Chat Ed : Good evening everyone and welcome to our live webchat with Matt James, the City Gardener!
Matt James : Hello everybody, hope you've all had a good day in the garden..?
emily xxx : hey matt
Steve : Q for Matt. I have a very established garden with lost of trees (tall conifers etc). It makes the ground quite dry and there's lots of deep shade. I want a garden with lots of interesting planting but don’t know what will work well. Please help!
Matt James : Interesting one Steve...without seeing the space it's hard to know.. but I think dry shade is what you have i.e. under-tree cover and that's perhaps the most inhospitable environment going. Aucuba grows quite well in dry shade though so you could try that. viburnum davidi is good too, and euphobia. Epimedium - they won't mind dry shade. Dead nettles also - very ornamental and beautiful, just an unfortunate name! Cornus Canadensis, mahonia repens, vinca or dry dryopteris would also be good options. The best book in the entire world for looking up characteristics, like dry shade, is called “Right Plant, Right Place” by Nicola Ferguson. It's fantastic and will help no end and I use it all the time if I get stuck.
chenks : What trees can you suggest for a small garden, which gets lots of sun and has limey soil
Matt James : Right... box elder, which is actually a maple tree, that won't mind a chalky soil. The caragana also won't mind that kind of environment. Crab apple trees are good too and mulberries, but get the weeping mulberries - that's quite a small tree. Some small birch would be good too - 'youngii' as long as the ground is moist with that one. Crab apples are a good bet though and there are numerous out there. They really work hard for their space - you've got spring flowers and fruit in the autumn and quite an attractive shape.
tracey : what can you do to rid a plant of fruit flies?
Matt James : The best book to help you with this is the “RHS Pest and Diseases” by Pippa Greenwood who is an absolute authority on gardening (I'm flicking through it now!). This is the book that will help. And if you're just starting out in gardening then there are a few key books you will need and this is undoubtedly one of them.
Becs : Help me Matt! i have a lovely sunny back garden but it slopes down very steep, I’ve tried to gravel it and put huge palms, ferns and pots to help hide the slopes and ideas what i can do to make it more effective and save the back breaking job of trying to level it out, also what flowers/plants suit a very sunny area -i love the look of bamboos, ferns, palms etc thanks becs?
Matt James : The obvious problem with gravel, I expect, is that it all slips down the slope! Terracing it is the answer. Use sleepers, that's the easiest way. Try www.justsleepers.com they have some beautiful sleepers you can use for this. I used them in the Cardiff garden. Being a hardwood they don't need treating and it's a very inexpensive way of doing it. If you don't like the look of sleepers you can use the creeping Californian lilac, which will cover them perfectly. Terracing it also gives you a space where you can sit on a level plane. Or use decking. You will, of course, have to use pots on the decking though.
cubanbenny : how do you stop cats leaving CAT REMINDERS in the garden?
Matt James laughs
Matt James : Rose clippings are great actually! Collect the long prunes and lay them all around the garden on the beds, it's a bit malicious but no cat likes walking on that! There is also something on the market which is a pop-up sprinkler which is activated by a motion beam which fires a jet of water if a cat (or human!) walks past it. Pepper dust also works which you can buy form garden centres. My mum uses the rose clippings so I know that one works.
liam : im new to gardening i planted a clematis but it is being eating by some bug what can i get to stop this
Matt James : Without knowing what the bug is it's hard to say. But take a cutting with the pest on it and take it to a good garden centre and they will fall over themselves to help you - they love doing that and are more than willing to share their knowledge. Take in a good portion of the plant though, not just a leaf!
lesley : my grass is full of weeds what is the best way to kill them
Matt James : If it's broad-leafed weeds (i.e. weeds that don't have a single blade like a grass does) then you can just weed them out by hand. Regular mowing can help too because the grass becomes very tight and doesn't allow weeds to take over. Do that twice a week with maybe some lawn “feed and weed” later on in the year. Be diligent though, if you notice a dandelion get out there and weed it out.
emily xxx : matt please help, i have inherited my mums house and garden and its exactly the same as it was 25 years ago, its huge, i have no experience and i want something i can relax in, for our hot summer nights!!!!!
Matt James : What a challenge! But sounds really exciting. If your garden is that big and you are just starting out it may well be worth getting a professional garden designer round and paying them for a morning of their time to let them tell you how you should go about it. It sounds like a big undertaking. Don't just say to a gardener 'come in and do my garden' always get advice from a designer first. I'm a big fan of DIY but in this instance I think the designer will set you up and arm you with a bit more information to help you along. It shouldn't be too expensive either.
chrisdublin : hi matt, i have been keeping two banana plants that i bought in January indoors, when would be the right time to plant them out?
Matt James : The right time would be when the last frost is forecast...when this is, who knows?! But usually the first or second week in May. Don't be afraid if the main trunk dies when it goes outside because bananas are naturally herbaceous so the main trunk may die but the there will be lots of basal shoots which will take over.
julie boyd : Do you think decking is becoming passe? If so, what will the new craze be?
Matt James : Ooh! Rubbish! I think decking is a functional very child-friendly, cost effective surface. It's great for going over water features and a natural contrast with harder surfaces. I'm a big fan of decking. I never really stick my neck out but I will for this. People who knock decking are essentially gardening snobs. Look at the prairie-planting phase - everyone loved it for a couple of years, now they hate it. Avoid green treated decking that you get from DIY superstores though. Western red cedar is a big favourite of mine and doesn't need to be treated and ipe is also very good. Roko is also very attractive. They are a little more expensive but they just work Sorry Julie, you got me on a rant on that one!
Andy : Where’s the best place to buy good quality plants and get good variety as most garden centres have the same plants and are of fairly poor quality
Matt James : Specialist nurseries undoubtedly are the best places. Garden centres generally import their plants from nurseries. I'm a big fan of going to source because then you get plants grown professionally. Although I tend to disagree about the quality issue. I wouldn't say they are of bad quality at garden centres, they might be a bit pricier, but definitely go to a specialist nursery if you can. Go local, you don't need to go 50 miles.
Ian Nuttall : Hi Matt, How can I get a good designer with young fresh ideas like yours?
Matt James : You can go to the Society of Garden Designers and they have a list of numerous garden designers on there or you can trawl through nurseries for cards and stuff. The key thing about getting a designer is that you find one that you get on with and that understands where you are coming from. You want somebody that you are very comfortable with, it should very much be a rewarding experience for you. Also ask to see their portfolio. And yes... I do do freelance design, go to the City Gardener website and find my details.
John Mc : Hi Matt, love the show, are you looking for people for the next series ??
Matt James : We're looking for a few people for what you might call series 3a, due out this August, I think. As opposed to series 4 it all depends on things out of my control. So yeah go to the same website and send a picture of your garden and a description of what you want and we may come and see you.
Chat Ed : That’s our half hour up, thanks for coming in to chat about all things green-fingered Matt, some great tips there!
Matt James : Thank you very much for listening to my inane banter and I hope you all enjoy the show and it gives you all some valuable ideas to get gardening. Let's hope it's sunny tomorrow because I've potatoes to plant!
Matt James leaves the room
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