Woodland den

On the day of the teachers' strike this week we were looking after our two grandchildren.  When I suggested going to the allotment I got the usual response--"oh yes!" from our grandson who loves going and "oh nooo" from our granddaughter who doesn't.  At my next suggestion, to make a woodland den at  the top of the allotment, all eyes lit up--yes this was much more interesting.

At the top end of plot8 is a slope with a big sycamore tree and some bushes, an elder and a holly.  It's not possible to use the space for growing vegetables or fruit.  The grandchildren always enjoy playing up there, it's a good place to hide and run around, but there are lots of weeds and rubbish- nettles, brambles, glass and plastic.  It wasn't a very safe area for children.  So I've had a plan in mind to make it into a safe area where the children could play and have their own space.

Armed with strong gloves, rubbish bags and secateurs, the children and I set to work clearing the area and cutting back branches.  My 9 year old granddaughter normally has no interest in the allotment, preferring to stay at home and read a book.  So it was good to see her full of enthusiasm for the project and to have her say that it was the best day she had ever spent on the allotment.  I had to admit that I was quite enjoying myself too. 

We managed to clear the nettles, cut back the brambles, trim the holly and clear up most of the rubbish. Under my granddaughter's supervision I cut back overhanging branches to her height and made an archway of branches at the entrance to the woodland, a soft curtain of leaves in the middle to provide a hiding place and a pathway all the way through. As we worked away we thought about what we could do to make the woodland area into a good den.

We got rained off later and after adjourning to the shed for our lunch we went home to make plans.  I got them to think about what they would like to have in their woodland den.

So we now have a list of ideas:

• Make seats out of some of the bricks and planks of wood lying around on the allotment
• Bird feeders in the trees
• Make a bug house
• Make a shelf to put interesting nature finds/treasures
• Make things like mobiles or sculptures out of twigs, stones, pebbles, leaves etc
• Have a rope ladder so they can climb the big tree (Hmm, well maybe granddad can fix something up)
• Have a camouflage awning (this could cost money)
• Make a hideout from long branches like a teepee (we could collect branches from the woods across the lane)

I have to say that I'm quite excited about this project myself, but I'm wondering if adults might not be allowed in there once it's finished. I'll keep you up to date with our progress.

Coming along just fine

 

When we are down at the allotment working on plot 10b we are often asked by our allotment neighbours, "How's the other plot doing?" Well I'm happy to say that our other allotment--plot 8 is coming along really well.  After weeks of rubbish sorting and trips to the recycling centre, we can at last see the ground.  And after lots of back breaking digging, clearing of bricks and rubble the original layout of the plot is appearing.  There are flagged paths surrounding beds, and some fairly decent soil in them too.

We didn't expect to be growing much this year on the plot, but in the four small raised beds which were left by the previous tenant we have planted onions, climbing and dwarf french beans, radish, spring onion, beetroot and sweetcorn.  There are two small strawberry beds planted by the previous tenants which we decided to leave for this year to see how productive they were. We now have two new beds which Richard has weeded,dug over and filled with well rotted manure. One of these has been planted up with courgettes and pumpkins and will soon have some squash in there too.

There is an apple tree which was full of blossom a few weeks earlier and we will be hoping for plenty of fruit later this year. Helen and I dug over the area around the apple tree last week. We decided to make this a fruit growing area. I have a rhubarb and a couple of gooseberry plants to be planted in there.

Richard dug up a couple of conifers last week and that area is now being prepared to make two big beds either side of the drain. The soil there is very dry as it was full of roots, so it needs lots of compost and manure adding before we can grow anything.

The pond area is starting to look colourful now the yellow irises are in flower, but there is a lot of work to be done there yet. We discovered that the pond liner has cracks in it and the pond has become more of a bog than a pond.  There are frogs on the plot, but we are not sure if the tadpoles survived when the pond dried up. Sorting it out is a project for next year I think.

At the top end of the plot is a big tree and we think the best thing to do there  is have a woodland wildlife area.  It's also a lovely place for the grandchildren to play and have a den.

So that's where we are up to on plot 8.  We still need to build compost bins and Richard wants to make a shed out of some of the materials we have lying around on plot 8 and plot 10b.

It's all looking good and we are really pleased with how things are progressing.

Special brew

Watching Monty Don making comfrey and nettle teas on BBC Gardeners' World last Friday spurred me on to make some of my own. I've been watching our comfrey plant at the allotment grow and grow. Then as we were working on our new allotment plot 8 I found a comfrey plant there.  As well as the comfrey on our plots, there are nettles on the unweeded areas and an abundance of them growing on the lane. Best not to waste them, I thought.

