald.
When to prune fruit trees.
Pruning dwarf fruit trees.
Pruning to make trees bear.
The old orchard.
Pruning sanitation.
Pruning spur-type fruit trees.
Specific trees: apple; apricot; cherry; citrus; fig; peach and nectarine; pear; plum; quince; tropical and semitropical fruits.
Cutting grafting wood.

A solution for grass round trees depriving them of water and nutrients; using the expertise of DLF.
If the turf was uplifted during August/September using a fork for a distance of 24 inches (60 cms) round the base of the tree trunk in the grass and placed upside down beyond that 24 inches, that would expose the roots of that tree. 10 grammes of PM105 which is equal parts of Alsike White Clover, Red Clover, White Clover, Yellow Trefoil and Birdsfoot Trefoil could be added to a bucket, with 50 grammes of Rehofix MK1500 Bulking Granules (these are corn skin granules and biodegradable and used as a carrier for the PM105). This mixture could be mixed with 12 grammes of Groweb Tackifier (a gelling agent that when mixed with water, swells becoming highly viscous, binding the seed and the Rehofix and sand to the soil surface. It also stops anybody else from taking the seeds, whether it is wind, bird, or human). This is then distributed onto the exposed soil between the trunk and the water ring created by the overturned turf slabs. Then 2 bags of sharp sand are spread over the sown seed to prevent birds from eating the seeds and to cover the exposed roots of the tree. This is followed by spraying 2 gallons of water on top of the sand, and the wildflower seeds can then grow through the sand with the clover. The clover are legumes and would fertilise the tree roots. Since there is usually quite a bit of rain from October to March, irrigation of these wildflowers would be unnecessary and having grown during that autumn/winter period, these plants would probably be okay for the following spring/summer growing conditions. The replacement of the turf with these wildflowers would stop that area of turf from drinking all the rain that falls on it and if any fertiliser was applied on top of it, from it using all of it and the tree getting none.

Pruning small fruits

Grapes.
Pruning bare-root grapes at planting time.
The Kniffen system.
Pruning an old grapevine. The bush fruits: blueberry, cranberry, currant and gooseberry, elderberry.
The bramble fruits.
Maintenance pruning of brambles.
Strawberries.

Nut trees

Planting a nut tree.
Early training of nut trees.
Almond.
Black Walnut and Butternut.
Chestnut.
Filbert.
Hickory.
Pecan.
Walnut.

Vines and ground covers

Pruning a woody vine.
Pruning a wisteria.
Pruning clematis.
Climbing roses.
Rejuvenating an overgrown vine.
Working a remodeling or painting job around a vine.
Twining vine.
Clinging vines.
Annual vines.
Pruning ground covers.

Garden plants and houseplants

Reasons to prune perennials.
Perennial herb plants.
Perennial food plants.
Pruning Houseplants.
Prune to rejuvenate.
Hanging baskets.
Pruning for winter storage.
Root pruning.

Bonsai

Choosing your specimen.
Containers.
Equipment.
Soil mixture.
Planting.
Pruning at planting time.
Early training.
Maintenance pruning.
Care of your bonsai.
Root pruning and repotting.

BULB FLOWER SHAPE GALLERY PAGES

Number of Flower Petals

Petal-less

1

2

3

4

5

Above 5

Flower Shape - Simple

Stars with Single Flowers

Bowls

Cups and Saucers

Globes

Goblets and Chalices

Trumpets

Funnels

Flower Shape - Simple

Bells

Thimbles

Urns

Salverform

Flower Shape - Elabor-ated

Tubes, Lips and Straps

Slippers, Spurs and Lockets

Hats, Hoods and Helmets

Stan-dards, Wings and Keels

Discs and Florets

Pin-Cushions

Tufts and Petal-less Cluster

Flower Shape - Elabor-ated

Cushion

Umbel

Buttons with Double Flowers

Pompoms

Stars with Semi-Double Flowers

Natural Arrange-ments

Bunches, Posies and Sprays (Group)

Columns, Spikes and Spires

Whorls, Tiers and Cande-labra

Plumes and Tails

Chains and Tassels

Clouds, Garlands and Cascades

Sphere, Dome (Clusters), Drumstick and Plate