The Cynical Gardener

Mid-February Garden update 2022

Snowdrops. I’ve made some changes to my garden over the past year, gone is the Veg plot, I finally lost the war of the giant cat litter tray. Edibles planted out which were rearranged by neighbouring cats suddenly lost their appeal. I was eating less edibles from my garden in general anyhow. Its all flowers and perennials now. I shall however continue with Glasshouse edibles for now. I do love…

  I’ve failed miserably at keeping my blog updated, millions of reasons but I’ve basically I’ve found it hard to be motivated. Recently I was recalled back to work full time, the new normal way of working is suiting me and I’m managing fine, and ultimately I’m delighted to still have a job.

These points combined, I’ve started to get my mojo back, even though being in my garden, keeping busy has been a blessing for me in these difficult times, I’ve felt a bit a limbo. its hard to explain.

Iceberg Lettuce

Earlier in lock down I’d sown every veg seed I could find in the house, getting seed online took an age, so I relied on existing seeds I had. This resulted in me growing veg that I was not really keen on, how many Dwarf French Beans does one really need….. I had loads of lettuce, all needing harvesting at the same time.

  I decided as outdoor crops finished I would not replace with  new veg plants, I found the endless slug and bird attacks tiring, then a late frost wiped out many bean plants.  I decided to successional sow with flower seeds not more salad crops as I would have normally done.

Cornflowers

As a result I ended up with a very pleasing thick display of cornflowers which are still visited by many different types of Bees. As this has made me feel quite smug, I’ve decided to lean away from edible crops for a while and concentrate on flowers. So much less hassle.

However I did my usual sowing of tomatoes and cucumbers, and had very good harvests despite endless Blight warnings for my region.

Cucumber Cucumber Silor F1 and Sweetcorn Lark F1

Tomatoes

I’ve made about 10 jars of tomato pasta sauce, eaten tomatoes in endless salads, and filled every gap in the freezer with sweetcorn cobs. I’ve finished with the plants now, and cleared the remnants away so I can clean out my greenhouse and outdoor growing space in preparation for the impending cooler weather. I’m trying to get a head on jobs this autumn, unlike last year when it started to rain and didn’t stop until March.

Tomato Matina finishing off.

A new plant for me this year is Amaranthus cruentus ‘Hot Biscuits’, I’ve had the seed for a couple of years and not got round to sowing them, this year gave me the opportunity to try them out, and I’m pleased I did, they’ve made lovely plants.

Amaranthus cruentus ‘Hot Biscuits

Amaranthus cruentus ‘Hot Biscuits

I’m going to investigate some different colours for next year and grow them in my veg bed, hopefully with other flowers for cutting.

  Some of my other pleasing parts of the garden have been my late summer flowering plants.

Helenium

Rudbeckias

These will keep flowering until the first frost, which according to forecasters, wont be too far away now.

Island bed with mixed results

My island bed had mixed results this year, earlier in the spring it looked splendid with the Alliums, but summer has not been kind, I planted many Zinnias and Cosmos hoping for a bright display, however, the slugs had other ideas and took every Cosmos over a few nights and gave the Zinnias a really had time, that and the hot, dry weather put an end to any chance of a decent display.

This autumn I will mulch the bed well, I’ve got a compost heap full just waiting for the right moment. All that time on Furlough, now back at work I don’t have a moment spare. Strange times indeed.

  Until next time, Stay safe.

I’ve never before been able to give my garden as much attention as I have in these past few months, and I know I never will again in my lifetime. I compared this time to my OH as like being retired with no access to a car. Although If I were retired I’d be at the seaside every day.

However I have made a quick first trip out since being allowed during these strange times to small herb nursery which was implementing social distancing, It was a nice drive out, a nice walk around, and a few plants were purchased. However, it was noticeable that the nursery did not have much stock available, the lady running the place said people were buying a lot of plants from her and she was struggling to buy in anything she needed such as materials and any other plants.

Scented leaved pelargonium

When the lockdown started, I’d not been able to purchase all the seeds I wanted to grow this year, as mentioned in my last post, I had planned a lot of travel this year, so the garden was going to be ticking over instead of full-on. However, as things have turned out, now I’ve had to use what seeds I already had available to me and hope I could purchase a few other varieties, with sales running at 500% over the norm at some retailers. I managed to buy some veg varieties and a few more flower varieties.

Iceberg Lettuce

Raddish

courgette and Climbing Beans

  I decided to grow as many edible crops as I could fit in throughout the garden, at the start of spring we had no idea how available fresh food would be, and there were worrying scenes of panic buying in many places, this soon settled down now we can buy most things now if only after a short queue to get in.

It remains to be seen if there will be seed shortages later in the year, at the time of writing this post I’ve been reading about compost shortages, and rationing has started in some areas. It appears supplies are struggling to get through and keep up with the new huge demand in horticulture goods.

I’ve currently got growing some splendid Iceberg lettuces, a plentiful supply of Radish, but my Courgettues look grumpy, I’ve given them a feed after planting out in the hope it will perk them up.

Sweetcorn

My favorite veg, the Sweetcorn are in and growing well, I should be harvesting these from September.

