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

Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice was just 3 days ago, on one of the hottest day June days for 40 years!  I have been fortunate to have avoided 3 days of intense heat as I had to travel up to Scotland for a family funeral. A sad event on one hand, but a lovely time on another as I got to meet my 9 cousins again.

In the garden all is good, the Phormium has hit new heights

I now have 9 spears, peculiar looking, very architectural.

Meanwhile the rest of the garden is very slow moving!

Lots of Daylillies to come

one piercing the leaf of the tomentosa

I don't remember a year when the ensete where this bad, so, so slow, maybe I need some new ones?

This just looks a mess

 I really need to make up my mind as what I want especially in the last 2 photos.

The lower part of the garden is totally defeating me, I have no idea what to do. A clematis climbing over a very wobbly archway.

Then the mess with a field for a lawn! Well actually its a field with suckers from silver birch and plum trees that get worse each year.

If you dig down the roots that run across the garden are thicker than your finger. I think ideally I eed one of those mini diggers in, dig the whole lot out, put a root barrier along the fence line to the left and start again.

That isn't going to happen as I have no rear access, so unless you can get one that can be driven through the lounge, dining room and kitchen this is all going to have to be done by hand and with muscle, which I don't have!!

May...... it be sunny soon!

Well I am glad April is over, what horrible weather we have had and often all in one day.

My greenhouse is crammed, the poor tomatoes are desperate to be potted up or put in to grow bags, but I have nowhere to fit them.

The bananas are very very slow starting, but at least they are showing signs of life!

Most of these plants are destined for my mums garden and yes they need potting on too, but I have nowhere to put them if they are in bigger pots. Most of these usually could have started to be hardened off by now, but the frosts we have been having have been very heavy!
At the bottom of the picture you can see 2 hanging baskets, one for me and one for my daughter.

More plants

This Agave Americana grows massively every year and each winter I always end up stabbing myself a number of times whilst its in the greenhouse.

More of my Agaves and arid collection under the shelves.

Aeonium tabuliforme  and its flower spike.

Meanwhile, outsidethe patch of green that is supposed to be lawn....
                                                                                          apart from the corner this bit isn't too bad...

but this bit .............. well what can I say!!!!
                                                         Its a mess and to be honest is not lawn, more like weeds..

and here we have masses of Ground Elder!! So this year the whole lot including all the plants that back on to the fence are coming out, I am then going to put a really strong weed killer down all summer, then I shall get my gardener back to put like a membrane down between vertically between  myself and the neighbour. Then in the autumn I will lay new turf.


Fingers and toes crossed it will work!

A Plan

If you remember I was thinking what to do with this.

Well I think I have finally decided to get rid of the veg beds, use the wood from around them to build a raised bed here. Move the box hedging. Using the soil from the veg beds to help fill the new raised bed after adding grit and sand. Being south facing I hope this will be an ideal situation for a bed similar to this.

This is very different for me but I got the idea from my friend, at Hurley Designs.



Click the link and just look at his fabulous gardens. One thing is certain, should I ever win the lottery this is the guy I would employ to landscape my garden!

I have never really been 'into' Spikeys, well thats not strictly true!! As a child, my Nana planted a trough of cactus for me to keep in my bedroom, they where kept on my windowsill and boy did they grow, I think she had spotted the greenfingers in me even then!!!

So I said I had one or two, well obviously from all the following photos I lied!!

 Could have sworn I only had one or two??? There are loads more succulents Aeoniums, I just shove them under the bench in the greenhouse and forget them till the spring!

My Yucca Gloriosa Variegata has always been out of place in the patio garden so if I can move it I can probably make it a central feature for my new bed.

This is the new bed behind the compost bin, it is also the wettest part of the garden, I can't keep replacing lawn all the time so I will extend the bed out a further foot and plant with more damp and shade loving plants.

Poor tortoise, neglected and left out over winter, but doesn't seem any the worse for wear!

Theraised bed by the pond, I had planned to put the spikys in here, but I held off, no idea why, just felt it wasn't right, still not sure what to put here, succulents maybe? Still to be decided!

Rheum always the first to sprout in spring, slowly showing signs of movement?

Finally the view up the garden, always looks so different doesn't it, so the moss plot will become the raised bed, using the wood from around the veg beds. Then the veg bed area will become lawn or moss, depends what it decides to grow!!!

I will extend this flower bed right out to the path. I haven't told hubby yet so we shall have to see, to be honest as far as I'm concerned there is no point in putting lawn here apart from the fact when it is growing well it looks good, but to have to keep re-turfing each year is annoying the heck out of me!

I don't think it will be a problem, since the girls left home (Tori part time at home) we have become really close again, which is lovely.
So roll on spring!

Pottering

I have been so busy in the garden recently,  I am not even sure what I think about when I'm out there, time just passes. But lots of work gets done.

I potter here, there and everywhere.

A lot of my time is spent in the greenhouse, sowing seeds, transplanting, bringing on dahlia's, trying to get the bananas going. But it is so full at the moment I have to empty it to get in. All the Brugmansia's get taken out everyday, fed and watered, this weekend I will trim their roots and re-pot. From next week they will be out and can take some frost without too much damage, but I will keep an eye on the weather forecast just in case and if necessary throw some fleece over them.

When emptied it looks like this. You can see I have unwrapped the greenhouse of its bubble wrap. I have a couple of tube heaters in, just in case but at this time of year the temps only drop for a short time. Lots of seedlings being brought on. If ever you decide to buy a greenhouse, think of the size you want then double it, then it maybe big enough. I do miss my 2nd greenhouse, that I used to have.

This is where they all go, along the side of hubbies office, it gets lovely and warm here. Some of the 'Brugs' are in bud already!

The new lawn is coming along nicely, really thrilled we did this as it really opens up the bottom of the garden and actually makes the office look as if its part of it rather than an added extra.

Moving up the garden, the pond area is looking OK. I must admit the oxygenating plants are not growing well, I would have expected then to be alot bigger by now. The Gunnera is coming back from the dead and I have been seriously thinking of making that side of the pond into a bog garden. It shouldn't involve too much work.... I hope.

I have started on the veg beds and have broad beans, onions, and spinach in. I also have some lettuce under a cloche and some leeks as well. My neighbour grows potatoes in tyres, I had thought about it but wouldn't know where to put them. I want to get some Kale in, I love Kale. and probably one or two other veggies.

At the top of the garden in the jungle area I find yet another pup from my TRex. so thats 2 potted up this one in the ground and another in with another plant in the greenhouse!! Maybe I should not have planted it???

Here is the mother plant, just taking off.

The bananas have come through the winter unscathed, not a soggy one amongst them, woo hoo!!

Finally, Tango enjoying the sunshine, he does love it hot, I think it soothes his aching bones and he follows it round the garden.

This is him on the other side of the garden in a herb pot!!!