Category Archives: Abbie’s column

Abbie’s newspaper columns

"It is natural and plant-based so it must be safer and healthier, mustn't it?"

The call went out to UK gardeners for yew clippings. Yew snowman from Helmingham Hall

The call went out to UK gardeners for yew clippings. Yew snowman from Helmingham Hall

I keep waging war on what I see as very sloppy thinking and pseudo science. The sort of thinking that says natural = good, chemical = bad, synthetic = even worse, modern medicine = corrupt multi national pharmaceutical hijack, herbalism and natural medicines = healthy alternatives. Often there’s a sort of Luddite sentimentality, a belief that the wise women and healers of long ago knew better.

Ahem. Life expectancy was much shorter, by decades in fact. And for every natural plant-based cure that worked, there were probably many more that didn’t. Poisonings went unrecorded, as did misidentification of plants. Medical misadventure was not exactly a matter of record.

The binomial plant naming system devised by Linnaeus in the mid 1700s has stood the test of time, though it is now under siege from the dumb-it-down brigade of Make Gardening Easy persuasion. Linnaeus’s plant classification system was incredibly important when it came to medicine. Until that time, there was no standard identification, naming and recording system for plants. Doctors and healers were often at the mercy of those who went out collecting the wild plants, many of whom would have had little idea of what they were harvesting. The same plant could be given many different names and vice versa – the same name could be applied to many different plants. It still happens.

Marigolds. But which one?

Marigolds. But which one?

Take marigolds. Yes do take them. They are not my favourite plant at all. But how many readers understand the difference between calendulas and tagetes? They are entirely different plant families and we commonly refer to both as marigolds. Both are used quite extensively for their natural compounds but they are not interchangeable. If anybody is going to treat me either internally or externally with marigold extracts, I would like to think they know the difference between, for example, Calendula officinalis and Tagetes minuta, let along the various other plants entirely which are often referred to as marsh marigolds, corn marigolds or marigolds of various other persuasions. I prefer my medicine a little more exact and for that, I thank Linnaeus.

A large proportion of modern pharmaceuticals continue to be derived from plants. Aspirin originated from willow. Much work has been done on the cancer fighting properties of yew. Valerian has long been recognised for its special properties – but false valerian is a different plant family altogether.

The yew is an interesting case study for those who think synthetic copies are all bad. In the early days of cancer research into the curative properties of taxus, British gardeners were encouraged to gather all their trimmings when they clipped their yew hedges and topiary and to deliver them to collection points. If you had sufficient volume of high quality trimmings, you could even get paid for it. They responded with enthusiasm but it took an awful lot of yew trimmings to yield a very small amount of the relevant compounds used in chemotherapy. Even more problematic was the one which derived from the bark of the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia). You cannot continually harvest tree bark in large quantities. Clearly it would never be viable unless the researchers were able to reproduce the compounds efficiently in a laboratory. It is called synthetic organic chemistry because it is about reproducing a natural compound by synthesis. I know a small amount about this on account of having a daughter study it to a very advanced level (by which I mean post doctoral fellowship, working as part of a team isolating the active ingredients from a Thai plant with huge potential). It is not all bad. In some cases it may save the natural environment, not having to harvest huge volumes of natural products. It can even out seasonal and geographic variations in the strength of active compounds in plants. It can certainly deal to the problems of misidentification.

Most of our poisons are also plant-based. Many people know about laburnum seeds. Fewer realise the toxicity of daphne seeds. Cyanide has its origin as a plant product. So indeed does strychnine. Euphorbias exude a sticky sap which is renowned as a skin irritant. Rhus trees are problematic – so much so that after one bad encounter with some sawdust while chainsawing a fallen branch, Mark refuses to approach our rhus tree without donning protective gear similar to a beekeeper. Derris dust is seen as natural and organic – and it is because it comes from roots of certain plants but that doesn’t make it safe. Rotenone (which is sold as Derris dust) is linked to Parkinson’s Disease and is very toxic indeed.

