In moments of forgetfulness many gardeners still refer to hebe as veronica and, no matter what name we give them, most hail from New Zealand and are not entirely hardy in every garden. The majority flower white or a milky blue. A well-drained, not too rich soil is the best, and in my garden shelter from the dehydrating east winds of early spring is necessary.

On first aquaintance H. armstrongii looks like a refined dwarf conifer until July when the branches are starred with white flowers. A deep shining gold foliage intensifies with the first frost to a glorious bronze. After 12 years on my rock garden it has reached a towering 12 in. and is a delightful dwarf shrublet which is full of personality. Autumn Glory I grow tangled with the pink Calluna Camla (County Wicklow) which gives it the protection so essential in inland districts. The violet spikes open from July until the first frost to mingle with the pink spikes of heather.

Sooner or later the beginner is tempted by the very romance of the name to plant a representative of this genus. I succumbed some 20 years ago, and long since transferred my allegiance to rhododendrons as easily the best flowering evergreens.

I find it easy to become almost lyrical about the ling of our Yorkshire moors. Indeed, were the garden around my house left to nature, the patches of heathers from the moors nearby would soon creep back in. Gloriously informal and lending themselves to most planting schemes providing the soil is acid, they really are plants which thrive on the minimum of attention.

Except in the most favoured localities it is wiser to concentrate on varieties of Camellia japonica such as Adolphe Audusson, blood red, semi double; donckelarii, large crimson blooms flecked with white; elegans, deep peach pink, very large; and Lady Clare which is soft pink and although its rather spreading branches are often damaged under heavy snow, it is lovely as a wall plant.

Ponds if thought out right at the beginning will give years of enjoyment and will be a great asset for the owner. If I move home I add a pond to my garden as soon as possible because I just love ponds.

Is a pond appealing to you as a feature in your garden, then before you start your pond project make sure you plan it right by doing plenty of research so that you get it right first time.

If you get the planning and design right from the beginning then you will not have to many problems if any during your pond construction. So take this part of your project seriously and enjoy yourself from start to finish.

There are many things to consider when you install a pond in your garden. Where shall I put my pond. How big shall I make my pond. How deep do I go. This is why you need to research.

As you research you will find out things that you hadn’t even thought about, so the more you know up front the better you can plan your pond. There is nothing worse than finding out something that should have been done at the beginning of your project when you are half way through it or even further.

Even out of flower I find the gnarled, tortured branches of the wisteria attractive. In full blossom there can be few more beautiful climbing shrubs. One of the loveliest associations I have never seen was when wisteria was used to cover an arch over a clear pool and cascade.

The exquisite flowers, and soothing music of running water captured a peace denied most gardens. Where the twining shoots are aLlowed complete freedom, as when growing over a tall tree, little pruning is possible. Those growing, in a restricted area, like a house wall, will need restraint to produce a proper crop of blossoms.

I sually cut back the long shoots yielded annually to about 2 or 3 buds in August. Once a framework is established, spur pruning can be done in November, cutting to within 3 in. of the old Wood. A shrub of such quality should be given f:e choice position on a sun-baked wall so the wood will ripen thoroughly. The species most often planted, Wisteria chinensis (sinensis) has fragrant flowers which are deep mauve in colour and carried in long racemes.

Plant food as was mentioned, is commercially prepared and designed to replenish nutrient depletion in soil. These are made in tablet and powder form and they are water soluble and can be fed to plants in liquid form.

Plant food gives gardener many improvements over using manure or manure mixes. Firstly, they have no odor, and take up minimal space. Secondly, the mixes are scientifically prepared and come with instructions on how and when they should be used.

As with soil, you may want to mix your own, however there is no use in attempting to mix something that will unfortunately never live up to the commercial products on the market.

Plants you buy are already in the pot, and should be OK without extra additives for around a month or so. If this fails to make the plant thrive, or if the plant shows signs of distress, it is more likely something is wrong with the plant or its environment, and not due to lack of nutrients.

If within a month, the plant continues to be in distress, then you may need to feed it. Remember, when using a plant food, to use the instructions carefully, they are developed after careful research and designed to improve the health of your plants.

Spring and summer means the return of barbecues that most of us enjoy or the occasional evening entertaining friends or family in an outdoor setting. It is because we relish our outdoor life that we build and decorate our patio or deck.

