Through the Garden Gate--April 2024

It's been a busy month in the garden, catching up with Spring jobs, mulching, planting, sowing, tidying up. The weather has continued to be very mixed with plenty of rain. This month we have had wind and hail too as well as some sunny days. I finished mulching the borders, a job which I started last month. At the weekend I put a bark mulch down on the woodland bed which made it look much better. It smells really woody and the plants show up well against the bark. 

The borders are filling out now as the plants start to grow.  There's not much yet in the way of colour from flowers, but everything is starting to look really green and fresh.

 The star of the garden at the moment is the crab apple tree which is full of white blossom. It started to get quite windy yesterday so I was hoping the blossom wouldn't get blown away. We are hoping for plenty of fruit in the autumn. Last year there was hardly any when in previous years there has been loads of crab apples which give a lot of colour through the autumn and winter. The birds like the fruit too.

I've been filling in a few gaps in the front garden borders with plants which I lifted and divided from the back garden last year. So I planted some Solidago (Golden Rod) and pink Cow Parsley. I bought a perennial wallflower (Erysimum) which someone told me will flower from now until October. That sounds the ideal plant, so I will wait and see. I planted it in the raised bed border in the back garden, where I want more colour.  Also in that bed I wanted to fill a gap at the back to hide the fence, so I bought a clematis --Clematis Montana Alba.

Last month I told you about a pot of tulips I'd planted which I thought were orange but as they were opening looked like they were going to be white. Well they've opened up and this is what they turned out to be. They are called 'Copper Image'. They don't look very much like copper to me, but I do like the colour and they are lasting well. 

It was my daughter's birthday in April and she didn't want a gift but a day out with lunch. She's been working hard on her Masters degree and has finally finished. I'm all for a day out, so it was a treat for me too. We went to Lytham Hall, there's lots to see there. Click on the link to find out more. It was a lovely day and we were able to sit outside for our lunch. The birds were hopping around us obviously used to being fed by visitors. The Hall is really interesting. 

We had a walk in the grounds which has a lot of woodland and was easy walking. There is also a walled kitchen garden which was immaculate.

The volunteers were working at the time and it was nice to chat to one of them who was so enthusiastic about her work. Also outside in the courtyard area was an antiques and salvage hub and a plant hub. We couldn't leave without buying a plant or two. I bought foxgloves for my daughter and myself. It was a good day out.

I am linking this blog post to Sarah's blog at Down By the Sea for her monthly Through the Garden Gate post.

Spring on the allotment

 

April is a busy time on the allotment. It's time to get sowing and planting. The soil is warming up and the weeds are starting to grow. Despite the awful wet weather we've been having over the last few weeks we've managed to keep up with our winter jobs and are fairly well prepared now as once the growing season gets underway it can get to be very busy on the allotment.

I've pruned the fruit bushes, and tidied up the strawberry tubs then gave them a feed and mulch. The fruit cages needed quite a bit of weeding too. 

The shed finally got it's big spring clean out, I'd been putting it off but it's always good to see it clean and tidy again. While we were cleaning we found holes where the rats had been able to get in. And lots of  rat droppings! So Richard blocked the holes up and after cleaning I sprayed round with a peppermint oil spray which is supposed to help deter them. They don't like strong smells apparently.  Camphor, garlic, coffee grounds are other smells they don't like. Putting pots of mint around the plot is supposed to help keep them away. It won't get rid of them completely I know, but if it helps to keep them out of the shed I'll be glad. We've seen them running around outside on our plot and neighbours plots, they seem to be quite active at the moment. 

I've also cleaned the paths of debris, weeds and mud and swilled them with a cleaner. I always think that if your paths are clean and tidy it helps to make the rest of the plot look good too.

The green houses and cold frames are filling up with trays of seedlings. The broad beans and peas look almost ready for planting out. I started planting the onions a few days ago. It's a back breaking job especially for me with my back problems. I did three rows before I had to give up. That was 66 onions. There are still plenty more to plant so it could take me a while to get them all in the ground. 

The first early potatoes (Rocket) were planted in potato bags two weeks ago. I have been transplanting tomato and flower seedlings this week and  have now moved them to the allotment greenhouse because there is no more room at home.  I will be growing the flowers in the cut flower bed on the plot and anywhere else I can find space for them. I wish I had more space to grow  flowers for cutting I always seem to grow more than I have the space for.

I always seem to be going on about the weather, but it's important for gardeners to have the right conditions for sowing, planting and growing. So many people I know have got really soggy allotment plots and are finding it difficult to get started on their new seasons jobs.  So let's hope we get some drier weather soon. How are you getting on with your allotment at the moment?

