Sowing and growing and the Queen and Obama

It’s all systems go in the OPW garden with seed to germinate and two heads of state on their way

‘IN THE SPRING, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt,” wrote the poet and novelist Margaret Atwood – a sentiment with which most gardeners would surely agree. But those gardeners whose energies are happily consumed with the busy spring rituals of sowing and growing should spare a few moments’ thought for OPW gardeners Brian Quinn and Meeda Downey, now in the throes of preparing for the imminent arrival in Phoenix Park of not just one, but two visiting heads of state. And that’s not to mention the annual horticultural extravaganza that is Bloom in the Park. “It’s just hectic here at the moment,” explains Brian. “And it’s only going to get busier.”

As a result of all their hard work, the OPW gardeners’ glasshouse in the nearby Klondyke is already quickly filling up with neatly labelled trays of freshly-sown seed, all carefully swaddled in cling film to retain both heat and moisture.

“And that’s only the beginning,” smiles Meeda, as she carefully fills more trays, gently tamping the compost down before sowing seed on the surface and then covering with either with a light layer of perlite or carefully-riddled compost. “We’ve a load more seed to sow in the next few weeks.

“Along with all of the different vegetables, we’re also growing lots of bedding and cut-flowers from seed this year – traditional Victorian varieties of things like annual sweet william and helichrysum,” adds Brian, pointing to the rows of trays and plant pots which cover the glasshouse’s potting benches.

Some of these, such as the sweet pea seed that was sown back in early February, have already germinated and are now long past the seedling stage – the gardeners’ plan being to force them into early strong growth in readiness for the busy months ahead.

“The sweet pea varieties were specially chosen by Margaret Gormley (the OPW’s assistant parks superintendent) and are a mixture of both modern and older heirloom varieties that mostly date back to the late 19th-century or early 20th century,” explains Meeda.

These include the navy-blue Lord Nelson (1907), the wonderfully perfumed, old favourite Painted Lady, and the white-flowering Dorothy Eckford. The latter was first introduced in 1901 by the famous Shropshire-

based sweet-pea breeder Thomas Eckford – the Victorian head gardener known as “the father of the sweet pea” and a man so highly regarded in horticultural circles that he was awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour.

Meanwhile, if HRH Queen Elizabeth does place a very well-shod foot inside the OPW’s walled Victorian garden on her visit to Ireland later this spring, she might be gratified by the coincidental inclusion of the orange-red Lizbeth and the red/magenta striped Queen of the Isles – the latter being another introduction by Eckford in 1885.

And if President Obama feels in any way miffed, he’ll be relieved to discover that the red-and-white flowering heirloom variety America, as introduced by Morse in 1896, will be growing alongside it.

“We’re also trying to grow the New Guinea Busy Lizzie from seed (molesseeds.co.uk), but I’m not expecting too much as it’s supposed to be very tricky to get to germinate,” shrugs Brian. “We’re covering the seed lightly with perlite which should help, but it’s very fussy as regards temperature requirements.”

Yet another plant that’s very demanding in terms of successful germination is the tropical banana, Musa basjoo.

Last year, Brian and Meeda’s plan was to grow at least two dozen of these giant-leaved plants from seed and then plant them out in the walled garden as an example of the sub-tropical or exotic bedding craze that was popular in the Victorian era. “We sowed 35 seeds last year,” remembers Meeda, “but only three germinated. It was really disappointing.”

“They have this really hard leathery seed, that’s almost like a chestnut,” explains Brian. “You have to soak it in water for 24-48 hours to soften the skin before you sow it.

“But even though we did exactly that, we only ended up with three plants. So this year we’ve sowed fifty seeds, but Meeda cut tiny little nicks in the skin with a sharp knife before we planted them. We’re hoping it might make a difference to the germination rates.”

And precisely because they need a constant heat of at least 25ºC, Meeda’s found this year’s just-sown banana seeds a particularly cosy spot. “I’ve put them right on top of the glasshouse heating pipes, which should be nice and warm for them,” she explains.

Meanwhile, after spending the icy winter cocooned in the glasshouse, last year’s three surviving banana plants are now wonderfully leafy, loft specimen plants that are about five feet tall.

“They’re monsters,” says Brian proudly. “We deliberately haven’t potted them on because we don’t want them to get too big. The plan is to place them at either side of one of the entrances into the garden and then underplant with bedding. It’ll look great.”

Along with ornamental bedding plants, Brian and Meeda have also begun to sow seed of celeriac, cucumbers, cabbage and various herbs. “Herbs such as basil need decent heat to germinate, so they’ll do very well in the glasshouse”, explains Brian. “This year, we’re growing three types, including Thai basil, which has a kind of liquorice flavour, Greek basil, which is a compact type with spicy leaves, and sweet Genovese, which is the type that’s normally for sale in the shops. But there are dozens of other types you could also grow, such as cinnamon basil, lemon basil and even lime basil. They all have slightly different flavours.”

The OPW gardeners are also sowing seed of one of Brian’s favourite flowering herbs, the toothache plant (Acmella oleracea or Spilanthes oleracea), whose leaves contain a natural analgesic called spilanthol that’s supposedly used to numb toothache.

Anyone who’s chewed even one small leaf of this herb will remember forever the vividly unpleasant, tingling sensation (as if your mouth was on fire) that soon follows. “Visitors love it,” laughs Brian. But not, I presume, President Obama or HRH.

“No,” he agrees, with a broad grin. “That probably wouldn’t be such a good idea.” For more details of the history of the many different sweet pea varieties, check out sweetpea-seed.com

WHAT TO: sow, plant and do now

SOW(in a heated propagator for greenhouse or tunnel cropping): Aubergines (still just worth a try early in the month – Bonica is the most reliable), French beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, early courgettes and melons, basil, early calabrese, Alpine strawberries (Reugen best) and tender single flowers such as tagetes, French marigolds, nicotiana, etc for attracting beneficial insects to help with pest control and pollination both under cover and out in the garden.

SOW(in gentle warmth for planting outside later): celery, celeriac, coriander, dill, Greek oregano and Florence fennel.

SOW(in modules, in a seedbed for transplanting, or in situ where they are to crop): Asparagus, globe artichokes, beetroot, broad beans, carrots, endive, all varieties of peas, parsnips, summer and autumn cabbages, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, all varieties of sprouting broccoli including calabrese, cauliflowers, onions leeks, salad onions, shallots, pak choi, Hamburg parsley, landcress, lettuces, kohl rabi, kales, radishes, rocket, salsify, swiss chards, spinach, seakale, white turnips and swedes, claytonia, lamb's lettuce, salad mixes and hardy herbs. Rhubarb (Unwins early red and Glaskin's perpetual are both good varieties).

PLANT(outside): Seed potatoes, onions, shallots

All sowing details courtesy of Nicky Kyle at nickykylegardening.com

* The OPW’s Victorian walled kitchen garden is in the grounds of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, beside the Phoenix Park Café and Ashtown Castle. The gardens are open daily from 10am to 4.00pm

* Next week Urban Farmer in Property will cover spring work in the walled garden

* FIONNUALA FALLONis a garden designer and writer