Solstice

I've not been out in the garden much as the weather has mostly been awful when I had free time and daylight! However, today the sun came out so I thought I would mark the winter solstice by planting garlic. Not sure if there's a connection, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I have planted three varieties: Lautrec Wight, Provence Wight, and Elephant garlic. These have gone in the patch where I planted potatoes; this experiment didn't really work as the frost came as soon as any shoots showed, but I did find a small handful of spuds today so will have them for tea.

The garden is still quite verdant, probably due to the relatively mild weather and lashings of rain. The English marigolds are still flowering, as are the wild deadnettles. The Gingko turned a beautiful shade of buttery yellow which lasted for about a week, and now the leaves are spread all over the garden.

In the coldframe potted snowdrops are starting to show their shoots, as are one or two other bulbs. The garden birds are singing loudly, and everything is looking promising for the year ahead.

Falling into Autumn

Autumn is upon us, with colder nights and damper days, and torrential rain interspersed with the occasional glimpse of welcome sunshine. I have continued with weeding and deadheading, but not much has changed. The grass grows longer as it is too wet to cut, and the spiders are hanging out in their webs hoping for food. They are fascinating to watch, rebuilding broken parts and testing each strand with a foot as they go.

Today I sat on the step of the shed and potted up bulbs of Allium and Nectoscordum ready for planting out in spring when I have cleared some more space. The mini greenhouse was put back together so that I have somewhere cool and sheltered from the elements to store the bulbs. I also planted crocus corms beneath the Gingko tree and in the wild flower garden. The leaves are starting to plummet from the Gingko, but not many are turning the bright, buttery yellow I have been hoping for. Maybe a cold snap will sort that out.

I have bought some quality garlic bulbs from The Garlic Farm in Merstone, for planting out as soon as possible. The varieties are Lautrec Wight, Provence Wight, and Elephant garlic. Hopefully we will get crops next year! Some of the potatoes I planted last month are sprouting, so we may get some new potatoes at the end of next month. Fingers crossed.

 

 

There are still a reasonable amount of flowers in the garden, including Verbena bonariensis, Rudbeckia, corn marigold, English marigold, dandelion, purple flax, soapwort, and borage. Celandine bulbils appear when I weed, and the primrose foliage is looking firm and healthy again, as is that of the foxgloves. Spring should be lovely!



Beautiful bracket fungi at the Garlic Farm



August and September

I didn't do a huge amount in the garden during August as it was so hot or so wet when I was free. However, I kept on with general maintenance such as hedge trimming, lawn mowing and weeding areas that had already been cleared. The bind weed is an absolute thug; as soon as you turn your back it grows a foot longer and entangles all the nearby plants. I spent a good half hour yesterday rescuing the hydrangea from its clutches!

I have had some successes and failures in the vegetable patch. The tomatoes have fruited heavily and I am in the process of making a batch of spicy tomato chutney, which will be followed by a batch of green tomato chutney, as the ripening of the fruit has slowed right down and the woodlice have been moving in to start devouring the fruit. Speaking of woodlice, the sweetcorn set lots of fruit which was quite slow to ripen, and when I checked inside the cobs, the little critters had made themselves new homes. I fed the lot to the compost heap. Ah well.

I had a good crop of onions and shallots, as well as spring onions and French climbing beans. The runner beans did not do well but they were in competition with bindweed, so I may try again next year and be more vigilant with the weeding. We had five very tasty carrots! The nasturtiums have flowered non-stop, and today I collected lots of green seed which is now soaking in a brine solution ready for pickling tomorrow night.

At the beginning of September I was given a large bagful of crab apples, and had an attempt at making crab apple jelly. I had done this once before and the end result was not good. This time the result was much better, coming out a beautiful shade of clear red, although perhaps not quite as set as it should be. It tastes scrumptious though. I have also picked a lot of blackberries and made apple and blackberry crumble for the freezer, and frozen the rest of the fruit to eat throughout the winter. Yummy!

