Archives: journal

When I told my ‘market gardener’ friend that my ‘Sharps Express’ potatoes were peeking through the soil he said ‘cover them up’ meaning earth them up to protect from frost. He’s the expert! The turnip seeds are up and I forgot to ask him should they be thinned out later on when they get a bit bigger? ~~Here’s a lovely splash of bright red from the rhododendron. I managed to get two slips to grow from this plant.

This is a sweet little flower that comes up every year and dosen’t need looking after. Its such a bright white!

I have lovely memories of a cherry blossom tree in the house where I grew up. It was in the middle of the front lawn and every spring, it exploded in huge pink flowers and lit up the garden for a week or two.

So I am always happy when our – smaller – cherry blossom tree flowers every spring. I love to see the tiny red leaves appear, then the small buds slowly starting to open, and suddenly one day, the whole tree is pink! But one thing I only recently started paying attention to is how beautiful this tree is also in autumn, when all its leaves turn a shade of deep orange before falling.

Our tree is planted very close to the driveway, and its roots are actually pushing up the cobblestones, which is not good… We have been talking of renovating and extending the driveway, which would more than likely mean getting rid of the tree, but so far, we haven’t had the heart to do it, it is such a beautiful tree!

Just wondering is this a mountain ash or what is it?

I have terrible trouble minding my Tulips from these creatures even though I use pellets! Anyway 2 weeks ago when I found this head bitten off I just stuck it in the ground out of frustration ~~~look what happened~~~~ Have I beaten the moluscs after their destruction.

My cherry tree is coming into flower.

It is, however, beautifully flanked by the Blackthorn hedge which the farmer in the field beyond has planted.

It is difficult to know which is the prettier.

By the way, who wants to bet that this is our summer – now! Remember how the two last years have gone weatherwise!

Did loads of work in the garden today. Any excuse to be out and about on this beautiful day. Did montains of trimming all around the veggie garden and along the fences.  then tackled the grass garden. Oh my dont know what to do with that garden. So overgrown that you cant even see the pond in the middle. Some chance of my water lily ever blooming in there. Filled up the little pond anyway and five minutes later not only my dog but her mate Nelson were in there having a drink! Sat down at about 5.00pm on deck for a well deserved drink and to do something about my poor nails before I go back to work tomorrow. Had just finished painting them when Becca (eldest) got it into her head to start pulling off the dead leaves from the Cordylines. "They would look much more like Palm trees then" she says. And they do. Pity about my nails !!! Ruined again !!!!

Now just have to sweet talk son into clearing the 3ft pile of leaves!!!

what a day  sat out (fractured bone in foot) otherwise i would have been doing serious gardening!!! delighted to see akeiba quinata in bloom.

garden looking good especially the lawn (from a distance) we are getting there . i love summer days ! heres to many more of same

Who could ask for nicer.Lots of sun and lots more to come [fingers crossed.I had a brief look around the garden and and with the good weather beaming down out came the paint brush.After some touching up was completed a watering check was given especially to the tunnell and greenhouse.Had a good start at the garden today not to long after 3 o clock.

All the seedlings are coming along nicely now. The last few days of warm sunshine have given them an extra boost of energy.  I planted out sweet peas at the base of wigwams in the borders at the weekend – and not too soon either. One pot had very little compost left and the roots were so thick they could have made strong rope.

The lupins my daughter sowed are very strong – not enough to go out yet but good thick stems and the first true leaves are already showing.

The tomatoes are a bit slower though. They are only showing their cottleidons yet.  But I’m amazed at the sweetcorn. I never remember them germinating so quickly before – I think it might have been 5 days.

I clematis that I bought a year ago, planted, neglected, forgot about and thought was dead has 4 new shoots from the base and some of last years growth has flower buds. So I tidied that up onto a newer wigwam.  It should flower any day now.

The dahlias are showing shoots in pots in the greenhouse. I might try to take cuttings of the stronger ones this year. I’ve never done that before.  I’m far more comfortable with seeds but the cuttings of hellebores I took earlier this year have produced strong root growth and now I have 2 new plants.

I need to organise more space in the greenhouse for seedlings and I’m going to have to use the tunnel as a cold frame soon. Space is very tight.  The salad rocket and mizuna in the tunnel bolted in the heat I think that’s the end of that crop.

 

We’ve had this bird box in a beech tree at the end of the garden for about 4 years now, and most years, there has been a family of blue tits using it as its home.

By the looks of it, this year is no exception: during the week-end I was walking around the tree looking at plants, when I noticed a little blue tit hopping from branch to branch and singing in a loud and somewhat "alarmed" way, as if warning me not to come any closer (or perhaps warning his family of a stranger nearby!). So I thought there might be a nest…

This morning, looking out in the garden from the kitchen window, I definitely saw a bird going into the box, so I’m pretty sure there is a nest. The box is pretty high and difficult to access – to discourage cats – so all we can see are the birds going in and out. I’d love to see what is going on in there tough!

First Journal entry-

21st April.

It’s amazing to me that every day can teach you something new but last saturday afternoon I nearly jumped out of my boots with life’s latest lesson for me.

All gardeners are tested by slugs and snails and to a degree they have to be tolerated, I suppose. I,ve no doubt encountered almost a billion of these individuals so far however, last saturday in the middle of a gloriously sunny, spring day I was astonished when encountered by a particular terrestrial mollusk in my glasshouse. Not only was it lunch time but in above 25 degrees centigrade here was this slug dangling from the shelving on a foot long string of slime. As I observed my amazement grew. He and she slowly lowered himself and herself slowly down, down the whole three feet distance between the above shelves and a salvia sitting on the shelving below.

Amazing as it was, a slug’s a slug so he was dispatched of accordingly in fear these were genes that should not be passed on 

I was delighted to welcome Linda (Cooper) and Bill (Headgardener) to my garden today for coffee in the greenhouse. My Hippeastrum seemed to know they were coming because it opened for the occasion.

We had a great old chin wag and I got a lot of support and suggestions over my problem areas. But I was very embarrassed by the numerous cutting & plants I was given when I had not been so prepared myself. Hopefully it will be the first of many visits over the glorious summer, which we will surely get.

So, thanks very much Linda & Bill and a very Happy Birthday to Linda.

The husband was busy today digging one of our raised beds and he planted Lollo Rossa Lettuce, Rocket (thanks Lorraine) & Spinach Beet. He also planted out the Rhubarb we got recently.

He did a lot of raving about our home-grown compost, which he spread on the raised beds. Too good for flowers, it seems! This year we must break up the egg shells and cut the corn cobs before adding them into the compost 😉

After potting on some perennials, I sowed some beans in pots in the greenhouse. We will plant them in the raised beds soon. I sowed Dwarf French Beans, Purple Queen (thanks Alison) and Broad Bean Supersimonia, which I bought in France.