o poor neglected garden. but actually it doesn't seem to be minding too much. the grass is a bit long i suppose and the ground elder is rampaging into the right-hand bed but apart from that............amazingly enough one of the freesias has come up! and once again we have an ectopic lobelia, this time in the bed not the drain............same lobelia, different place......the Persicaria has suddenly got absolutely huge after doing nothing much for months, this time maybe i won't cut it down and just see what it does. Diascia *still* flowering away and definitely wins this year's award for Hardest-Working Plant. begonias etc still in flower so i don't feel a great urge to cut things down and clear things away...........however last year they went on right into the winter so it never got done in the end. well, not until spring................also among the nice surprises is a Michaelmas daisy proudly flowering away in the lavender patch - where the hell did that come from? one of the stocks has come up at last after a very, very long wait.............and the lavender has taken nicely but is in danger of being swamped by grass and weeds. Caryopteris in flower and pretty.............borage everywhere.............i've pulled up my onions with great pride and laid them to dry, and have still to harvest the courgette...........yes, just one, but it was a bit of an experiment, next year cloches to keep the slugs off.............the wild strawberry has rooted and grown, so have both comfreys, so lots of comfrey feed next year............i haven't planted Janice's paeonies, not quite sure where to put them but that right-hand bed remains a problem with big gaps so maybe they could go there..........the purple clematis is flowering a second time, the australian mint bush did the same, it's been a funny year for weather, all that rain.............
i did mean to put in more bulbs but as usual i can't remember where it was i thought they needed to go. anyway, next year will be different again. i did so much work earlier in the year that there isn't actually a whole lot to do now, given that i can accept a degree of wildness and disorder. the pond is still a concern...............i really don't want to have to take it all apart and re-line it if there really is a leak, but i may have to once all the vegetation recedes...................only if it's like last year it never got that cold and the vegetation didn't recede, so it would mean ripping everything up which i don't want to do now things are established. maybe it's just all the duckweed transipiring like mad and using up all the water..............i'll keep an eye on it anyway, if it's a leak it's a slow one so i can just keep filling it up.............
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Saturday, August 07, 2004
love-in-a-mist
well, it *was* a glorious day, but now the mist has rolled in from the sea a la Mulligan's Tyre............still not that cold and the air is full of shrieks of merriment and the smell of barbecues from neighbouring gardens...........not a huge amount to do, well, if i were a perfectionistic gardener i could be doing a lot of weeding, but i'm not............most things are just kind of doing their thing and don't need too much attention.
........accept it - i cannot grow delphiniums. or sweet peas, or lilies of the valley. on the other hand i can grow nasturtiums really well - the ones in the corner are having a whale of a time and look rather good........and there's a wild one in the "meadow"! the love-in-a-mist is out a looking beautiful..........lilies almost out too.........rose "Curiosity" flowering for the second time and really prolifically. put in a Coreopsis in the big space where the delphiniums were........sigh.........planted some more basil. the Thai basil was lovely but just didn't do very well. i'm going to re-vamp the veg bed shortly, take out the remains of the sweet peas and accept that i can't grow them............or maybe try the front?? the comfrey is doing well and i'm going to put in some fennel. the new catmints have settled in and are growing mightily..........the caryopteris is just beginning to flower i see..........more courgette flowers, must learn how to make tempura batter before they finish...........rocket starting to sprout, slugs licking their chops..........
........accept it - i cannot grow delphiniums. or sweet peas, or lilies of the valley. on the other hand i can grow nasturtiums really well - the ones in the corner are having a whale of a time and look rather good........and there's a wild one in the "meadow"! the love-in-a-mist is out a looking beautiful..........lilies almost out too.........rose "Curiosity" flowering for the second time and really prolifically. put in a Coreopsis in the big space where the delphiniums were........sigh.........planted some more basil. the Thai basil was lovely but just didn't do very well. i'm going to re-vamp the veg bed shortly, take out the remains of the sweet peas and accept that i can't grow them............or maybe try the front?? the comfrey is doing well and i'm going to put in some fennel. the new catmints have settled in and are growing mightily..........the caryopteris is just beginning to flower i see..........more courgette flowers, must learn how to make tempura batter before they finish...........rocket starting to sprout, slugs licking their chops..........
