4 March - An afternoon off work.

Resigned to the fact that the weather was possibly only going to get worse this afternoon, I decided to call it a day and go home. The weather in fact didn't get worse, the snow turned to rain and the roads to mush! This didn't prevent me however from clearing the snow from the bamboo and evergreen shrubs in the garden when I got  home. If  any of the wet stuff froze overnight the weight on any shrubs would increase and potentially could cause some damage. So what to do with a few hours that I didn't have before, I needed no convincing, a spot of gardening. Of the indoor variety of course.

 

I have now managed to pot on the seedlings of Echinacea, Vebenea, and Antirrhinum. I had sown the seed for these a couple of weeks ago indoors. I have also sown the seed for Courgette 'Defender' and Cucumber 'Emily'. Again these have initially been placed in a heated propagator indoors.

 

In the greenhouse we now have the first batch of peas 'Kelvdon Wonder' sown. I normally use root trainers, but I have so many peas to sow that I have started to use empty toilet roll tubes! They do the same job and needs must.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago I also had sown the seed of Aquilegia, a yellow variety with long spurs, the seed was collected from the garden last year, and some ox eye daisies. These are all growing well and will soon need potting on.

 

 

Last week I had sown the seed for Cosmos 'sensation', Rudbeckia 'Prarie Sun' and Rudbeckia 'Sputnik'. Again, these are all growing well.

 

Last year my attempts at growing parsnips were poor. Last week I had sown the first row of parsnips direct, this are of the bed had been covered by a cloche and was recovered again once the parsnip seeds were sown. However, I am not holding out much hope at present, so I have placed some seed onto damp kitchen towel and once there is any indication of germination I will plant the seed outside. Other than that I will sow a row every couple of weeks for the next month and hopefully will hit lucky with the timing.

25 February - Expansion

Looking forward to the new season with plenty of vegetable and flowers seeds purchased ready and waiting. Last year I grew a few flowers for picking and although on a very small scale it was enjoyable and rewarding, having bunches of flowers for the house. I have decided to do the same again this year, but this time I am planning to make better use of the kitchen garden.

Whilst the seed box is full to busting, I have also purchased this year a light box. basically a setup to grow plants indoors with the light they need to prevent them from getting too leggy. It came with capillary matting and seed trays so fingers crossed this will help ensure I grow better plants.

Also, as I am going to need as much space in the greenhouse as I can get for all these plants I am going to be growing, so have also purchased some extra staging. This is different to that already across the back of the greenhouse in  that it is suspended from the wall and roof of the greenhouse and does not take up floor space. This is ideal for me as it maximises space whilst I can still make use of the borders in the greenhouse.

21 February - Tomatoes potted on

Well its been a couple of weeks now since the first tomato seeds were sown and they are coming on a treat. Granted they were getting a little bit leggy, but when potting them on into individual pots I planted them deep! By planting them up to their seedling leaves it encourages the plant to produce more roots up the stem and hopefully produces a stronger root system. They are now growing on in slightly cooler conditions, but it is too early yet for them to be put out in the unheated greenhouse.

19 February - Bees

For the last few  years I have ordered bees for the garden. Sounds a little  weird I know. However, our native bee population is declining and I feel that I am giving nature a helping hand. 

I initially purchased a small hive with bees and each year purchase a new nest. These are not honey bees, will not swarm or stay with the best indefinitely. They are purely pollinators and at the end of the life of the nest the queens produced will go their own separate ways and hopefully produce bees for the following year.

I am upgrading my hive to one which is larger, will produce a bigger colony of bees and hopefully the adaptions made to the larger hive will keep the bees happy.

Roll on May for their arrival.

19 February - Frosty weather

Another frosty morning with clear skies, and where the frost covered flat surfaces it was glistening like diamonds in the sun.

Thankfully any plants that may have succumbed to the cold were tucked away either in the greenhouse or under protective cloches. Whilst I am keen to get the gardening season underway I am still wary of the frosts that can continue until at least May.

The ground is still too cold for direct sowing, but I have been keeping areas covered with black sheeting to keep the soil that little bit warmer and dryer for when the time is right. In the meantime I will just have to make do with a window sill or two indoors.

