Through the Garden Gate--March 2022

With plenty of sunny days its been lovely to get out in the garden and start work on our Spring jobs. We've been busy pruning shrubs, clearing the borders of dead flower stems and weeding. We like to mulch the borders in the Spring with a compost or soil conditioner. We decided first to investigate the bottom of the compost bin as it was so full of compostable stuff we couldn't get any more in.  My husband managed to get five trugs full of lovely compost so that was a good start to our mulching. I'm always amazed by how you can put garden rubbish and kitchen waste into the bin and months later it turns into such wonderful compost. Unfortunately what we got from the bin wasn't enough to do the whole of the garden, so we had to buy more compost from the garden centre.   Now the job is done and the garden looks very tidy--for a while.

Things are starting to grow now and I love walking around spotting green shoots appearing. There has been lots of colour from the tete a tete daffodils. They are starting to go over now but there is plenty of other colour around from the pulmonarias, hellebores, primroses, anemone blanda.  The crab apple has leaves now and the Amelanchier is starting flower.

When I've not been sorting the beds out I've been potting up Spring bedding plants for the patio. The first of the tulip tubs started flowering a couple of weeks ago  and it won't be long before the others come into bloom.

For Mother's Day I got garden related gifts from my two daughters.  A garden gift voucher from Sarah who lives 200 miles away--I'm looking forward to spending that, perhaps to buy some new perennial plants. My other daughter, Helen bought me a lovely pink Ranunculus which I've potted up and it looks well next to the pink tulips.

Now at the end of March the weather has turned cold. We've had sleet and overnight frost--what a difference.

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

Through the Garden Gate--February 2022

We have had some dreadful weather this month, storms, gales, rain and snow and we have been lucky that no damage has been done. The odd pot or garden chair blown over is nothing compared to what people in other areas have suffered.

The garden doesn't look to have changed much from January to February, but as I walk around I can see that slowly it is starting to wake up and new growth is appearing.

The snowdrops are always welcomed as a sign  that Spring will be with us soon.  Some of them are starting to go over now, but they are being followed by crocuses.  

They are dotted round the garden and I can see a splash of yellow or purple as I walk around.  Also starting to emerge are the narcissus tete a tete.  I love these, they last quite a while. In a shady corner of the front garden is a big Weigela shrub. A few years ago I planted groups of snowdrops, crocuses and tete a tete underneath. They are getting established now and will get better every year.

To get some more Spring colour I went to the garden centre for Spring bedding plants for containers and was spoilt for choice.  As usual I bought too many, but can you ever have too many plants? I just fill more pots. I planted up an old enamel bread bin with Primula, Bellis daisy, Tete a Tete and dwarf Iris. Along with smaller pots of Tete a Tete, they do help to lift the spirits as I look out the windows on bad weather days or walk around on better days.

The borders are needing some attention now.  I managed a few sessions of gathering up the dead foliage, but I have had to have help from my husband to cut back the big grasses as the RA in my wrists has been bad recently.

The birds are getting very active on the bird table and feeders.  They are flitting about in and out of the shrubs in the front garden.  I keep checking the pond to see if there is any frog spawn yet.  As it was a new pond last year I don't know if we'll get any yet, but we will be so pleased if we do.

As we come to the end of February the weather has calmed down and last weekend was dry and sunny.  It was so good to get out in the garden to make a start on some of the jobs.

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

Allotment plans for 2022

 My seed order arrived last week and was a reminder that I must soon start off some of the seeds--tomatoes especially. So in preparation for this I had a tidy up of the  potting bench in the shed at home where I will start my work.  I bought a new heated windowsill propagator recently and can't wait to start using it. So out have come the little seed trays and other propagators, cell trays for the onion sets and toilet roll inners for broad beans, peas and sweet peas. Soon the kitchen will be taken over by seed trays and pots.

Last week I bought seed potatoes--Charlotte, which is a lovely salad potato and very reliable. Also Rocket, a first early.  Some years we have had problems with scab on the potatoes, but we grew Rocket last year and it did really well, no scab. I start collecting egg cartons at this time of year to use for chitting the potatoes (as well as the toilet roll inners for seed sowing). The potatoes are now set out in a spare bedroom and should be ready for planting in a few weeks time.

