our gooseberry crop. aren't they lovely? - tasted nice too. not bad for only its second year............

patio planters. almost all the nasturtiums this year are volunteers, which makes for nice surprises as of course there's no way to know what variety they are............contrasting nicely with the Mystery Herb in the next pot. patio clematis "Arabella" just visible in the blue pot to the left, looking so happy that we're hoping she might flower....................

And from the front garden.................

marigolds "Gay Ladies" - yes, really - from the Botanics shop..............

the roasted rose

glad to see it flowering this year............i think it may have been a climbing variety called "Compassion" but not sure............runner beans in the background............

morning glory "Heavenly Blue" - certainly is...................surviving outside so far on the warm wall. its little mate "Kiss Me Quick" is climbing away in a pot next door, no sign of flowers yet but i'm hoping it will feel inspired by this one's example............

the day lilies again, showing thmselves off against a background of catmint...............

someone else in favourite sunbathing spot.....................Lysimachia "Firecracker" in background, just not quite out yet...............

this is my best side..................

frog on favourite sunbathing slate. as i approached for my daily inspection there were two sploshes, but this chap is more intrepid, or possibly more vain, and decided to wait while i went and got the camera and came back to take his picture.....................

today's results....................

compost heap 46 degrees. Michaelmas daisies now flowering. tiny squash beginning to appear, very exciting. 3 more sweet peas, 2 large strawberries yum, one gooseberry, lots more rasps. Carrie off to work with the last of the sugar snap peas (possibly...............) caraway sprouted overnight. morning glories now outside, weather immediately turned cool but they are not daunted and still flowering so far. Christmas cacti outside for summer hols. 2 frogs sunbathing side-by-side on the slate this morning, very sweet.................

hemerocallis "Catherine Woodbury".................now fully out. mystery one not out yet, the other bad is less sunny, so don't know what kind it is yet.......................

geranium "Burgundy"...................these didn't do very well last year, like many other things, and have been quite slow to get going, but very pretty so worth waiting for...............

wot a beauty.................

we have already eaten a couple of small courgettes but this one was lurking unnoticed in the veggie bed, about to become part of tonight's stir-fry............

Clematis thoughts

(on Carrie's pruning)
if i'd wanted a buzz-cut i'd have joined the Marines...................

the daily round, the common task.......................

at this time of year the garden is so active that it's time for a daily inspection. it goes like this.
1. Wake up. Prise felines off bed, make drinks, serve feline breakfast.
2. Get up, prise felines off bed again; personal grooming activities
3. Toast in greenhouse. Inspect and praise tomato plants and tender herbs.
4. Inspect containers. Admire courgette flowers and patio salads, praise and encourage geraniums, busy lizzies, morning glories etc.
5. Progress down garden. Note splooshing noises of frogs leaping from pondside sunbathing stone back into pond; wonder again why they don't get sunburn and why they haven't noticed they would be a lot safer under the water where the Kitski can't eat them. Admire planter bench and containers, praise and encourage California poppies, diascia, honeysuckle, lavender and jasmine. Read little soppy poem again. * Marvel at height of runner beans, admire flowers, do witch-in-Hansel-and-Gretel thing again over tiny beans too small to eat yet.
6. Crouch beside pond and observe frogs. Frogs crouch on stones and observe humans. Kitski sits in undergrowth tinkling slightly** and radiating hopeless longing, wondering why hunting skills seem to have gone off all of a sudden.
7. Admire beds. Dead-head roses, cornflowers etc, smell sweet peas. Note new flowers on day lilies, roses, godetias, crocosmias, rudbeckias and anything else just out or about to be out.
8. Worship veggie bed. Test temperature of compost heap (this year's record so far: 48 degrees!) Coo over veg and salads, eat bits of leaf, pick fruit.
9. Return to greenhouse and do it all again...................

*The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth

........sweet, eh?

** now wearing a lovely new collar, with bells..............

first sunflower. the ones we grew from seed have not done so well this year.............probably because we waited too long to plant them out and they got all spindly. some are in a pot at the front...................but we think these are self-seeders from last year. i suppose the advantage of that is that the ones which most like the conditions will be the ones most likely to self-seed and reappear, so selecting out the best varieties for our particular soil............the sweet rocket hasn't been nearly so long-lived this year, i think it's really meant to be a biennial so maybe we should plant some now for next year.....................

Crocosmia "Lucifer" !!

meadowsweet

the first sweet pea

giant teasel...............it's the one on the right..................

runner beans doing their stuff...............

tending the veggie bed................look at those beautiful sugar snap peas!

cornflowers "tall mixed" and "polka dot". this time we actually kept the packets so it's interesting to compare the pictures on the packet with what really comes up. i can't honestly say that the flower varieties look hugely different...........the main difference is the height. one Shirley poppy is still hanging in there too..............

i think this might be one of the new lilies i planted....................only it doesn't look like any of the pictures, so maybe it's one that was moved from a container...............no idea, pretty anyway, though..............

each day a new beginning...............

