Clark in the Park

Home page for all of Mike Clark's wonderful gardening articles!

Having Witch Problems?: "Rowan is the most immediately-recognised of the Sorbus family, and, in its many varieties, it remains one of the most popular garden trees. Yes, even in this day and age, when the myths and superstitions are long forgotten. Or are they? Could it be that, deep in the subconscious, the properties of the rowan so revered by our forebears, still linger? Could that be why so many of us instinctively select a member of the rowan family for our garden?" Mike Clark discusses the mythology of the rowan tree, and why it's so good to have one in your garden.
Pareto on Pruning: "I hate books on pruning. I have a pet - and probably very cynical - theory, that on the basis that big books sell for more money than little books, gardening writers conspire to perpetuate the myth that pruning is complicated. And write big expensive books on the subject." Scared to prune? Don't be! Mike exposes the conspiracy that's been keeping gardening authors in royalties for years...
Robert Burns Night DIY: "You will require four basic ingredients, all of which need some careful advance planning. But all four can be home produced. Which, you must admit, adds a certain something to the occasion." In celebration of britishexpat.com's first birthday, Mike tells you how to grow your own haggis!
Take Me Home, Country Rhodies: "Oh, but I know rhododendrons are only the tip of the iceberg at Inverewe. (And for my gardening friends who thought Iceberg was a lettuce, let me tell you it's a metaphor.) But I have seen some wonderful gardens in my time - this is my sad little hobby - and if anything out there compares with Inverewe at rhododendron time, I have yet to find it." Would you believe that Britain's best rhododendron garden is to be found further north than Inverness?
It's Latin, But It's All Greek To Me: "For some reason, many gardeners, whether novice or old hands, have a mental block when it comes to botanical (or Latin) names. Let me try to remove the mystery." All those Latin terms for plants explained at last!
The Versatile Björk: "Needless to say, like all Scotland's native trees, birch in the wild has declined markedly over the last two centuries. Considered a "weed" among trees by commercial foresters, birch woodland has been felled and cleared to make way for coniferous timber crops. Yet it is still one our most abundant trees, relatively speaking. " Mike waxes rhapsodic about a tree you can drink. Tree-hugging? More like tree-glugging!
How To Grow Chips: "If I stopped a few random people in the street, and asked if they could name any varieties of potatoes, I bet I'd get a fair proportion of "Roast, Mash, Chips or (maybe) Duchesse". I doubt if I'd get many Edzell Blues or Pentland Javelins." Mike considers the humble spud - and tells you how you, too, can have fresh new potatoes at Christmas.
Gin, Whisky And Juniper: "Juniper berries have long been the traditional base for flavouring gin, as you are no doubt already aware. But the connection with whisky... Patience. Let me talk about the plants first." As the Northern Hemisphere summer draws to a close, Mike mulls over the juniper - a plant with strong associations with log fires and the dram...
A Pine To Piddle Against: "In my new garden, which is in fact a piece of wasteland with a fence round it, I have no trees. I possess only a few stunted and windswept hawthorn and elder. Barely half a mile from the Pentland Firth, whence the north wind blows uninterrupted straight from the Arctic Circle, this is not exactly a horticultural paradise." From the bleak, wind-swept reaches of Caithness's northern coast, Mike tells us about one of Scotland's most distinctive trees - the Scots Pine - and some of its cousins.
Survival Of The Fattest: "It's winter. At least, it is winter in the northern hemisphere. And I trust that those of you for whom this has no current relevance, will at least bear with me, and at best, translate this offering to your own time and your own place." It's a wee bit fresh in the Northern Hemisphere right now, and the birds are starting to feel the pinch. Mike gives some timely advice on how to help them survive the winter.
Smell The Honey: "What can be more alluring than the scent of honeysuckle wafting round your garden after a summer shower? A drop of rain always seems to make the scent more pronounced. Not reason enough in itself to wish for rain, of course - we had plenty of that last year." Thought it was too early to start thinking about the northern summer? No chance! Mike lets us in on an easy way to get the garden looking - and smelling - its best...
No Flies On My Carrot: "Yes, my thoughts turned to spring, and sowing time. Well, actually, I forced my thoughts to turn to spring, because I'm snowed in again, and gardening seems an age away at the moment. But since all the gardening programmes on the telly tell you to do things way in advance of the optimum time, 'cos each wants to be first; and the Garden Centres stock plants well ahead of season for the same reason, to steal a march (March!) on their rivals; why should I be any different?" To celebrate Mike's first anniversary with British Expat, he goes back to his roots with an exposé of how to grow champion-standard carrots.
Never Underestimate Number Twos: "The average garden is seriously deficient in humus and organic matter. We work our plots and borders year after year, expecting them to perform to our ever increasing demands with the occasional addition of some chemical fertiliser to which the manufacturer appends the epithet "Miracle", or similar." Mike talks a pile of crap! Why is natural compost so much better than artificial fertilisers? Read on...
One Day I Will Be The Organ Grinder: "Commercial pressures in my previous life prevented me from adopting the organic way of gardening (and indeed life), though no doubt this may be seen as an excuse." Mike returns to one of his favourite topics - organics. Read on for how to grow things in abundance without a chemical spray in sight.
Not Always What They're Cracked Up To Be: "First, let's consider the containers themselves, and their suitability for the winter elements. And secondly, the effects of harsh winter weather on containerised plants." Responding to the demands of his fan club, Mike gives us the low-down on how your containerised plants can survive the winter.
Holly Comes Out At Christmas!: "So many people come to me with the question, 'Why does my holly never produce berries?' And the answer is sex. There are male hollies and female hollies." This month, Mike talks about sex. Or how to make sure your holly has berries.
Currant Affairs: "Contrary to the myth promulgated by our southern gardening friends, who seem to dominate both TV and the gardening magazines, it is not too late to take hardwood cuttings." Ever wanted to grow currant bushes in your garden? Mike tells you how to take and grow from hardwood cuttings...
The Henrik Larssens of the Veggy Plot: "It's the only thing Baldrick and I have in common. Honest. This obsession with the turnip. I had a wee peek back through the Garden Gate, and was amazed that I had not offered you something on neeps. This will now be put right." Mike has already done haggis and tatties. Now he completes the hat-trick with neeps.
Tattie Trials: "I'm trialling a number of earlies this year, and the preliminary conclusion is that you can't beat a Duke (red or white). The proof is in my dinner tonight." Mike Clark, writing with his mouth full, boasts about his success this year with his new tatties.
Plant Passports: "The story starts on the British Expat Forum, in the humble but evergreen Clark in the Park board. Several queries have cropped up recently regarding the movement of plants within the EU, mainly concerning those who are leaving the UK and want to take Katie the Cactus, who has become part of the family." Mike tries to discover the rules about taking plants abroad.
Cutting Edge Technology: "For a change, I'm not going to bore you with words. ...Well, perhaps just a few. Irrespective of hemisphere, you can clone your favourite plant with softwood cuttings. I say irrespective of hemisphere, because although I am conditioned to taking softwood cuttings from June to August, the name of the month is actually irrelevant." CintheP goes all pictorial as Mike brings us a guide to taking softwood cuttings.