Mark McNee

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  • Garden Myths: Number 2

    Parsley seed must be soaked before you sow it. Some plants seem to attract myth and superstition and parsley is one. The truth is parsley is slow to germinate and gardeners can be impatient, so people have looked to ways to speed things up. To this end it is often said you need to soak…

  • Succulents Simplified by Debra Lee Baldwin

    First off I was kindly lent a review copy of this book by the publishers Timber Press. Its is clear from the book that Debra is a very knowledge and experienced grower of a group of plants which is often overlooked by UK gardeners, but non the less a very useful one. She does fall…

  • Garden Myths: Number 1

    You must water Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias with rainwater. I’ve heard this many times in hard water areas, based no doubt on the fact hard water contains lime and lime is used to reduce the acidity of soils and composts. While it is true Rhododendrons and other ericaceous need acidic growing conditions the amount of…

  • Bond, English

    This is one of the commonest method of constructing a brick wall which is more than ½ a brick thick and consists of alternating courses of heads and stretchers.

  • The minor wall building materials

    Metal Though important in building is garden use is rather limited but can if used carefully can be very effective. The term metal encompasses a vast range of material, many used since ancient times, and the suitability of a particular one will depend on the individual use planned. Reinforced concrete This material combines concrete and…

  • Taxonomic rank

    This relates to the level within the hierarchy of plant names. The series of taxa for botany are set out in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Not all plants have an entry for every taxa and above the level of genus there is often a great degree of disagreement as…

  • The main wall building materials

    Brick One of the oldest and most durable building materials; its variability, flexibility, durability and strength has made a ubiquitous walling material. Traditionally made from dried earth the centuries of use and development has lead to a very sophisticated produce now mass produced in millions each year in the UK alone. The earliest bricks were…

  • Parts of a Wall

    Parts of a Wall

    Garden walls are constructed from 5 distinct elements: Subgrade The first, the subgrade, is the ground the entire structure stands upon and so its stability and load bearing ability determines on whether the wall is going to remain standing. For these reasons the wall foundation should be onto undisturbed ground that has not been built…

  • Clematis tangutica

    Clematis tangutica

    This charming clematis spices is quite different from the large flowered cultivars usually grown in gardens. The small pixie hat flowers make up for their small size by their numbers which appear from June through into autumn when they can be seen with typical feathery clematis seed heads.  While not as showy as the large…

  • Walling Materials

    Walling Materials

    Historically walls have tended to be built from the nearest suitable materials and this has to very individual regional building styles. Since the advent of modern mass transport this has begun to be broken down; except where local planning restrictions have protected it. That is not to say the local traditional building style has to…