So armed with strong gloves for collecting the nettles and a couple of big buckets I set to work cutting back. With one bucket full of nettle leaves and the other with comfrey I topped them both up with water.  They are now tucked away in a corner of the plot brewing nicely.  I'll leave them for about 3 or 4 weeks then use them diluted to feed the tomatoes and cucumber in the polytunnel.

 Fertiliser for free and so easy to make.

Secret garden

I often talk about our woodland garden. It sounds a bit grand to have a woodland garden, but mine is nothing like that. It's just an attempt at a little woodland space.  There's only one tree in it, a massive lime, but there are other trees around in neighbours' gardens which all help to create the shade.

The woodland garden was created a few years ago when my husband had the idea of doing something with a small, unused and very rough area at the top end of the garden.  The area is elevated looking down onto the drive and garage. There had been a compost bin beyond the tree, a very rickety fence and a sloping boggy path leading to the compost bin, all a bit treacherous at times.We decided to move the compost bin and have a new composting area in another part of the garden. This provided us with lots of lovely compost to use to improve the soil in the woodland area. Richard made a new fence, and because it is a sloping site, a stepped wooden boardwalk type of path running alongside it.

I loved planting up the border, which was surprisingly quite large. I planted shade loving plants taken from cuttings in other parts of the garden and I  looked around the garden centres for woodland plants. The area gets some sunshine for part of the day. Early in the year spring bulbs do very well, snowdrops, crocus, daffodils followed by primroses and bluebells. Later on dicentras, hardy geraniums, Solomon's seal and aquilegia bring in some colour. From about July onwards, when the trees are in full leaf the woodland garden becomes less colourful and more shady and the ferns take over the show.

As the garden has developed it has become not just a woodland garden but a secret garden.  It's hidden away at the top of the main garden, accessed through a little gate. We put the gate there to stop the grandchildren from getting in when they were younger as we were worried they would try to climb over the fence onto the garage roof. They can now open the gate themselves and there's no stopping them, they love going down into that secret place.

I often visit other gardens and if there is a woodland area I like to get ideas for planting.  But I've noticed that 'proper' woodland gardens are very shady and are often left to nature.  Mine is very full of shade loving garden plants. I wonder if I have gone overboard with the planting.  One day I might redo the border, if I ever have the time. But for now I quite like it as it is.

An artist's garden

I decided to join with Veg plotting --The Blogger's Cut for the Chelsea Fringe and so last weekend my daughter and I went garden visiting as a change from allotment gardening.  We visited Montford Cottage, an NGS garden.  This is a garden I have visited several times before and I never tire of seeing it. I always come away feeling really calm, having been transported away to another place and returning with some inspiration for my own garden.

I realised as soon as we got there that I'd forgotten to take my camera with me so these photos are taken on my phone. Apologies for the poor quality.

The artistic talents of the owners was evident throughout the garden. We entered  through a woodland area, filled with the scent of wild garlic. We followed the path through the garden admiring the follies, interesting archways, statues, a gate leading to nowhere but giving you the impression that there was more beyond.

Lovely old archway

We came out of the woodland garden into brilliant sunshine to see the amazing cottage garden planting, with wonderful colour  from flowers and foliage.  We did a bit of plant spotting and also found plants we couldn't identify.  Having lots of shade in my own garden, I'm always interested in the planting in this garden.  There were plenty of hostas, and here, given more space they were quite magnificent. The wild garlic was all over the garden and I was beginning to feel envious. I wanted some in my little woodland garden at home.

Me wondering what that plant is

As we walked around we came upon seating areas in various places, tucked away in little hidden corners. I wanted to sit down in them all and soak up the atmosphere of the garden. There was a lovely summer house beautifully furnished with old furniture. An important part of garden visiting for us is always the tea/coffee and cake. The scones with jam and cream looked pretty good. We chose to sit and have our coffee and scones  in a little courtyard area next to a log store which had the most amazing archway. Sitting there in the sunshine we felt we could have been anywhere on holiday, not just a few miles down the road from where we lived.

log store and seating area

Finally before we left, as always on garden visits we checked out the plant stall. I chose a lovely deep blue Bugloss and tentatively asked if there were any wild garlic plants on sale. The man shouted to his colleague, who appeared from the bushes with a newly dug up clump balanced on a spade. I couldn't wait to get it planted once I got home and I do hope it survives in my little woodland area.

borders