It is a dangerous natural world out there. It’s a miracle we gardeners survive really. Which is why I am deeply suspicious of ill-informed enthusiasts rushing out to promote the use of plant remedies on the grounds that they are natural and therefore safer. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Until herbalists and natural healers are as strong on botany and chemistry as they are on traditional “wisdom”, I will err on the side of caution.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Learning about lobelia

A perennial lobelia from North America - but which one?

A perennial lobelia from North America - but which one?

Lobelias, I thought. I will do lobelias this week. Now you may quite possibly have led a full and happy life without putting any thought to lobelias. My interest had been desultory at best, but as soon as I started to delve a little, I uncovered a whole lot more.

Lobelias go well beyond that little, mounding blue annual that is a summer stalwart. Yes it comes in white and purple as well but it is usually blue. That handy little plant is Lobelia erinus, hailing from southern Africa. If you garden with bedding plants, you start afresh each year with organised plantings. Or if you are more cottage garden oriented, you just let one plant go to seed and it will naturalise and reappear around the place the following spring in an obliging but gentle sort of way. It is just a handy filler – nothing too exciting about that.

It was quite exciting, in a botanical sort of way, when we were given Lobelia gibberoa. This one hailed from mountain gorilla territory in central and eastern Africa. Indeed, if you get your eye in for footage of those gorillas in the mist, you may see them browsing amongst things that look a little like palm trees or even our tree ferns. Lobelia like we had never seen it before. It rockets upwards at about two metres a year, forming rosettes of big tropical leaves on top. Apparently it stops when it gets to about 5 metres high. Ours rocketed up but we rather lost interest when we realised it was not going to impress us with a magnificent display of bright blue flowers on its huge flower spike. The flowers were negligible and inconspicuous but the plant was a magnet for white fly and red spider so we didn’t worry when it succumbed to a cold, wet winter.

Sometimes you will see Lobelia aberdarica offered for sale. It is another lobelia mega herb, a little more cold hardy, though from a similar geographical area and it too has huge leaves growing in rosettes. However, it clumps closer to the ground rather than on top of its trunk though it seems to share the same huge flower spike with underwhelming flowers.

The North American perennial lobelias are very easy to lift and divide

The North American perennial lobelias are very easy to lift and divide

No, it was the unequalled display of the perennial, clumping lobelias from North America which made me sit up and take notice. We have had these for years here. They form neat little rosettes at ground level and put up metre high flower spikes which, in the past, have all then proceeded to fall over. I think what made the difference this season is that I had divided most of the plants, splitting up the crowns and spreading them around. And in these rejuvenated beds and borders, there were sufficient other plants to hold the flower spikes up. In this process, I had still managed to keep the colours separate. We have pale blue and mid blue, rich purple, cerise pink, white and even red. This year we had lots of blues and they have been a real feature.

As summer perennials, these are excellent garden plants for sun to semi shade. They’re easy. If you have a pure red one, it is likely that it will prefer damper conditions, even water’s edge. It is a different species, though still from USA.

I thought I would try and decode the species. Ha! There are somewhere up to 400 different ones. It is a huge family and many of what we have appear to be hybrids between different species. So we won’t confuse matters.

What became really interesting was the long history of lobelias in traditional herbal medicine. We come to this topic from a botanical angle which makes it really scary (identification is often wrong). But those American lobelias promise a cure for pretty much everything, though they can also be highly toxic. Lobelia inflata, also known as Indian tobacco, does not carry the alternative common name of puke weed or the equally charming vomitwort for nothing. But from snake bites to pleurisy to bronchial difficulties, it can be just the ticket. Best guess is that it is what Billy Connelly was given in the shaman’s tent on a recent Route 66 TV programme.

Be careful, should you happen to be suffering from syphilis, that it is Lobelia siphilitica that you harvest for a natural cure. I didn’t delve far into the history of syphilis in the indigenous American people around 400 years ago, but it is believed that this disease was introduced to Europe by sailors with Christopher Columbus.

The problem is that siphilitica and inflata are different species but look very similar and I have no idea whether our plants here are one, the other or a hybrid of the two. Nor am I confident that any research has been done to ascertain whether they are interchangeable in herbal medicine.