or rather a new flower. the first sweet peas...........................the first sunflower.............the first godetia...............the first crocosmia.............the first California poppy (in the bed)..................rose "Curiosity" now putting up flowers, and meadowsweet fully out and giving great wafts of scent. we have a glut of salad.................lettuces bolting slightly, bulls' blood now ready to eat; the Greek cress turns out to be quite nippy so best used as an addition rather than on its own. dill and chervil sprouting, and the banana mint and mystery herb (?golden marjoram) doing OK in the greenhouse..................we also have beautiful home grown basil "Genovese", and the Thai and lemon basils are loving the warm weather. the blue morning glory is flowering indoors, and the multicoloured one "Kiss Me Quick" has just moved outside, only as far as the doorstep. runner beans now flowering, raspberries cropping heavily, and we've eaten the first gooseberry and the first blackcurrant. the day lilies have flower spikes.............we have no idea where the day lily in the perennial bed came from, or what kind it is, so that will be a nice surprise when the flowers appear......................
Carrie has tidied the pondside in an attempt to stop the Kitski from hunting the frogs, we have also put a bell on her, to which she takes great exception.............she's put in some salvias and a penstemon rescued from Morrison's to fill the gaps.................
we never say much about the front garden, but actually it looks fab...............the patio clematis "Arabella" is now racing away up the front wall and looking very well. Nigella "Persian Jewels" are on their way in a pot and in the ground...............i'v bought a climbing frame for the jaggy rose, and it would be nice to see some flowers from it.................the totally neglected rose under the tree is flowering profusely on what seems to be almost no light. a bit of tidying is needed..............the aquilegia are finished and need to be cut down, ditto Sheila's geranium...........that yellow thing i thought was a weed turns out to be "corydalis lutea" apparently..............however we do have one very large, very strong and very determined dandelion right in the middle of the bed, it is indeed a weed and it will be leaving soon............

Stir-fried greenfly

warm weather continues so more things to eat developing, we have eaten the first raspberries, sugar snap peas are on the way along with spinach, lettuce, Greek cress, borage flowers (for the drinks), radishes and chard. first cornflower now out and the meadowsweet, the yellow rose not of Texas and also a beautiful orange rose next to it. hebes in full bloom and flower spikes now appearing on the day lily. and most exciting, the passiflora is not dead after all! just a little slow to get going obviously. at the front i've put in some busy Lizzies to fill the gaps and self-seeded nasturtiums..............the aquilegia are pretty well finished so some areas look a bit bare. the pot clematis looked extremely unhappy and dead for a few days after re-potting but has now begun to put up shoots, not dead after all, hooray! have moved the pansies and put in some marigolds "Gay Ladies"...........couldn't resist that one really......................

Summertime................

..........and the livin' is easy............or at least the sun is shining and there isn't much to do except admire everything, the warm weather has really brought stuff on so all the roses are out, the Shirley poppies have started to bloom and all the hebes have flowers................raspberries beginning to ripen and lots of lovely salad and spinach to eat............hours of harmless fun frog-watching, they are getting visibly bigger but will not have much chance to do so if not careful..........i guess the frog brain is not very large so thinking it's a good idea to climb out of the pond and sit in the undergrowth quickly selects out the ones that have failed to notice a large furry presence with claws and fangs also sitting in the undergrowth with frogicidal intent..............Carrie has been working hard on the compost and is most excited to discover that it's warming up like it's supposed to................43 degrees!! a proper "hot heap"...............it looks absolutely beautiful and she has just added some Hill House cow poo, these roses and rhubarb don't know how lucky they are.............

Delphinium

First Shirley poppy, with catmint

Oriental poppy

California poppies

June is bustin' out all over.............

amazing what a difference a wee bit sunshine makes, although the cold North wind is not very summery...............back from idyllic week on Iona to find everything burgeoning, no other word for it. organic rose absolutely covered in flowers...........the paeonies have taken a bit of a beating but some still aren't out yet. two California poppies out beside the patio rose. all the seedlings seem to have survived, the cerinthe, sunflowers and sweet peas.......... salads looking lovely and little onions and bulls' blood emerging in the veggie bed. many raspberries appearing.............. Chinese cabbage are bolting so we need to eat them.............the patio veg still a bit shocked from being moved but i'm sure they'll soon start growing away..................French tarragon to which i spoke severely has got a grip and looks much healthier, and so does the lemon basil...................

Oriental poppies out at last!

this is my best side.............

so besides photographing the frogs i have actually done some gardening............most of the stuff in the greenhouse is now out. the French tarragon and i are having a bit of a battle of wills, it doesn't seem entirely happy and i'm not sure what to do to cheer it up, it certainly didn't like being outside so it's in the greenhouse and seems a bit better, but not doubt spends the night along with the Thai basil lamenting how bloody cold it is in Scotland and why can't it go back to France.................
chinese forget-me-not out in the annual bed, no doubt to be forgotten and stood on accidentally or dug up by the cats. busy Lizzies into pots, sweet peas in the ground, sunflowers at the back of the perennial bed. tomato plants into tubs, climbing French beans by the door, although if they take the same attitude as the tarragon we can forget eating any beans i think...........one courgette in a container, just to see. canna lilies outside...............i don't think it's warm enough for them here but they've never flowered in the greenhouse so we'll see how they get on.............have thrown some coreopsis seeds in the ground, we tried them in the greenhouse last year and they were abysmally slow, no point in saving them i don't think so they might as well be in the ground and take their chances, Cosmos ditto..........everything watered, and hoping for some more of this good weather.................

the Welsh poppies and Lysimachia "Firecracker", the poppies are volunteers but have placed themselves very nicely to show off their contrasting colours...........

the organic rose, just as beautiful this year as last..........

diascia, so pretty.............

