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