This last week has seen me clear the sweetcorn patch, dig it over and replant it with seed potatoes that promise new potatoes in  time for Christmas. We'll see. The patch has been covered by netting suspended on wire hoops and held down with bricks in order to keep the cats off. The cats see this as a challenge. All the fruits on the tomato plants have been harvested and are being processed into chutney to help feed my cheese addiction. General weeding has begun again, and the lawn might get mown over the weekend. It is also seed collecting season, so until last weekend I had a ragtag collection of paper bags filled with desiccated seed heads, and then spent a pleasant morning sorting them and storing them in small envelopes. Spring bulbs have appeared in the shops, so I treated myself to some crocus corms, snowdrop bulbs (Galanthus nivalis, which I have planted in pots), and some Nectoscordum or Honey Bells. 

I do have a dilemma while gardening at this time of year, in that there are spider webs everywhere, home to the most beautiful garden spiders (Araneus diadematus), and I really do not want to damage them or interrupt the feasting on flies. Unfortunately I need to get to the shed, and all routes are blocked by these beauties so I shall have to be horrid to at least one of them. I had to stop cutting back the perennial sweet pea last week because I found an elephant hawkmoth caterpillar loitering in there. There has also been an abundance of hoverflies, honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees, ants, grasshoppers, harvest men, blackfly, woodlice, shiny green flies, slugs, garden snails and banded snails (don't think that is the right name), cabbage white butterflies, moths galore, the occasional bat and a toad. Glorious!

Garden Spider

Elephant hawkmoth caterpillar

Toad

Garden Tiger moth

Crab apple jelly

July

July is two thirds of the way through; I have had a busy month with work, family trips away and holidays so the garden has mostly been left to get on with it on its own. Most of the month has been very hot and dry, but we have had rain this week and the water butts have refilled, just in time for the next hot, dry spell.

I attacked the hedge again with the hedge trimmer (get one, they're fun), as the brambles and ash trees were poking their heads out of the top and sides. I couldn't quite get all the way over the top as my ladder was a bit wobbly, so I popped a note through the neighbours door to apologise about the straggly bits and hoping nothing had landed their side. They were somewhat freaked out that I knew their names! They talk quite loudly in the garden....  Later in the week they were out trimming their hedges by hand, on the hottest day of the year so far, so I offered them the trimmer and built up good neighbourly relations! Go me!

There is, as ever, lots of wildlife around. The Red Admiral caterpillars in the nettles are pupating (small black cases), spiders abound, as do shiny green flies, hoverflies, blackfly on the beans and nasturtiums, the inevitable molluscs, ants, green shield bugs on the French beans, grasshoppers and various birds and butterflies. I found the corpse of a slow worm on the lawn one day. Probably due to the flippin' cats. They are still pooping and digging. Annoying. While working near the shed one day I heard a loud rasping noise, and turned round to see a wasp having a good chew on an old plank of wood. It's incredible the noise they make with such a small set of jaws, and that the chewed wood is then turned into such an intricate nest. 

There are many plants in flower (see the In Bloom page and the gallery), and I have begun harvesting the vegetable patches. I have had French beans, shallots, spring onions, and lots of herbs so far. The onions are nearly ready to harvest, and the runner beans are coming along nicely. The tomatoes are setting fruit, and the sweetcorn has male and female flowers - hopefully planted close enough together to cross fertilise. I have picked and eaten the broad beans in the veg patch (boiled, then mixed with mint, olive oil and feta cheese - yummy!), and there are still some growing in the flower bed. Most of the first veg patch has been harvested, so have interplanted with some perennials as a nursery bed until I have cleared the next flower bed. The annual sweet peas fell over in a storm so I had to cut them back hard, and rescue all the flowers. Hopefully they will grow back.  The wildflower bed is coming along nicely too, with a nice variety of species, which will hopefully self-seed and become even more interesting next year.

Nasturtiums and Salvia

Shallots, Spring onions and French beans

French beans, Swiss Chard, red lettuce and Sweet Peas

Mid June

This has been a month of music festivals and torrential rain, followed by hot muggy weather and scorching sunshine. Consequently I have not done a huge amount more in the garden. I managed to make it out this week and have cut the grass, trimmed the hedge (including the top while balanced on a wobbly ladder, and not managing to reach all the way across so wrote an apologetic note to the neighbours), done a bit of weeding, watering and planting.

On the patio, I weeded between some cracks and planted some scraps of Sempervivum that were not thriving in a pot. The ants under the patio were not amused. In the middle patch of the patio I planted a Thymus 'Pink Chintz', which will hopefully spread along the gaps between the paving slabs. The Thymus that I planted earlier in the month is thriving and in full bloom.