 

30 January - First daffodils in flower

26 January - Snowdrops

When we moved into the house back in the summer of 2008, the garden was in need of a little imagination. For a plant lover such as myself the garden was showing very little in the way of planting. The one plant we did inherit from previous owners that has slowly grown over time and is welcomed every year, are the snowdrops. These are mainly in the border just outside the back window, and as the ground slopes gentle upwards it means we get a good view from the house. Not content with what is probably hundreds of snowdrops already, a couple of days ago I ordered some more and these arrived in the green today! These are "Elwesii" and these will be planted in large pots either side of the back door. I know that snowdrops don't like to dry out, even in the summer months, but plans assured this should not happed and they will still get their respite from the summer sun.

23 January - Roses and Onions

Getting really fed up now with these dark grim days and cannot wait for the longer days to arrive where I can get out in the garden after work. At least it wasn't raining today and got to spend some time outdoors even if I didn't really have much that needed to be done.

 

I decided to cut back the roses in the garden, I usually do this in another months time, but with the weather generally on the mild side they are already budding up for the year ahead. Sticking to the three D's theory I remove any dead, dying or diseased wood, then give the whole plant a general cut back of about a third. The climbing roses I have just shortened the side shoots to an outward growing bud to keep them tidy. I had already pruned the roses by half last autumn to prevent any wind-rock over the winter period.

 

I usually grow onions twice a year, the first being planted back in September for a June/July crop, and the second in the March for cropping around September. The bed the onions are to be grown in this year is smaller than the others, so I only planted shallot sets in September followed later by some garlic bulbs. After the hard frosts of late these are still slowly growing away and won't really get going for another month. The other day I received my onion sets through the post for those to be planted out in March, however I did read recently that you can plant onions in module trays in the greenhouse in January for planting out later. Seeing as I have plenty of onion sets I thought I would give this a go a see if it made any difference, but still leave some to plant out later as I would do normally. The onion being used is Stuttgarter

 

Meanwhile it has been a couple of weeks since the tomato seeds were sown, these have now germinated and are starting to show signs of growing the first true leaf. Once these have a couple of true leaves they will be potted on to individual pots. I just need to ensure that the pots are turned every day as with the plants being on a windowsill they have a tendancy to lean towards the light.

16 January - Bamboo

At the last house we had a bamboo and although we had a very small garden we bought the biggest we could afford in order to give impact in the garden. It wasn't planted in the ideal location, but once it settled in it grew every year very well and every winter I would give a prune to show off its coloured stems. When we moved it was not a plant I could have dug up easily and brought with us, so we bought another for the current garden.

 

The current plant is about four years old and it does have a tendency to send out a runner once in a while. The first two years I let the plant be and last year was the first time it had a trim. I have done the same again this year. Basically I have completely removed all of the thin straggly stems from the plant by cutting back to ground level. then for the remaining stems the bottom two to three feet of each have been stripped of side shoots. This enable the bamboo to become a feature plant during the winter months, with the coloured stems singing out, especially if caught by the evening sun.

9 January - Seed Sowing off to an Early Start

Today was the first time I got chance to spend in the garden this year and whilst the weather stayed dry in the main, the only task I got done outside was turning the compost heap!

 

The real task for the day was to get started on sowing seeds for the year ahead. As the ground is generally wet and cold I decided to sow a batch of broad beans "Aquadulce Claudia" into individual pots.  Had I sown these direct into the soil, they probably would have sulked and eventually rotted off. These will be left in the cold greenhouse to germinate and grow on for planting out later in March.

 

Last year was not a good year for our tomatoes and it seems that other people were in a similar position. I got fewer trusses and later ripening of the fruits. This may have been in part to the fact that I had sown the seed later than usual, so this year I am getting started early again. I am trying two varieties that are new to me, "Big Mama" and "Tangerine", so we will see how we get on.

 

Another crop that I grow every year without a lot of success are peppers. I think that the problem I have is that the growing season is just not long enough here. I would probably be best ordering small plants and growing them on, but that kind of takes the fun out of it a little for me. So not to be beaten, I am trying again this year, starting now! I will be growing Pepper "Topepo Rosso" and Chilli "Trinidad Perfume".

 

In respect of the garden, rather than the veg plot, I have some seeds that are now out of date according to the packet, but I have decided to see if any will still germinate. These are Gaura Lindheimeri "The Bride" and some Giant Scabious. If these do germinate and I get several plants I am not sure I have any room in my garden, but I am certain someone will take them off my hands.

7 January - Hellebore

 

A few years ago we were given a hellebore as a gift and I managed to collect a few seeds after it had finished flowering. It is now two and half years on and whilst I gave some of the original young plants away I did keep one for myself. It is now a reasonable size plant and has just flowered for the first time. I always thought that hellebores did not come true from seed, but the single flower looks surprisingly similar to the plant it originated. I have already found it a spot in the garden, just waiting now for the rain to subside before planting it in its new home.