For sheer optimism, I loved the website dispensing advice on using lobelia as a herbal treatment. “Always consult your Health Professional to advise you on dosages and any possible medical interactions” it said. Yeah right. I am sure I am surrounded by health professionals who are far better than I am on botany, understand chemistry and have a deep knowledge of traditional medicines. I will just keep using these charming perennials as garden plants.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Gardening with grasses

We were entranced by the Piet Oudolf borders at Wisley

We were entranced by the Piet Oudolf borders at Wisley

Years ago I was editing garden descriptions and amongst the plethora of developing gardens or tranquil havens filled with birdsong, I came across one which claimed to have “a fascinating collection of grasses.” Fascinating seemed to be overstating the case. I think I toned down the adjective. It has taken a long time to win us over to the merits of grasses here, even though we have some lovely native varieties in New Zealand.

Big grasses need big space

Big grasses need big space

I have never actually seen grasses used in a breathtakingly beautiful way in gardens in this country though I have seen some handsome amenity planting combinations. The problem lies, I think, in how we use them. For starters we tend to limit ourselves to varieties which are knee high or lower. Even worse is the habit of forcing innocent grasses into an edging role where they are destined forever to be like an untidy fringe. And yes, mondo grass (both black and green), liriope, Carex Frosted Curls and blue fescue – I’m looking at you here. Grasses by their very form are designed to grow in the round, not to be forced into a narrow row as an edger. Nor indeed do I understand the obsession with uniform edging plants on all garden beds and borders in this country but that is another matter.

It wasn’t until we went to look at summer gardens in the UK that we were won over by grasses. We had heard slightly disparaging comments about the Piet Oudolf twin borders at Wisley (the RHS flaghip gardens) – a chevron design in grasses, I think somebody told us sniffily. It wasn’t that at all. Twin parallel borders were united by rivers of colour and texture flowing from one to the other with grasses featuring along with other plantings. Not knee high grasses, these were at least waist high and integrated with other carefully chosen perennials. It was an inspirational planting.

On the same trip, I saw the most exquisite grass I have ever seen at Beth Chatto’s garden. I don’t even know if Stipa barbata is in this country but it was light, ethereal and remarkably beautiful. Since then, we’ve seen grasses featured frequently in British TV garden programmes. One of the reasons we subscribe to Sky is to get gardening shows on the Living Channel.

Early view of the Wisley Oudolf borders before the glasshouse was built (from Penelope Hobhouse's book "In Search of Paradise" - magic

Early view of the Wisley Oudolf borders before the glasshouse was built (from Penelope Hobhouse's book "In Search of Paradise" - magic

The common threads to making these plantings work are:
1) Inspired combinations. Grasses are not planted with other grasses. They are integrated into mixed plantings which are carefully managed to look naturalistic in style. Grasses don’t generally suit formal plantings.
2) Forget grasses which are ankle high to knee high. Statement clumps are at least waist high and often considerably taller. This of course means they need quite a bit of space.
3) Big grasses plus big plantings result in a big effect. It rarely scales down effectively. Therein lies the problem – not that many of us have the space to garden on this sort of scale. Those of us who do have space (and it needs to be sunny, well drained space), have usually cluttered it up with mixed plantings including trees and shrubs. These exciting perennial plantings using grasses are usually only perennials, not mixed borders. The aforementioned Oudolf borders at Wisley are around 150 metres long by 11 metres wide – each. While that is on a grand and public scale, you really can’t expect to replicate it in miniature in a border which is only a metre wide and three metres long.
4) Many of these successful plantings have their origins in a garden interpretation of American prairies. It is a managed but not manicured style of gardening. It is some distance away from the classic herbaceous border and it is a long way away from the formal garden rooms genre we have adopted so enthusiastically in this country. It does not combine well with clipped hedges.

Set the grasses free. That is not original. I read it somewhere and it was a NZ writer though I can’t recall who. Stop trying to straitjacket them into contrived and managed combinations. If you have your grasses in a situation where they require grooming and regular combing, it is likely that you are straitjacketing them.