Today I potted up the Sweet William and Echinacea seedlings as they were getting a bit leggy, and then planted the Helleborus and Primula vulgaris seedlings in the border next to the path. The plants in the border next to the fence are burgeoning, with the Verbena bonariensis and Linaria in bloom, and the Hollyhocks and Foxgloves growing rapidly. Flowers are plentiful, with Lonicera, annual and perennial Sweet Peas, Scabiosa, Linaria, Sempervivum, Runner Beans, French Beans, Tomatoes, Ligustrum, Allium, Lavandula, Thymus, Taraxacum, Bellis, Sonchus, Geraniums, Bugle, Centaurea, Cow Cockle,  Corn Cockle, Alchemilla mollis, and grasses. I also started clearing the next patch of border as the docks and sow thistles were taller than me. The cats may be upset as this is their favourite sunbathing patch. That'll teach them for wandering into the house uninvited! I built a new support for the perennial sweet peas too, as they were too vigorous and heavy for the original canes. They are now starting to flower. The annual sweet peas are prolific and I have harvested at least three substantial bunches of flowers from them.

Wildlife is abundant too, with many slugs and snails, ants, beetles, bees, hoverflies, butterflies and a slow-worm. Swallows are whirling and screaming in the sky above, and bats are fluttering about in the evening. I also spotted an adult vine weevil which I promptly squashed. Sorry. Ish. Something has been digging a deep hole beneath the stump of the Cordyline, but I can't work out what it is. It seems too deep for a cat, and I have seen no other evidence for badgers, foxes or rabbits. Odd.

Cow Cockle

Sempervivum

Cornflower

Corncockle

May into June

The garden is actively growing now that spring is getting into it's stride, with warm weather followed by torrential rain last night. The wildlife is having a lovely time, and the slugs and snails have discovered the delights of shallot leaves. They are still not keen on bindweed, which is a shame. Black aphids have appeared on the runner beans and broad beans, so I am hoping that the hoverflies I have seen around will lay their eggs nearby and get feasting soon. I spent twenty minutes this morning watching red tailed and white tailed bumblebees buzzing from flower to flower on the dandelions in the lawn - really nice! In the nettle patch by the shed I discovered lots of leaves that had been sown into tubes; these probably house the caterpillars of Red Admiral butterflies, so it will be interesting to see if I can spot them emerging. I have also spotted a clutch of bright green butterfly eggs on a sweet pea leaf so will wait and see what they turn into.

Last weekend I decided to sweep the area of concrete outside the shed and lay an edging of bricks around it as we have a large pile of bricks behind the shed. I haven't cemented them in, just wanted to see what it might look like, and am pleased with the result. While moving the bricks I found a lot of spiders with at least six different species. Photos can be found in the gallery. This is going to be a lovely area, surrounded by plants, and perfect for barbecues and evenings sitting round the chimnea. I tested the latter with a friend last weekend and we had a lovely burn up!

I have been planting more plants out trying to fill the borders that are already cleared. I am loathe to clear the others until I have plants to go in them. I have planted Achillea 'Cerise Queen, Cerinthe major 'Purpurescens', Sunflower 'Pudsey', Calendula officionalis, rhubarb (it's looking pathetic so may not survive), Bugle, Scabiosa, Alchemilla mollis, Lamium and three varieties of tomato, lemon balm, mint and creeping thyme. When I edged the concrete area I made a small border near the fence, so some of these plants are in there. The mint is next to the shed so that it can spread without being a nuisance.

On a recent visit to a garden centre with my Mum, I took a chance on some packets of bulbs that were on a two for one offer; they were somewhat past their sell by date, but I took them home and nurtured them and am pleased to report that I have two Irises, a Hemerocallis 'Strawberries and Cream', a Lillium, and two Cyclamen hederifolium showing signs of life. The Cosmos atrosanguineus doesn't appear to be doing anything though. Time will tell. Quite a few plants are flowering now including Lonicera (Honeysuckle), Scabiosa, annual sweet pea, sow thistle, dandelion, lavender, and Allium.