Potatoes

I’m also having a go at growing Potatoes, I don’t have any room in the ground for them, so I’m trying them in the style of No-Dig. I copied Charles Dowding’s methods, cardboard down, seed potatoes on top, compost, or other growing media on top. I’ve used wooden edgings to hold the compost back and preserve the surrounding grass. (my lawn). The compost for this came from one of my homemade compost bins, and when I’ve harvested in late summer/early autumn, all the compost will go back into my bins, and I might sow wildflower seeds on the remaining bare earth. well, that’s the plan.

Tomatoes

Strawberries

In the Greenhouse my Tomatoes are growing well, I have used seed from my existing stock,  even though the seed was a bit old, I’ve managed to germinate some Tomato Matina and Tomato Sungold and Suncherry. I’ve also gots some pots of Strawberries ripening soon,  the variety is Marshmellow, and so far the birds have not spotted them…… a win for me.

  Geranium psilostemon

Leafy Corner

Elsewhere in the garden, the signs of spring are turning into signs of summer, my geraniums are starting to flower and my shady – leafy corner is looking very cool & lush. My Chatsworth Acer and Hosta June looking striking next to each other with some new Pulmnarias that need planting.

I’ve certainly got plenty of time to do that in the coming weeks.

  Until next time, bye for now and stay safe.

  Alliums

Its late April, the weather has been hot, sunny and very dry. With only one discernible rainshower this month so far.

Spring Foliage

It would have been a wonderful Spring if everything had been normal, but it’s not. I’m at home furloughed, with only 1 permitted food shop a week. I don’t think my garden has ever had so much attention in the time I’ve lived here.

The original plan for this year was a trip to New York in late March, then home just before Easter, purchase some veg plug plants from a local nursery, and predominantly grow flowers for cutting in the garden this year. I’d dumped many out of date and opened seed packets during the winter with the expectation of purchasing new seed upon my USA return.

Then lockdown happened, I’ve had to resort to growing what seeds I have available, which is plenty adequate, although mostly heritage seeds I was saving for bulking up.

Heritage Peas

Tomatoes

There has been an unprecedented surge in online seed and plant orders, many sites have only been opening for an hour or two a week before their orders are full. I’ve been lucky and managed to purchase some more seeds to make up what I require. There is an air of uncertainty over food security at this time and the near future, and it would appear, many people are intending to grow some of their own food to counteract this. I’m concerned that companies and seed suppliers who would normally be producing crops for this autumn’s seed harvest and subsequently next years seed sales are unable to do so, and as a result, we could very well face a shortage of seeds from next year onwards, this is why it’s important to at least save some of your own seeds from this years growing season, crops such as tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, etc…. can all be grown for seed quite easily.

Tomato seeds drying nicely.

Tomato seed drying from a previous year’s crop.

My non-gardening partner has joked to his family via online that we appear to be panic growing, both my greenhouses are full of seedlings, mostly veg, but I’ve also sown some flowers, a mixture of Cosmos, Rudbeckias, Tithionias, Caster Oil, Giant Sunflowers, and lots of Calendulas are on the go. Basically all varieties I already had in my seed store.

Lettuce

Beans

Peas.

With my last recorded frost a couple of weeks ago, I’m impatient to start planting out my plants. but our last possible frost date is in a few weeks, so for now, its sheets of fleece in use and a longer stay in the greenhouse.

Courgettes

Sweetcorn

I sowed a packet of 8 Courgette seeds in anticipation of the success of just a few, typically all 8 have germinated and are doing well. normally I’d pass spares on to work colleagues, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I’ve also got very good germination with Sweetcorn Lark as well. So long as my favorite crop of sweet corn comes up, then I’m relatively happy.

An interesting difficulty I do have is the lack of much compost available, a couple of days before the unexpected government lockdown I decided to pop to a local garden center on my way home from work and bought 3 big bags. I would normally not use this particular place at its very expensive and all scented candles and picture frames, but I’m glad I did, I’ve been using the shop-bought stuff for seed sowing and pricking out seedlings, and using old compost from last years cucumbers and tomatoes for tubs, mulch, and outdoor pots.

Compost has become very scarce now, and very expensive, I’m reading lots of occasions online of people placing orders with companies, being charged as much for the compost for the delivery, then never seeing their purchase. There are also adverts from a major seed and plant supplier for plug plants at £6.99 for a single Dwarf Bean, £8.99 for a single tomato plant, and £6.99 for a single Runner Bean plant.

This is behavior that has not gone unnoticed by the horticulture world and online growing community, and I’m sure it will not be forgotten.

Castor Oil seeds Germinating

World events are affecting us all in some way or another, some more seriously than others. I am now at home for the foreseeable time. It’s not ideal, but absolutely necessary.

Potted Daffodils in the sunshine

The garden has dried out enough for some light tiding to take place, Sunny, but cool days have prompted a growth frenzy and it’s very welcome during these tough times. Bulbs I purchased last Autumn but were unable to plant in the ground due to swamplike conditions are flourishing in pots dotted throughout the garden.