Norma's rose

ths s the same view of the annual bed as last month..........the catmint much bigger, the rose now out and all the cornflowers and sweet peas coming up..............note patio apple in its pot, just finished flowering.........

wildlife photographer of the year..........not..........

finding the frogs has of course been terribly exciting, and we are as determined to take their pictures as they are not to have them taken. i have put in a nice bit of dead wood for them as a posing platform, but they prefer to lurk in the undergrowth or under the water with just their noses showing. Kitski also likes to lurk in the undergrowth, but possibly for a different reason.............today is very hot, and Katisha is out cold in the sun and not doing any type of lurking at all. the lawn is growing very fast, and the first paeony is out. so is the organic rose, and Norma's rose is flowering for the first time, beating the orange patio rose by some distance. the Greek cress has started to come up already..............no idea what Greek cress is but i gather it's something to eat so will be joining the salad party...............
the Oriental poppies are way behind this year, usually they've flowered and finished by this time, however they have loads of flower buds so the slower start doesn't seem to have done them any harm. i've put the Cerinthe seedlings in the perennial bed, after moving the potentilla, which has already started to produce its very pretty blood-red flowers. the sweet rocket took extreme umbrage at my attempts to tie it up and quite a lot of it died, but the lower clump is still thriving, so i've trimmed the dead bits off the upper clump, it clearly wants to do its own thing and lie along the ground so i've let it, and it looks very pretty, pure white against mum's yellow spirea and the purple dragon-wing plant............. i also moved a little clump of something growing at the front, may be weeds but did look a bit intentional, although i have no idea what it might be. anyway it's now at the back beside the lilies...............a few self-seeded sunflowers have appeared too, and their greenhouse friends will soon be coming to join them.........

right in front of the coconut shell is a little pair of bulgy eyes...........

Yes there really is a frog in this video, if you look carefully you can see a wee slimy nose............they were not co-operating with having their pictures taken, but there are at least four and possibly more. We are thrilled, after Kitksi ate their mum and dad last year we thought there would be no froglets this spring and certainly couldn't see any spawn, but there they are all splooshing about............hope to get some better photos later............

Veggie blitz.............

Beautiful warm sunny day. Much pottering. Have mowed the lawn twice because it didn't look any different the first time..............maybe need to set the blades lower..........Carrie planting out the small veg, sweet beetroot seedlings, sugar snap peas, rainbow chard, plus sweet peas and sunflowers. i've put the potatoes in their barrel and put in some more salads. first organic rose just out............have rescued the diascia from the pot by the pond and put it in beside the delphinium. mulched the container plants and fed the fruit. planted out the marjoram. cumin looking a bit unhappy but i don't know what it's supposed to look like at this stage.............

PS

thanks you and goodbye to the purple sprouting broccoli. it was fantastic. so tender and tasty............welcome to the rhubarb, still a bit skinny but also tasty..............and thanks for your efforts to the volunteer nasturtiums in the veg bed, nice try but that isn't where you live, you'll be much happier in the window box trust me..............

red lettuces in the veg bed. note also giant chard which has been there all through the winter............

tamed catmint..............annual seedlings and volunteer Shirley poppies.........

the lilac tree. i must admit the description "dwarf lilac" seems a little misleading..........but as long as it's happy.........

Angi's bay tree and friend. note carrot seedlings in the tub just developing tiny leaves...........

Lilac time

Flowering madly, and great wafts of perfume in the garden which is lovely.............showery weather but not cold and some sun so everything really bursting out and growing fast. the organic rose and the paeony are just about to flower but the oriental poppies are lagging a bit this year and we even have one or two daffs still going. lots of borage coming up everywhere it's not supposed to be so i've moved some out of the annual bed........the new potentilla has a flower, deep red, very pretty. in the greenhouse the salads have now moved outside, some red lettuce into the veg bed and some in a pot, and i've planted some cucumber seedlings. new bay tree from Angi in a nice square terracotta tub looking very elegant. have tried to tame the catmint to leave room for the sweet peas which are all ready to go out..................the basils are very slow, but it has been quite cool, ditto the marjoram and busy lizzies.
front garden has gone completely mad, to think i once thought nothing would grow there...........once the bluebells have finished there will be some tidying to do, but not yet, it's all too pretty at the moment................

corner by the pond looking pretty, Mum's spirea, Welsh poppies, persicaria and lemon balm

sugar snap pea "Sugar Bon".............mmmmm, those were lovely last year, hope they do OK.......plus volunteer bit of wild garlic

the veg bed. radishes in front; spinach and chard in the middle; sugar snap pea at the back, yum, and the artichoke trying to get in the picture........note cat-proof cage!

perennial bed. new potentilla beside the tree peony and new rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" at the back, also fennel, sweet rocket and euphorbia. oriental poppies not out yet.

annual seedlings just starting to come up. also many weeds.................

