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.

March 16th & 17th 2019

On a dry evening earlier in the week I weeded the tiny stretch of border between the path and the patio and replanted it with golden oregano that I had I a window box. I also cleared around the base of the rotary washing line and planted a bit of oregano there. Should be lovely when it spreads.

On Saturday , during an hour with no rain, I weeded the other side of the shed to the back gate, removing ash seedlings, cherry suckers and sedges, and then trimmed back the privet near the gate so I could open and close it more easily. After that I did some sedge and bramble clearing near the potting bench and found more paving stones. There are paths everywhere in this tiny garden! At one point I looked up and there was a robin perched on the low fence; we stopped and stared at each other for a while. Lovely! He then hopped around and found some grubs to eat.

Afterwards, my daughter and I took twelve bags of garden rubbish to the tip. Very satisfying. The garden is beginning to look clearer and I have high hopes for its future.

 

On Sunday I pruned the Hydrangea; I probably got carried away and removed a lot of stems. There was quite a lot of dead wood in there too, which also got removed. It hailed soon afterwards. Perfect timing! Later in the day I cut back the brambles in that border and discovered a dead Azalea and a struggling Rhododendron, as well as some soapwort (Saponaria). This latter is one of my favourite plants.

Patio and path

Side of shed

Side of shed

Near potting bench

Near potting bench

Hydrangea before pruning

Hydrangea after pruning

March 9th and 10th 2019

March 9th
I haven't done much recently, but got out this afternoon. I decided to cut down the Cordylines as they were too large and are not my favourite plant. They will probably shoot up from the base again anyway, so I may keep a smaller one. I then bagged up all the rubbish that was in thin bags, into strong sacks so I could take them all to the dump tomorrow. The garden looks much clearer now!

When I popped out there this morning, I was surprised by the number of small black spiders scuttling around in the grass near the compost bin and vet patch. Absolutely fascinating! I love spiders! I met two cats too; a ginger one, which scuttled off, and a tabby which gave me a staring contest from the shed roof. I won... Keep off my garden kitty.

Jobs for this month include:

• Build a wooden edge for the vegetable patch.
• Sow veg seeds
• Plant shallots and garlic
• Continue removing sedges and brambles.
• Remove tree suckers near shed.

March 10th
My friend came round and we spent the afternoon taking ten bags of garden rubbish to the tip, as well as other rubbish found in the garden. We came back and cleared down the side of the shed beneath the shelter, ridding it of brambles, willowherb and ash seedlings, not to mention rotting bags of household rubbish left by the previous owner. Lovely. We found a pile of bamboo canes and an old woodshed housing sandbags.

My chum also sorted out the wood frame that I couldn't take apart - she took a lump hammer and a saw to it, so the space in front of the shed is also clear. I just need to sort the other side of the shed and we're done down there! I removed an ash sapling from the cordyline border too. I think we will need another dump run at the weekend!

February 22nd 2019

I have had a busy couple of days outside. I started by buying some second hand tools in a nearby town - two hoes and a pair of lawn shears, all for a fiver - then buying a second hand lawn mower from another nearby town for £20. Thank heavens for Facebook marketplace! I attacked the lawn at once, so it looks worse than ever, but is now manageable and should be fine after several more cuts. The grass was very long and the day was damp, neither of which helped.

 

After that, a friend came round and we sorted out the shed, dismantling the stack of wood and remains of shelves therein. It is very satisfying removing screws and stacking things neatly. Most of the wood can be reused, and the rest can be burned in the rusting chimnea! I now have a usable shed and can store my tools properly.

 

Today I removed the extension lead that had been strung above the washing line between the house and the shed, as well as the wire that it was suspended by. The wire can be reused around the garden but the electrics will have to be binned. I also removed the grubby washing line and soaked it in biological washing powder, and it has come up a treat. Pink, no less, beneath the grime.

 

I have concentrated the rest of my energy on sorting out the patio, and have now removed the pile of garden debris by the back door, much of which was compostable, and have bagged the rest to go to the dump. I also bit the bullet and emptied out the large sack of rubbish the previous owner had left behind; this was pretty grim, but I bagged it up properly and the bin men took it away this morning. All I need to do now is thin out the cordylines and finish weeding near the Hydrangea, and we'll have somewhere pleasant to sit in the spring.

 

I can now imagine a beautiful garden emerging! There are dandelions, celandines and Narcissus in flower now, and Aquilegias are burgeoning. I ended the day by sitting on the shed step, drinking a cup of tea, watching two blackbirds, and listening to a robin redbreast singing his heart out on the fence next to me. Exciting times.

February

So far, February has been cold and wet, with ice and snow and rain. The tall conifer on the corner of the stream behind our house lost a couple of branches with a loud snap during the snow 'storm'. After the snow, the garden looked lovely. This didn't last as the cat walked up the path then back to the veg patch where it made a scrape in the snow and did it's business. Needless to say, I have now chopped up some brambles and laid them over the area. Perhaps that will work, at least temporarily.

I made a start dismantling the wooden struts at the end of the garden, removing screws and hitting bolts with a lump hammer. Very satisfying after a frustrating day at work! I think that most of the wood can be re-used to edge the vegetable patches, and failing that can be burned in the chimnea.

There is a pile of garden rubbish near the back door, left by the previous owner, which I think can be chopped up and safely put at the bottom of the compost bin. It is mostly dried grass and dead weeds. In among it I have found the rotting remains of wooden edging, some of which has chicken wire attached. This can be reused to keep the cats off for the time being or turned into a frame to go over the seedlings. 

I took a seed pod of Callistemon ("Bottle Brush") from my Mum's garden and left it in a dish over the radiator; the heat made it release all its seeds (thousands) so I shall try and grow them when the weather is warmer. I also brought back some of my herb pots and a struggling Sempervivum ("House Leek"); the former are in the garden, and the latter is in the lean-to drying out.

12th
At the weekend we visited a garden centre and bought some wire and netting as well as a selection of vegetable seeds. Today we used the wire to make hoops, and covered them with netting over the veg patch in an attempt to keep the cats off. I hadn't bought quite enough so the ends were covered with chicken wire.

17th
The cats have kept off the veg patch so far! Today I borrowed a pair of edging shears and tidied up the edge of the lawn by the main path, and around the paving slab path. I then dug up a Verbena bonariensis which was in an awkward spot, potted it up, cut it back and put it in the covered area to hopefully recover. Earlier in the week I moved the compost bin, cut the leaves off some of the sedges I had dug up, and put those in the compost bin. I think they will rot down quite well looking at the detritus around the garden. The lawn edgings went in too, and I have started adding the veg peelings and teabags from the kitchen.

 

 
 
 
 19th

Spent a fiver on some second hand tools today and got two hoes and a pair of edging shears. They need a little TLC but seem ok. I tidied up the border next to the patio and archway, leaving in the bulbs and what might be an Anemone japonica (not sure). Cut back the leaves of the Cordyline and dug out brambles and ash tree seedlings (Fraxinus excelsior). The barbecue has been manhandled to the shed, and one of the wardrobe carcasses has been taken down there too, and will probably become a coldframe. Not sure what I will do with the other one yet so am currently using it as a bench.