Your garden.
Privetson
parade
THE list of raw materials you can use for sculpture is not carved in stone.
You can create living sculpture in your own garden, and it's probably easier than you think.
To create the spiral plant shown above, for instance, choose a conical shrub at least 90cm (3ft) tall. Attach a length of string to the tip of the plant and wind it downward in a spiral towards the base.
Using the string as a guide, clip the foliage and stems right back to the main central stem. It really couldn't be easier.
If you're sculpting a cypress try to avoid cutting into the brown central foliage as new, green growth will not develop from these areas.
If the shrub you want to sculpt is an irregular shape you can create a cone using a template of bamboo canes. Then it's up to you whether you leave it conical or clip it into a spiral.
You can buy wire topiary frames or make your own from galvanised wire and bamboo.
Cubes
You just place the frame over the plant and clip off any growth which protrudes. It should start to take shape within the first year.
There are several plants suitable for sculpting, including Cupressus macrocarpa Gold Crest, box, Lonicera nitida, privet, holly and yew.
These can also be used to make sculpted cubes. Plant four young plants of identical size in a square and they will gradually grow together into a solid mass which can be clipped into a cube.
There's nothing to stop you sculpting shrubs in pots either. One on either side of a front door can make a real impact.
NOW YOU CAN BOX CLEVER
IF YOU like the idea of making compost but can't face making your own bin, there's a new compost box on the market.
Made by Biotal, best known for compost accelerators, the box has a capacity of 210 litres, despite weighing only 5kg.
Features include a fully opening front for easy access for turning and removal of compost, a top opening for the addition of material from your kitchen or garden, and a five year guarantee.
The Compost Box comes flat-packed, price pounds 29.99, from garden centres.
FROM 10.30am today I'll be at the Great Mills store in Taunton, Somerset, giving talks and advice on your gardens.
THE delicate silvery leaves of Teucrium fruticans are covered in down and have a definite aroma when bruised.
Two-lipped pale lavender flowers appear on the silvery stems from June until September. The plant may not be fully hardy in exposed areas, and to help it survive winter, plant against a west or south-facing wall.
Teucrium needs free-draining soil and plenty of sun - it thrives in dry conditions and will grow up to 4 or 5ft (1.2-1.5m).
It can be propagated by semi-ripe cuttings taken in July or August and rooted in a 50-50 mixture of peat and sand in a propagator at 59F (15C).
IT'S TIME TO ZAP FUNGUS
CHECK herbaceous plants for the first signs of powdery white fungal mildew on the leaves and spray with a fungicide such as Supercarb or Nimrod T.
SOWINGS of hardy annuals made earlier now need to be thinned out.
MAKE further sowing of spinach (half an inch deep in drills 12in apart). Thin out earlier sowings first to 3in then to 6in.
AS NEW canes grow on raspberries, tie them in to the support system, keeping only up to eight of the most vigorous on each plant.
IF YOU summer prune gooseberries now, by cutting the side shoots back to five leaves you should get a better crop of fruit buds forming.
A CARPET OF GREEN
QCAN you give me any tips on growing conifers for ground cover?
AI SUGGEST that you stick to one type, for instance the junipers of which there are plenty to choose from. All of the following should make good ground cover - Juniperus sabina tamariscifolia, Juniperus Green Carpet', 'Blue Carpet, Sulphur Spray, Depressa Aurea, and J. repanda.
THE new window thermometer from Diplex allows you to read the outside temperature from inside. It's clear, self-adhesive and with an easy to read three-colour scale. The overall size is 75mm square. Mirror readers can buy it for just pounds 3.99 including p&p.
Send your order to The Mirror Window Thermometer Offer, PO Box 261, Slough SL2 3RU. Make your cheque/PO payable to "Mirror Group Newspapers DMG438". Name & address on the back please in BLOCK CAPITALS. Or call the credit card order hotline on 01753 642234. Please quote ref: DMG438 Window Thermometer Offer. Offer subject to availability and UK readers only. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery. If not completely satisfied please return within seven days for a full refund. Offer closes 31/07/98.
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Author: | Greenwood, Pippa |
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Jun 20, 1998 |
| Words: | 803 |
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