delphinium again

runner beans and parsley in their barrel. delphimium in its slug-proof (we hope) pot. beans were slow to get going last year but when they did zoomed right up to the roof and produced loads of beans, so here's hoping.........

the herb area - note lovely chives (with flowers) and rescue rose (v grateful)

look at all this beautiful salad..............rocket, lettuce x 2 and Chinese cabbage......

seedlings in the greenhouse

I'll be with you in apple-blossom time..............

which is now. very pretty, the three patio apples in their pots are all flowering, and the cherry at the front. the front garden is positively verdant, it's obviously decided it doesn't want to be paving so stuff is growing everywhere and it looks rather nice. a small cherry tree is sprouting by the front door, i guess we'll have to pull it out in case it undermines the foundations but it isn't doing any harm for now...........
greenhouse seedlings well away and we are now eating fresh salad ever day, soon be time to move the salads outside. carrots and parsley sprouting, basils off to a slow start but appearing at last, and for the first time the cumin as well. damned lovage back again and we also seem to have a mutant variegated borage seedling in the herb bed................
annuals in the warm bed sprouting, lots of weeds too but easier to pull once they're bigger..........some self-sown Shirley and Welsh poppies have appeared, and a clump of honesty in the wild wood. Epimedium very pretty this year with yellow flowers, but the Cystis much slower to flower than usual. have planted some more lilies for summer flowers against the wall. the Dame's Violet is back, a bit frostbitten but ready to flower...............not sure that the Passiflora has survived after all though, no sign of anything happening which is a bit sad........
bought some new things at Redhall, a potentilla with silvery leaves which i think will have red flowers, and a Rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" - in honour of the ancestors! a delphinium too which we're keeping in a container to try and slug-proof it, i've never succeeded in growing them but the flowers are so pretty....................
paeonies just about ready to come out..........and maybe even the one at the front, which has *never* flowered............that would be exciting. we will certainly have blackcurrants this year; the rhubarb is up and we've eaten the first of it, strawbs are looking healthy, gooseberries have tiny fruit forming, and there are even figlets on the tree................

Weed of the Year

.....is Herb Robert. never having had it in the garden before, this year we have it everywhere for some reason. it is quite pretty but one can have too much of a good thing...............spring is now definitely here, although it's still been quite chilly, but that seems to have stopped the weeds from completely taking over as they've usually done by now............Carrie's clearing-up operation of last year has left the clematis somewhat shocked so i'm not sure that we'll get many flowers this year, as it hasn't really got much left to flower with...........we've re-erected the arch, with reinforcement, and moved it forward so that it kind of marks the entrance to the veggie garden, with the jasmine on the same side as the weeping birch and the rose on the other. the rose did actually survive being toasted by the fire bin and even produced on or two flowers, but we hope it will feel safer and more at home in its new location..............
.........in the beds, mostly weeds, so i've done some hoeing. no sign of the Pasque flowers.........i suspect they may have gone in the autumn clear-up as well, but it's possible that they're just not up yet because it's been too cold. however the tree peony is poking its wee head up, we only put it in last year so it didn't get much of a chance to do anything, i've cleared the weeds round it and given it some compost for encouragement. Passion flower not dead either i'm pleased to see, and a couple of fennel plants beside it. poppies, dicentra and rue back in their usual place, mum's spirea looking lovely now that the leaves are out..............dragon plant quite slow to start but on its way, and the purple Lysimachia and lemon balm back for another season..........and lo and behold, one godetia. it must be feeling a bit lonely and wondering where all its mates are, we still have some of last year's seeds so we can grow some friends for it..........
.........in the greenhouse, salads sprouting away though not yet big enough to eat; Thai basil and lemon basil planted today along with cumin which did absolutely nothing last year so we'll try keeping it in the greenhouse and see how it fares. lettuce "misticanza" and chinese cabbage already sprouting. bird of paradise plant re-potted after something of a struggle, the roots had grown right through the bottom of the pot.............calathea also re-potted. paeonies racing away and of course all the daffs and spring bulbs in bloom.................just waiting for the seed order to arrive and then the spring frenzy really starts...........

Scene: A Blasted Heath...............