Yesterday I started planting the onion sets in small pots and cell trays. I didn't finish as it was quite cold out, even in the shed. There are quite a lot to do. Two sorts of brown onion--Sturon and Turbo, red onions--Red Baron and shallots. I should be able to move them to the greenhouse on the allotment when they are all planted. I start them off like this so they get a root system going and once planted it's harder for the birds to pull them out of the soil.

I have finally done my allotment plan for this year (See below).  It might change a bit, but  basically the three big beds are my rotation beds and the two narrower ones in the middle are often used as overflow beds from the bigger beds if I run out of space. I also plant the veg which come under the 'other' category, like sweetcorn, courgettes, salad, squash in these two beds. Any other spare areas are used for flower growing. If you click on the picture you should be able to see it in more detail.

The  picture below was taken last year and shows most of the plot. On the middle right of the picture you can just see the corner of the third big bed.  Beyond the greenhouses is the asparagus bed with a small area next to it for flower growing.

This picture below is looking the other way down the plot and you can see the compost bins. 

I usually plant French Marigold and calendula amongst the cabbage and kale as companion plants, nasturtium around the broad beans. In the greenhouses I have pots of marigolds and basil. I grow annual flowers which are good for cutting--mainly Cosmos, Asters, Zinnias, Rudbekia, Larkspur, Ammi. And  Sunflowers just because  I love watching them grow tall and towering over the plot. Some of them produce side shoots which are good to cut.

So there's plenty of work to be getting on with now if I want to see more sunflowers again this year.

Looking forward to Spring

 

I love this time of year on the allotment. It's a time of tidying up, preparation, planning for the new growing season. and looking forward to what's to come.  As time goes on there are signs that Spring isn't far away. Under the big Sycamore tree the bulbs are starting to emerge and flower. I have planted up a few pots with crocuses and tete a tete narcissus to give some colour. Soon the birds will be nesting and frog spawn will be appearing in the pond.

When I wasn't well before Christmas I thought I might have to give up with my allotment, but one of the things I was told about managing my pain was not to give up doing the activities that I enjoy, just don't overdo things and take regular rests.  Since I've been feeling better I've really looked forward to getting down to the allotment and have really enjoyed the time spent there. 

So we have been making plans for this year, knowing that I might have flare ups and will need to take it easy sometimes. It's quiet at the moment, we've managed to get down to the plot regularly and do some work. We don't have to rush the jobs, but as the year progresses and we get into Spring and Summer there could be lots more to do. We have been putting lots of bark chippings down on the paths and non growing areas.  This helps to keep the weeds down and makes it easier to keep the plot tidy. From a growing point of view I have decided that I will only grow the vegetables which we like and eat a lot of and those which grow well for me.  

For years I have tried to grow carrots--I sow the seeds, they grow, produce what look like lovely carrots, but on closer inspection I find they are riddled with carrot root fly. I have tried different ways of growing them, but they are always affected. So I'm not going to waste my time this year and I won't be growing them again.  Cauliflowers are always a disappointment, Brussels sprouts are hit and miss.  So this year I will just be growing all our favourites--peas, broad beans, climbing beans, cabbage, kale, beetroot, sweetcorn, courgettes, onions, shallots and leeks.  Lettuce, radish and spring onions will be squeezed in amongst them. We'll continue to grow potatoes in bags, but not as many.  In the greenhouses I will still grow tomatoes and cucumbers. I won't be growing chillies again as we don't eat many and sweet peppers have never done well for me. I will continue to grow annual flowers for cutting and sweet peas

So with all this in mind, last week I went through my seed boxes and ordered new seeds for this year. It's always an exciting time as I look forward to a new growing year. I just have to remember not to get carried away and do too much.

Chippings, mulching and clearing beds

 We've had  a spell of dry weather recently with the occasional frosty morning.  I always get quite restless when the weather is fine but can't get out. There's not always much can be done in the garden at this time of year, but down on the allotment  there are winter jobs which we can be getting on with, so we did a few visits there in the last week or two. When the weather has been fine we have managed to get down there about twice a week.

We get a lot of leaves falling from the big tree at the top of the plot so clearing these from the paths was one job to get on with.  Then a good sweeping and swilling with Jeyes Fluid to stop them getting slippery.

I cut down the asparagus stems, a job I hadn't managed to do in the autumn. In the bed next to the asparagus had been annual flowers which I grow for cutting. I cleared all the dead stems from there too. On the asparagus bed I spread a mixture of manure bought from the garden centre and home made compost. Another bed which needed clearing was the sweetcorn and beetroot bed. The sweetcorn stems were quite hefty and needed a big tug to get them out. A mulch of compost finished the bed off nicely.

