Website of Ed Lloyd Jenkins - Cambridge, UK



6th July 2002
Sedum is classified as an 'ALPINE' but most of its varieties are easily grown; and since it propagates by division and is very shallow rooted, it forms a tightly knit, very tough 'carpet' over a substantial area in a few seasons. The leaves are usually grey green in colour and one gets flowers of many forms ranging from Yellow to Pink to Crimson, with the plants remaining well under 12 inches tall. What could be a better way of covering an otherwise bare patch in the garden?



7th August 2002
What about that Hollyhock!? Wow, it must be all of TWELVE FEET tall! It's the largest I've ever seen and must be due to the ideal soil and the shelter offered to the roots and lower stem in Tony and Dave's front garden. Also, the multitude of hanging baskets on Ian's house are giving us a wonderful display of colour this summer. Thanks Ian on behalf of all the street for the work you've put into the display.



20th August 2002
There is now a wonderful display of potted plants at Roger and Tom's house. This kind of array require a huge amount of attention, with almost constant watering,dead-heading and weeding! I know for a fact that Roger is outside tending the plants from 5.30 a.m. on most mornings but the result is certainly worth his while. The huge collection of PETUNIAS, PELLAGONIUMS, FUSCHIAS, LOBELIAS, FRENCH MARIGOLDS and HYDRANGERS present us with a magnificent sight every time we travel past. I should also mention the pale yellow and bright red 'HANGING' BEGONIAS in the pots in Denis's front garden at Number 1. These are giving a glorious display, and obtained originally by mail order I'm reliably informed. His Deep Purple DAHLIAS are also again giving us a great display this year and it looks promising for the yellow CHRYSANTHEMUMS to be a profusion later on.



3rd October 2002
Ed's front garden's produced a surprise this Autumn in the shape of a single, quite substantial, light-green stem about 18 inches tall with 8 flower stems radiating outwards from the top! The flowers,when fully formed, have long, tapering, deep pink petals which peal back to reveal long stamens. It's a real stunner! Although the flowers look rather Lily-like; the plant, which grows from a bulb, is not a member of that family group. It is in fact a 'NERINE'-sometimes called a 'Jersey Lily'-and tends to spread in favourable conditions. The base should be protected with mulch over cold winter months for the best results. Finally, welcome to Ksenja and Dusko, and Fione who've just moved into Brackyn. They're all keen gardeners, so no doubt will bring new ideas to the street.



24 October 2002
Amazing! Summer bedding plants are still in full bloom alongside Asters and Nerines.Once again we're having a relatively mild Autumn-though not as mild as last year.

9 December 2002
Our first frost last night! Bedding plants may survive if near the house or in a 'cold-frame'.See you next year.

22 January 2003
Well here we go again!Spring bulbs are already shooting,especially Snowdrops and Daffs.The recent hard frost killed off my Pellagonium(hardy down to 1Degree C)but I saved my Begonnia (hardy ONLY TO 10 Celsius!) by potting it up indoors!

1 March 2003
We've had a good display of Snowdrops this year and despite the recent cold snap Narcissae, Crocuses and early varieties of Tulip are already in bloom with some of us. The Daffodils in Ed's pots are disappointing however, with lots of leaves but only one flower stem so far. The theory is "too much feeding during their 'resting period' so the bulbs have not been 'switched on' to their 'reproduction mode' this time round!"

4 May 2003
There's so much to add since my last input. Irises and Aliums are almost in flower already. this is probably due to regular watering over the extended dry period and the recent heavy showers. Archie('Spar') has had his front garden flag-stoned and will be placing a display of summertime 'pots' there soon. We're all looking forward to this with anticipation. Ian will no doubt soon have his usual high quality hanging basket out for the summer and Ed's been busy redesigning and building his new back garden---with stepping stones leading away from the concrete path, through a new wrought-iron rose arch, around a water feature. New flower beds and a bench complete the transformation.

2 June 2003
Well Summer's here with a bang! there shouldn't be any more frosts now so it's time to think about getting those hanging-baskets outside. Ian's redesigned his front garden with paving stones interspaced with planting sites. It's very effective and the HEBE shrub and KNIPHOFIA(is the variety 'Royal Standard' or 'Atlanta?) look splendid. Ed has prepared a vegetable bed in his back garden and has planted Runner Beans, Broad Beans and Radish. He also has 6 Tomato plants in 2 growbags. It'll be interesting to see what success he has!

15 June 2003
Ed's Broad bean plants are already showing, his Runner beans have climbed almost to the tops of the 5ft pyramids and the Radish are ready for harvesting. Who said 'Veg. gardening was a chore'! Sweet William planted as seedlings in 2001 are now in flower, as is the Knautia 'perpourai'.A number of Delphiniums 'jack knifed' in the squall last weekend but careful staking and tieing has managed to save them. Tony and Dave have no less than 3 giant HollyHocks growing this year, and they're already 7 ft tall1 So we may see another record this time round. Ian's hanging baskets are now up and Roger has begun to set out his annual display. More on these next time.