We were told that the Oudolf borders we so admired at Wisley required only a third of the labour input that the classic herbaceous borders needed. Partly that is because they don’t need staking or deadheading. They are cut down in late January (for us that translates to the end of July or late winter). I imagine by that stage they are quite scruffy so it is not a style that will appeal to tidy gardeners. But despite that scruffy stage, these prairie styled plantings contribute a great deal to the ecology of an area, feeding birds and wildlife. It is different to wildflower meadows in that it is managed plantings in varied combinations, often within a somewhat formal layout and with tight weed management. It is not random or self sown. This is not a style we seem to have picked up on this country. We are still mulling around as to whether we have the right position to try.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

More bad Penguin

Stop Press
Penguin NZ have issued an immediate recall of all copies of this book.

Slight sense of deja vu here - side by side

Slight sense of deja vu here - side by side

There was a bit of a problem with the first version of the Tui NZ FRUIT Garden by Sally Cameron, published by Penguin NZ. In fact it was clearly quite a large problem, given that Penguin ordered an immediate recall within a few days of its release. It’s usually called plagiarism – rather too much cut and paste from copyrighted sources without acknowledgment. It was the third such embarrassing incident in quick succession for this publisher, the highest profile being Witi Ihimaera’s work, The Trowenna Sea. No matter. Publishers closed ranks and I was on a National Radio panel where other professionals explained that it was all the author’s fault and none of this could possibly be blamed on the maligned publisher.

To my astonishment, Penguin NZ, with the backing of their sponsor Tui Garden, ploughed ahead using the same author to rewrite the book and a year later they issued a second edition which was substantially different. No better, mind, but different and minus the sections which appeared to have been plagiarised.

Would you not think that both Penguin NZ and Tui Garden would have put the first book by the same author in the same series – The Tui NZ VEGETABLE Garden – under the microscope at the same time? I reviewed it when it came out in 2009 and I was far too kind. In my defence, all I can say is that it seemed markedly better than the other book which I was reviewing alongside it. When faced with the FRUIT book a year later, I questioned whether the earlier VEG book might suffer from similar problems related to cutting and pasting other people’s work. I even cited the garlic entry and gave its source as a copyright website belonging to somebody else.

Given the obvious inexperience of the author, did nobody involved think it warranted a closer look? We are talking the same book series, same author (Sally Cameron), same sponsor (Tui), same publisher (Alison Brook for Penguin), same editor (Catherine O’Loughlin). When the author is already under scrutiny, in the dock so to speak, it is difficult to believe that others involved can dump all the blame on her a second time.

It was only ever going to be a matter of time before somebody noticed. And two weeks ago, somebody identified a primary source for the Tui NZ VEGETABLE Garden and posted the following comment on my website:
“Not only has Dr D G Hessayon ripped off Sally Cameron’s Tui NZ Vegetable Garden, chapter and verse, but, he also had the temerity to do it four years prior to Sally being published.
Is it OK to lift entire chapters of books if you include a reference to that book at the end? Hope so, ‘cos I’m just finishing my book “Great Expectations” with a small reference at the back to Mr C Dickens.”

Dr Hessayon's book may look a little old fashioned but is packed full of information and is a best seller - for British gardners

Dr Hessayon's book may look a little old fashioned but is packed full of information and is a best seller - for British gardners

My informant was working from a more recent copy of a source publication, “The New Vegetable and Herb Expert”. English horticulturist and bestselling author, Dr Hessayon actually published his book a good ten years before Sally Cameron produced hers. It took me mere minutes to track down a copy on Trade Me. I think I paid $12 for it plus P&P and it arrived in the mail this week.

Well. Oopsy. How many examples are sufficient?

1) On turnips: Hessayon: Round is not the only shape for these Early turnips – there are also flat and cylindrical ones. There is not much variation in the globular Maincrop types sown in summer, but you can choose the yellow-fleshed Golden Ball. (page 105)
Cameron: Round is not the only shape for these early turnips – there are also flat and cylindrical ones – but there is not much variation in the globular maincrop types sown in summer. (page 174 and one can do a side by side match for much of pages 174 and 175).