Anemone Blanda

I’ve had one of my best displays of Anemone Blanda for a long time, I’m not sure if it was the mild winter or incessant rain that they preferred, but they are a cheery sight.

Long Border drying out

My new plantings of Pulmonarias have largely come through the winter unscathed, there have been a couple of casualties, I can see lonely plant labels with no plants present, but when the border dries out a bit more I’ll venture in and make a list of who expired, I still have plants I did not get round to planting late last year, again due to the almost daily rain not much gardening took place since last mid-October.

I’m in no rush, I have time on my hands now, but I’m also aware it’s still only the end of March, and we are waking up to almost daily frosts, so I’m holding back on any big seed sowings. Around about now I would have been on my way to the U.S.A and had intended to make seed sowings on my return.

My Hellebores and Magnolia × loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’, are in full flower and looking bright, the Island bed is covered in Tulip growth with the promise of lots of flowers. I did not bother digging up any of my Dahlias last autumn, again due to the rain, I decided to let them take their chances and I will be interested to see if any shoot when it gets warmer. There will no popping to the shops to replace them though.

Prunus Iford Cherry

My Iford Cherry is looking better after recent years of poor performance stuffed in an unsuitable pot. I planted it out last Autumn and hoped for the best. It’s looking blooming and will hopefully thrive from now on.

  Paeonia Pink Hawaiian Coral…It’s not Dead.!

Recently I made a pleasing discovery, when attending the Garden Press Event in 2019 I was given a division of a Paeonia plant called Pink Hawaiian Coral from Clare Austin Hardy Plants to celebrate the anniversary of the nurseries founding, I potted up the plant and grew it on and then planted it out when it was a bit bigger, unfortunately, it got brown blotches on the leaves and appeared to suffer from a fatal fungal attack, l pulled out the remains late last year thinking that was that, but this week there are signs of a green healthy leaf.

So perhaps all is not lost. I’ll keep you updated on its progress.

Bright coloured flowers for darker times

Following on from Part 1 , Part 2

and Part 3

It’s all about the plants.

Following on from the Monsoons at RHS Rosemoor at the end of August 2019 we visited Bicton Park,  a place I was not very familiar with, but we saw a leaflet for it and thought we’d give it a try. We were presented with many acres of parkland-style planting with some quite formal well-planted beds of seasonal and tropical style planting.

We explored the beds and borders with me boring my partner by naming all the plants and informing him how tender each plant is, I repaid his tolerance with a rather splendid Cream Tea in the cafe.

Echinacea

Inside the Glasshouse

Painted Lady

Bedding

Glasshouse

Bicton Park is known for its Glasshouses, in particular, its Palm house which was built in the 1820s in a curvilinear design. Apparently, you can have a civil marriage ceremony inside.

Shortly afterward we went on a bit of an adventure to another location we had seen on a tourist leaflet, The Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary is open every day of the year with free admission. There are a Cafe and shop, which were both very busy. We spent a couple of happy hours here stroking many Donkeys. I saw the Relocated RHS Chelsea Flower Show Silver Medal-winning garden ‘Donkeys Matter’.   Whilst there we learned that Donkeys are becoming scarce on the African continent due to the Chinese Donkey skin trade,  which is used to manufacture traditional Chinese medicines. this is having a negative impact on Donkey populations and the native people that use the animals in their daily lives.

All very worrying and depressing.

We purchased several items from the shop and donated a few quid. The Donkeys here are the ones that have been rehabilitated well enough to be on public display, we were told there is a second site which is not open to the public where the more unwell and traumatized animals live. The Donkeys we saw were indeed the lucky ones.

Following on from Part 1 and Part 2

It’s all about the plants.

Following on from a visit to BBC Gardeners World Live 2019, we set our horizons a little further away from home, a short break away for a few days was planned. I set my sights on a few days away Southwards and planned to visit a few gardens whilst there.

We made our way all the way south to visit Exbury Gardens, we had seen some coverage of these gardens during the Chelsea Flower Show preview program on the BBC, Exbury is a very lush garden comprising of woodlands and some formal planting. Many seasonal plants don’t get winter protection as the climate is so mild it’s just not needed.

Exbury has a mini railway that winds its way through part of the gardens, but you have to travel on foot to appreciate all that grows there, an abundance of blue flowering hydrangeas, mature trees, masses of Rhododendrons, some formal lawns. A garden map was a necessity as it was easy to get disorientated amongst the dense plantings and end up faced with the estuary as we did several times. There was also an area of tropical plantings fiercely guarded by a potty Robin.

  The next day we passed by Hillier Gardens and popped in for a visit, a much different landscape to Exbury the previous day. Hillier Gardens was very well attended by families, most of which appeared to be ignoring the “Don’t climb on the trees” signs dotted throughout the site. There was less diversity in plantings, but there were some stunning examples of different varieties of Trees & Shrubs throughout the site, Lots I’d only ever read about in Tree Guides.

Later in the day at Hilliers, we had a very nice, but very expensive mini tub of Blackberry Icecream.

  There were various pockets of plantings throughout the site that were not just trees and shrubs, there were some fascinating giant bamboos and we did quite an extensive bog planting area surrounding a pond.