Last night we had torrential rain so the water butt has refilled, along with every other empty container I could lay my hands on! I discovered a hole in the side of the water butt near the top and we have done running repairs with chewing gum as nothing else seemed to work. Minging but effective!

Nettle flowers

New patio area



Sempervivum



Allium

Fourth Week in May

Variable weather this week, with showers and sunshine. Tuesday was particularly hot and I returned home to find the Hydrangea wilting, as well as one of the foxgloves and one of the lavenders. Several watering cans of rain water later they seemed to recover.

I have planted a few things out that were starting to get spindly in the lean-to; Nasturtium 'Tom Thumb', Cerinthe major, and Geranium macrorrhizum. More to follow when space has been cleared. The honeysuckle is covered in fat flower buds, which I hope will burst open soon. The annual sweet peas are in bloom - a gorgeous deep purple - and smell amazing. Both lavender plants have flower spikes growing, and the multitude of Geranium varieties are blooming prettily. The fern plant I inherited has unfurled and is a lovely, cool green and will form a pleasant backdrop to something more colourful.

In the vegetable patches the runner beans are sprinting up their canes, the French beans are growing steadily, the onion sets seem to have settled in, the spring onions and shallots are fattening up. The strawberry plants seem satisfied with their new spot too. The only things not thriving are the garlic bulbs. Ah well.

There is plenty of wildlife; I have spotted several species of bee, slugs, snails, beetles, woodlice, found an ants nest under a paving slab, seen and heard lots of birds, found flies, and seen lots of spider species. On the subject of the latter, I found a stunning specimen of a giant house spider hanging out with its egg sac in the barbecue. I am becoming mildly obsessed with spiders; I had no idea there were so many species in Britain. We may also have bats nearby. While weeding the side border on Sunday I found many snails, some common garden snails and a variety of banded snails. Gorgeous!

The cats are getting used to our presence. The ginger one got cheeky and came into the kitchen when the back door was open. Cheeky so and so! He was chased out again.

I ended up in a garden centre on Saturday an came home with two creeping thymes to plant near the patio, so that they can creep between the cracks, some cucumelon seedlings, and a variety of perennial plants sold as bulb packets which are well past their best but were going cheap. I have potted them up and will see if they recover. They included Iris, Hemerocallis,,Cyclamen hederifolium, Lillium, and Cosmos atrosanguineus. All lovely when in flower.

May 18th 2019

Not a great deal happening this week. Everything is growing well and we have had a little rain. I bought a Salvia 'Amethyst Lips' from a local grower this morning, which should look pretty. I have taken a few pictures after the rain too.

Lonicera with fern behind

Sempervivum

Alchemilla mollis

May Bank holiday to 13th

The garden is growing rapidly and looks rather nice, despite most of it being plants that will be getting removed! I am deliberately neglecting my pots of Sempervivums and they seem to be thriving on it. By the end of the summer they should be beautifully congested if all goes to plan. 

The lawn has been mowed and the dandelions deadheaded, with the cuttings mixed into the compost heap with shredded paper and wood ash from the chimenea. Not sure that's wise but the wildlife seems to be thriving in the heap. I have put some plants into the new border, but will have to add more as it still looks somewhat bare. The plants are Alchemilla mollis ("Lady's Mantle"), Helleborus ("Hellebore"), Salvia turkestanica ("Ornamental Sage"), Potentilla, Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' ("Dwarf Lavender"), and Viola ("Violet"). Rather a mixed bag but needs must for now.

On Saturday I weeded the first veg patch as it had a lot of bindweed and bittercress in it. I also removed the net covering and covered the bare patch in the middle with a piece of chicken wire to keep the cats off. Seems to be working so far. I then made tripods out of bamboo canes and planted the runner beans and French beans, followed by the sweetcorn. The runner beans have already started twining their way up the canes.

A friend of my Mum's called me yesterday and said she had heard I was in need of plants and offered me a selection, so I now have Golden Rod, Euporbia, more Alchemilla, two varieties of Geranium, and various other plants. How kind!

After work today I pottered about and sowed some seed in the first vegetable bed where the garlic had failed to do anything. There are now two rows of multicoloured carrots and another row of spring onions. I also thinned out the existing row of spring onions and replanted most of the seedlings in spaces by the shallots, garlic and broad beans. Not sure any of it will work but it is worth a try.