18 July 2003
Tony and Dave's Hollyhock has now reached a new record height. It's at 14 feet!! Ed's Runner bean pods are now forming rapidly and some are almost ready for picking. Even the Broad bean flowers have set and pods are starting to form, despite their late sowing. Ian's Hanging Baskets are now in full flower and the sight is glorious. The display of potted Hydrangers in Roger and Tom's front garden certainly deserve a mention--there's such a wide range of colours and varieties on view. In fact the whole road is now looking more cheerful than at any time we can recall. It's great!

8 September 2003
Wow, what a long hot dry spell we've had this summer! It's been such a chore for all of us having to try to keep our garden plants in good condition in this weather. So much watering to do!!Ed's Runner beans, although being very good early on, have now become over greened with very little flowering. Apparently this is due to insufficient water over the dry period--several watering-cans full every evening has not been enough! Anyway he's now allowing the few remaining pods to mature to give seed for next year. On a better note his 'moneymaker' tomatoes have given a very heavy crop with dozens ripening together at present--(over 170 fruits from 6 outside plants). Ian has worked very hard to keep his hanging baskets in good order through the summer, but he'll have even more direct sunlight to contend with from now on, with Stephen doing a welcome job of removing his Arcasia tree from next door's front garden. Congratulations also to Tom and Roger for keeping their extensive display of potted plants going over such a trying period.

30 November 2003
What a long warm, dry summer we've had! It's needed watering on a daily basis to keep vegetables and flowers alive. Both Ian and Spar have managed to do this and kept their hanging baskets and potted plants in the best condition right through to late Oct. Also Tom and Roger kept their usual high standard of display with their wide range of potted plants. Ed's Runner beans gave a reasonably good harvest and his 'money maker' tomatoes were fantastically good-as most of the neighbours can testify! Unfortunately his front lawn has really suffered due to the very dry conditions but after pruning the Rowan tree to expose more lawn area, and aerating and autumn 'dressing' the lawn, the recent rain has dissolved the slow-release fertilizer and moss killer into the soil; hopefully to help give a decent grass covering again next year! It's interesting to see that Roger and Tom have now cleared their front garden pots of the summer plants and are leaving the seed-heads on their Hydrangers to help protect the plants from frost, as they are over wintering them outside this year.

2 February 2004
Despite the recent snow and lots of rain the Spring Bulbs are well advanced once again. Daffodils are already in bloom alongside Snowdrops, and Crocuses are also showing well above ground! Some minor wind-damage has occured due to recent high winds; for example, some plant-supporting canes have been blown over and string broken in places.

17 February 2004
Lots of Crocuses of many different colours are now in bloom in many of the front gardens in brackyn, and they're giving a fine display. Just what we need at this time of year! The Snowdrops are still in fine form and are a beautiful sight--especially when there are many growing close together-- as there are in some of Brackyn's front gardens. Many types of Daffodil (Narcissae) are continuing to come into flower quite early for this area of the U.K.

16 April 2004
Well most of the many varieties of Daffodils are now 'going over' but they've been replaced by a wonderful display of Tulips in many of Brackyn's gardens--(But don't forget to 'dead head' the Daffs to get an equally good display next year!). In view of the bad effects of last year's long, hot, dry Summer on the front lawns Ed decided to sow grass seed suited to dry conditions around the tree area in his front garden. Also for the same reason he has just planted Sedums around the base of the Rowan tree-- these are low evergreen plants suited to dry,sunny conditions and hopefully will give colourful groundcover all year round in difficult conditions. ( Varieties used are Sedum obtusatum (red) and spathulifolium (yellow) ). Ed is also growing Alpines this year-- in particular Pulsatilla vulgaris (The 'Pasque' Flower). These were once a common wild flower but are now very rare. They like Chalky, non acid conditions and so should be placed in containers for the best results. ( Pulsatilla vulgaris 'alba' (white) and 'rubra' (red) are two varieties widely available in Nurseries and Garden Centres at present ). Just a reminder that now is the time to plant out many varieties of vegetables and some good ones are Cabbage (Hispi), Lettuce (Mixed Salad Leaves), Caulie (All Year Round) and Broad Beans (Bunyards Exhibition). A TIP FOR BETTER RESULTS:- dig deep trenches (at least 1 spade depth) and line them with newspaper before replacing the well-manured soil. Finally plant the Veg. seedlings carefully, well spaced on top. Good Luck!

10th May,2004/
The weather has remained very mixed in the last few weeks with some heavy rain squalls accompanied with high winds from time to time. However the average temperature both for daytime and nighttime is increasing now and consequently there has been good recent growth in our gardens. Ed's Broad Beans (Bunyards Exhibition) have come on at a very fast pace with all the plants now over a foot tall. His Cabbage,Caulie and Mixed Salad Leaf are also growing strongly. The varieties of Pasque Flower he planted last month have all flowered successfully and have been deadheaded as soon as they started to go over(they do provide attractive seed heads!) so as to give as much goodness as possible to the main root systems at this early stage of their development. All the Sedum plants around the Rowan tree in Ed's front garden are prospering and beginning to spread and also his recently planted Chalomile plants seem O.K. in the same position.

