Down at the allotment

After heavy rain and gales during the week and with more rain forecast for the weekend,  I wasn't expecting to be able to get much done at the allotment. But Saturday turned out fine and I managed to plant kale, red cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli. I was disappointed to find that some of the brussels sprouts and cauliflower which I had planted 2 weeks ago had disappeared. I'm thinking it was slugs. Fortunately I still had some cauliflower plants left over at home so I replaced the missing ones. I sowed some seed of brussels sprouts, hoping its not too late, as I had no spare plants there.  The cabbage were looking fine. I also planted some celery plants which I bought as the ones I grew from seed didn't do well. I've never grown celery before so anything can happen!

Last weekend my daughter sowed  peas, carrots, beetroot and  parsnip. The beetroot and parsnips were sown using seed strips. We have not used this before so we will be interested to see how well it works.

My husband, who is not a gardener, but is always happy to embark on any building project, was busy building a netting frame for the brassica bed to protect against caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies which can cause immense damage. He throws himself into any project with great enthusiasm and I always know that any job he does will be a good job, even if it takes weeks to complete. The frame was finally finished this weekend and I think many of our fellow allotment holders have been following its progress with great interest. It's made so that we can lift panels off easily for access to the bed for weeding, planting or picking.

 
Last week there was some damage to the boundary fence of the allotments caused by fire which also damaged someones storage box and compost bin. We were pleased to see when we went on Saturday that the council had started to repair the fence. They had also done some weeding and cutting down of conifer branches but had put all these perennial weeds and tree branches on ours and other people's compost heaps, much to our dismay. So we now have some work to do sorting out the compost bin and getting rid of the unwanted stuff.

Everything else seems to be growing well and looking like a vegetable garden should look.

Walking round my garden

There's nothing quite like walking round the garden with a mug of  tea, seeing how everything is growing. It's part of my morning routine when the weather is fine. My garden is not massive, I hasten to add, but it's very full of plants, a bit messy really, plants tumbling into one another. So there's a lot to look at.


I spend a lot of time working in the garden, but those times I'm concentrating on the job I'm doing and don't  notice the other things.

It's when I'm walking round that I spot those first newly opened flowers, the plant I'd given up on just starting to emerge from the soil, vegetable seeds starting to germinate, or decide a plant is in the wrong place and make a mental note to move it when the time is right. It's when I get inspiration for a new planting scheme or my next project, or just see jobs that need doing.  But it's also a time for me and my thoughts, to just relax, wander around enjoying and appreciating.

 Like thinking how lovely these lamb's ears look against the yellow Alchemilla .

 Or noticing these interesting seed heads of the Pasque flower.

 And spotting the first of these beautiful blue Geraniums,

 this  gorgeous Knautia macedonia,

 and this bee.

My wish list for garden plants

Reading  through one of my garden magazines the other day (I'm a bit of an addict for gardening magazines),  I looked at the article on 'must have' plants and spotted a couple which I have been coveting for a while. That got me thinking about other plants which I would quite like to have in my garden.  So I decided to put together my 'wish list for plants'.


Echinacea purpurea--I love its deep pink flowers which would be great for late summer colour. I nearly bought one last year, I don't know why I didn't. This year I'm definitely looking out for one.

Helenium--I have a yellow one, but I'm looking for one which is more orange. This is another late summer flower and would look good in my sunny border which has a yellow/orange scheme.

Allium--I think these look lovely dotted about in borders, towering above the other plants.

Perovskia--this is a blue shrubby plant which looks a bit like lavender but flowers later in the summer. I saw it last summer at the RHS garden Harlow Carr. It looks amazing planted in groups in big borders.  Because it's very shrub like it would be too big for my garden, unless I was to dig something else up.

Fig--A few years ago we spent a weekend doing some planting for our daughter in her previous garden. One of the plants we put in was a fig tree. Ever since then I've quite liked the idea of growing a fig tree. I love the shape of their leaves as well as the fruit. But I think it would be too big for our garden, unless we could grow it in a container. I think also it would be too expensive for me.


Hamamelis (Witch hazel)--Whenever I go to the garden centre in the winter time I always look longingly at these with their spidery flowers. They bring colour to the garden in winter when it's much needed. But they are just a bit beyond my budget.

Hydrangea paniculata--I had this growing in a pot for a couple of years, but it died. I would love to grow it  in the garden.  The creamy white flower heads are so lovely.

Lonicera (Honeysuckle)--I have a couple of honeysuckles in my garden but none so lovely as the one I bought for my daughter last week. I've forgotten it's name, 'Sensation',  (I think),  it had big pale yellow flowers and smelt divine.