There is much wildlife in the garden. The birdsong in the surrounding trees is prolific and lovely. I keep seeing spiders carrying their egg-sacs - at first I thought this was a dark spider with a pale abdomen but it turns out that I was seeing females carrying eggs. Slugs and snails abound, but appear to be keeping off the vegetables for the moment. Fingers crossed that this continues. I have also seen ants, woodlice, and flies.

Beans and Sweetcorn

One of the feline visitors. Almost friendly!

May Bank Holiday

Recovered from illness so back outside. On the Saturday we had a family expedition to a local Garden Centre where I spent some of my garden vouchers. I bought Salvia turkistanica, Achillea 'Cerise Queen', Hyssop, Runner bean and climbing bean plants, Rock Rose, white Campanula, and an Anemone. Also quite a lot of compost and a magazine.

When we returned home, I cleared the stone pots that had been left by the previous owner, and planted the Hart's Tongue Ferns in them. They are now outside the back door where it is fairly shady. We moved the trough so that it was at the edge of the patio near the large border and planted the three alpine plants in it. Should look pretty there. The hyssop was planted in the herb bed, and the rest are waiting for a home. I may split and repot the Achillea.

On Sunday a friend came round and we attacked the second vegetable plot, clearing it of weeds and sinking the boards in around the edge. We were unable to screw them together as the wood was hard and our tools weren't up to it! However, they are in and supported by the soil. Looks good! I will wait a week before planting anything to give the bindweed and willowherb a chance to show itself. I did discover that what I assumed were daffodils were actually leeks so these were gently split and replanted in a row rather than a clump. I guess they must have self seeded.

We also attacked the border by the path and dug all the weeds out. I lifted out a particularly grassy bit and used it to replace some turf on the edge of the lawn. Bit of a bodge job and I could feel my old horticultural lecturers staring over my shoulders and shaking their heads in disappointment. Again, I will leave this for a week or so before starting to plant to allow the soil to settle and the weeds to come up.

We finished the day with a big roast dinner followed by a fire in the chimenea that the previous owners left behind. It works well!

On Monday I pricked out and potted up lots of seedlings - I would be better to use flat seed trays rather than modules next year I think. I also split the Achillea into three plants. Earlier in the day we paid a visit to my Mother and retrieved a tin bath that I planted up some years ago with Sedum spectabile as well as some Sempervivum. The Sedum is thriving but the Sempervivum isn't. The former will be planted into the borders at some point for some late summer colour. We also popped into another local nursery and bought some sweetcorn seedlings and a small carving of a Green Man face, as well as scrounging some module trays. Always worth asking!

Slow worm

April into May

A quiet week as I have been poorly - could just about manage to sit in the garden and contemplate the weeds. However, much has been growing.

Indoors, basil is sprouting, along with fennel, tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and stocks.  Cuttings have been taken and potted up, of golden Spiraea, Penstemon, Forsythia, Fuchsia and Akebia quinata ("Chocolate Vine"). These have been covered over with squash bottles with their bottoms cut off, which act as mini cloches and keep the humidity up.  Dandelion seeds have been collected and sown so that I can have a proper crop of these. I have read that these need potting up as soon as their seedlings can be handled so could be tricky. Only one of my sweetcorn seeds has germinated so far, which won't end up with a crop as more than one is needed for cross-pollination. I have sown seeds of Swiss Chard for the vegetable patch so that it can be planted out as soon as the new bed is ready.

In the garden the bindweed is thriving, so every time I go out there I have to hoik out a handful of the stuff, trying to get as much root as possible. Straight into the bindweed bucket. The new border is looking good, and the plants are settling in nicely, as are the herb plants next to it. The perennial sweet pea that came up is gradually attaching itself onto the makeshift tripod that I put up, so I am hopeful of flowers later in the season. The seeds sown in the wildflower border are germinating between the bindweed, dandelions and tree seedlings; there will definitely be pot marigolds!

In the vegetable patch, the shallots are doing well for the most part, not much of the garlic has sprouted, and the spring onions have germinated but aren't doing a huge amount. The broad beans have been attacked by pea and bean weevil so have notches along all the leaves. They still seem to be growing though. I shall grow some in pots as back up.