Sunday, July 25, 2004
oh what a beautiful morning
..well it wasn't actually, it was wet and miserable.........but by the time i got up to go to church it was gorgeous...............went to have lunch with F & K and the kids, but soon the sight of them trimming their hedge was too much, i could feel the lawn calling me.............."mooowwwwwww mmeeeeeee..........." so i went home and did just that. refilled the pond, put the fuchsias outside, moved those very unhappy New Guinea impatiens..........planted the Persicarias by the pond, and the new Nepeta in "Catmint Corner".......... and the delphiniums. well, one can always hope. no doubt the snails will appreciate a change to their diet. gave the begonias some comfrey feed. gave the pond iris a concrete overcoat............well, not quite, but had the bright idea of weighting it to make it stay put and stop it wandering round the pond..........hope the lump of cement i've wired it to doesn't poison it. dead-headed the roses, the organic rose is having another flush of flowers........planted the wild strawberry............picked the tomatoes.........oh, the pride. i'm going to eat them with my tuna tonight.
.......i suppose some people might think it was eccentric to give your best friend a bunch of mint, caraway, marjoram and Vietnamese coriander for her birthday, but Fiona seemed pleased, they always like things you can eat. their new garden is lovely too now that everything's up.
............planted some rocket......bought a few cheapo things for pots since the pansies have bit the dust..............moved the impatiens outside to the front step as they're flowering like mad but getting all aphidy indoors....even the camera had aphids............the front looks OK, still a bit dry and bare under the tree but the alpines in the gravel distract from that bit, and there's time enough to plant it up some more................
............first love-in-a-mist is out! - and such a beautiful blue. more on the way, and the escholzia sprouting by the roses...........that bit still looks rather sad and bare, but we'll see what comes up.........the bit where the lavenders are is still something of a mess, those stocks have done nothing except grow leaves, no sign of them flowering...maybe it's too shady. also lots of grass and weeds which is very difficult to separate from the plants. plus big heap of weed scooped from the pond......fertiliser...........
.......i suppose some people might think it was eccentric to give your best friend a bunch of mint, caraway, marjoram and Vietnamese coriander for her birthday, but Fiona seemed pleased, they always like things you can eat. their new garden is lovely too now that everything's up.
............planted some rocket......bought a few cheapo things for pots since the pansies have bit the dust..............moved the impatiens outside to the front step as they're flowering like mad but getting all aphidy indoors....even the camera had aphids............the front looks OK, still a bit dry and bare under the tree but the alpines in the gravel distract from that bit, and there's time enough to plant it up some more................
............first love-in-a-mist is out! - and such a beautiful blue. more on the way, and the escholzia sprouting by the roses...........that bit still looks rather sad and bare, but we'll see what comes up.........the bit where the lavenders are is still something of a mess, those stocks have done nothing except grow leaves, no sign of them flowering...maybe it's too shady. also lots of grass and weeds which is very difficult to separate from the plants. plus big heap of weed scooped from the pond......fertiliser...........
Monday, July 19, 2004
mumble grump
it's so easy to go out and look at the garden and think, why is it such a mess? especially when i've just been to the Botanics and admired their herbaceous border and wondered why mine doesn't look like that..........answer: because i haven't had 100 years and armies of gardeners to make it look like that............we are kind of between flowers at the moment, but that diascia has to be the best value for money of any plant i've ever put in, still flowering away madly by the pond..............the geraniums have finished so there's just loads of foliage and no flowers...............the poppies "Angels Choir" are just starting to flower, and a couple more days and we'll have love-in-a-mist............also the organic rose hasn't finished after all, it's putting out a couple more buds...........
...........most of the underplantings are now being swamped by the big plants so i might move a few into the pondside gravel...........loads of clumps of grass are growing through it, in fact loads of clumps of grass are growing everywhere but in the lawn..........they're easy enough to pull out but it would be nice to have some little thymes and such........the catmint seems to be spreading everywhere as well............
.....need to move the stripey hemerocallis i think, it's being completely dwarfed by the other one and not getting any light, in fact that whole corner needs a makeover............the original hemero has grown absolutely huge and is having a second flush of flowers............did i put steroids in that comfrey feed i wonder?.............
...........most of the underplantings are now being swamped by the big plants so i might move a few into the pondside gravel...........loads of clumps of grass are growing through it, in fact loads of clumps of grass are growing everywhere but in the lawn..........they're easy enough to pull out but it would be nice to have some little thymes and such........the catmint seems to be spreading everywhere as well............
.....need to move the stripey hemerocallis i think, it's being completely dwarfed by the other one and not getting any light, in fact that whole corner needs a makeover............the original hemero has grown absolutely huge and is having a second flush of flowers............did i put steroids in that comfrey feed i wonder?.............
