Getting out and about at last

Now that Lockdown measures have eased and gardens are back open to the public, I have been keen to get out and visit again.  I’ve been feeling a bit down and hemmed in recently, so this was probably what was needed to perk me up.

We hadn’t been to RHS Harlow Carr since last October and as we normally visit several times a year, I decided it was time we went again.  We had to book a time slot to arrive by then we could stay as long as we liked up to closing time. We had a picnic in the car park to save carrying it around the gardens with us.  The car park is next to a woodland walk so is quite a nice place. There’s a lovely path which skirts the edge of the woods and leads you to the gardens.

We felt quite safe in the gardens, there was hand sanitiser in various places, notices advising about social distancing and no crowds of people, plenty of space to walk around.

Once in the gardens we noticed lots of changes since our last visit and despite there being less staff to help during lockdown the gardens were looking lovely and well tended.

I’m always impressed by the container arrangements—so big and bold.  Too big for my garden, but I can still get ideas for planting combinations.

We came across this border which was full of different varieties of Rudbekia.  It was a Rudbekia trial, apparently 2020 is the year of the Rudbekia.  I didn’t know that. I also didn’t know that there are so many varieties of Rudbekia. I recognised about 3 names out of the 43 which were planted there.

The streamside walk was looking very colourful.

The sweet peas in the kitchen garden were much further on than mine.  I thought that someone needed to cut them before they went to seed. I would have liked that to be me.

Walking through the scented garden towards the foliage garden where we always like to sit for a while in the summer house, we had a surprise as we weren’t allowed through into the foliage garden. And it looked much different, we couldn’t see the summer house, just a gravel path with flower beds alongside leading to somewhere. It was all a bit mysterious.  Then we spotted the information board which told us that work was in progress to make this little garden into a Secret Garden with a serpent path. What we could see of it looked lovely and I can’t wait now for it to be finished so that we can explore.

The Alpine house was looking busy with lots of people wandering through, I didn’t want to get too close to anyone, so we didn’t go in. We walked around and looked through the windows spotting this amazing looking aeonium.  

I had a good look at the alpine troughs as we walked around the outside of the Alpine House as I am going to re plant some of mine at home.

I loved the beds planted up with annual flowers, cornflowers, calendulas, poppies etc.

Some of the beds in the big herbaceous borders were being dug up as they were trying to eradicate bindweed which was taking over. I know what a nuisance that can be, we have it on the allotment. There was still plenty of spectacular colour to be seen  in other borders, though.

We ended our visit by looking round the plant centre and shop and of course I had to buy something.
I bought sempervivums and sedums for my alpine pots, there's always a good selection at Harlow Carr.

Through the Garden Gate--June 2020

The month of June just seemed to fly by, I can't believe we are now in July.  We had a lot of rain in June--some of it very heavy, but we also had some very hot days. After all that rain the garden is looking very lush and fresh, the colours are brighter, the green is greener. Have you noticed how lovely it always smells after the rain? The rain has also made some areas of the garden look quite bedraggled.  We have some tall grasses--Calamagrostis which have flopped over. They can be quite annoying when they flop over a path, blocking the way and then you get showered with raindrops as you try to negotiate your way around them.

Despite looking bedraggled in places I can see that the effect I wanted to achieve when we first planned the garden--that of having little secluded seating areas surrounded by planting--seems to be working. Its not a big garden but when we sit on the patio, surrounded by tall grasses and plants either side of the archway there are other parts of the garden we can't see.  I like that, it gives us some privacy.

patio area

lower seating area

A few weeks ago there were a lot of pinks and blues in the borders, now there is a lot of yellow from the Alchemilla Mollis, Lysimachia, Thalictrum and golden grasses.

Alchemilla mollis

The clematis have established themselves well and are now in flower and scrambling up the obelisks and over the fence.

clematis

This poppy has gone over now but was really lovely it is called 'Bolero'.

On one hot sunny day we spotted a Humming bird hawk-moth on the white Valerian, apparently Valerian is one of the flowers which these creatures like. It moved too fast for me to photograph it though.

white Valerian

The patio pots are flowering away.  I bought some new herb pots to replace some which weren't looking as good--rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano and put them near the kitchen door. It's easier to snip them here instead of having to go down the garden, where they were before.

front garden border

Last year we made the borders in the front and side gardens bigger and planted them up with cottage garden plants.  Now they are looking good and much more colourful and abundant.  So we now have a much better view from the house windows.

front garden

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

Some unwelcome visitors

 When we arrived at the allotment last Saturday we had a nasty shock--the plot had been broken into.   An attempt had been made to break the big padlock but having failed at this  a panel had been pulled out of the gate to enable the intruder(s) to climb over. As we walked up the plot we could see there was no damage to the vegetable beds but the shed door was open and various boxes and tins had been opened and left strewn about the benches. We don't keep any valuables on the allotment so there was nothing worth stealing and we know from past break-ins on this site that it's always the power tools which get stolen from plots. There were other plots which had been broken into on Saturday and some things had been stolen, so we were lucky.

So things could have been much worse and after a chat with our neighbour on the next plot we set to work on our jobs for the day.  Richard's job was going to be to put up a brassica frame which he has been making, but that had to be put to one side while he mended the gate.