  A month later, at the end of August 2019, we had a week away in Devon, this was to incorporate my birthday and a visit to RHS Rosemoor. 

Our schedule was quite tight and we could only visit Rosemoor on one specific day, unfortunately, the weather pixies were against us, on the upside, it ensured we had most of the gardens to ourselves.

We also had the newly opened Cool Garden to ourselves, designed by Joe Thompson, the garden focused on water which was in abundance throughout the day.

I found many areas of Rosemoor were densely packed with interesting plants, many were subtropical and planted out for the warmer months, but it was easy to see by the size of some of those plants, that they never get moved inside, or suffer with frosts. Rosemoor is now my favorite RHS garden, they just need a much bigger cafe to accommodate all those senior citizens that descended whilst we were making our way towards the exit looking for a warming cup of tea.

I shall certainly make the effort to get back to Rosemoor in the near future, but perhaps I’ll take a flask with me next time.

  I’ve been taught a lesson, quite a bitter lesson. Let me explain.  A few months ago I stood looking at my empty raised veg bed, the last detritus of Autumn had been cleaned away and the soil sat there, looking bare. Right, I thought, what could I be growing over the winter months that could make use of the soil until I need to plant out in the spring, not only what would grow, but what would I like to actually eat.

Well, the answer was Cabbages, interesting Cabbages in particular.

I’m quite partial to a savoy, and a bit of Red Cabbage, so seeds were sought, and seed sowing occurred. All were placed in my cold greenhouse and seedlings popped up soon after.

The plants grew steadily and quite big due to our ongoing mild winter and towards the end of last year I planted them out.

I have an issue here with Woodpigeons pecking at stuff, so clever me, I designed a mini growing cage that would not only withstand the onslaught of squadrons of grey dumpy pigeons landing heavily but a cage what would also fend off any snow and high winds during the winter months.

Let me present Anti Pigeon Cage: Not pretty but functional.

Anti Pigeon Cage

Plants were planted out, watered in, cage built around the plants, no need to fuss until the spring. Job done.

  24 hours later….

Mini Savoy

Red Cabbage

Big Savoy

Gone, the lot, over 20 plants, all pecked to bits.

In thwarting the Wood Pigeons I had not for a second expected that a squadron of small, brown, feathery Piranas known locally as House Sparrows had a taste for Brassicas, I should have learned my lesson from the last 2 summers when they shredded all my Pea Plants, but they have upped their game and perfected popping through the side of the cage, and then at their leisure shredding every leaf they found.

  So there won’t be any Cabbages, or Brassicas of any type on the menu next Spring, or possibly ever in fact.

House Sparrows.

I don’t like the way the House Sparrows are now eyeing up the Apple Tree…..

Late February I made another trip down to London as a guest of the Garden Press Event, it’s an event for the Horticultural trade to show off new products to the press, another associated people in the media including Bloggers.

String

New Tools

New Composts

New Cache Pots

Wool compost

Rob.

I was given the opportunity to try out some new compost recipes being released onto the market during 2019, also new seed varieties, and we also got to see new designs of cachepots for houseplants and lots of other new interior planting items. It was also nice to catch up with familiar faces in the blogging world.

  Mid-June saw me making a now annual visit to the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.  A slightly smaller affair than in previous years, with notably fewer stands, but it felt like just as many visitors.

The Duke & Duchess of Devonshire

I think I only purchased one Hosta on this occasion, which has to be a record for me, I usually leave with bags of plants. I don’t think I was really in the mood for this show this year.

  A week later I paid a quick visit to Gardeners world live at the N.E.C, only living about 40 minutes up the road means this show has become a short visit affair for me, a quick sweep of all the nurseries, plant societies, and products on sale and I can generally be home by lunchtime, I’m no longer interested in paying extra for talks by Celebs which has become a ‘thing’ at these tv related shows nowadays. I go for the plants, talk to the growers, see if there is anything other than tat for sale, then away home for coffee and a bacon bap.

Lovely planting

Nice Fused Glassfish

Carol Klein – always at this show

Ferns

One show garden that I made a point of trying to see this year, was the Highline Garden designed by Lucy Bravington, which won a Platinum Award.

I shall be visiting New York in the Spring of 2020 and the real Highline garden is on my must-see list of things to do whilst there.

 2 years ago now, I won a book in a Christmas Competition, I never thought for a second I’d actually get the visit the subject of the book.

Time to start swotting up.

  Its all about the plants.

  Early February this year I felt the need to be in the tropics, not being able to afford the airfare to travel to far flung exotic locations, I wandered off down to London to visit the annual Kew Gardens Orchid Festival. Held in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, this years theme was focused on South America, plants from this part of the world were all on display in formal and informal situations throughout the glasshouse.  Upon arrival I saw the queue for the Princess of Wales conservatory was already at the “1 hour from here” sign, I took the decision to visit the Palm House and the newly renovated Temperate house.  I then ate my packed lunch in the queue for the Orchids, and frustratingly it took exactly an hour to get in. That’s 1 hour of visiting time at Kew lost…

Very long Queues

However it was all worth it, only small numbers of people were permitted into the glasshouse at a time, so thankfully it was not too crowded.  As expected the Orchids were stunning, all colours shapes and sizes to be seen.

