GARDENING

To find out about activities and events organised by the Leigh-on-Sea Horticultural Society, please click on the following link:

Gardening Club for Children
starting soon
Learn how to grow things you can eat!

Run by Leigh Town Council
at their allotments on Manchester Drive.

Interested?

Ask your parents or carer to contact:
Leigh Town Council
67 Elm Road
Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1SP

phone: 01702 716288
or e-mail: club@leighallotments.co.uk

How To Plan A Garden Right - by David Kurshel

Gardening is a hobby that brings joy, entertainment, and a better quality of life. It is a creative activity, the result of which is a more aesthetically appealing home.

Thoughtful planning of a garden starts with the type of garden you would like to have. Deciding on a type of garden is essential before choosing which design elements to include. Will your garden be just a place to plant a bunch of flowers, which will blossom only during the growing season? Or would you rather have a thoughtfully-chosen herb garden? Or maybe just a vegetable plot?

Another issue to consider is the climate in your location. It can be surprising how little we know about the facts, figures and statistics of the weather where we live. You may want to consult an online map to get statistical data regarding climate elements like rainfall per month or average temperatures.

The next step, after having decided about the type of garden and after investigating the local climate, is to figure out the plants that you would like to grow in your garden. Think of plants that are suitable for the duration of the growing season in your location and that will survive the changes in temperature, typical for your location.

The thoughtful planning of a garden involves one more factor to consider - how much shade is necessary for each of the plants. You need to make sure that there is enough light all over the places you plan to plant your garden.

When you have finished with planning in theory, it is time to start planning the plots in your garden. Again, think for a good plan - one that brings joy, is easy to keep to, and at the same time efficiently uses the available space.

Think about where to place plants that require a lot of sunlight. The best place for such plants is away from buildings and taller trees because these block the light at daytime.

Deciding which plants to grow near the house, and which should be in the open also requires some thought. If you prefer the sunshine streaming through your windows, then you are best not to have bulky trees or bushes near the house, where they will block the sunlight.

If you have decided that you will be growing herbs and vegetables, the best place for them is near the house. When they are near the house, it is more likely that you will be using them for cooking. Besides convenience, you should also think about the location of vegetables as far as their needs for sunlight are concerned. This is especially true if yours is mainly a vegetable garden.

Last, but not least, take into account your personal preferences, when designing a garden. If there are particular extras you would like to have, for instance winding pathways or gazebos, include them in the initial design of the garden. Your outdoor garden is constrained only by the limits of your creativity and the growing season in your location.

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David Kurshel is the webmaster of BIO Gardening, a popular and extensive resource including articles and a newsletter about gardening. For more information, go to: www.biogardening.com
 

If you are looking for some gardening advice, or perhaps just a bit of light-hearted relief after too many hours digging on the allotment, check out the following sites:

www.bbc.co.uk/gardening

A new BBC website featuring a virtual reality garden which enables you to grow flowers in an interactive 3D environment.  After choosing the shape, size and colour of your plant, you place it in a virtual garden where you feed it, water it and turn it into a screensaver!

www.e-garden.co.uk

Online garden shop with a very useful Latin plant name translator which can translate over 72,000 names from Latin to English (or English to Latin).

www.greenfingers.com

Another gardening advice and shopping site, this time with a computer generated character to assist you. It can even help you put a name to a plant simply by entering what little information you know about it.

South East Essex Organic Gardeners

South East Essex Organic Gardeners were formed in 1994 to promote the principles of organic gardening, which include the composting of organic waste, the protection of wildlife, the reduction of pollution and the encouragement of species diversity.

Anglian Gardener - Gardening in Anglia and the South East

This site is intended as a source of online gardening information, inspiration and possibly entertainment for all gardeners from the expert to the reluctant, in East Anglia, the South of England and beyond, who want a beautiful result without wanting to become a horticulturalist or take a garden design course to get there.