Ihave seen dull city nursery yards transformed into islands of greenery, with walls and chain-link fences covered in climbing plants, and big tubs and window boxes full of foliage and flowers. However, this is obviously not the easiest situation. You may find it hard enough to find sufficient space for play equipment, let alone a whole lot of tubs.
You would be very unlucky, however, if you couldn't at least put a few narrow rectangular tubs against a sunny wall. Perhaps you could maximise their use by planting some climbing plants and creating a vertical garden! Evergreen climbers have leaves all year (see box), and you could grow colourful annual plants in front of them.
However, with enough space and sun, you could grow a wide range of plants in raised beds (see page 19) set directly on the asphalt. They must be deep, waist-high to the children, and filled with compost - could your local authority deliver some?
Each bed could be used for something different. For example, you could plant one bed with grass for small-world play. If some of the asphalt is (professionally) drilled up, you could have small trees or a patch of earth for a digging garden3.
CHOOSING TUBS AND POTS
Get the biggest tubs you can, because they'll dry out less quickly and need less watering. Your plants' roots will have more space, and the extra compost will protect them in extremes of temperature.
Use:
* round wooden tubs; smooth the top with coarse sandpaper
* wooden-planked 'raised beds'
* frost-hardy terracotta pots
* round-cornered plastic pots.
Improvise:
* use large plastic containers; ask caterers, butchers or DIY merchants
* build a tub from three or four car tyres. On asphalt, stand the tyres on a piece of old carpet; stuff them with crumpled newspaper for warmth, then fill the centre with compost.
Avoid:
* concrete tubs, unless rounded and smooth
* tubs built in sections and held together only by gravity
* pedestal-type tubs, or other shapes that are easily knocked over
* sharply angular tubs.
Used tubs may harbour diseases or insect pests that could ruin the next crop, so scrub them out well before use with a solution of one teaspoon of bleach to one pint (600ml) of water. Then rinse. It may sound like a counsel of perfection, but this should be done whenever old compost is taken out of tubs and fresh put in, to avoid spreading disease.
When you're ready to plant the tubs:
* Check that there are drainage holes underneath
* Cover the base with a layer of pebbles, broken crocks or chunks of polystyrene to assist drainage
* Fill to within 3 to 5cm of the top with John Innes No. 3 compost
* Mix in a good sprinkling of vermiculite (vermiculite is exploded mica: it absorbs and retains moisture and, as it is a rock, lasts forever)
* Either sow seeds or use a trowel to make holes for plants. The plants'
compost must not stick up above the level of the compost in the tub, or the plants could dry out and die. Also, plants could rot if their stems get covered with compost.
* Put trailing plants round the edge to hang down. Lobelia, trailing ivy and trailing, ivy-leaved pelargoniums (geraniums) are easy and pretty.
* Then plant the rest of the tub. Most vegetables, herbs, shrubs and even small trees can be grown in tubs. Put flowering plants in fairly close together, but give herbs and vegetables more space.
* Water the tub well from spring to mid autumn, every rainless day, until water runs out from underneath HOW TO WATER
* Very cold water can shock plants, but if you have a water butt, the water will be at ambient temperature. If you can, collect rainwater by attaching a butt to a drainpipe. Otherwise, fill the butt with a hose at the end of each day. Children can turn the tap and get water themselves.
* Avoid wetting leaves and flowers. Aim the water carefully on to the soil around the plants. To water small plants, take a bucket of water to the plants and let children use a small container to scoop up some water and gently pour it all round the plant. Watering cans can be used for large plants.
* Children can have fun using watering cans to drench plants, but most of the water won't reach the roots in this way, and also, water left on leaves for a period of time could cause fungal problems (notably with pelargoniums). Explain, simply, how it should be done, and why. Children can enjoy being careful when they know the reason.
QUICK POINTERS:
* Avoid leaving soil bare in winter.
* Plant bulbs, wallflowers and winter pansies when your summer crops finish.
* Grow 'poached egg plants' from seeds sown in October to protect the soil surface; dig the plants in the next spring to add nitrogen to the soil.