Nothing will impress your guests more than providing them with comfortable and good looking patio furniture. The right selection will improve the look of you backyard or patio as well as provide the atmosphere you seek to impart.

Patio furniture should be chosen based on the following characteristics: Good quality to withstand the activities that we will impose on it Good looks to fit the decor of the house and the personality, style and taste of the owner

We have many materials to choose from today when buying patio furniture. Technology has improved all of them. Wood or wicker, metal or plastic, all offer some advantages and some disadvantages. The choice is really personal decision.

In this article I will only compare Teak wood and Cedar.

What would it take for you to have an excellent sunroom? Careful and meticulous planning is the key. There are actually so many things to do and consider before you achieve the sunroom you long dream of. Of course when building a sunroom, the cost is the very first thing that you can think of. For this, you need to consider the maintenance level of what the sunroom requires. Sunrooms that need less maintenance actually means that you can shell out lesser amount of money and in the long run, the lesser investment you can incur. Another important factor that one should consider is the flexibility that you need and want in the room. As such, you need to have proper lighting that can still be controlled in your room so you won’t suffer any discomfort because of the light’s brightness. Also, a flexible sunroom allows you to open and close the windows when needed. And lastly, it is important that the sunroom is properly secure. Let no intruder get inside your sunroom. To do this, you need to have a glass that is shatter resistant so break ins would be hard and impossible.

The earliest of many varieties to colour in autumn is A. palmatum heptalobum osakazuki, orange-scarlet against the silver of birch and pampas grass. Both this and the species grow slowly, very slowly with me, eventually to make trees 25 ft. high.

In April each branch forms into a plethora of white blossom and the autumn leaf colour is pale yellow, deepening to copper red. In my garden it has taken 20 years for this splendid shrub to reach 14 ft. Where necessary, pruning, of which it shows a remarkable tolerance, should be aimed at emphasising the umbrella shape, and winter is the best time to perform this operation.

Amelanchier x grandiflora is a hybrid with canadensis as one parent. I prefer the pink- flowered form listed by some nurseries as rubescens, by others as rosea. Pink candyfloss would be an exact description of this bush in full bloom, the autumn colour of the leaves being a rich deep red.

Andromeda polifOlia compacta could hardly be called versatile for it demands an acid peaty soil. The grey leaves with clusters of bright pink flowers from May onwards, sometimes into July, make this a splendid ground cover plant. I mulch the bed each year so that the branches root themselves to spread the group wider.

Berberis dictyophylla came to me as a chance seedling in a box of mixed shrubs. The plant is now 4 ft. high, the young shoots scarlet but covered with a grey bloom.

First Betula platyphylla japonica, the ghostly Japanese White Birch, a fine specimen tree up to 40 ft. high. I trim away the lower branches so that the white stem can be seen to full advantage. I saw the Western Chinese form, B. platyphylla szechuanica for the first time over a 3-acre expanse of lawn, the wide sweeping branches a graceful crown to the white column of the bole.

B. x irwinii will always be represented in person in my garden, or by one of its numerous offspring, for they rank with the choicest shrubs. The type is a dwarf bush, 3 ft. high, with arching branches. The flowers, which are crimson in bud and orange- yellow when they open, appear in April.

Erica flower varieties would include the following. First comes E. arborea alpina, with splendid foliage and white scented flowers in April. Good varieties of E. cornea include Eileen Porter, superb in rich carmine-red blossom, but slow growing; King George, a regular dwarf with deep pink flowers opening in December; Ruby Glow with dark red blossom and bronze foliage radiating warmth in every gleam of February sunshine; and Springwood White, a superb white form and the best for general planting. All the carnea varieties flower from December to April and can be propagated by self layers.

More Erica flower varieties includes E. cinerea, the Bell Heather, which likes its feet in cool moist soil and head in full sup. ,GoO’d varieties include C. D. Eason, deep pink; Darley Dale, red; and Eden Valley, soft lilac.

Both coccineum, which is identical in most respects, except hardiness, with its variety above, and lanceolatum are well worth a place even in the most select garden. The latter, unlike Norquinco Valley, does have its young growth cut by late frost but grows away strongly in spite of this. A well-drained soil amongst heathers will suit the species and varieties admirably. Propagation is by cuttings of firm young shoots from June to August.