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!