The Palm House and Temperate House’s are my favourite places to visit in the UK even on a mild February Day it felt like high summer, not least because of the temperatures, but the to be surrounded by such exotic and heat loving plants.

On my homeward bound journey on the coach, other passengers recounted to me how they had left it too late in the day to have enough time to get through the queue to see the Orchids, and came away disappointed.  Which is a shame, they missed a spectacle.

Temperate House

Temperate House

Palm House. Kew

Kew I do love you.

 I’ve been absent of late, but only in words, work has continued within the garden, although those brown paper bags of un-planted bulbs are a constant reminder of just how inhospitable growing conditions have become.

Long Fence Border after a tidy up.

  My long Fence Border has had a tidy up in between monsoon-like downpours, I had to stand of planks of wood to prevent boot sinkage. The Pulmonarias I planted last spring appear to be still present for the most part, although the presence of only a few labels might signify the demise of a few. It will be interesting in the spring, which is the primary flowering time for these plants, to see how well they have taken to this border. I still have several plants to plant but fear they might float away at this time.

The continuing mild weather is also a concern, not least because the lawn is still growing and it’s impossible for me to give it a cut, Its currently resembling a bit of welsh Moor with tufts and hummocks of grass strewn about the landscape,  however, it is providing local squirrels with hours of fun as they continue to dig up each other’s nuts.

Fleeced Tree Fern this year

Tree Ferns hibernating last year.

My Tree Ferns that resided in large pots finally got planted in the garden, I didn’t want to, but with apparent warmer winters, and the fact that they were slowly diminishing in stature confined by pots, prompted me to get them planted out and thoroughly wrapped up against the impending winter months, I hope the protection also helps against the incessant wet weather.

Malus Evereste

My Malus ‘Evereste’ is faithfully ablaze of little red fruits, it’s interesting the birds aren’t attracted to the fruits, instead they are at the mercy of sharp frosts which cause them to explode.

The fruits that is……… not the birds.

  Extra pond

We have another few days of rain forecast for the rest of this week.

I’ve still got plantings to do, ferns to divide, a shrub to plant, leaves to clear out of gutters. However next week is Christmas, so I think I’m allowed time off for good behaviour, I’ll sit gazing out of the window during the few daylight hours we currently have and dream of sunny days.

June was a month with the most bizarre and strange weather i’ve experienced in quite a while, cool nights meant jumpers were needed, then a months rain fell in a day, followed by an unforecasted period of high winds, some hot days, some cool days then the month ended with the hottest June day for many years with temperatures here in my garden of 32°c.

The heavy rain and hot temperatures have resulted in a growth spurt of plants and weeds alike.

This month’s tour starts as always along my fence border where there are very few flowers in evidence for some reason.

Long Border

Long Border

Matteuccia struthiopteris

There are a few weeds in evidence along this border, but i’m not too worried about it, there are lots of plants in here that generally do a good job of suppressing most of the weeds. This entire border was treated to several bags of Organic Soil improver by me last winter in order to improve the soil and the moisture holding capabilities of the soil, so far it appears to have been a great success, as my Matteuccia struthiopteris ferns are testament to.

  Island Bed of disapointment is disappointing.

My Island Bed of disappointment is certainly looking disappointing. I’ve not given it as much attention as I would have liked due to time constraints. It’s dominated by a leafy Peony plant, gaps and failed sunlovers.  I need to fill these soily gaps with annuals, but i’m so behind in potting up and planting out that it’s not worth persevering with many of the plants i’ve grown, i’m blaming a bad batch of compost that has stunted the growth of many of my seed sown plants. Not herbicide affected, but just starved plants.

The Back of the island Bed

At the back of the Island Bed the Allium Globemaster have finished  an i’ll remove the flower heads soon, I don’t want millions of grass like seedlings popping up everywhere.

Extra bit of bed

Lychnis coronaria

Dahlia lost label

The extra bit of bed I gained after digging up scorched turf is performing well, some random plants quickly planted are doing well, Delphiniums I purchased as plug plants are flowering, unfortunately they’ve barely made 1 foot high, i’ve also got my Lychnis Coronaria plants in flower for the first time since growing them from seed, these should have been the cerise red forms, but like all the other seeds i’ve tried they flower purple.

Cucumbers

An actual cucumber

Tomato plants with Musa Musa sikkimensis in the foreground

In the greenhouses, I’ve got 8 tomato plants in full growth interspersed with Pepper and Chilli plants, and in my smaller greenhouse I’ve got far too many cucumbers growing. I also successfully germinated 3 Banana seeds earlier in the year, more by accident than design as i’ve always failed with Banana seed before. I’ve now tracked down the packet and can correctly name them as  Musa sikkimensis, I’m interested in how big I can grow them. Or where I’m going to grow them for that matter.!

