Pottering with a clumpy boot!

 We have been very brave and uncovered the arid bed. Its always a difficult time to judge as to when we should or should not, but on the whole I find in May if we do get frosts they are a straight down then straight back up again. If its likely to be bad I will throw a fleece over it.

As you can see it is all more or less ok, I forget how big some of the plants where when I covered them up, so when I do uncover them I think wow!!!

As usual the plant to the right of the Aloe has died yet again as you can see from the following pic.

I have no idea whats going on here, but every plant I have put in here had died, be it small or large it just does not get through a winter? I did wonder if it was something under the gravel, but on 2nd thoughts I think not as there is 3 tons of gravel in here, so a long way down before any soil is hit and non of the plants had roots that big???

This is the first year ever I have had bad luck with over wintering my bananas. I usually dry store the larger ones as I find this easier, the smaller ones remain in their pots and I don't actually water them but they seem to do quite well this way.

As you can see the 3 that were potted are slowly coming into life again.

These 2 were dry stored and have been recently put into these posts of soil, I am not convinced they will come through.

This one, also dry stored has I'm fairly certain had it. I have chopped it back and back and the centre is brown which is not good.

My biggest one has already been binned as it was mush. Not happy with this at all, as I have never had this problem before.

Now darling Darcy has gone we decided to join in on #nomowmay2021 two reasons, one to see if there is actually any wildflowers in my lawn and two it saves me having to mow in my clumpy boot!

Here is said clumpy boot!

And the un-mowed lawn

which has grown a lot and actually has a lot of daisy's and dandelions in.

So just a taster of what I have been up too xx

Advantages to Covid-19 Lockdown!

You get to spend lots of time in the garden with no distractions!

So there has been lots of seed planting, pricking out going on in the greenhouse. I have jet washed the patio and path. I have oiled all the tables and chairs, they are jobs I usually do at Easter. So I am well ahead of the game. The only problem is I have run out of the wood protector I use for hubbies office and the sheds, this is also and Easter job and of course I can't get hold of any as its not considered 'essential'. I disagree its essential to my mental well being!!!!!!
I have been very daring and unwrapped my plants. Its really a bit early but because I 'have' to stay at home I am on hand to cover them quickly if needs be.

My Cycas, first time overwintered outside, it got planted out because it was getting so big and heavy to heave in and out of the greenhouse. I wrapped it in scaffolding net, looked odd but hey!

Unwrapped today and its not too bad. Probably because we have had such a mild winter.

As you can see a bit fried round the edges, other than that its ok.

The Arid bed had it first uncovering today to. 16.5C in the shade, not bad for the 4th April. It always amazes me when I see it in the spring for the first time, it all seems so much bigger than when it was covered in the autumn.

The Dasylirion Serratifolium at the end is growing well if a bit wonky.

Just look at the size of the Montana!! I never ever expected it to get this big when I planted it back in 2015.

Just 5 years ago! It was so diddy. I do very little to it, I throw some chicken pellets on in the spring, water it in the summer and that's it!

The Rostrata has also gone mental. I think had I realised how much hardier than the rest, this is I would have planted it at an end.

A couple of losses, I need to check what they were, but I always have losses in this area. I' beginning to think its where the wind whistles through and I think just hits them. Its impossible for rain to get here so thats the only reason I can think of.

I never protect my banana's (Ensete), I get fed up of all the straw blowing around, plus it has to come through my house. As you can see they are still upright. Normally they would be mush. They are root hardy so always come back. It will be interesting to see how they grow this year, I have never had any come through like this before!

Just looking back up the garden on this beautiful day.

Just to top the day off, we had our first bar b que. Well you have to do things that make you happy when your in lockedown!!!

July 2019

This is going to be a super long post with lots of pictures, so grab a cuppa, and some biscuits, find a comfy chair, then I will begin.

I am still trying to pace myself and not get bored, which I do, easily,  I am a doer. So I am sitting down and 'doing' my blog!!!

I went food shopping to Lidl the other day and they had some sedums on sale, 6 for £4.99 I think, so I decided to do a hanging basket on the patio. Hanging baskets have never done well here as it gets far too hot, Sedums like heat and don't mind being baked, so I though for £4.99 it was worth a go. We will pop back later in the year to see how it grows.