Take care
Tools
After using any tool, clean it well to avoid rust. Scrape off most of soil, scrub off the rest with an old washing-up brush under the tap and dry thoroughly with newspaper or rags. Clean debris from the blades of secateurs and shears with wire wool. Before winter, oil everything and store in a dry place.
Gardeners
Protect your backs! Squat or kneel rather than bending over to work. Use a wheelbarrow to move heavy stuff. Protect hands by rubbing in cooking oil beforehand. Collect clippings and such by first putting down an old sheet.
Always wear strong, closed shoes when digging. And don't think you must do everything in one go!
Easy plants and where to grow them
Covering walls and fences
* Montana clematis (evergreen); pink or white spring flowers; will scramble over fences and other bushes and into trees.
* Honeysuckle (evergreen); the berries (if any) may cause mild stomach upset if ingested, but the fragrant Japanese honeysuckle Halliana seems to have none.
* Russian vine (mile-a-minute) (deciduous); but it can cover 150m in one season.
* A grapevine (deciduous); but you may get grapes! Plant against a south-facing wall. Vitis cognitiae (crimson glory vine) has stunning red leaves in autumn.
* Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) has scented white flowers in summer and autumn.
These plants will cling on to walls:
* Variegated ivies (evergreen); try 'Buttercup' or 'Glacier'.
* Climbing hydrangea (deciduous); large, creamy, lacy summer flowers, lightly scented. All parts can cause mild stomach upset if ingested, so plant away from play areas.
* Winter jasmine (evergreen); has bright yellow flowers in December; it will lean against a wall!
Easy shade-tolerant plants
* Bergenia (elephant ears)
* Busy lizzies
* Evergreen cranesbills
* Early spring bulbs
* Ferns
* Honesty
* Ivy (as above)
* Japanese anemones
* Lenten roses
* Lilies
* Wild primroses & cowslips
* Wild violets (heartsease)
* Winter jasmine
Easy aromatic herbs Evergreen herbs:
* Sage; purple and grey kinds are easiest and make sizeable cushiony plants; the green-and-yellow variegated kind has a shorter life.
* Thyme; spears of tiny, mauve, scented flowers.
* Rosemary; bushy; small mauve spring flowers
* Marjoram; choose 'golden' marjoram, which turns yellow in sunshine
* Bay; will make a very tall tree with multiple trunks, but can be kept small by regular clipping. The leaves are unscented, but are aromatic and invaluable in cooking. Useful for seasonal winter displays.
Other easy herbs:
* Chives (perennial); it thrives on being cut; children can snip the leaves for garnishing food; spectacular edible purple flowers.
* Lemon balm (perennial); grows anywhere and self-seeds; the variegated kinds are prettiest.
* Mint (perennial); try peppermint, spearmint or apple mint; likes lots of space to spread.
* Fennel; can grow to 150cm and is useful in a flower border. Harvest the seeds for fish dishes or leave for the birds. Self-seeding.
* Dill; similar to fennel, but if you plant both they will interbreed and you'll have neither one nor the other!
* Parsley (biennial) and basil (annual); not easily grown from seed: buy plants instead.
Easy plants for a dense evergreen hedge
* Yew; the best looking hedge of all; needs trimming only one or twice a year. However, all parts are poisonous if eaten. Remove any berries that might appear.
* Griselinia littoralis 'Variegata' looks like an attractive holly but is not prickly. Trim three times a year.
* Eleagnus pungens 'Maculata' (variegated yellow and green) is good for camouflaging and has stunningly scented, tiny white flowers in autumn.
* Rosa Rugosa; tough, bushy; wild roses with lots of flowers and huge red hips; makes a dense hedge.
* Cotoneaster microphyllus; impenetrable; red berries for birds in winter; seeds may cause mild stomach upset in children if ingested.
* Lonicera nitida 'Baggeson's Gold' or 'Silver Queen'; dense and almost indestructible.
Avoid: privet, hawthorn and Leylandii: they are fast-growing so can easily get out of control. Hawthorn is very thorny.