well not blasted exactly but pretty bleak............it's been a long cold winter so we are way behind. today was only really the second day of working outside because it's been too cold, but a little mild spell has suddenly brought all the bulbs out and the days are, very slowly, getting longer. the bird life is down stuffing itself with bits of fatsnax and bread, and it does seem that at last spring is on the way. everything has obviously just been hunkered down against the icy blasts waiting for a chance, a week ago there were no flowers and now the irises "harmony" have suddenly appeared, the clump of mini-daffs in the woodland are out and even one mega-daff at the front, snowdrops and lots of crocuses. and one pink chionodoxa just appearing, buds on the honeysuckle and clemati, paeonies pushing up..............yes, it's time to start the Staring. the Staring is the most important garden activity............it involves touring round the garden peering closely at the ground where the plants used to be and where now is a morass of dead leaves, weeds, old bits of plant label, sweet wrappers etc............but lo! in among it all some old friends are actually still there and fighting their way up through the mess. it's really quite amazing to see what has survived. and of course there is always the process of staring hard at a little embryonic clump of something obviously meant to be there and thinking: what the hell's that? all will be revealed within the next few weeks, but some things are not included in the mental garden map..........
......somehow we seem to have acquired enough pots to start our own garden centre and it's unlikely that we'll need them all so what we need is someone starting a new garden who can take some of them................Carrie has cleared the greenhouse and conveyed to the cats the bad news that their indoor winter litter tray has been decommissioned and yes, they will need to get their sweet little paws wet to answer calls of nature..........today i finished more clearing and planted some salads..............weeded the static pots and moved some things into the greenhouse for a head start. last year's geraniums are still indoors but starting to sprout so hopefully we can get some cuttings. despite the cold winter, the prostrate rosemary has been flowering merrily since the middle of January, so much for being a Mediterranean herb...........
...........we haven't yet planned this year's growing, but of course gardening being what it is, nothing we plan will turn out as we intended anyway............some lessons were learned though, like: don't grow cabbages because they grow beautifully but we don't actually like them. also, the outdoor tomatoes did just as well as the greenhouse ones and tasted better, so it's worth keeping the greenhouse space for other things, like more cucumbers because they were lovely. peas and beans are a lot of work but really only the sugar snap peas gave much of a crop, and asparagus peas have beautiful flowers but are like eating an emery board so best grown for decoration........ the purple sprouting broccoli is still going strong and tastes lovely, and we left the runner bean roots in as suggested so we'll see what they do. flower-wise the amazing organic rose is well on with new growth.................the jasmine arch has broken right through and deposited the jasmine in a heap which is not a good start to the season for it, or for the fruit garden it fell into, so we need to replace it quite soon. however the fruit bushes are sprouting already and the rhubarb is poking up, i've weeded the dwarf apples and blueberry in their tubs and given them some fruit food.......................and off we go!

don't call me Shirley

i was going to post a lovely picture of the Shirley poppy which came out yesterday but unfortunately it decided to drop all its petals today.................more flowers to come though. sweet peas are fantastic, i picked a whole bunch yesterday and more had come out today..............the mange-tout peas have been decimated by some pest while we were away but tonight we had runner beans (yay!), asparagus peas, sugar snap peas and climbing French beans, if not exactly *for* dinner, at least *with* dinner. the problem is we never get a full crop because we keep eating things as we stroll round the garden every day admiring it...............more sunflowers are out and looking fantastic, and the passion flowers now making an appearance. the new jasmine "Clotted Cream" has a few flowers, very sweet..................gooseberries ready to pick, Alpine strawberries too................in the greenhouse the cucumbers have gone mad and climbed all the way to the roof, tiny cucumbers have appeared, all bumpy...............we managed to grow one last year and it was very tasty, but this year looks more promising already.............

and there's more.............

day lilies are out at last. Michaelmas daisies beginning to flower too................one dahlia poking its head up in the perennial bed..............cream escholzia in the annual bed, v. pretty..........

veggie and rhubarb crop

beans beans beans

........and peas..........mange-tout and sugar snap. the asparagus peas are extremely pretty, a beautiful deep crimson colour. lots of things have come on since our short break in Cornwall..........most notably the cornflowers which are now cornflowering madly and look really beautiful..............and the California poppies. a stray Shirley poppy has appeared in among them.........the day lilies now have buds but are still very slow to actually flower. more love-in-a-mist and cosmos on the way...............and more roses. strawberries and gooseberries slowly ripening, raspberries going over................salads coming on in their tub and the rocket not deterred by having the nasturtiums fall on it..............small runner beans now appearing and tiny tomatoes......and some courgettes big enough to eat. it all looks extremely pretty. some Oriental poppies still producing flowers.............the pink jasmine absolutely flourishing and the variegated one coming along..............and "clotted cream" has flower buds. we are picking beautiful sweet peas..................herbs doing well although only the dill has come up of the old seeds. one coreopsis has managed to struggle into flower and the rudbeckia are still very small............but we now have a row of lovely sunflowers in the perennial bed. the lysimachia is out and looks great against the purple leaves, its own and the persicaria. can hardly see the pond for all the vegetation and the froglets are roaming................

and there's more...............

...........and the RHUBARB!!
............and the BEETROOT!!
and the ASPARAGUS PEA!!

in another part of the forest.................

........not a huge amount happening on the houseplant front as all the action is outside...........Hoya now flowering and Stephanotis finishing..............orchid growing another flower spike. but in a corner of the greenhouse, planted ages ago and forgotten..................two of the Stephanotis seedlings have sprouted!!....................now potted on and in the ITU, growing very slowly if at all, but we'll see.................alongside them a bit of geranium that fell off, and some bits of Mum's Christmas cactus. for some reason most of the forest cacti died, i suspect it was still too cold when they went out for their summer holidays. however the MCC looks very healthy so hope the cuttings take..............

