Middle of May

The garden plants are growing rapidly now, and I spend a small portion of most days pottering around pulling up bindweed. It's mostly under control now but won't give up. The broad beans are flowering, and growing on despite attacks by slugs and black aphids. The salad plants are growing quite well, but I need to remember to water them often as their bed dries out quickly. The beds are only raised a couple of inches off the ground but it makes a huge difference with drainage. I shall have to source large quantities of well-rotted manure once lockdown is over, as this will help with soil structure and water retention.

I have been quite busy this week, and have thinned out the carrots, leeks, and beetroot seedlings. I replanted the thinnings; many people say this won't work, but I watered them in well and they seem to be OK. Time will tell. This afternoon I planted the runner bean plants, some pea seedlings and swiss chard seedlings. Again, watered well in and supports put in for the peas and beans. Fingers crossed that the slugs and snails don't find them!

Last week we cleared a space for the brassicas and planted spring cabbage, Kale 'Cavolo de Nero', and some cauliflowers. We then erected a netting tent around them to keep the cabbage white butterflies off. This seems to be working as the plants seem happy and the eggs are being laid on other things.

In the flower garden the marigolds are blooming (so orange that I might start calling them Donald), as are the foxgloves, ornamental Alliums,  Nectoscordum, chives, Scabiosa, daisies, dandelions, buttercups, broad beans, stocks, sweet william, and honesty. Verbena bonariensis is coming into bud, as are hydrangeas, coreopsis, honeysuckle, climbing rose (yay!), and passion flower.

There is, as ever, lots of wildlife. We have now purchased a hanging bird feeder and I have seen starlings and blue tits on it. Something adores mealworms, but they are not so fond of black sunflower seeds or suet shreds. 

Baby slowworm and woodlouse

Pottering

With the mostly glorious weather throughout April, I have been able to spend a lot of time in the garden. Breakfast on the new patio on a sunny morning is a particular delight, and is also a lovely place to sit and watch, and listen to, the wildlife. And shoo the cats away! I now know the names of all three of the pests, but it makes no difference to their behaviour. Ah well.

We have lots of blackbirds, with at least one nesting pair, all expert worm hunters. There is also a robin, who is a little bit fluffy around the edges and is an expert acrobat. I have seen a wren, sparrows, pigeons, blue tits and crows. In the skies above are gulls, terns, ducks and the occasional buzzard. Other wildlife includes black and red ants, several species of slugs and snails, slow worms (babies too!), red aphids, woodlice, wolf spiders, jumping spiders, bumblebees, honey bees, mason bees, beeflies, several species of hoverfly, shield bugs, earthworms, tiger worms, millipedes, centipedes, cabbage white butterflies, blue butterflies, red admiral butterflies, speckled wood butterflies, peacock butterflies with larvae in the nettles, several spiders I haven't identified yet, and probably a great deal more!

The plants are doing well too! Most of the vegetable seeds we sowed in the ground are growing well, particularly since three wet days last week. The radishes taste good. Potatoes planted this year are thriving, and we have some coming up near the garlic that I must have missed last year. In the flower garden, the marigolds are abundant and providing cheerful splashes of orange. The Alliums planted out earlier in the month are bursting into deep purple bloom, and the flowers are breaking out on the Nectoscordum bulbs too. The flower spikes are shooting skywards on the foxgloves, flower buds are forming on the hydrangea, the night scented stocks are blooming and blooming and smell amazing, and there is a bud, just one, on the climbing rose. Behind and beneath the conifer is a large leaved Arum maculatum with a large flower spike forming. It's all rather lovely really.