I have moved more plants outdoors as they weren't getting enough light on the bottom of the frame; these include Hart's Tongue Ferns, Oregano, Lemon Balm and Lamium. The grass (dandelion flowers) has been cut and looks a little tidier. The Ginkgo is sprouting leaves from the branches and trunk and is really looking nice. SO happy that it came with the garden.

Still lots to do - I really need to get on with sorting the borders out so I can plant the lovely plants that I am growing in pots. However, I am really hopeful that this garden is going to be fabulous!

NB: popped out there tonight. Brown slugs everywhere, especially on the vegetable patch. Made a couple of slug traps from takeaway boxes with a slit cut in their lids, and partially filled with marmitey water. It has been effective in the past, although this time I am using own brand yeast extract...

Aquilegia

Dandelion

Allium triquetrum

Third & Fourth Weeks in April

The week started with lunch at a local garden centre, and the inevitable purchase of plants. I decided to replace the sickly herbs so bought a common Rosemary, common Thyme and a purple Sage. All now planted out. I  bought seeds of Winter Savory and lettuce leaf Basil too. And a bag of vermiculite. Oops.

Lots of seeds have been sown; two varieties of tomato, English marigolds, Monarda, and possibly some others. Several are germinating including Stocks, marigolds and Cerinthe. Exciting! We have more to sow but have run out of space. 

Outside I have planted a sweet pea plant that survived the winter; it will be supported by a laundry airer that isn't needed for now. Larger plants are hardening off ready for planting when the beds are clear, and the battle with bindweed has begun. I have a special bucket for their roots....

I decided that the outdoor potting bench wasn't fit for purpose, so took the top off and moved the compost bin into half of the space, and started building a wildlife heap next to it.

This week's project is to finish the edging for the second veg bed. I have cut the wood to size now with my new shiny saw, and just have to nail it all together. This could go horribly wrong! Update - the nails were too short but have found some really long screws. Still not finished though.

Other jobs done include giving the lawn a liquid feed, erecting a bamboo tripod for a perennial sweet pea to climb up, sowing more seeds, cutting the grass and the hedge (bought a new toy!), pulling up lots of bindweed and  ash seedlings, moving some stone pots, and planting out some of the perennials in the bed beyond the Hydrangea. This latter planting was of foxgloves, hollyhocks, Verbena, bugle, and mallow as they all needed to get established. They will probably be moved in due course. 

Second Week in April

Some of the week has been spent decorating the house, but in between sloshing on the gloss I have made it outside. 

I have begun weeding the side border, mostly because it's easier going than the new border near the path. The dead conifer has been hoiked out along with several brambles and lots of Geranium lucidum, which seems to have self seeded everywhere! I have discovered an Arum maculatum (Lords and Ladies) and a few crocuses. The latter have been replanted under the Gingko. 

At the top of the border I removed another hexagonal slab, and planted the Rosemary and Thyme that was in a pot from the old house. Both these plants looked rather sad, and I discovered a couple of vine weevil grubs in the compost. These were squashed immediately and I had a good rummage for more. There were still live roots on the plants so I chopped back the foliage before planting and gave them a dose of seaweed fertiliser afterwards. Fingers crossed. I also planted a Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' nearby.

A friend popped round for a cuppa on Thursday morning and brought five bags of plants from her garden for me. Really kind and generous of her! I now have lemon balm, Lamium, harts tongue fern, primroses, hellebores, mallow, oregano, lemon potentilla,  hollyhock, and another  whose name I have forgotten. The primroses have been planted under the Gingko and everything else has been potted up.

On Friday I raked over the border next to the Gingko and sowed a selection of wildflower seeds that were lying about, watered them in and then covered with chicken wire to keep the cats off. We also bagged up the remaining sedges, brambles and assorted weeds and disposed of them at the tip.

Sunday: I bought a cowslip plant and a rhubarb plant from a roadside stall today for the princely sum of 50p each. Yesterday I continued to weed the side border and potted up some Saponaria I found there, as well as another plant, as yet unidentified. The Saponaria, or "Soapwort", has taken root all the way along, so shall be brutally thinned out.