Some of these plants, I know are just not right for my garden, but I can dream. Others I will acquire if I see a bargain.  My wish list changes from time to time.  I might see plants, in other people's gardens or in magazines, which I would just love in my garden and by the end of this week after I've watched the TV coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show there could be a few more plants on my wish list.

What are your 'wish list' plants?

Safety outside school

I'm having another moan. Sorry about that but I'm really annoyed so I'll have to share it with someone.  Its about  parents who take their children to school by car.

Its not the fact that they take their children to school by car, because I know that some people may live a long way from school and it might be too long a walk for them. I also realise that some parents have to take the children to school  then go off to work. What has annoyed me is those parents who insist on driving right up to the school gates and dropping their children off  without even getting out of the car themselves, simply because they can't be bothered to find somewhere nearby to park. This causes a lot of congestion outside school and is also a danger to children who are trying to cross the street. The same happens at end of school time.

My grandchildrens' school is situated up a small side road and the zig zag lines extend to most of the school side of the street, so there's not much room for cars to park as there are also residents' cars parked there. Most of the time I walk my grandchildren to and from school as we only live about 10 minutes away.  If the weather is really bad I will take them in the car, but I park safely in a nearby street or on the road. It doesn't do the children any harm to walk a few yards even in the rain. I am also thinking of other children's safety when I do this.

So why can't other parents think this way?

Not a good day

Yesterday was a bad day for me.  It rained and rained all day, horrible drizzly rain, and it was windy too. I got wet and cold taking the grandchildren to school even though we went in the car ( we normally walk as it's not far).  I got wet again when I went out to the shops. My waterproof was dripping wet, my jeans were soaked, my trainers were wet and so was my hair.  I had to change my clothes, dry my hair and hang my waterproof to drip dry next to the radiator.

Later, I had to go up to school again for the children. We battled against the wind, rushing to get to the car, trying to keep our hoods over our heads, my grandson ignoring my request for him not to splash in the puddles. Then I realised he had left his lunch bag in school and we had to go back to get it. Aargh!

Finally  home, the children decided to annoy me in a big way.  I did at one point wonder if they had eaten or drank something at school which had put their hyperactive levels up. Well anyway, it got me wound up. Later when they had gone home and I reflected on the day, I felt bad for having got so cross with them. Maybe I was tired, or perhaps the rain had got too much for me.

So tomorrow when they are with me again I will try to be a better Nana and have more patience. I also hope it doesn't rain.

Harlow Carr

Just after Easter we went to the RHS garden Harlow Carr, nr Harrogate.  It's one of our favourite gardens to visit and as it's only just over an hour 's drive for us it's one we can visit from time to time throughout the year. It covers several acres and has different types of gardens within the whole space. There's a woodland area, a kitchen garden, an alpine house, massive herbaceous borders, a stream side area, an arboretum, wildlife areas, and much more.

We like to go at different times of the year so we can see it change through the seasons.  In  the winter it's good to see what plants you can grow for winter interest. There is a  winter walk which takes you through the garden so you can see plants with interesting foliage. In Spring there are the daffodils and later when the tulips are in bloom the displays are superb.

Even though Harlow Carr is so big and our garden is quite small in comparison, we still come away with ideas of things we can do in our own garden.

Like the herb spiral in one of the trainee's gardens. I quite liked this idea, a good way to plant herbs in a small space.

I love the kitchen garden, to see how they set their vegetables and fruit out, and any new ways of planting.
The recently built alpine zone is quite spectacular there are hundreds of alpines and there always seems to be some in flower whatever time of year you visit.

The herbaceous borders are massive and  look good all the year round but as the year goes on they develop into the most amazing areas of colour and are absolutely fantastic in the summer. It's good for plant spotting, seeing how a plant looks and deciding if it will look good in our own garden.

I love going through the woodland area to see what will grow in those conditions as I have a lot of shade and a woodland area in my garden.  The tellima seem to grow well in shady conditions and the ferns look great under the trees.

 









There are always things to interest children, especially in the woodland area like this bear.

We had a good day out and I managed to come away without buying a plant from their fabulous plant centre. I did buy some seeds though. Well I couldn't not bring something back with me, could I?

After the rain

I don't remember when we last had any rain. Its not really mattered for  a while. I've just been enjoying the sunshine. I've gardened with the sun on my back, planted new plants, divided my perennials, sowed my peas and broad beans, hoed the borders.  And when I've needed a break I've sat down in the sunshine with a cup of tea and enjoyed.

But after a while the lack of rain has become a  problem, the veg plot and newly planted perennials were looking dry and in need of more moisture. Getting the hose pipe out every evening  was becoming a chore. I was looking forward to some rain.

The rain finally arrived and after weeks of being outside I had to do indoor things, like ironing and tidying up, tackling those jobs which had been piling up.