Through the Garden Gate--April 2023

The plants in the garden  have really grown in the last few weeks filling out in the borders. Everything looks fresh, green and bright, thanks to all the rain.  Looking at the flower beds now they have filled out I can see where I need to thin a few plants out. Weeding gets easier now; as the plants spread out more there is less to do. Shoots which were just appearing at the end of last month are now recognizable and I can identify them. There were one or two plants which I nearly got rid of thinking they were weeds, so glad I didn't!

 

The Marsh Marigolds put on a good display down in the damp border, but are going over now as are some of the Pulmonaria.  I can see buds on some of the hardy geraniums ready to open any day now and the Geum 'Totally Tangerine' is flowering.

 The Amelanchier blossomed and went over, it was lovely while it lasted. Now it's the crab apple's turn to flower. It's probably my favourite of our flowering trees.

 I love to grow flowers which I can cut for the house and with more flowers starting to appear I've been cutting a few now and again just for little pots around the house.

I didn't plant any tulips in the autumn, thinking I had enough in pots from the previous year. But they didn't put on a very good display, I think some have rotted. So I bought some ready potted ones and they are starting to flower on the patio. They seem to be mostly orange, which is not a colour I normally go for but I'm liking them a lot.

Our twin daughters had their birthday in April. Sarah lives some distance from us and we didn't get to see her for her birthday, but Helen lives just down the road from us.  She wanted some roses to plant in her front garden so that was her present from all of us. I suggested a visit to a local plant nurseries, Holden Clough which sells David Austin roses and where we often like to visit. Situated in the Ribble Valley on the outskirts of the village of Bolton-by-Bowland it's a lovely place  for an afternoon out. 

When we went they had an Artisan market on--something they do on weekends in Spring, Summer and Christmas.  There's always good quality stuff like, jewelry, candles, toiletries, woodwork, scarves, bags etc. from local craftspeople. The nurseries  also do good food so we had lunch too. 

The plants are very good quality and really well displayed in sections like-- sunny borders, damp shade, cottage garden plants etc. Although a bit more expensive than our usual garden centre, sometimes it's worth paying a bit more for a plant you can't get anywhere else and I've often been able to split a plant into two or three smaller ones. 

So we had a lovely afternoon browsing the stalls and buying a few things, looking round the plants and garden sundries and a nice lunch too. Helen chose two roses and a lupin and I bought myself some pots of tulips and a little Auricula. I have a small collection of Auriculas but have never got around to finding a good place to display them. They are all on the garden table until they finish flowering.

As the garden starts to come back to life I enjoy spending more time outside, either doing garden jobs or just sitting. We still haven't had much decent Spring weather, so I'm hoping for some warmer, sunny days in May. Hope you are all enjoying your gardens.

I am linking this blog post to Sarah's blog at 'Down By the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate'   post

Through the Garden Gate-April 2021

 

Only a few  weeks ago after I had mulched all the garden beds, I was thinking how flat and boring they looked. But now they are filling out and looking greener and more colourful day by day.  Everyday as I walk around the garden I can see more new growth and buds appearing on trees and shrubs.  All this new growth seems to creep up on us giving lovely surprises as we spot something else which is now in flower or has filled out a bit more.

The tulip tubs have been in flower.  I am more of a pink and purple person when it comes to colour in the garden, so I was surprised when two tubs which I had planted up in the autumn produced orange tulips.  The colour on the label must not have been as true to life, but I really like them.  I moved them away from the pink pots so they wouldn't clash then I spotted  pink tulips coming through in amongst the orange pot. I don't know what went wrong there!

I planted up a lavender hedge either side of the archway with some free lavender plants which I got from an offer in a gardening magazine. I was really pleased when they arrived to find that they were good sized plants. There were ten so five on each side of the arch fitted nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing and smelling the result later in the year.

My husband fitted a wooden edge to one of the borders in the back garden to neaten it up.  It should help to contain the plants which flop over and had been damaging the lawn.  

Holly seemed to approve of the new development!

There was a Ceaonothus shrub in this border which I bought a couple of years ago and had grown way too big for its space, next to the Liquidamber tree. We decided to move it and checking its label I read that it could be grown as a wall shrub or a tree. Not surprising it had grown so big then. What a job it was moving it, with branches all over the place and heavy roots! Its now in its new place further along the border with more space. I have pruned it into a tree shape and its blue flowers are starting to open up. We had to do quite a bit of moving plants around to accommodate the Ceanothus, but the border should look better now.

There has been so much blossom about in April and many trees are still opening up with their blossom. We have blossom trees on the grass verges outside our house and they are looking lovely at the moment.  

Our Amelanchier tree has blossomed and gone over but the crab apple is now opening up its flowers.

There is so much to enjoy now in our gardens and much more to look forward to.

I am linking this post to Sarah's blog at 'Down by the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' post.