Wildlife this week:

• Brimstone butterfly
• Cabbage White butterfly
• Frog
• Woodlice
• Black spiders
• Woodlouse spider
• Red money spider
  
  
• Robin
• Blackbirds
• Pigeons
• Herring gull
• Crows
• Yellow banded snail 
• Zebra spider
• Mallards (fly past)
• Black ants in the compost bin
• Common snails
• Various slugs

Primroses

Plant gifts

Arum maculatum

First week in April

A gentle week, due to poor weather and other commitments. On Wednesday we decided to mark out the edges of the lawn with an edging iron and a rope (making a circle). This was successful but the handle snapped when we hit a buried plastic bag. Took it back to the garden centre and got a replacement with no quibbles. 

The rest of the week has been digging out diseased Aquilegias (mildew?), and sowing seeds in pots. I have sown Sweet Williams, Sweetcorn, Cerinthe major purpurescens, Echinacea, and Climbing beans. Another run to the dump occured so more weeds have been disposed of, as well as the remaining rubbish left by the previous owner. Finally, I started digging out the border near the path. That could take a while to finish!

Sunday
Finished weeding the area near the Gingko in preparation for sowing wildflower seeds. Seems ridiculous to be pulling up some wildflowers to make room for others, but these were particularly thuggish and pernicious (I love that word) so I don't feel too bad. Oh yes, I disturbed a wee common frog too. Very exciting!

March 27th - 30th 2019

Bad day at work so took it out on the garden when I got home. Hence the second veg patch has been cleared! It was full of Willowherb roots and bindweed, but it all came out easily. I am sure lots of roots snapped off so they will pop up again soon, but for now it looks lovely. I shall leave it fallow for a while to see what pops up, and to give the cats time to dig it over again.

After that I sat in the sunshine with my daughter, drinking tea and eating cookies. She suggested that she make the old woodshed at the back of the main shed into a mini retreat for herself, which seems like a good idea. She also suggested we make a wildlife haven out of old wood. I absolutely agreed! We spotted lots of bugs and beasties while weeding, including earthworms aplenty, centipedes, shield bugs, common snails, and a woodlouse nursery between two planks of wood. We then went to the original veg patch and sowed a row of Spring Onion 'White Lisbon' in between the broad beans. There are lots of dandelions in flower now, and the deadnettles are flowering too.

I'm SOOOO glad we have a garden now. It is the best place to be after a difficult day, allowing space to process events, and enabling one to get rid of anger and frustration by digging, clearing, pruning and creating. It is also nice to sit in the spring sunshine with a cuppa and giggle with friends and family. 

Veg Patch 2

March 30th
I had to get into the garden yesterday evening, as the sun was shining and I was full of energy. I grabbed a spade and fork and attacked the last big patch of sedge at the bottom of the garden next to the new vegetable bed. It took alot of effort, as this lot were stubborn, but they are now out and we can consider what to do with that end. Need to remove a few brambles too, but that shouldn't take long.

This morning I haven't gardened, but sat in the sunshine for a bit soaking up the early morning sun and listening to the birds singing, then hung out the laundry. Later we both popped out for a bit and my daughter spotted a Speckled Wood butterfly resting on the conifer, and I spotted a ladybird. Lots of small spiders scuttling around in the grass too. Gorgeous!

Ladybird

Speckled Wood butterfly

 

March 22nd 2019

This week I have mostly pottered about in the garden. I cut the grass again, so the 'lawn' is improving. Yesterday I weeded the vegetable patch and removed a lot of Willow herb roots; these are long and white and break fairly easily, so I will have to watch out for those. I then raked it over and replaced the netting (damn cats). Speaking of cats, I have had two face-offs with the big ginger one this week. I won.

Today we uncovered the veg patch and planted heritage broad beans, garlic and shallots. I know you probably shouldn't mix them, but they needed planting and I don't have much space yet. I got a length of wood from the shed to form drills with in the soil, so everything was in reasonably straight lines. My daughter then wrote the name of each item on a lollipop stick and we labelled the rows. Watered everything and then put the netting back. Can't wait to eat some homegrown food!

Afterwards I started clearing the next patch, which wasn't too difficult. Should finish it next week if the weather holds. I also potted up a Buddleia seedling and sowed some wildflower seeds in a pot that a friend had given me, and sowed some sunflower seeds in pots.

Vegetable patch after planting.

Vegetable patch 2 before clearing

Vegetable patch 2 half way through clearing.