Catching up

The sudden radio silence last year was due to a number of factors, mainly to me not being able to figure out how to upload photos from the iPad, since cameras are now so last century. Also, we were so busy with Fringe shows and visitors that the poor old garden got completely neglected........and having the overflow accommodation, i.e. tent, in the middle of the lawn meant we couldn't actually get past it to see what was happening in the veggie patch. Which, among other things, was this:

We think it might have been one of the seedlings we brought back from Cornwall, but of course have no idea what kind of squash it was. Other than that it was rather tasty. However, everything else more or less carried on as usual, and when the Art Shed's grass roof was relieved of its duties it came back to cover the big bald bit in the lawn where the tent had been.......................

Apple blossom time.............early May

Wallflowers still going

New rose "Crown Princess Margareta"

  Tree peony 15th May

California poppies out......

Organic rose and back lilac 29th May

Lovely pond iris - 31st May

Flutterbye in August

A wee familiar face.......

 Ginger mint in its new location

Monte investigates the grass roof...........

Harvesting.................

Slow start

First vegetables were actually eaten in January, as the chard and rocket kept going all through the winter. Some things never  stopped, e.g. the lobelias in the pots at the front, north-facing etc.......the last sweet pea flowered in December. Well, it was mild.................and in parts of England, terrible flooding, but none for us. So this year everything more or less on schedule. The garden has kind of done its own thing with little assistance from us so far, but another Easter in Cornwall doing a major blitz on the Lost Gardens of Tregaminion reminded us that our own little patch is a bit neglected so a modest amount of tidying has been done, and today we had our first lunch outside with the frogs. Spring has sprung. The cherry tree is in full bloom, lilac just on its way but no roses yet. Have planted new rescue rose Crown Princess Margareta in the bed next to the organic rose and hope they will get on. All last year's seeds which we planted in the full expectation that they would not come up actually have, so there are lots of baby sage, Oriental poppy and delphinium plants to be accommodated, and a new caryopteris (son of very old one from Colinton Road which must now be about 20..........) and a spare lemon verbena. Herbs have mostly made it so only dill and basil to plant: for some reason the borage has all decided to grow in the front garden this year rather than the back for reasons best known to itself, which means a long walk from the kitchen to get the flowers for our drinks, gracious living has its price...................

Now cropping................

Runner beans and courgettes. It has cooled down a little bit but the weather is still mainly beautiful after a glorious summer. The morning glories, sons of last year's, are still going on and on..........new chili plants now flowering indoors. Happy herbs by the back door, and lots of salad.............all the cuttings have taken, which is now a bit of a problem cos there's nowhere to put them, I am also growing some sage from seed to replace the old plant that died.
The one day lily flower is all there's been and "crimson pirate" didn't flower at all. However the beds are full so maybe these will have to move into containers along with all the delphinium seeds I didn't expect to come up. Lots of caryopteris cuttings too which are all turning into new plants.
Colin the Comma Caterpillar which was living on the blackcurrant has now turned into a chrysalis and is doing a very good impression of a dead leaf. We wait expectantly.........

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer............

Heatwave.

California dreaming

Looking at last year's notes, maybe this year hasn't been so different in terms of what has come up when............a cold May stops everything in its tracks, but all it takes is a little warmth and rain and it all catches up. However some things are definitely delayed - the day lilies have yet to put in an appearance and only one flower spike has come up, and the pink clematis was about a month late. Roses, however, are on schedule, and I don't remember the white rose flowering so prolifically before, the lilac also went on and on for weeks, so the cooler weather may be prolonging flowering when things finally do come out. However we missed the paeonies, which were just opening as we left for Hill House last week and were gone by the time we got back. Most exciting, though, the paeony at the front has flowered - maybe even *two* flowers if the second one opens - and the California poppies are back for their third year along with a lovely pink sweet-pea and some mange-tout that came up beside the delphinium. I've taken some cuttings off the old caryopteris which has been looking a bit unhappy, and one has taken; we also took gooseberry cuttings which rooted well so two have gone to hill House and one will hopefully be going to Ross' new garden in Abernethy.

For some reason this year we also had fantastic chervil which grew in huge bunches in the herb bed when everything else was still clenched with cold; spinach also doing extremely well and the runner beans are on the move............courgettes, tomatoes and cucumbers coming on slowly as usual. 

We have just instituted a water barrel at the front, because guess what, it's HOT!! and all the things that did not die of cold are now hanging over the sides of their pots gasping and threatening to die of the heat..........I planted up all the containers with extra geraniums and lobelia for the MWF garden party (Rose's geraniums in their pots at the front door............) and strewed the steps with big bunches of applemint which seemed to go down well despite the weather not playing ball........