Coleus or now Solenostemon

I’ve also got 3 Coleus or now Solenostemon plants growing on in the Greenhouse, I purchased these from the Malvern Spring Flower Show. I’m intending to propagate from them, but they need to grow a bit more first.

In my raised beds, my Heritage Seed Library Onions are nearing full size. As these plants from seed are open pollinated, and not F1, they are all various sizes and shapes, not at all uniform as you would expect with F1’s. Open pollinated plants suit home gardeners, as the crop is ready for harvesting over a longer period and not all at the same time, potentially causing a glut.

Onion Downing Globe

I will harvest the biggest onions for drying first, this will give more room to smaller plants to develop. I’m also noticing at least 3-4 plants are showing signs of Allium Leaf Miner.

I’ve also planted out all of the Sweetcorn plants I was growing. I was sent samples of  new varieties of seed of Sweetcorn Alliance and Sweetcorn Tyson to try from Marshall Seeds. 

Sweetcorn planted up with squash

Sweetcorn Alliance

Sweetcorn Tyson is in the foreground planted with Squash Plants in a sort of ugly sisters style, as Sweetcorn Alliance seeds were sent earlier in the year, they are the bigger plants just behind the onions.

Elsewhere in the garden i’ve got many plants all goring well, the Sarracenias are looking good, if  a little weedy since the repotting last spring, my Apple  James Grieve has baby fruits, my Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ is in full flower, i’m hopeful of seeds being available to send the the Hardy Plant Society members seed distribution this coming Autumn.

James Grieve Apple

Sarracenias

Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’

Elsewhere in the garden:

Clematis Niobe

Self Sown digitalis

Astrantia Dark Desire

Geranium psilostemon

Interesting thing I’ve noticed about by choice of plants, I’m quite into purple without really noticing.

I will hope for a purple patch soon, until next time, bye for now.

  CUBE Glossy Kiss 14 cherry pie high-gloss

  Disclosure: I was sent this planter to try out, I have not been paid for this review, the supplier has had no influence on this review and I have not paid for the item. The supplier has not seen this review before it was published.

I was contacted by Lechuza and asked if I would like to try out a self watering planter kit, I jumped at the chance as I have an ever increasing population of indoor plants throughout the house and I’m always looking out for useful and interesting accessories.

Planter box contents

The box duly arrived and the contents contained  an outer shell in my chosen red, an inner basket and a packet containing the wick attachment and float mechanism.

I assembled the float mechanium and fitted into the inner basket, then pushed the wick into the bottom of my chosen house plant which is a Didymochlaena trunculata Fern. This fern like high humidity and consistently damp roots. In my book, it’s a bit needy.

The really nice feature of this self watering system it you do not need to repot or replant your chosen houseplant in any way. You just push the wick up into the base of your plant through the existing drainage holes and place the plant into the basket.

The basket has 4 small feet to the bottom of your plant pot sits proud on the bottom of the outer shell, so your plant does not sit in water, only the wick does.

Wick dangling below the basket level.

The basket is then placed into the outer shell, and the water lever is topped up using the float as an indicator.

Float

Water hole

In action

The root ball of my fern is staying nicely moist without any faff needed on my part, it is however apparent that my fern is in a pot slightly tall to fit flush with the self watering cube, but this does not affect its function at all.

The self watering planter comes in several colours and sizes, it looks really smart, clean and stylish. It’s minimum fuss to set up.

I’ve placed mine in the bathroom window and it’s really easy to keep the reservoir topped up with water.

In situ.

This planter would make a nice present for the plant fan in your life, it would also suit plants that are placed in difficult to reach areas were watering could be difficult without climbing on furniture, I have several plants currently in places that involve climbing up to reach to attend to them.

The Lechuza self watering planters are available online direct from the manufacturer, or from selected outlets.

To view the full range of Lechuza self watering planters and accessories… follow the Link here. 

The Month of May only provided a couple of days of decent rain, also temperatures varied from really very hot, to quite nippy. The last frosts were in the 2nd week of May, and temperatures have remained steady since.

Patio foliage

I start the view by the patio as always, an Acer Palmatum from the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2018 is in full leaf, it’s nestled closely to a Syringa macropetala, the scent is amazing, both plants are in big pots.

Long Border

The long border along the fence is filling up, my new Pulmonarias are in there somewhere and doing well, I’m keeping them well watered so they get established.

Candelabra Primula

Also in this border there is a nice, slowly expanding group of Primula beesiana, the Bees are enjoying the blooms.

Hosta June

Matteuccia struthiopteris ferns

Further along the border I’ve got a patch of Matteuccia struthiopteris fern, and some Hosta June, it will be interesting to see how these plants cope as the weather dries out the soil more, although I am adding extra water to various plants already whilst waiting for decent rainfall.

Poached Egg Plant

Hosta Timeless Beauty

Hosta Sting

A stroll to the top of the border reveals a rather splendid patch of Poached Egg plant,  Limnanthes douglasii, I was given the seed for this patch from the RSPB from one of the Gardeners World Live Shows at the N.E.C many years ago and the plants self seed profically each year.  I’ve also got a few more Hostas dotted about, the above are Hosta Timeless Beauty and Hosta Sting.