summer harvest

Just about to eat our first dinner made with things from the garden............the funny weather of sunshine and showers has brought everything on in a sudden rush and it can only be described as burgeoning...............have picked the first sweet pea but the oriental poppies are just finishing so everything is still all coming out in the wrong order. Paeonies just finishing too after a magnificent display, and the first love-in-a-mist are coming up through them, very pretty. the organic rose was as usual first to flower............"Curiosity" now has buds and also the one Carrie uncovered under the clematis, no idea what colour the flowers will be..............the VJR (Very Jaggy Rose) has put on loads of leaf but no buds yet. orange patio rose now flowering beautifully but other one not out yet. the canna lilies were obviously insulted by me deciding they were dead and putting a tomato in their pot............the tomato has met a mysterious fate and fallen over and the cannas are putting up superb leaves! Various things just on the brink of flowering...............lilies, sunflowers, more sweet peas..............sweet rocket still going strong and first night-scented stock just appearing. very exciting, i've never managed to get them to grow before. Some California poppies in the pot with the lilies, brilliant orange.............the ones in the beds coming on but no flowers yet. red scabious out, godetia growing well, cornflowers just about to bloom. first honeysuckle flowers appearing at the bottom of the garden but the big honeysuckles not out yet. alliums never showed at all this year..............the day lilies have been very late and have only now put up flower buds. there also appears to be another day lily in the perennial bed, not a clue where that came from - did we bring it from Mum's or is it a SQ survivor?
Morning Glories after a slow start now taking off, at least in pots but i see that one of the ones in the garden has actually survived though still very small. nasturtiums in flower of course...............variegated jasmine is doing well, again with more light after the clematis had its haircut. the pink jasmine was also slow to get going but flower buds have now appeared. the two hebes in the purple patch are both flowering and look very nice, with the Lysimachia "Firecracker" beside them and almost ready to flower. Rudbeckia seedlings are now all planted out, along with the Coreopsis..............i hae ma doots about the latter, they were very slow to germinate and are still very small but seem to be growing away quite well. Cosmos seedlings from the greenhouse and straight into the ground seem to be about neck-and-neck.
In the greenhouse..................the tomatoes are romping away but we've moved most of the rest out.............courgettes and squash into containers because they're already flowering and tiny courgettes are manifesting themselves..............i've taken the chillies out of the raised bed and into individual pots and we'll try some indoors and some in the greenhouse to see how they get on. moved the poached-egg plants outside because they were taking up too much space. salad containers are now planted..................the pak choi and other salad thing in the barrel have bolted but the flowers are pretty so we've left them as a nice contrast with the red runner-bean flowers. Thai basil and lemon basil into pots but staying in the greenhouse and some of their siblings off to Angi's balcony. i bought a new variegated oregano.............the old golden oregano is on its last legs, it never really got over being tramped on by the guys laying the patio, but the pot marjorams are doing well and i've divided the variegated oregano to make an extra plant. Carrie has cut down the lovage...............allowing more light to The Fig. don't know if The Fig will ripen but if it does it will be very exciting................we are now eating fresh raspberries and the crop promises to be heavy, although if we keep picking them as each one ripens there won't be enough for a full meal.............we're doing that anyway with the sugar snap peas and mange-tout, hovering over the veggie bed like the Witch in "Hansel & Gretel" waiting to see if they're ready to eat yet............we're in a between-salads phase but there's chard, small purple cabbage leaves, sorrel, nasturtium, parsley, and even beetroot leaves in the meantime.............my herb pot is slow to get going but the dill is in the lead having just started to sprout. and we do now have borage flowers for our drinks, and sheaves of applemint to make our summer fizz.............
............definite froglets in the pond, much splooshing and splashing every time we approach................the irises haven't flowered this year but the watermint is doing OK...............all the aquilegias are down now and i've trimmed the lower branches of the lilac and tidied the under-tree bed a bit..............meadowsweet just about to flower and huge clump of Michaelmas daisies same as last year................i've taken some cuttings of Isabel's prostrate rosemary and the clematis for Runa's fence. very pleased to see that the passiflora has not only survived being moved but seems to be growing madly, i didn't expect it to flower but i see at least one bud.............
in the front.............clearing all the bulb foliage and putting down the cocoa shell has made it look as neat as it can when everything's covered in big shaggy clumps of thyme............i've toasted all the weeds with the flamethrower thing which was very satisfying and it has helped.............the patio clematis is in flower but the rose shows no sign of buds.............honeysuckle just finished and needs tying up. it still all looks a bit of a mess, but it's a pretty mess................Mum's snow-in-summer has established nicely and has flowers, and i've tied up the floppy rose, also no sign of it flowering but it's still "early summer" after all................

raspberries and tadpoles

WE have started eathing them and they havve now been seen with 4 legs andn look quite grown up.. most exciting.

veg bed in mid june

veg garden progress

Every thing is now growing extremely fast. At present in veg bed are climbing beans up to 4 ft(flowers budding but not yet out). Shallotts, plenty of greenery.. overwshadowed by broad beans. Broad beans with pods now up to 3 ins long and plants 3'6" high. Norli peas with flowers, beetroots , very strong leaves but small bulbs thus far. very small quantity of cumin plants.. most have been eaten by slugs grrr. Sugar bon peas, we have eaten two off the plant but plenty more coming. bulb fennel doing well, probably too closely spaced. Red cabbage and broccoli.