27th July,2004.
Well we've had a wet, mild summer so far this year and our gardens have benefitted. Ed's Sedums have flowered and spread significantly and the Chalomile are well established. The specialist grass seed he planted earlier has been slow to germinate and he recently has sown more in the Rowan tree area. Currently his back garden is a blaze of colour with hybrid Asters and a range of Gazenias all flowering together-- although the Gazenia flower-heads stay closed up on overcast days! The warm, damp conditions have been ideal for vegetables and Ed's Mixed Salad Leaves,'Hispi' Cabbages and 'Bunyards' Broad beans have provided him and his neighbours with many good meals already. (Good advice for single people and small families is to carefully remove the Cabbage and Salad plants from the earth and to place their roots in water where they'll stay fresh for several days whilst their leaves are gradually removed for eating). The Runner beans have been very slow to flower this time, probably due to initially placing the seed beans into the smallest size of Jiffy pot before transferring to their garden position---beans need sufficient room to develop a large root system in order to grow on successfully and so a large Jiffy size should be used for each seed bean. 'Spar' and Ian have produced a wonderful display with their pots and baskets this time as also have Tom and Roger with their Hydrangers etc. Well done to all.

23rd Sept,2004.
Well we're now past the Autumn Equinox and so Summer's officially over! The weather recently has been more Wintery than Autumnal with high squally winds and very heavy rain in short sharp showers! Absolutely awful!! Any benefit from the regular rainfall is erased by the wind damage!(check out the Japanese Anenome's!). Ed's Hispi Cabbages were good, apart from his last two plants which were eaten by caterpillars in 2 days flat--Lesson learnt:-"Don't leave plants in the ground too long after they mature!" His Caullies were rather disappointing with only small flower heads appearing on 3 out of 6 plants! However the Bunyards Runner Beans and the Mixed Salad Leaves were a success. Also the Hybrid Asters have given a wonderful display throughout the Summer (They're also good as window displays-staying fresh over many days in water.) Ian and Spar have had a fantastical display of a large range of flowers(Marigolds,Petunias,Impatiens etc) for many months-a great effort of regular watering and tender care over an extended period. Some more Sedums have gone in round Ed's Rowan Tree and the Michaelmus Daisies(ASTERS)are coming into flower. Hopefully soon the Chrysanthemums (from Denis) will also be in bloom.

16th Nov,2004.
It's been a dreary Autumn--quite damp but very mild! The Hanging Baskets and Pots around Spar's and Ian's houses are still in bloom as are their lovely displays of Dahlias. Ed's Michaelmas Daisies(Asters) are well over but the numerous Chrysanthemum plants he got this Spring from Denis are giving a wonderful,late season display. 'Just what the doctor ordered' at this time of the year! It is also interesting to note that the lovely Hollihocks in Feone's and Tony and Dave's front gardens are still in good flower--In one way these milder Autumns make our gardening efforts more worthwhile when the displays of plants last so much longer than they once did.To end on another good note, the reseeded part of Ed's front lawn around the Rowan tree has grown strongly over the late Summer and early Autumn and it now looks good for next year. Well, here's to the next growing season when I'm sure we'll have plenty more to talk about--and don't forget 'The Answers Always Lie In The Soil'!

16th Feb,2006. We've had the coldest Winter for some years but Alima's "Bush" Dahlia has survived as too have Ed's Penstamens, Cyclamens and Grasses.Additions in the form of a Hydrangea 'Bailmer'(hardy,prunable), 2 'dwarf' Conifers and a Eunonymus 'Blondy' (all at present indoors) wil be moved outside in the near future.

16th Sept,2006. Lots of rain in August has helped us to get over the hot dry July but Ed's still considering a'dry' garden instead of his lawn next year!!

1st June,2007. No dry garden yet but lots of topsoil moved in around Rowan tree--good display of Daffs & Tulips this Spring, and large dark-leaved Begonias last Autumn up to first frost in Dec. New flower bed created in Ed's back garden (variety of Asters & Phlox planted.)(from Dorothy.)

15th Oct,2007. Ian & Spar's baskets/pots are still giving great displays.Ed's range of Asters (orig. Dorothy) are giving a very colourful background & his Chrisanths are also about to flower. Cei/Silvia's front should be good next Spring with Daffs, Tulips & Crocus (in their lawn). (See COLC BLOG, 'eds brackyn' for more info on the gardens)

Please don't forget to call at Ed's should you have any comments to make or information to add.

Happy Gardening,

E.L.J.


Email:
elloydjenkins2001@yahoo.co.uk

Links to friends pages:
Richard Fusniak - See the Photo Gallery of Cambridge Botanic Gardens and more.