In The Greenhouse with Lila Das Gupta

I’m a sucker for ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs.  When I think back to how bare my tiny garden looked back in January and February, the transformation seems unbelievable – all from seed that I started off and nurtured in the greenhouse.   Even the shrivelled looking dahlia tubers have come up trumps and benefited from a good start in a pot on the greenhouse floor.

Before…

Whatever is going on in your other life, abundance in the garden is always guaranteed.

My tomatoes are ripening in the greenhouse though I have to admit that the ones outside seem to have fared better.  I’m sure the reason is that in order to keep the cucumbers happy I had to use more shading than the tomatoes would have liked.  As a grow-bag novice, I also think this method is less forgiving than growing in a large pot or straight into the ground.  In the dry weather we’ve had this summer you have to keep on top of watering in grow-bags every day. Sadly, since tomatoes can’t shout for attention, children, husbands, cats, laundry, friends and family always seem to stay on top of the agenda.  Luckily only one of my tomato plants has blossom end rot (slightly brown, soft patch on the end), a classic disorder of erratic watering.

With all the hullaballoo at the end of term, one thing I’m determined to do is to sit and enjoy the garden. It’s so easy to look out on your piece of Eden and see it only in terms of jobs to be done, but a rug on the floor, allowing you to observe your plants close up, is one of the best rewards I can think of for all your hard work.

After…

In The Greenhouse with Lila Das Gupta

I can’t remember the wit who said it: “you know you’re becoming middle aged when you contemplate elasticated waistbands…”

Personally, I’ve always felt that an interest in indoor flowering plants was the beginning of the end.  My mother in law used to have a whole conservatory full of streptocarpus, and lovely though they were, I was never tempted to keep any myself….

Then one day, not so long ago, I heard the siren’s call. It came from the Dibley’s stand at the Chelsea Flower Show.  There they were, hundreds of them: beautiful, floriferous and a perfect foil for my other house plants. Mistakenly, I bought a packet of seeds thinking that it would cure me of my yen to take some home.

I sowed the seed in the greenhouse (use seed compost, don’t cover and make sure the surface stays damp) and after about three weeks the tiniest of leaves are emerging.  Not long after I went to  Gardener’s World Live in Birmingham where Dibleys were displaying once again.  This time, resistance was futile.

I’ve gone for the purple flowered varieties because they also combine well with the pink and purple orchids I have.  With a bit of care, they will flower for up to 10 months of the year. (Don’t over-water, particularly in winter, it’s one of the biggest mistakes people make.  Feed once a week when they are flowering with a high potash fertilizer and deadhead old flowers.)

What I was really looking forward to doing was having a go at propagating them.  I’ve grown lots of things from seed, but I’ve never done much serious propagation because I haven’t had the space.  Now that I have a free bench in the greenhouse I’m constantly on the lookout for plants that I can take cuttings from just for the fun of it.  Streptocarpus seeds never come true to the original plant – the variations depend on the parentage of the plant, so the most common way to propagate is by leaf cuttings.  The simplest way is to take one young leaf from near the centre of the plant (older leaves are not so vigorous) then put it in some compost and keep it in a part of the greenhouse that isn’t in direct sunlight. This will take a few weeks to root and will then produce a plant that flowers in about 6 months.  You can also chop a leaf up in three or four places (cut horizontally with the rib in the middle and remember to plant the pieces the same way up as the leaf was in its original state. Make sure the leaf parts are planted standing up and not lying down).  After a few weeks the plants will have rooted and you will have spares to increase your collection or give away.

I may be too young to join SAGA, but who am I kidding? I’ve given in to streptocarpus – can the fluffy slippers and cocoa be far behind?