Peony Magical Mystery Tour

Allium cristophii

Allium Globemaster

In my island bed of disapointment, the current highlights are a Peony Magical Mystery Tour, Allium Christophii and several Allium Globemaster, the soil in this bed is already cracking open as a result of the dry weather.

In the Greenhouse

In the greenhouse I’ve potted up my many tomato plants, I’ve still got Peppers and Cucumbers to get potted up, and for some reason I’ve grown Melons this year. They need to grow a bit more before potting up.

squash in waiting.

In the second greenhouse I’ve got squash waiting to come out and be planted, and many other flowers need planting, I just need to find some time.

Dwarf French Bean Eastern Butter Wax

Onion Downing Yellow Globe

In the veg patch, I’ve got my Onion Dowing Globe Yellow grown from seed from the Heritage Seed Library, I’ve also planted out over 20 plants of Dwarf French Bean – Eastern Butter Wax as part of my Seed Guardian efforts to grow, harvest and return seeds to the Heritage Seed Library.

Sarracenia Varieties

Finally my various Sarracenia varieties are bursting into growth, i’m already rationing rainwater in my water butts to ensure a decent supply to these plants, I ran out last year and had to pinch some from the pond a work. Not ideal.

I’m relieved to see that my repotting efforts have not resulted in any plants demise. yet.

Until next month, bye for now.

With thanks to Helen at the Patient Gardener for originally hosting this meme.

April started and ended dry, very little rain fell except for a notable night when storm Hannah battered the region. It sounded like the house was in a car wash, but upon inspection the next  morning I found that only 8mm of rain had fallen leaving the garden a dit damp but still needing a good soak.

You see the reason the garden needed a good soak is because I’ve been buying plants, there has been plant buying from mail order and plant buying from a few rather nice nurseries.

And what have I been buying I hear you ask… well I shall tell you…

Pulmonarias, loads of them.

Many Many new Pulmonarias.

I’ve come over all Pulmonaria lovey.

I’ve had a few in the garden along my fence border for quite a few years, and they’ve always done very well here, they are forgiving of my soggy winter soil with its clayey tendencies, they flower profusely each spring providing the pollinators with a source of nectar.

More recently the Hardy Plant Society has published a new guide to pulmonaria cultivation and I purchased a copy at last months AGM.

This handy little booklet has rejuvenated my love of these handy little plants, I’ve been seeking out online suppliers of these plants and making purchases.

My latest count has gone from my original 3 cultivars in the garden to a further 28. I have also joined the Pulmonaria Group of the Hardy Plant society.   

I still have a couple more plants due to arrive any day, and in order to make space for all my new purchases I’ve been hard at work tidying and improving the soil along the fence border, as this is the best place for these new plants as it only gets minimal sun earlier in the day and remains in shade through the hottest parts of the day.

I’ve widened the border by removing more lawn, I’ve removed a feral patch of underwhelming Alliums, dug up and divided a large Hosta June, and potted up all the divisions for swaps, I’ve also dug out and potted up quite a few sizable bits of my Epimedium x warleyense ‘Orangekonigin’.

I went and purchased manure and organic soil improver from the garden centre which was on offer and forked this in and mulched along most of the border, I’ve planted out the biggest of my new Pulmonarias and soaked them several times using the hose to give them a good start as the rain has just not been sufficient.  The smaller Pulmonarias I’m leaving in pots for a while longer until they bulk up a bit.

Edgeworthia Chrysantha

Another new planting that took place was a new Edgeworthia, my original Edgeworthia became a victim of the new shed build 12 months ago, (it was in the way), The new plant is a little small, and has already received crispy leaves from a night of low temperatures during April which caught me out before I could fleece it.

This should have been the month of the stunning Tulip display of my island bed, or as I’ve started calling it, the bed of despair…

Island Bed

Well it’s a display, although not the ‘stunning’ I was aiming for.

It should have been a mix of Orange Ballerina Tulips with Purple Dream Tulips, but the Ballerina has been a bit shy at appearing, and there is an inexplicable gap of tulip in the centre of the bed.  I have dug up and divided my Kniphofia Bees Lemon, potted two bits and replanted two bits in a holding area at the very  top of the garden, I will replant the best of the 4 bits back into the island bed in the autumn.  In the gap it left in the island bed I’ve planted a piece of Peony Pink Hawaiian Coral which was a gift from Claire Austin Hardy Plants given to attendees to this years Garden Press Event in February.

I’ve also been potting on my potted Acer Palmatum’s and have placed the pots in shady areas throughout the garden, already the plants are coming into leaf and look very nice with the fresh foliage.

Acers

Further up the garden, behind my Island bed of despair there used to be a patch of lawn, but after last years shed removal and new shed being fitted by a firm, I used the patch of grass to home an incinerator the dispose of the old rotten shed, this doomed the grass, so I turned the area into an extension of a nearby border and now I have a bit of extra room for more plants .

New bit of room.

This is the home for my new Edgeworthia, and I’ve been planting many of my Potted Hostas in various places through the garden, including Hosta Marmalade in this picture.