Another sedentary job, this table is ancient, the chairs all material fold up types died a death years and years ago along with the matching parasol. So I decided to give it a lick of paint, looks good I think.

I also intend to 'upcycle' an old garden parasol. I found one I thought would look fabulous on the bottom patio on Ebay but at nearly £75 I thought no way! So I found an old parasol for free  and I am going to see what I can do with it!

We have had masses of rain, all the water-butts are full to the brim, the garden always grows quickly after rain, so here we go.

Tree ferns are slowly recovering, whether they will ever get back to what the originally looked like I have no idea, but we can but hope.

My Washingtonia has gone mental since I potted it up, shame it can't cope with our winters as it is so beautiful.

This elephants ear has been in this pot for years, survived the beast from the east and still growing, I will re-pot it next year. Surprisingly hardy plant. The stupid little red flowers shoud be purple ad a lot bigger, well that's what it said on the packet!!

My Hiniba from last year, one of the original pups, far, far better in its 2nd year.

Shhh, don't tell everyone, this is new to me this year a Manihott, I have been told its hardy as well, but we will see in my garden, it has also grown well for its first year. Aren't the leaf shapes gorgeous.

My trachy, unbelievable huge now,  struggled to reach it up a ladder to keep it tidy. We are really not sure what to do as it has grown well above our garden now, it ma have to come down as I am going to be unable to keep it tidy anymore.

Cleome, such a beautiful flower, has wicked thorns on its stems though. I really love these, I should have grown more.

Canna Cleopatra, even if it ever flowered the leaves are stunning. I definitely should plant more cannas,

Good old Musa Basjoo, with a very tall canna in front. If anyone wants to have a go at a tropical garden then this Ensete has to be the first plant you should grow. Root hardy. A lot of m 'tropical' friends protect theirs with straw, I don't because I would have to carry the straw bale through my house, and that is not happening!

Another Canna about to flower, this is in the new border so it needs lots more height added for next year.

Cycas Revoluta, planted out earlier this year as it was getting to big to over winter in the greenhouse. I am really worried about this being out in the winter, I don't expect it too survive, sadly. But a friend has one out in his garden in Wakefield, which is a lot further north than me, he uses 'scaffolding net' to protect his. All I can do is try.

The two Olive trees, seem to love it here, they have both grown tremendously. I wonder if I will ever get any olives?

The Arid bed, such an odd bed really.plonked in the middle of a south facing garden, but everything seems to love being here and grows and grows.

Different view, I don't often take a pic from here.

Some of the smaller plants in the end of the Arid bed.

 The T-Rex

and the fig have also mental this year. I don't grow the fig for figs, so have no worries about keeping it cut back.

Here you can see all the new edging  have had done, looks really smart and like a proper garden lol!

So here comes the tatty bit, oh, I know its not that bad, but its below the standard I like to keep. I don't think tropical will grow here as in the winter it gets very cold down this end.

The fish in the pond keep breeding, we reckon there must be over 50 in here now. I ask pond shops if they have a contraceptive for ponds and the look at me blankly!!!

The view from hubbies office, it is lovely here, we often sit and drink our afternoon tea here. The fences look a bit bare but I have two passionflowers starting to grow up them. People say I should paint the fence, but that's just more work and it would need doing every year so the can stay as they are.

The Gunnera??? In the dampest part of the garden ad still its stumpy, to the right of the arum lily you can see I planted another small T-Rex, its not small now it is romping along and will soon hide the greenhouse.

The raised bed by the bottom patio. A difficult bed to plant up as it can get very dry unless I remember to water it, but I am loving the Icelandic Poppies.

A Rincinus with the passionflower growing up the fence.

 This is the side of the garden I never show because it is boring. I keep the lawn because underneath is riddled with major suckers from old trees, the roots are thicker than your finger, we have toyed with digging the lot up and getting rid of the roots but that only works if you can get to the source of it and we suspect that to be in the neighbours garden.

 It is very dry under those plats so I have recently planted some large sedums and lavender so next year it should look a bit better.

So there you go my garden top to bottom Writing this has kept me stationary for quite awhile. Thank you.