2) On Brussels sprouts: Hessayon: Birds are a problem – protect the seedlings from sparrows and the mature crop from pigeons. Hoe regularly and water the young plants in dry weather. The mature crop rarely needs watering if the soil has been properly prepared…. (pages 34-5)
Cameron: Birds are a problem. Protect the seedlings from sparrows and pigeons that will eat the mature crops. (Which type of pigeons, Sally?) If scarecrows don’t work, hang cutlery from a clothes hanger. (That suggestion does appear to be a Cameron original). … Hoe around the plants regularly and water the young plants in dry weather. The mature crop rarely needs watering if the soil has been properly prepared….( page 70 -71)

Even the instructions for picking are eerily identical.
Hessayon: Begin picking when the sprouts (‘buttons’) at the base of the stem have reached the size of a walnut and are still tightly closed. Snap them off with a sharp downward tug or cut them off with a sharp knife.
Cameron: Begin picking the sprouts at the base of the stem when they have reached the size of a walnut and are still closed. Snap them off with a sharp downward tug or cut them off with a sharp knife.

Similar problems exist with broccoli, celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke, the aforementioned garlic and more and I cannot claim to have done anything near a complete analysis. Given that the problems appear to be of a similar magnitude to the first version of the FRUIT book which was recalled, will we be looking at a recall of the VEG book? Maybe Tui Garden might consider whether it is a good look being affiliated to a book which claims to give good advice to New Zealand gardeners when a fair swag of it seems to have come from a book for British gardeners.

Lightning, it appears, can strike twice in the same place. It just beggars belief that editor, publisher and sponsor all appear to have failed to factor that in to their considerations.

First published in the Waikato Times and reproduced here with their permission.

Version 1 at the top, version 2 at the bottom. Just Tony Murrell's photo has disappeared from the cover though the content was substantially rewritten

Version 1 at the top, version 2 at the bottom. Just Tony Murrell's photo has disappeared from the cover though the content was substantially rewritten

The ongoing saga (and it is developing into a saga):

1) The review of the second edition of the fruit book: The Sequel – a second coming for the Tui NZ Fruit Garden

2) Does credibility and reputation count for nothing these days, or does Penguin just think we have short memories? (written upon hearing that Penguin and Tui were using the same author to rewrite the fruit book)

3) The story that started it all and that is currently the second most read article on my website, still receiving hits every day: The Tui NZ Fruit Garden – dear oh dear

4) The lead story on the Taranaki Daily News which broke the first plagiarism story. Since then I have parted company from the Daily News and moved to the Waikato Times.

5) The original review of the Tui NZ Vegetable Garden, which was far too kind and is now embarrassing to me as a reviewer. But I leave it in place because it is a good reminder – and I am considerably more thorough at reviewing garden books in NZ than many others. The Tui book did look better than the other one I was reviewing at the same time – but it, at least, was actually written by the author, based on her experience (however limited it was). Separating the genuine enthusiasts from candyfloss fashion gardening

6) The Tui NZ Flower Garden I merely add this one to complete the set. I declined to review the companion volume on kid’s gardening but I did review the flower book (same series but different author). I would not for one minute suggest that this volume suffers from plagiarism, not at all. It could only be original, for reasons which may be obvious if you read the review.

Summer is for lilies

Auratum lilies in the summer border

Auratum lilies in the summer border

Flowers mark the seasons for gardeners. To us, autumn means nerines. Winter is for camellias, late winter brings snowdrops, bluebells and magnolias. Spring means rhododendrons and cherry trees. And summer? Lilies are the flowers of summer.

Not roses. They look wonderful in late spring but by the time summer arrives, the roses are past their best. They tend to be happier in drier climates with low humidity, often with the advantage of cold winters to kill greeblies and fungi. To keep them looking good in warm, moist climates with high humidity requires a rigorous spray programme and good management. It can be done but we don’t do it.

