Seeing the wood for the trees

The expression 'touch wood' to ward off bad luck comes from our ancient Celtic ancestors who touched trees and had sacred groves which remain today as holy wells.It is small wonder that trees have gained an aesthetic value in our gardens. While we understand that they form part of the equation for our continued existence on the planet, it"s also the case that they look majestic, taking us through the seasons, providing a habitat for our animals insects and birds, and cleaning the air we breathe.Planting a tree deserves some consideration: how big will it grow? Will the roots interfere with pipes? Drains? Foundations? Will it leave the house in shade?For smaller gardens there are a number of trees that are very attractive such as malus (Royal Beauty). This crab apple grows to 2 metres with dark red purple flowers. It dislikes waterlogged soil and prefers a position in full sun. Another is the flowering cherry (prunus amanogawa) which grows to 7 meters with a crown of three metres, and which produces fragrant pink flowers.If you like something striking, the Japanese Maple Acer Palmatum (shindeshojo) will give you just that: it grows to a height of 2 metres and over the year you will enjoy watching its red foliage turn pink, and the creamy whites and greens that precede its Autumn cloak of orange. However, it dislikes cold winds in spring and likes soil rich in leaf mould so if your garden is not blessed with top soil you will have to dig a large hole 1 meter in diameter and depth and fill it with good compost and leaf mould to provide it with the necessary growing medium it needs.For average sized gardens the choice gets better. Some personal favourites of mine include the Himalayan Birch Betula Jacquemontii (pronounced 'jack mon tee') of which you will find some in the walled garden in Belvedere, brought back there by Charles Howard-Bury on his expeditions.This tree, renowned for its white peeling bark, grows to a height of 18 metres. It grows quite well in full sun and partial shade and dislikes waterlogged soil. It can provide a great focal point if planted in groups with oudoor lighting provided to highlight the trunks.Another favourite is the Gleditsia Triacanthos (sunburst). A friend of mine brought a mature specimen back from Italy for me and I have treasured it since. Grown for their foliage, they can reach 10 metres in height. The display starts gold in spring turning to green yellow in summer and finally a soft butter yellow in autumn.Arbutus the strawberry tree is a good evergreen option growing to a height of 7 metres. The strawberry fruit ripen to red at the same time as the white pink-tinged autumn flowers open. The bark is stunning too. There are now three weeks left to plant bare rooted trees: after that it will be containers.National Tree WeekNational Tree Week celebrates 25 years this year from 1st March to 7th March and Crann are organising a tree planting with Dale Treadwell from Naturally Wild at Belvedere on Saturday 7th March at 2pm. Information will be sent to schools in the local area and participation is free. See www.crann.ie and www.naturallywild.ie for details of all events and schools programs.What to look out forHellebores are an old plant which can be found naturalized around old monastic ruins. Also known as the Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose these plants are the stars of the late winter/early spring garden. They are rhizome based and the most common varieties are acaulescent hellebores, 'without stem'. Whilst mostly sold as a shade-loving plant they are more shade-tolerant and bloom better with more sun. Hellebores niger grows extensively in the Belvedere Walled Garden.To Do List...What to do this week• Already weeds are starting to make a comeback so get that weed killer on them and you will be ahead of yourself come spring with more time to plant than pulling weeds.• Once the flowering display of winter jasmine have, ended prune back the spent stems.• Cut back last year"s wands of growth on wisteria, taking them back to a couple of buds and pulling them out of gutters, etcetera.• Time to prune summer flowering clematis that are now shooting. Those which flower in both early and late summer should only be tidied up and weak and dead stems removed. Those which only flower in late summer can be cut down to knee height. Get some compost on the roots too as they are very hungry plants.• All shrubs which make a great deal of growth every year need feeding. Now is the time to put a slow release dressing of fertilizer over the roots, especially old shrubs. Remember to cut out old stems and reshape giving the new stems a better chance .• Bush roses should be pruned in the next two weeks, if not already done. Rose bushes can still be planted, from pots.• Spring bulbs are invaluable atthis time and as they go out of flower, they can be moved to new positions, the clumps being divided. Even though perennial flowers are showing good growth in many cases, they can be divided when in the early stages of growth.• Grasses can be divided and replanted now. It is getting a little late for sowing seeds of the likes of - geraniums, lobelia, busy lizzie and bedding begonias. These should be sown by now and certainly not delayed much longer; otherwise flowering is delayed. There is still time to start off dahlias, begonias and cannas in pots indoors.Grow your own...Our Kinder Gardening classes continue in the Walled Garden at Belvedere House each Saturday afternoon and our first seeds have been planted in seed trays in the Messenger Victorian Greenhouse. I want you to do the same at home.Cabbage might bring back bad childhood memories for some people but there are a huge range of propagated varieties on the market at the moment. Cabbage plants for sale at markets up and down the country used to be a common sight until the Celtic Tiger arrived. Joe Barry from the Irish Farming Independent lamented last year how he could not find any to buy, obviously a sign of our newfound (and lost) prosperity.Spring, Summer and Winter Cabbage refer to the harvesting season rather than the planting season. Prepare a seed bed with some compost sifted onto topsoil and firm down. Sow cabbage seeds in drills ½' deep and drills 6' apart. Keep moist and thin out when plants are 1', you can plant out at 4' to 6'. Same applies for growing in a seed tray rather than bed.When planting out your young cabbage plants into their final growing area keep 16' apart and plant into firm soil. Remember transplanting is good for plants as it strengthens the roots.A variety of onion known for their flavour and texture are shallots...Easy to grow and hardy they are best planted in Autumn and overwintered but sets can still be planted in Spring for late summer harvesting. They like a sunny position and well drained soil and grow in clusters. Some bulbs can be dried and used as seed sets again next year.