Hostas

I will be attending various Flower Shows & Plant fairs to see if I can find anything really nice that I can fit in here.

In the greenhouses there has been a lot of seed sowing.

Squash Seedlings

Tomatoes and Cosmos

Flowers and Veg seeds have been sown, my Tomatoes are growing really well, this year I am growing a mixture of newly released modern F1 Hybrid types from seed catalogues, and Heritage seeds from the Heritage Seed Library.

My modern tomatoes are

Super Mama F1

Super Sauce F1

Summer Last F1

Lizzano F1

Shimmer F1

Patio Plum

Some of these varieties are windowsill types, and some are hanging basket types.

My Heritage Varieties are

Blaby Special

Iraqi Heart Shaped

I think I’ve got too many varieties as usual, but I always get carried away during seed sowing, I’ve not even gone into the many Cucumber Varieties that I have sown.

In the raised veg beds, I’ve got Carrot, Spring Onions, Beetroot and Radish Seeds sown.

My  Downing Globe Yellow Heritage  Onions from the Heritage Seed Library are growing very strongly, I am pleased with the rate of growth but I could do with a bit more rain sometime soon.

Downing Globe Yellow Onions

So far this month we have had very hot and dry weather, as I’ve stated, I’ve had the hose out several times to water plantings, and I’ve topped up a couple of water butts already.

We could do with some nice steady rain, preferably at night, and although I hate saying it, we could do with it soon.  If not, It could be an interesting year to come.

Lunnaria

Tulip Ronaldo

Forget-me-not

Tulip Ballerina

Malus blossom

Until next time, bye for now.

With thanks to Helen at the Patient Gardener for originally hosting this meme.

The Month of March started with a light dusting of snow. We had occasional frosts and were visited by storm Freya and Gareth.

Light snow flurry in evidence

As the month commenced the weather settled down, and plants started to grow.

Along my fence border the Pulmonarias have started to put on a splendid show.

Pulmonaria Raspberry Ripple

Pulmonaria Blue Ensign

Pulmonaria Opal

Opal with newly planted Hellebore

Pulmonaria Raspberry Ripple (Foreground), Blue Ensign behind.

These plants do very well along here, damp in the winter and out of the sun in the summer, I’ve started to add to my collection with the purchase of two more varieties.

  Pulmonaria Mollis

Pulmonaria rubra ‘Rachel Vernie

I’ve also been browsing online nurseries and have already got quite a wish list that will need reducing if I want to be able to eat this month.

Further along in my fence border, my Malus Evereste has had to have its annual mouldy fruit removal, it’s a strange quirk about this plant that the fruits turn mushy brown and just remain hanging, if I let them remain then they just interfere with the impending blossom, so for several years now I’ve had to get some scissors and snip off the mushy fruits.

Fruit catching

Fruit removal done

And by the end of March there was quite a bit of new growth.

New leaves & Flower buds.

Next to the Malus is the Illicium verum planted quite a few years ago, it’s quite an understated plant that doesn’t do much except produce these lovely looking blooms, although you do have to get your nose right into the flower to discover the lovely sweet scent.

Illicium verum

Elsewhere in the garden there are signs of life appearing, Acer palmatum’s I’ve repotted, my Iford Cherry and my lovely Magnolia × loebneri Leonard Messel are all doing well.

Magnolia Leonard Messel

Iford Cherry

Another Acer

Acer Palmatum

Neighbours Bindweed

My re-potted Sarracenas are looking and growing better already, some of the plants are already throwing up flower buds.

Sarracenia

I’m excited to see these plants develop when the weather warms up, who knows they might even catch a fly.

 I’ve also done a small amount of seed sowing and so far everything is coming up.

Tomatoes & Okra

Heritage Lettuce

Cosmos

Sweet Peas

Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’

Tomatoes

  A selection of Heritage and modern hybrids are being grown by me this year, no particular reason except to try varying varieties available to find a nice taste.

An example of this is the Onion seeds I received from the Heritage Seed Library as a member, and as part of my members selection.  This year I tried Onion Downing Globe Yellow, it’s described as a large globe shaped onions with a dark golden-yellow skin with cream firm white flesh.

Downing Globe Yellow Onions

It will be interesting to see how these plants develop and what the resulting onions look like. I’ve planted out over 30 seedlings into my raised veg beds.

I’ve not got any other edibles  on the go outside as yet as the temperature are still fluctuating too much.

Finally I must show you a plant I’ve had for a few years now, but has suddenly improved and become a feature in my garden.

Epimedium x warleyense ‘Orangekonigin’

I purchased this plant from a now closed down nursery, it’s been an ok plant until now.

I removed spent leaves in autumn, and now there is a mass of alien-like peachy flowers. In-Fact the plant is now doing so well I think I will have to dig some up in the autumn to make room for the surrounding plants.

  Ladybird

Until next time, bye for now.

Irritating Plant of the Month – Blackberry Black Cascade

Irritating Plant of the Month – Blackberry Black Cascade

Easy to grow said the write up, pick the fruit from an easy hight, make pies and crumbles it said. Just the plant for easy and convenient growing of your favourite fruits…. it said.

(more…)