Corgettes (goldie and black forest) and squashes (turks turban and gails) were all very slow but those grown on in the greenhouse to be quite large plants and then put in the bed on 1st June have done much better.

backlog

garden has been so busy that we've got a bit behind on the writing-up, jotting down notes but not had time to blogify them. so here they are:
26/4/08
Godetias beginning to sprout (in the greenhouse)
Planted out Gail's squash and sowed the Norli peas
Established net to stop cat trauma to the veggie bed (broad bean seedlings)
First sight of shallots sprouting
planted My Love dahlias
Sorted through compost and found family of mice! which had made a very cosy little home - moved them to the other side keenly watched by Tiger...........
Sowed Nigella "Miss Jekyll", Escholzia, night-scented stock and cornflowers
Potted up the french tarragon
Moved the tomato seedlings
27/4/08
damn it bloody cats have AGAIN dug up shallots - fencing and cage reinforced extensively, replanted shallots for the THIRD time grrrrr God help the radishes
planted out beetroot seedlings
sowed poached-egg seeds into veg bed
Movied the Passiflora into the perennial bed
Moved the Ceanothus - good luck
Earthed up the ivy in its pot and planted a couple of nasturtium "Empress of India" beside it
Moved the Pasque flowers to the "iris bed" by the paeonies
Moved the mystery plant (?coreopsis) to the perennial bed
Spotted FROG x2 in the pond!!
Sowed the salad barrel - pak choi, lettuce, mustard spinach and runner beans
Sowed sweet marjoram
First cherry blossom out!
2/5/08
TADPOLES!!

25/5/08
Planted out "Sugar Bon" peas - about 3 ins high
Black Forest courgette planted out with 2 leaves has been totally munched
Broad beans now 12 ins high and need staking
Shallots look good
Tadpoles - lots - large but no legs yet
Planted out climbing beans and two aubergines purchased at OSP
Perovskia doing well but no sign of dahlias yet
First paeony opening imminent
Sweet rocket nearly 4ft high - much taller than bleedin' eart

26/5/08
tadpoles very carnivorous now - scoffing dead snails urrrghhh
Potted on courgettes and Turks Turban squash
planted out red cabbage and broccoli

27/5/08
Cleared up creeping buttercup in "wild" zone - Carrie attacked by brown compost bin, blood ++ and trip to Minor Injuries at WGH

29/5/08
Wind finally gone round to West - most of May bright and dry but unseasonably cold so everything a bit behind.
Second dose of Nemaslug applied
Roses treated with lethal mix of garlic, sugar and ginger

1/6/08

Flaming June, ha - but yesterday was gorgeous, and the garden has definitely responded to the warmth. Paenoies and organic rose now out and one of the yellow roses, but the oriental poppies still haven't appeared. Cats been digging again and nearly but not quite managed to destroy the peas. Ceanothus sadly has not survived being moved..............have put in the tree paeony and planted out rest of godetia seedlings and some of rudbeckia seedlings, keeping some back in the greenhouse just in case. Various things waiting in the greenhouse to go to new homes......tomato plants and chili plants for Sita, Fuchsia cuttings, pots of Nigella and tomatoes for Maryam. basil seedlings have just germinated but no sign of the stephanotis. Morning glories distributed in various places, with again a couple in the greenhouse as reserves...........i've never actually managed to grow them before but they look nice and strong. greenhouse stuff mostly still quite small............raised beds have tomatoes, chillies, aubergines and cucmbers. one courgette "Goldie" in a pot, beside the pot with the runner beans and tomatoes. salad barrel mostly dominated by the biggest and healthiest parsley plant ever seen............just have to think of lots of things to do with parsley i guess................coriander just starting on the window-sill and will need tp start more summer herbs and salads once the greenhouse is clearer. Coreopsis have been very slow and unlikely to flower this year, but i've potted the seedlings on to encourage them.........lupins look fab and delphiniums coming on too, those are longer-term projects for the perennial bed. Nigella, cornflowers, NSS and Escholzia doing what they're meant to do in the annual bed, clary also beginning to sprout. the sweet rocket has turned out to be huge............pretty white or pink flowers with a sweet scent inthe evening. fabulous lilac at the back, diascias starting to flower and the first tiny begonia leaf just poking its way up in the planter bench............

potting frenzy

the weather is clement and the seed season has started in earnest...........all available surfaces are covered in seed trays and various things are rocketing away................broad bean seedlings out into the veg bed today, absolutely beautiful and strong with huge roots...........sweet peas out too...........beds weeded and cleared, perennials moved...............i've planted out the dame's violet and moved a few mystery plants into a clump beside the dicentra.........i think one might be a coreopsis from last year but i haven't a clue what the others are. montbretia and aquilegia are coming up everywhere but i've been a good deal more ruthless this year about moving them to where i want them to be rather than letting them run riot. re-potted Norma's rose and the patio rose into David & Ian's turquoise pots and scattered in a few escholzia beside them. salads are out of the greenhouse..........we had a huge stir-fry with all the mibuna and pak choi, they did fantastically well and it was so lovely being able to nip out to the greenhouse in the early spring and pick fresh salad leaves. hope they'll do as well in the barrel..............i've made up a couple of pots for Maryam with nigella "Persian Jewels", and the little trio pot with three kinds of mint. put some pendula begonias into the planter seat...........various things from last year still alive but those will fill a gap. the scorched rose is still alive and i gave it a trim and feed to help it get over the trauma............wonder what the huge plant in the corner by the applemint will turn out to be. possibly a weed, but it does look a bit intentional..............might be a salvia but it will be a nice surprise whatever it is..................
front garden putting on a great spring display as usual, the new vinca has established well and is covered in lovely purple flowers.................nothing to do there really until all the bulbs die down, pleased to see the wood anemones looking so pretty..................
.............it has been quite mild but we had some proper frost this winter. paeonies in bud already which i think is early...............and could the new one i planted about four years ago be planning to flower at last? the patio apple trees have blossom, the new blackcurrant looks very happy and so do the whitecurrant and the gooseberry, so the fruit garden is shaping up well...........