There was a delivery of bark chippings at the dump so Richard did some barrowing and started topping up the paths and non growing areas with the chippings. It always looks so clean and tidy after we have done this.

I made a start on pruning the fruit bushes by doing the gooseberries. I gave them a mulch of  a mixture of home made compost and manure. The rhubarb is starting to grow again so that got a mulch too. Then we spread a layer of bark chippings over.

The seating area is well used, for rests and cups of tea and to sit and admire our work or decide which jobs to do next.

There seem to have been a few new tenants on the site recently. A lot of people don't realise how much time and hard work is needed to keep an allotment going and soon give up. 

We're hoping they will stick at it.

Through the Garden gate--January 2022

It can sometimes be difficult to find anything to good to say about the garden in January.  It's a pretty bleak and dismal month.  I often sit at the window looking out at the garden for colour and signs of life and nothing seems to change much.  But really, there is colour and interest.  There are shades of brown and green from fallen plant material and tall gangly stems with seed heads still clinging to them, providing homes for wildlife. Sometimes I've seen little birds balancing on the stems trying to find food from the remaining seeds.

The grasses are giving colour too.  Some are straw like now, the evergreen ones giving splashes of bright green along the border. Down in the woodland bed the Witch Hazel is in flower. This one is Hamamelis 'Jelena'. The spidery flowers are a bronzy, orange colour, but I have to get close up to really appreciate it. I'm always a bit disappointed in its colour which seems a bit dull. I may have just planted it in the wrong place to show it off.

In the border alongside the path near the kitchen door is a Sarcococca (Sweet box). Its little white flowers giving off a delicate scent which wafts around this area. It has taken a few years for this to get established and produce these scented flowers.  This year it has excelled. It was growing in a pot at our previous house and we brought it with us to plant up here.

On finer days I have been out walking round the garden, looking closer for signs of life and spotting little bulbs just poking through the soil. Last year I planted more snowdrops, these are always the first to appear. It's always a delight to spot them--the first flowers of the new year and a sign that Spring will soon be with us.

After not being well and fit enough before Christmas to do any gardening, I am now feeling a bit better and  trying to keep active. I am aware that with Rheumatoid Arthritis there will be times again when I won't be able to do any gardening, so I am making the most of this time whilst trying not to overdo things. I have been slowly pottering around the garden doing jobs. I started clearing soggy leaves and plant material from the front garden flower beds and was pleased to find more spring bulbs underneath. When last year's bulb pots had finished flowering I stored them down by the side of the shed out of the way. I thought they might have rotted but after clearing the weeds out of the pots, there were the little bulb shoots coming through. So I have set these out on the outside potting bench, hoping for another good display soon.

In September we had a holiday in Cornwall and I bought some Cornish daffodil bulbs--St.Keverne and Fowey. I planted them up in the autumn into big pots and then forgot about them, but these too are now coming through.

So really there's been plenty of interest in the garden in January--even if I've had to search around for it. And there 's much to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Hope your garden is coming to life too.

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

A New Year on the allotment

After a fairly mild spell of weather, it has now turned very cold. We made our first visit to the allotment of the new year this week. It was a lovely day, although very cold. I needed veg so we went mainly to dig up some leeks--they are doing really well this year and are a good size. I cut some kale leaves too--those are not as good this year as in previous years. Next to the kale I noticed that the little cabbages which I had planted in the summer were growing well--still quite small but plenty of new leaves coming.  They should provide us with some nice early spring greens or small cabbages, as long as the pigeons and slugs don't get them first.

The plot was looking quite tidy and we were pleased with that.  We haven't been to do any work since the middle of October because I have been quite poorly with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was unable to walk properly or do anything with my hands.  On this last visit we had cleared most of the beds of dead vegetation, topped with home made compost and covered with membrane.

There's still work to done but nothing urgent:

• clear away the dead sweetcorn stems
• cut down the asparagus
• clear the old tomatoes and cucumber plants from the greenhouses
• prune the fruit bushes
• sweep up leaves from the paths

and as the weather improves and I get a bit more mobile we will work our way through the jobs.

 We sat awhile at the garden table with our flasks of hot tea  and slabs of Christmas cake, watching the birds and admiring the plot.

It was good to be back.