Have planted some Oriental poppies to replace ours that died, and some delphiniums just to see if we can grow them now that the frogs have dealt with the slugs..........

Cauld Winter's Icy Blast.................

The weather.

It has been cold. 

Very cold. 

In fact it has been bloody freezing. For months. There was one reasonably warm and sunny day in March................Hooray! we thought, spring has sprung! - and rushed out to tidy in preparation for the growing season. Even the frogs popped up to say hello. But that was it.............the temperature immediately dropped again and stayed down, and all the little planties that had started the spring fling just stopped dead. We have ONE mini-daff out at the back and two mega-daffs at the front, the crocuses and chionodoxa have appeared as usual but everything else looks all pinched and miserable. There has also been hardly any rain - hence wildfires in the Highlands, up at Hill House last weekend the ground was bone-dry and the grass completely brown. So...........we have planted no seeds because it's just too cold. However the baby tree paeonies are doing very well on the kitchen window-sill, and I have started some prayer plantlets for the Inverleith St Serf's sale in June........

And there has been some wildlife...............one morning I heard this strange noise and wondered what it was, was somebody drilling? Yes somebody was - a great spotted woodpecker on the telegraph pole. He had worked out that if he banged on the metal bit at the top it made a better noise...............and had also worked out that the suckers at no. 19 had hung up a lovely fatsnax for him. Unfortunately he is too shy to have his photo taken but we will catch him someday................M. Le Blackcap has been a frequent visitor along with a flock of long-tailed titis, and we have even seen some goldfinches down eating the nyger seed which has been there for about three years without anything touching it............

And now it definitely is spring...................the familiar cccrrrrrrrrOOAAAAAKKKKKKKKK! is emanating from the pond and the frog orgy is in progress............

Sunday sermon

 The big frog with his back to us at the top of the plank look for all the world as if he's giving a lecture, and was completely oblivious even to me creeping up behind him and moving the grass out of the way to film him........there are at least 17 other frogs of all sizes apparently listening intently..........

Beautiful California poppies. Last year's, in fact, that have sat in the barrel through rain, hail or shine. There's another in the veg bed, which this year has decided it doesn't want to grow veg and would rather be a flower bed, so is producing poppies of all kinds, borage, dill, potatoes, applemint, pak choi flowers and everything but what we actually planted..............

At Last................

'Tis the first rose of summer................a couple of warm days followed by some heavy rain and the paeonies are out at last, however only a very few flowers on the honeysuckle at the front and no Oriental poppies at all this year. Lots of buds on the organic rose and one or two flowers.............also at least 9 frogs seen in the pond.................but it is, as they say, chilly for June, extremely changeable, although we did not have the pouring rain yesterday for the Jubilee river pageant, poor old Queen looked very cold and bored by the end..............

Interesting............looking at last year about this time, tree peony was out, borage in flower.........absolutely no sign of the Oriental poppies this year, peonies have buds but no flowers yet, borage ditto..........

Silent spring

Halfway through May and it is still freezing. Unlike last year when we had a very hot April followed by cold May, it has been relentlessly cold and wet throughout. So it's interesting to see which plants have carried on regardless and which are more temperature-dependent. Spring bulbs have kept to their usual schedule, cherry and lilac have flowered as usual, clematis maybe a little later, but no roses at all yet and the honeysuckle at the front has produced no flowers. Golden oregano and marjoram have battled their way up though looking a bit miserable. No sign of wallflowers blooming yet..................
Saddest of sights is the greenhouse where there is absolutely nothing happening.................no courgettes, no tomatoes, no cucumbers, no basil. Next saddest is the veggie bed................a few seeds are now beginning to struggle up and the fruit bushes seem unaffected with loads of blackcurrants and gooseberries, plenty of apple blossom and strawberry flowers..............
Lettuce and rocket just beginning to sprout but nothing much to eat yet apart from herbs and salad burnet, which is a start I guess.................we have seen little of the frogs because they do seem to like to sunbathe and there hasn't been much sun for them to bathe in..................
Potatoes are going in the raised bed this year to save space, the cucumbers will be staying in the greenhouse assuming they ever come up, and we are trying a new cherry tomato which is supposed to have lots of grape-sized fruits, I will believe that when I see it................morning glories will be staying indoors, a few self-sown nasturtiums are just beginning to appear, good, cornflowers and nigella are in and a few of last year's gathered cerinthe seeds are sprouting indoors. Gladioli beginning to make an appearance, some of last year's california poppies still going strong in the barrel..............a lovely one planned for this year turned out to be a completely empty packet!..............but I think it's still too cold to put them in anyway............would a flaming June be too much to hope for?...............