1 January - Young Sparrow

There has been quite a few birds visiting the feeder in the garden this week and it was really nice to see a group of long tail tits pay a visit. Generally speaking we get a lot of sparrows and this time of the year they can be hard to spot whilst hopping along the ground. Imagine our surprise yesterday morning when one was spotted taking a nap! He was sat under the feeder with head under wing completely oblivious to everything going on around him. Not only was it a unusual place for a power nap, but the sparrow looked quite young. Sure it was all fluffed up, but some of the feathers looked as they would on a young fledgling. Not to worry though, he was feeding ok and looked like he could handle himself. Hope we see him again soon. 

Nature wins everytime.

The first week of June has been at times rather blustery and the plants have been knocked back and forth with the gusts. I expected the garden to look a little worse for wear, however it appeared to have remained reasonable intact. I can probably thank the large row of trees that are in a garden a few doors down from us that appear to filter out most of the effects of the wind. In short the only damage, if that’s what you can call it, is that the onions are looking somewhat a little flat and the clumps of poppies have also been squashed from the centre outwards. But no worries, the onions will be cropped before too long and the poppies although a little more squat appear to be none the worse off with plenty of flower buds pointing skywards.

It’s not just the windy weather that has been a problem of late, but the birds too. Some of the sparrows that have visited the garden in the past have taken a liking to the peas, to such an extent I now net them. Following on from this I have noticed on more than one occasion the sparrows sitting on top of the canes, which support my peas and beans. Initially, I thought nothing of it, until I noticed that they were taking an unhealthy interest in the twine. They were actually pulling at the threads so that they could take some as nesting material. I had visions of the whole coming apart and the offending bird being catapulted across the garden. To make matters worse, they have been taking the lining from the hanging baskets as well.

 

We can’t do anything to control nature and have to work with it as best we can. By giving plants the Chelsea chop in May for example, not only do you extend the flowering season, but you are making the plants shorter and stockier and therefore more resilient to the gusty weather of late. If your garden is constantly subject to windy weather then you may find that your plants take action of their own by growing shorter as a reaction to the conditions in which they grow. To try and filter the wind it is an idea to use windbreaks such as a hedge or even fencing can be used, so long as the fence is not solid and is designed with gaps to filter the wind through.

As for the birds, you cannot help but like them. They keep the aphid and slug populations down, entertain you with the antics, especially at the feeders, and as for the fledglings, need I say more.

Time.

Time is a funny thing, when in the garden it sometimes feels like time itself has slowed down and yet the day itself is over before you know it. I can potter around getting jobs done and not stop all day and then at the same time feel like I have not done much of anything really. I suppose it comes with finding an inner peace when in the garden, whatever else is happening in life, for a short while it can be forgotten about.  

At the minute we have some fledgings visiting the garden and it is so easy to get caught up watching them that time just slips away. Unfortunately, the blue tit that had laid nine eggs this year has met her demise. It is possible that the male can take over looking after the eggs, but not in this case and thankfully none of the eggs had actually hatched. There’s always next year.

I recall last month worrying about whether or not I was going to get any parsnips to grow this year, and had directly sown them every few weeks as well has trying to get them started off in pots as a last resort. Needless to say the planting in pots wasn’t much of a success, but eventually some of the seed sown direct did germinate and are looking hopeful.  Obviously just needed time and the right conditions for the seed to germinate.

Looking at the onions and garlic it is hard to believe that in just another month they could be dug up and used. Despite the recent rain and warm weather the bulbs are barely swollen and have some way to go before they are ready.

In the greenhouse the tomatoes are also steady away with the plants being shorter and stockier this year. Maybe this will be a good thing.  They are starting to produce their first truss and today some have been planted direct into the greenhouse borders. Whilst some of the remaining tomatoes will be planted into a grow bag, the others will be hardened off over the next couple of weeks for growing outdoors.

The garden borders continue to look good with the box balls being given their first clip over of the year. The sedums have been given the Chelsea chop and whilst the plants look a little strange at present, in time new growth will ensure the plant grows much more sturdy albeit flowering a little later. Whilst the dicentra and clematis looked good earlier in the month, the Centaurea does so now. What originally started out as a packet of seed has soon become a drift of electric blue through the border and is loved by bees.
 

 

 

What a difference a day makes.