Sunday, July 11, 2004
serene sunday
oh how i love our light nights..........came back from the meeting and pottered about a bit till after nine, it's a bit close and midgies tonight but i got the weeding done at the front and put the courgette plants in their new home............they look lovely and juicy and i'm sure the snails will be delighted..........would we love the summer so much if we didn't have the cold and dark of winter to get through i wonder......
.........that huge weed in front of the compost bins is actually an aphid farm. i was going to pull it up until i noticed all the little blighters clinging to the stems and the ants tramping up and down with the milk buckets...........all very wildlifey and organic and hopefully if the ants are stuffed full of honeydew they won't be able to eat any of the plants...........
.....pond was all weed and no pond so i've refilled it and hoicked out the weed, i don't think it is leaking after all but we'll see what it looks like tomorrow.......chucked in rockery seeds, mowed the grass, it's hard to tell the difference between the wild garden and the rest because it all looks pretty wild at the moment......planted the dwarf comfrey where the runner beans used to be, sigh...........will have to think of something to make out of huge bunches of mint, there's a limit to how much mint tea a girl can drink, and as for bloody lovage..........
.........that huge weed in front of the compost bins is actually an aphid farm. i was going to pull it up until i noticed all the little blighters clinging to the stems and the ants tramping up and down with the milk buckets...........all very wildlifey and organic and hopefully if the ants are stuffed full of honeydew they won't be able to eat any of the plants...........
.....pond was all weed and no pond so i've refilled it and hoicked out the weed, i don't think it is leaking after all but we'll see what it looks like tomorrow.......chucked in rockery seeds, mowed the grass, it's hard to tell the difference between the wild garden and the rest because it all looks pretty wild at the moment......planted the dwarf comfrey where the runner beans used to be, sigh...........will have to think of something to make out of huge bunches of mint, there's a limit to how much mint tea a girl can drink, and as for bloody lovage..........
prima donna
i wonder if the pond has a leak.............the water level dropped to almost nothing but i filled it up again and it seems to be holding.............perhaps just because it's been warmer it's evaporating faster. i need to clear all that weed. i just worried that the rain has loosened the liner...........it was so full that it was actually washing over that flat slab, but i think as usual i'm worrying about nothing. i just had visions of having to empty it and re-line it...........
.........so, the begonia "Prima Donna" has decided it's not dead after all. i left it in a dark corner under the lilac, but in spite of that it's putting up leaves. so i've moved it, weeded it and given it some comfrey (or midgie) feed.....and it's visibly grown since yesterday.
.........so, the begonia "Prima Donna" has decided it's not dead after all. i left it in a dark corner under the lilac, but in spite of that it's putting up leaves. so i've moved it, weeded it and given it some comfrey (or midgie) feed.....and it's visibly grown since yesterday.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
flying snails
when i said before i went away that i would like it to rain so that my plants wouldn't die, i forgot to say "and you can stop once i get home". weeks of torrential rain are keeping everything lovely and green but making it hard to get anything done. the pond got full almost to overflowing..............and the gastropods are in heaven. they've climbed right up the Bishop of Llandaff dahlia ignoring all the leaves to eat the nice juicy bit just below the flower head............and we can forget the green beans i think. but the star had to be the one that came in and was found halfway up the stairs.........having left a cute little trail of slime on the stair carpet............there are two in the kitchen this morning so i guess they really are coming in through the cat-door. they must be quite strong to be able to push it open, so i suppose dahlia stem must have the same effect as spinach. or maybe the electric shocks from the anti-slug tape are having an ECT-like effect and making them feel so good that they can barge through the cat-door and climb the stairs no problem. i'm not quite sure what they think they're going to do when they get upstairs but i suppose they can always start on the houseplants.
............one anemone almost out. i cut the last organic rose for Nan when she was round for dinner...we're kind of between roses at the moment because the orange one isn't quite out yet, in fact a few things have finished so there's a flower-free gap, apart from the diascia still blooming away madly. the lavenders are out and have grown really well, that bed will look good in a couple of years. the comfrey feed looks more like a midgie breeding station and has probably got a bit diluted by all the rain so there may not be many vitamins in it...........
.........one tomato almost ripe!.........oh the excitement. i'm not quite sure what haute cuisine i can produce with one tomato the size of a marble but i'm sure i'll think of something.......
............one anemone almost out. i cut the last organic rose for Nan when she was round for dinner...we're kind of between roses at the moment because the orange one isn't quite out yet, in fact a few things have finished so there's a flower-free gap, apart from the diascia still blooming away madly. the lavenders are out and have grown really well, that bed will look good in a couple of years. the comfrey feed looks more like a midgie breeding station and has probably got a bit diluted by all the rain so there may not be many vitamins in it...........