I get a bit restless when I have to be inside for too long, so when the rain eased off and the sun started to shine later in the afternoon, I was glad to get outside and potter around the garden.

It was when I got outside that I noticed the difference. There was a freshness to the garden, the lush green of the plants contrasted well against the dark damp soil.  Plants which had been a bit sad looking had perked up.

But best of all was the smell. The smell of the soil, the greenery, the lilacs, was just wonderful, almost intoxicating. Hosepipes are good but you can't beat a good shower of rain.

A spiritual garden

This blog post is dedicated to 2 of my Twitter friends who are wanting to create a spiritual garden on the theme of love and peace. I believe it will be a paved garden with plants in containers. They want ideas for plants to grow. As I can't answer that question in 140 characters I decided to do a blog post with my thoughts!

 I  find a lot of relaxation, peace and spirituality in gardens, not just peace in the sense of being quiet, but bringing a feeling of inner peace. My own garden has developed over a period of 27 years. We  get a lot of traffic noise from the front of the garden. Sometimes in the back garden we have noise from neighbouring gardens, children playing, family barbecues etc. Despite this 'noise' we can still sit in our garden and feel 'peaceful'. My garden is large, has trees, shrubs and flowers. Lots of flowers because I do love my plants.

So what makes a spiritual garden?   Is it the planting scheme? Type of plants? Maybe that helps. I'm not a professional gardener or garden designer, I've just put plants together in my garden which I like. I spend time in my garden, because I love being there. I find it a good place to think, to pray, to play with my grandchildren, to relax, to read, to eat, drink, talk and work. For me it is a spiritual place.

In planning a new garden, I think you would need to look first at which way the garden faces, where there is sun or shade and buy plants to suit the right position. Most plants will grow in containers, even smaller trees, and different heights is another thing to think about. You would also need to have a mix of deciduous and evergreen plants for all year round interest, and variety of colour and leaf texture.  Then you might want to think about colour schemes. Green and white is very relaxing and need not be boring, there are many different shades of green from dark to pale,  variegated and even lime green.  You could bring another colour in, like yellow, or blue to create an effect. I like Euphorbias for their lime green colour. There are lots of different sizes, from a few inches tall to a couple of feet. The taller ones would look great in containers.


Even in a very small garden it's good to have an area where you can sit. That could be a table and chairs on a patio, a bench, or just a tiny corner with a small seat. I love secluded seating areas, somewhere you can take yourself off to sit and be quiet. An area like this could be surrounded by scented plants. I have one in my garden, with aromatic herbs like, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, and lavender which can just be brushed with your hands as you're sitting there.  Other scented plants could be sweet peas, a climbing rose, honeysuckle or jasmine. Climbing plants could grow over an arbour, up a trellis or tripod, depending on space available. In May Lilac is lovely, later in the summer Buddleia is in bloom. Buddleia has lovely graceful arching branches. Both have white varieties as well as the different shades of purple and both smell divine.

Water is very relaxing to listen to in a garden, and you don't need a big garden for this. There are many water features available which could be used in smaller gardens. For plants to use around damp areas, you might consider, Astilbe (white, pale pink, dark pink).

Statues look good in a garden when they are surrounded by greenery. Something like a Buddha, an angel,a cherub even a bird bath depending on your taste. Hostas, ferns, Solomon's Seal ( Polygonatum) look good together for green planting if you have some shade in your garden. Grasses also look good in containers, there are many varieties available, deciduous and evergreen, tall and short, green, variegated, golden colours.  Some grasses also are good sensory plants, nice to brush your hands through, like Stipa tenuissima and some of the Carex varieties. Other grasses are just interesting like Miscanthus or Calamagrostis with tall flower spikes. I love grasses they bring gentle movement to the garden.

There are many  shrubs available at garden centres, deciduous and evergreen, with different leaf colours, some green, some variegated, some golden. Acers have been suggested, they have a lovely delicate leaf and there are a good range of colours to choose from. For evergreen shrubs, there are the Viburnums, which have white flowers, sometimes followed by berries. For spring colour,  Forsythia has yellow flowers, Deutsia, white flowers, flowering  late spring, early summer, I love this, have it in my garden. Then there's the Weigelas, with lovely pink flowers, late spring and early summer and arching branches. I have 2 of these in my garden, one of which is variegated. Hydrangeas are lovely shrubs, look good in containers and there is a wide range available, especially some lovely white ones. The Choisya,  has glossy evergreen leaves and white scented flowers in early summer.  There's a dark green and a yellow leaved variety.

I could go on forever thinking about plants. These are just a few of my thoughts, I hope they are helpful to my friends and can't wait to hear how their garden develops.

Does anyone else have any ideas for planting in a spiritual garden?