Things are really moving now in the garden, at the beginning of April we went off for the Easter break only to find on our return the garden had come on in leaps and bounds.  Everything was already starting to green up before we went, but on our return the good weather had ensured that everything had not only doubled in size, but there were also plants now growing that I thought I had lost over the winter.

The primroses have continues to put on a fantastic display this year and once the brunnera started to flower the border looked even better. To top it off the dicentra have shot up, giving that much needed height  and I cannot wait for these to flower. Of the hellebores we have had only two of the four put on a good show, the other two have looked a little sorry for themselves for some reason. However, they are putting on new growth so maybe things will look better next year.


In the flower border opposite, the daffodils have put on a really good display this year and the anemone blande gave a good carpet of blue, increasing year on year as it self seeds freely.

Elsewhere in the garden the bees love the clematis and the ornamental cherry, both of which are in full flower. The bird box that is sited on the cherry has also been occupied by bluetits again this year and already there have been eight eggs laid. Wonder if we will get to nine as last year.

Things have been more than a little busy in the kitchen garden. The greenhouse has been, and still is, full of plants at varying stages of growth. As one lot is hardened off and moved outside, in goes the next lot. With the unpredictable weather we get these days I tend to sow more in pots than I used to do.

The first sowing of spring onions are coming on a treat and the second batch are just showing signs of growth.  The broad beans, peas and mangetout have all been planted outside now and are happily growing away. The mangetout were sown a little later than usual this year, as they always seem to be ready for picking when I am going away, so figures crossed that a couple of week makes all the difference.


The courgettes are growing well, tried a different variety last year, but I think that I planted them out too early as they just seemed to sulk all summer. This year I have gone back to the trusted defender and will not be putting them outside for another few weeks at least. That said, there was one evening when I was bringing them back indoors and I must have got distracted. The next day I was looking everywhere for them, to put them back outside, and realised I had left them outside the greenhouse all night! Thankfully with no ill effect.


The swede, turnips, beetroot and spinach have all been slow going, but are hanging on in there. As for the parsnip, there is not a lot to say. I have sown a row every couple of weeks since the beginning of March and nothing. I have even tried to get the seed germinating on some damp kitchen tissue first, but no luck. The seed is fresh and the first time I tried growing parsnips I had loads of success, but sadly it is looking like none again this year. Any hints and tips are most welcome.

 

 

Catch up time

It is hard to believe that it is already the end of March. I have spent today catching up on my seed sowing for both the garden and kitchen plot. Not a bad thing all considered as the weather hasn’t really been fit for any of the outside jobs that needed doing. I did manage to get the tomatoes off to an early start in February and it won’t be long now before these will need potting on. Today I got sown peas, mangetout, broad beans, spinach, cabbage and various flower seeds, I also managed to get sown a row of parsnips and plant out the onion sets. For some reason last year I had no luck what so ever with the parsnips, didn’t even get a seedling!  After having great success the previous year I have no idea what went wrong, but I have my fingers crossed for this year.

Whilst the greenhouse benches are filling up with seed trays and young plants from last year one of the borders is now filling up with tulips. I planted these  last November, the idea being to provide cut flowers for the house. Being in the greenhouse they are protected from the worst of the weather, make use of my otherwise empty borders and they flower much earlier than those planted outdoors. It was a success last year, providing several bunches of tulips.

Last week I managed to get out and get some lawn care done, which basically for me amounts to scarifying the grass to get rid of some the thatch that has accumulated and putting down some more lawn seed. Had a look at how it was doing today and it looked patchy in places, I am sure the birds must have been eating the seed. Wouldn’t mind but it’s not as if I don’t feed them!

The flower garden at the minute is a mass of yellow, from the subtle shades of the native primrose to the loud cheerfulness of the daffodils.  Everywhere you look in between there are signs of life as where once there was bare soil it is slowly greening up, the days are getting longer and the garden waits for no one. 

Blue tits - the final chapter

Its been 19 days since the first of the eggs hatched and today the last of the chicks have left the nest.

 It has been a busy time for the parents whilst they constantly fed them and kept the nest clean. The mother has been attentive and tried to keep them all fed and at times it almost looked like she was doing a head count, before then diving under the chicks and seemingly ensuring that none got lost under the brood. After all she did have eight to look after and in a nest box that has got to be a tight squeeze.

Initially the mother was sitting in the nest overnight to keep her brood warm, but as they grew and space became limited the chicks were left huddled together for warmth, as by this point they had a reasonable amount of feathers.