But the lilies need no such fuss and they reward us with masses of blooms throughout the summer season, though to have a succession of them, you need to grow a range of different types. Fortunately there are plenty to choose from. There are well over 100 different species and that does not include the hybrids. Nor will I sidetrack onto plants that are referred to as lilies by name but are not lilies by nature – zantedeschia or arum lily, gloriosa or climbing lily, let alone daylilies and waterlilies.

We start with what we call the Christmas lily which is Lilium regale. It is a fragrant trumpet lily from China which is flushed deep red on the backs of the petals and is usually in flower for me to pick for the Christmas table. If you are thinking of a pure white Christmas lily (much favoured by florists), you are probably referring to Lilium longiflorum which hails from Japan. The renowned madonna lily, with its pure white trumpets, is yet another species (candidum) from southern Europe but it is distressingly prone to virus.

The Aurelian lilies are an earlier flowering favourite

The Aurelian lilies are an earlier flowering favourite

Dovetailing with the Christmas lily, we have some lovely, sweetly scented trumpet lilies of the Aurelian type. These are a personal favourite. I love the soft honey apricot and lemon colours of the ones we have here and they are easy to grow in a garden border. Like most lilies, they pick well.

The tiger lilies lack scent but are easy to grow

The tiger lilies lack scent but are easy to grow

The tiger lilies are pretty common and dead easy to grow but they lack scent, which can be a bit of a disappointment. If you can overlook that deficiency and you garden with orange tones, these lilies are perfect in mixed plantings. They rarely need staking and after flowering, the foliage dies down pretty quickly. The petals are described as reflex – in other words they curve backwards, not unlike a crown. There are a number of other lilies with this flower form (referred to as Turk’s cap lilies because they resemble a Turkish headpiece), but the tiger lily is in fact Lilium lancifolium, sometimes referred to as Lilium tigrinum. We don’t find the proper Turk’s caps (being L. martagon) anywhere near as easy to grow. If you know someone with tiger lilies, they produce masses of tiny bulbs (called bulbils) on the lower stem and these will reach flowering size in a couple of years.

All these lilies are but the prelude to the extended display we get from the astounding auratums. I wrote about these in Plant Collector over a month ago, the wonderful golden rayed lilies of Japan. They are still in full flight here and a major feature of the summer garden. They are big. They are beautiful. They are very fragrant. One might consider they are a bit over the top – but never vulgar. If planted by a path, they will need staking to stop every passerby being touched with golden pollen. Similarly, when a clump gets too congested, they will be inclined to fall over, unless staked. In garden borders or beds of tidy, compact little plants, the auratums will look out of place. But in big borders with big plants, they are superb. For us, they are the number one flower of summer.

The final flurry for the season comes from the late summer Lilium formasanum, which geographically inclined readers will understand means that these are indigenous to Taiwan. This is another scented trumpet type, predominantly white often flushed rosy pink on the petal backs, generally unfussy and commonly seen in gardens. Formasanum will seed down readily (too readily, some say, but we have never found it a problem) and grow even in semi shade and open woodland areas of the garden. It will flower in just its second year from seed. It makes a particularly good garden subject because its foliage is light and fine so it is not too intrusive in the dying down stages and it does not usually need staking.

I pick lilies to bring indoors. I love the way just one stem can scent an entire room for many days on end. Lilies produce the leaves and the flowering stem all on the same spike. It is important to remember when picking that you must leave sufficient stem and foliage for the bulb to continue photosynthesizing. This is how it builds up enough strength for it to flower again next year.

Lily pollen can stain badly. I am guessing florists carefully brush the pollen from each stamen, being careful not to allow any to fall and mark the petals. I nip off the pollen coated tips, leaving the central stamen. It seems a shame but I know from experience that I do not want to be trying to get pollen stains off carpet and upholstery. You have to keep doing it as buds open in the vase but it is a small price to pay for one of the very best cut flowers I can think of. (See comment below – rethinking these actions now.)

First published by the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Auratum lilies with lobelias

Auratum lilies with lobelias