We've been enjoying our time spent at the allotment these last few weeks. The beds are filling up and looking green. In the pea and bean bed the first lot of broad beans I planted are now starting to form some pods and the first lot of peas also have pods which are beginning to swell. We are so looking forward to being able to harvest them.

I have two other lots of peas growing in another bed, one of them is a purple podded pea. Unfortunately these two rows of peas have been nibbled by pea and bean weevils--more intruders but of a different kind! They don't look very attractive at the moment but I'm hoping that they will all recover.

                                                     

In the roots bed I am now picking beetroot and sowing successional rows for throughout the season. I sowed some fennel seed a few weeks ago but there is little sign of germination. Old seed perhaps?

Looking in the fruit cages I could see that there are plenty of blueberries which will be starting to ripen in a few weeks.  Fruit are appearing on the raspberries which I planted last year. In the other cage there are blackcurrants and the branches of the redcurrant bush are heavy with fruit. The gooseberries don't seem to have much fruit, but they have been moved this year to another bed and so might need time to recover. And the rhubarb just keeps on going. I freeze some and give some to friends.

Over in the brassica bed things are growing well. Weeks ago I planted two rows of cabbages--Kilaton and Greyhound and these are looking great. They've not hearted up yet, but could be picked for spring greens if we needed any. I do hope the slugs keep well away from them. I will be planting more cabbages next to them soon as well as cauliflower.  At the other end of this bed are kale and brussels sprouts. It's a big bed and needs to be netted against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. So this is what Richard has been doing recently at home--making a wooden frame with netting fixed to it which can be put in place and then moved each year to another bed as we rotate the crops.

Well that's my allotment update for now, I'll be back again soon, and let's hope the intruders won't return.

Growing vegetables in containers

 At the start of lockdown I was worried that we might not be allowed to visit our allotments, so I started to grow some vegetables in containers at home in the garden. As it happened we didn't get our allotments shut down and we have been able to spend time there, but I have continued growing some veg in containers and it is interesting to compare  how they grow in these different situations.

I have a variety of  containers from big plant pots to old plastic storage boxes and council recycling boxes. Old compost bags turned inside out can be used too for potatoes. There are also containers which can be bought from garden centres or online especially for growing vegetables.

The salad bar

I started off sowing seeds of salad leaves, radish and spring onions in plastic troughs. These have grown really well, especially the salad leaves. I sowed some lettuce seeds, intending to take them to the allotment when they were big enough to plant out--a flat lettuce called 'Clarion' and an 'Iceberg' type. In the end I decided to plant them in troughs too as I find that lettuce often get attacked by slugs in the ground at the allotment. In the troughs they don't have as much space to spread out but that won't matter. I am finding that its easier to have the salad stuff here at home so I can just pop outside if we want a few salad leaves with a meal.

Healthy looking pea plants

I have two big storage boxes which I sowed peas into a few weeks apart. They are coming on well so I'm hoping that as well as the peas from the allotment we will have plenty of them this year. My husband loves home grown peas and I can never grow enough. The allotment peas have had their leaves nibbled by pea weevils, but the ones grown at home are looking weevil free.

Also in a big box are French climbing beans.  These are a mix of 'Blauhilde' which is a purple bean and 'Blue Lake'.

Climbing beans

I have problems with carrot fly at the allotment and after several years of ruined crops I thought I would try growing them at home. They are in a big tub and have germinated well. I will sow another lot soon.

Carrots

I am also growing beetroot and courgettes, both are growing well. In fact the courgette plants  seem to be much bigger than the allotment ones.

Courgette plants

I started off with all these vegetable containers on the patio where they would get a lot of sun, but have since moved them onto the drive.  This was partly because I was running out of space on the patio, but more importantly I think they were getting too much sun and often seemed to wilt in hot weather. On the drive there is sun and shade and they seem much happier now.

courgette plants

I am now harvesting lettuce and salad leaves--no other vegetables are ready yet, but with flowers on the peas which will turn into pods and little courgettes starting to form, I'm sure it won't be long before we are picking veg at home as well as at the allotment.

Through the Garden Gate--May 2020

May was a really busy month in the garden, there has been so much change as the borders have burst into flower and the jobs have been plentiful too.  We've enjoyed the lovely warm weather sitting relaxing or getting on with the jobs which have been mainly planting up containers with summer bedding.

Weeks ago when garden centres were still closed, I wondered if I would be able to get any summer plants for my patio containers. But I managed to find a local plant nursery which did a click and collect service. There were some offers on plants one being 8 trays of bedding plants and a big tray of basket plants. So I took advantage of this offer but I soon realised that there were probably many more plants than I would normally have bought. All planted up now and looking good, but it was hard work.

Walking round the garden each day I love to see what's newly come into bloom. The alliums were lovely but gone over now and I forgot to take photos of them. Now the lupins are out and are looking great.  These are one of my favourite cottage garden flowers.

Holly the cat seems totally unimpressed by the lupins

The blue irises opened up this week

The Gertrude Jekyll rose has finally taken off this year and is happily clambering up the archway. It smells wonderful.

There are other lovely smells around, this morning I noticed that the yellow honeysuckle which I think is called 'Scentsation' is flowering and climbing over the fence.  This was a cutting from one which we bought for our daughter a few years ago.

Hope you've all been enjoying your gardens and this beautiful weather.

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