the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la

............looking at the notes from last year, some things are blooming in the spring tra-la a bit earlier. the winter has been pretty cold with proper frost, but now that the clocks have changed it feels like spring and we've had a bliz today............only the second real full day's gardening of the year but what a difference a little bit of work makes................i tidied out the shed a few weeks ago and got rid of a lot of clutter...........some of the veg seeds are planted in the greenhouse and we're enormously proud of our winter salads which are only now beginning to bolt. everyone who comes to visit gets dragged into the greenhouse to admire the pak choi..........most stuff still just at the preparation stage but we are very much more organised than last year, thanks to having the greenhouse. but today was the first proper prowl round............so i hoed and weeded the fruit beds, moved the whitecurrant and Isabel's alpine strawberries and tied up the raspberry canes..................tidied the bit where the paeonies are and moved Helga the iris down to join the irises "Harmony", glad to see she's had some babies...........lots of things are just beginning to show, like the catmints, but lots in full swing already. and most exciting of all............there is FROGSPAWN in the pond!!...............

we'll gather lilacs in the autumn again.............

......the dwarf lilac is flowering again, as are the forget-me-nots, wallflowers and violets, along with late-summer-type things like Montbretia and Michaelmas daisies. Carrie has given the clematis an extremely radical haircut, it doesn't seem to mind and is starting to grow back, but it's left some big spaces into which to put our sunflowers. the corocosmia "Lucifer" that i put in a couple of years ago has deigned to flower at last............very pretty so worth the wait..........Carrie's dahlias in their pot are spectacular, and thanks to the judicious application of organic slug pellets we have managed to get the Bishop of Llandaff to flower at the front before the snails ate it. the geraniums have also come into flower after a long delay and are looking rather Mediterranean and colourful. Carrie's Snail Purge seems to be having an effect.............however many we pick up there still seem to be plenty more, but maybe word has got round that if you're a snail and you don't want a one-way trip to England it's best to stay out of our garden..............

Monsoon season

the rain it raineth every day............today it dothn't, but we've had what seemed to be weeks and weeks of torrential rain, floods in England etc............the weeds and the snails loved it but a lot of our precious plants didn't..............as a result of the bizarre weather some things that should have been flowering in spring are still going strong.............chaenomeles, forget-me-nots, wallflowers........summer flowers are definitely delayed or didn't flower at all, day lilies still not out and normal lilies only flowering now...................Carrie's veggie patch is now a thing of beauty and pong with lots of seaweed and manure dug in and the spuds in situ............we got very behind on the planting because it was too wet to do much, but have stuck most of the remaining seeds in trays and pots in the greenhouse to see what happens.................we've decided to just not bother with the idea of seasons this year and the weather seems to agree...............
.............the Rescue Rose from Hopetoun seems to like having the greenhouse to snuggle against and has repaid the support with lots of beautiful pink flowers..............once again i had to cut the lovage which had grown to enormous height, and released from its shadow the bronze fennel is hanging in there and the oregano has come back after a very unhappy time in the cold and wet........

Miss Jekyll's marigolds

well i don't suppose she planted them herself exactly, but they came from the garden she laid out at Lindisfarne............her designs are still there in the castle to look at, although how anyone could read her writing is anybody's guess......we bought two marigolds and a lettuce in her honour. the marigolds are in with the tomato plants in the GREENHOUSE!!.........other garden works have been held up rather by the weather. it's been a cold, wet and blowy summer so far and everything is way behind last year. the Oriental poppies are only finishing now. the paeonies are still not all out, and some of them have rotted with all the rain. the Pasque flowers hardly lasted any time; the alliums were the success i'd hoped they'd be, and i've now planted up my end of the planter bench with scented geraniums, variegated lemon balm, lemon thyme, and a diascia. all the pots are doing OK, but we just need some nice warm sunny weather so i can get the grass cut and we can sit with our borage-flower drinks and admire it all........the chaenomeles at the front has decided to have another go at flowering, and i've added to the alpines by the path................the bit under the tree still looks a bit sad but we've moved the clematis from the back (to make way for the new veg bed!), i've rearranged things a bit and put down some coco shell and it looks much better. gave the willow a haircut and weeded it..............tied up the rose.......volunteers continue to make their contribution to the garden, i notice a small hypericum growing in the alley, the mystery hellebore is doing well and the campanulas are back again along with loads of herb Robert which is spreading prettily but rampantly, let's hope it's not as badly behaved as the Alchemilla..............