It was two weeks before the first of the fledglings left the nest, they were both of a good size and this freed up room in the nest for the others. It was also apparent at this point that one of the chicks hadn’t made it. A few more days past and she tried in vain to get the next two chicks to leave the nest. They obviously thought they were onto a good thing and made no attempts to leave.

Yesterday we lost a second chick and overnight we lost another. It is hard to believe that they can survive for so long and then die. I don’t know if it is just survival of the fittest, the others were bigger and stronger and maybe they got most of the food.

Today the last two chicks have left the nest, making that four fledglings in total. Whilst the nest now lies empty the fledglings cannot be too far away. I keep seeing the blue tits in the garden and they keep disappearing into the hedge at the back of the garden. All I need now is a glimpse of the new additions to the family.

A mixed bag in the kitchen garden.

What fantastic weather we have had over the past few days, especially over the weekend when I was able to get out into the garden and catch up on some jobs.

Now that the majority of the weeding in the garden borders has been caught up they will in the main look after themselves for the rest of the year. We have lost one or two plants over the winter period, but I suppose this opens up some space for new plants when visiting the shows this year.

The bulk of the work that needed to be done was in the kitchen garden.  The peas and the mangetout that were originally sown into pots and planted out a couple of weeks ago needed to be tied into their frames to help get them climbing. Once done I put some protective netting over the frame to protect them from the birds. I know from experience that sparrows in particular like to nibble at fresh peas shoots. The courgettes were also planted out as were the baby corn plants. It was probably a little too earlier for the latter, but I was feeling brave with the weather and I am giving them protection of a cloche on a night. I also managed to find time to sown some swede, turnips, beetroot and beet direct into the soil. So far this year I have not had much luck, one minute they are growing away fine the next demolished by slugs. Just in case, I have also sown some seed into individual plugs, not sure if it will work, but worth a shot. I also managed to get a wigwam structure in place for when the climbing beans are planted out.

Meanwhile in the greenhouse, the tomatoes, cucumber, climbing beans and peppers are coming on a treat. But all is not rosy as for the first time I am fighting against the aphids. Hopefully by keeping the plants under observation and regular squishing they are now starting to get under control.

Elsewhere in the plot, the autumn raspberries are starting to bulk up and the blueberries are showing promise of a good crop. Whilst the onions that were planted in autumn are starting to swell,  unfortunately the garlic appears to be showing signs of rust, which isn’t great news.

All in all a mixed bag of good and bad, that said perseverance generally pays off and it won’t be too long before the taste of some success.

Blue tit chicks part 3

Arrived home from work yesterday to find that the blue tits had become proud parents of four chicks. Looking very much naked of feathers they looked quite vulnerable, it appeared to take all of their energy just to lift their heads up and to open their beaks for food. This appears to then be followed by a general collapse back into the nest, to then summon enough energy for the next round of food. Mum was quite busy toing and frowing with food and after a short while decided to take a breather at the nest, where she promptly sat on the chicks. That surely can’t be comfortable for either party.

At some point overnight another couple of chicks had hatched and another busy day commenced in keeping the little ones fed. Thankfully this task was undertaken by both parents as they flitted in and out of the hedgerow in search of bugs and the like. Not once did they pay a visit to the bird feeder, not even to stock up on food for themselves.

At some point during today another egg has hatched bringing the number of chicks to seven. It looks like tomorrow is going to be another busy day, but what I can’t understand is, what happens to the eggshell once the chicks have hatched?

Blue tits part 2

It is just over a week now since the bluetit laid her last egg, counting nine in total. For the last week she has spent a lot more time at the nest keeping the eggs incubated and only leaves the nest to feed. Initially the male was going into the box to feed the female, but it has become apparent that the male calls for the female to leave the box so that he can feed her outside. On occasion the pair have been seen flying off together, but she never goes far as she will only leave the nest for a short period of time.

The other day we had a sparrow hawk land in the tree whilst the bluetit was out and about. Under normal circumstances we would admire such a bird. However, we have become protective of our blue tit and we quickly made some commotion in the garden that sent the bird on its way. After all she’s part of the family now and we couldn’t let anything happen to her.

I found out that during the incubation time the female plucks out her own feathers to line the nest. This was proven to be the case as the nest has become more snug and soft looking. I assume that that this is to help incubate the eggs and keep the fledglings warm when they hatch. I think there is an incubation period of 12-16 days, this would mean that come the weekend we could have the first of the bluetits starting to hatch.