.........one tomato almost ripe!.........oh the excitement. i'm not quite sure what haute cuisine i can produce with one tomato the size of a marble but i'm sure i'll think of something.......
Monday, June 28, 2004
rain
finally managed yesterday to get out in between the showers and cut the grass..................cut down the lovage and salad burnet which had gone all scraggy, and put in the new catmints..........cutting the clematis has left a big gap behind the roses where all the tangles of foliage used to be, so i've chucked some annual seeds in to fill it in the meantime.........my little gastropod friends have also been active in all this wet weather, have chewed the runner beans to perdition and eaten the pond lobelia down to stumps. other things have attractive holes in but aren't quite completely destroyed, i suppose there's only so much they can eat at one sitting.........maybe the sweet peas are for dessert. so much for the slug tape, organic slug granules etc.
.......the lavender bed is totally infested with weeds.....got big bunches of sappy weed growth out but i'll have to watch it or they'll all just grow in again. the pinks had rotted while i was away, i put in what's left but i doubt they'll do much. catalogue plants *definitely* a bad idea. the herbs are good tho, nice and healthy, although the cats jumped on the lemon catmint and broke it and i think it might have died.
.........courgette plants and tomatoes have survived my absence, the courgettes need to go out so i need to get another raised bed. maybe the comfrey could go in that too to stop it taking over the garden as there isn't really a space for it. the rockery bit still looks pretty sad........better for having the weeds removed, just need to throw in the aubretia and stuff and hope they grow.
.........lawn looking better, still some baldy bits but it does seem to have benefited from the attention. i don't think this garden is ever going to be all beautiful and tidy like next door's.......i can sometimes get downhearted when i look at it and think, why is it such a mess? but it's a rather pretty floriferous mess.............OK, so it doesn't do what i want it to but it grows all sorts of lovely surprises.......
..........it would be really House Beautiful to start drying some herbs and making some herb oils.......that lovely blue glass jar that Pat bought for me at the Meadows Fair could hold some rose oil maybe..........maybe i should get that herb book and find out how to make pot-pourri.........oh i'm just getting so domesticated in my old age..........
.......the lavender bed is totally infested with weeds.....got big bunches of sappy weed growth out but i'll have to watch it or they'll all just grow in again. the pinks had rotted while i was away, i put in what's left but i doubt they'll do much. catalogue plants *definitely* a bad idea. the herbs are good tho, nice and healthy, although the cats jumped on the lemon catmint and broke it and i think it might have died.
.........courgette plants and tomatoes have survived my absence, the courgettes need to go out so i need to get another raised bed. maybe the comfrey could go in that too to stop it taking over the garden as there isn't really a space for it. the rockery bit still looks pretty sad........better for having the weeds removed, just need to throw in the aubretia and stuff and hope they grow.
.........lawn looking better, still some baldy bits but it does seem to have benefited from the attention. i don't think this garden is ever going to be all beautiful and tidy like next door's.......i can sometimes get downhearted when i look at it and think, why is it such a mess? but it's a rather pretty floriferous mess.............OK, so it doesn't do what i want it to but it grows all sorts of lovely surprises.......
..........it would be really House Beautiful to start drying some herbs and making some herb oils.......that lovely blue glass jar that Pat bought for me at the Meadows Fair could hold some rose oil maybe..........maybe i should get that herb book and find out how to make pot-pourri.........oh i'm just getting so domesticated in my old age..........
Saturday, June 19, 2004
summer break
oh well, everything seems to have survived my being away...........it's still incredibly cold for the time of year, and it's obviously been wet here, my fears that everything would die of thirst were unfounded.........weeds growing madly, will need to do a clear-up and plant out the new herbs......the bank by the pond still looks a bit empty and sad so i need to get those seeds in........runner beans coming up and have been chewed already but they don't seem to have touched the swee'peas....white rose which i had completely forgotten about has a couple of lovely flowers, it's a bit swamped by the lilac but doesn't seem to mind.....
........front looking very good too, alpines all flowering....dont' know whether the oyster shells should go there or at the back by the pond, but they will forever be a reminder of the LGBT week at the Mac and all that went with it, and the lovely lunch with Ellen......
........front looking very good too, alpines all flowering....dont' know whether the oyster shells should go there or at the back by the pond, but they will forever be a reminder of the LGBT week at the Mac and all that went with it, and the lovely lunch with Ellen......
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