Time flies..........

Since my last post time has shot by, the weather has been too hot for me to garden except for the watering in the evening.
K and her boyfriend have now moved into their house and all of a sudden I have time on my hands. Its very odd not to be needed, or not doing something for someone. Something I am still getting used too and probably will for quite awhile.
So out in the garden, plants are growing well, lots of watering is needed, but I like the cooler evenings. My daughter showed me a photo of a wintery scene and said 'only 16 weeks till this'! So I am definitely not complaining about this glorious weather!

I really, really love these Cleome's. To be honest the photo doesn't do it justice. They are definitely going to be grown next year.

 

A bit further down, lush and green and huge.The Hiniba, banana with the Red centre is doing really well.

The Ensete Montbeliardii racing the Paulownia Tomentosa.

My Cycas Revoluta, enjoying its 2nd flush in 2 years, I think its now looking like I expected it to. Well worth persevering with.

now has plenty of time to harden off.

French Beans. I love French beans, good job as there are going to be so many of them this year. I like Broad Beans too, but they are such a faff to do!

My lettuce has bolted! I like it, think it looks so pretty and you can still eat the leaves.

 

The cardoons are doing well where ever I plant them and the insects and bees love them. Hardy over winter is a bonus too.

The passionflower down by the pond, still flowering away merrily....

some of the fruit are ripening. I wonder if we could use them, and if so what for?

Some of the large leaves doing really well this year.

At the front of the house is my window box, now this window box without the plants is very dear to me, as my dad had it made along with another one, now defunked, for our family home. Mum let me have this one when she moved after dad died. Its make from teak and weighs a ton, but I love it.
Anyway as you can see I have achieved the clashing colours I wanted last year. The surfina's where/are not happy here at all , so not much trailing has been going on, it looks just as good inside as it does out!

My hanging basket was my hubbies idea, he saw one just like this in a garden centre, so I thought why not give it a go. Ipomea and Black Eyed Susan. It looks fabulous and has not stopped flowering.

Now for the best bit, I have a pot to the side of my front door and as I'm on a budget this year I ran out of plants, so wandered down my garden to see what I had left. I found a Passionflower I have had for a few years that has done nothing, so I thought if nothing else its green. Anyway it was planted, and bearing in mind this is north facing....

Aren't they the prettiest flowers ever. I may just keep this plant!

Until next time xx

All Change...... Again!!!

Before I get on with what I'm changing, just to let you know I managed to get the gro light fixed. We tried a new bulb, fuse etc etc then I took it to a funny little man in town who does all things electrical. He said 'I can't work miracles', as its a sealed unit. I said 'Fine, I just want to know if its working or broken!' Went back 3 hours later, all working, cost £5!!!! Bargain! Well chuffed.

Anyway, yesterday was a beautiful day so I decided to dig over the veg beds, but as usual got distracted. The first bed as you go down the garden, I had wanted to use to extend the jungle. As we live in a democratic household, I was out voted so this now has to be returned to veg! I need to find a home for the cardoon, but then got distracted trimming back the neighbours laurel hedge!

The third veg bed was easiest to dig over, you will see the neighbours apple tree in the next garden, she has decided it would be safer to take it down. Currently she has chopped of a few of the large branches and the difference this has made to my garden already, is amazing.

The fourth, veg bed next to hubbies office was added when we had all the building work done 3 years ago. It was never the most successful veg beds, so we had considered planting some tropicals in it!!

Last night, now the evenings are lighter, when everyone comes home from work and they know I have been in the garden we wander down discussing, the 'whys and wherefores'. We got here and a long discussion ensued.  I explained the rose was coming out and some tropicals where going in! We all agreed it was a difficult bed and had never really worked for what it was built for. Then K (eldest daughter, becoming a big gardener too) said 'put it back to grass'.  We all looked at one another, talked more and agreed it was the best option!!!
It will open up this part of the garden, but bearing in mind this was all put in by the builder could be a challenge.
So the plan:- 1. move the trellis (which I have an awful feeling is concreted in!!) to up against the compost bins. 2. take out the sleepers to be reused by the pond. 3. Then find somewhere for all that soil??????????? 4. Seed or turf.
All to be finished before June/July in time for the Village Open Gardens!!!!!

Why didn't we think of this last year when time was on our side!!!!

Do Onions Feel the Cold?

I wondered, because when I put them in a few weeks ago, they where in lines. I tucked them in under fleece. Anchored the fleece down with tent pegs so it wouldn't take off and the cats couldn't get underneath it!

Today I uncovered them as I thought they would need a good water and they have moved???

See, they have all snuggled up together? I am really puzzled?

Have they grown legs and moved?

Has something moved them?

Are they Aliens?

Answers please......

Deliveries

Do you get excited when you have parcels/deliveries arrive at your door? I do! After my spending spree the other week they have all started to arrive!

First was the wood from Buildbase. My neighbour and I ordered together so we could get free delivery!

this is for my veg beds, I have raised beds but not high enough. The sleepers currently being used, will be moved round the garden to edge other beds. Nothing wasted here!


Then came my Cycas Revoluta which I won on Ebay

Then the bulk buy of Perlite and Vermiculite, which I thought was a bargain and I hope will get me through 2 years, but I suspect with all the repotting I shall need to do, may not!

Dandy's delivered the bulk bag of loam. But only just managed to get it off the road! I have a gravel drive and did not read the small print!!!!!

200 jiffy plugs for my seedlings once big enough.

3 Water troughs. These will be the new homes for my bamboos. I dare not plant them in the ground, with my garden only being 13ft wide, I would be terrified of them escaping into the neighbours gardens!

Then my assortment of plants from Madeira, most are on a heat mat in my heated greenhouse, a couple will remain in my house as I think even the greenhouse will be too cool for them.

A spur of the moment buy, I do like these types of plants, so really wanted to know when and what to pot up into etc!

Then this morning B and Q delivered this lot!

I am not sure there is much more to come apart from some plants due April. I want to get holes drilled in the troughs and get them placed so I can move the bamboo's. One of which should have been repotted last year. The big pots they are in will be used for my Maurelli's, provided they have come through the winter, one is looking very suspect.

My builder comes next week to help do the beds and let me know if the wall is good enough to hold the weight of my planned for 'Living Wall'.

Oh yes, my neighbour in the first cottage has had a tree surgeon in to remove 2 exceptionally large trees. The neighbour in the 2nd cottage got a price to have her Silver Birch removed (one of which has lost a major branch) but her partner said, that he would do it!!! I am very worried for my greenhouse and office now!!!

New Year in my Garden

I spent a lovely day in the garden yesterday. The weather has been so mild, I was working in a t-shirt!!!

I want to get a head start, as the garden will be one of several opening in July for our village open gardens. Having agreed to this I am in a bit of a panic as I am not good at growing to a timetable. I did manage a good display for my hubbies redundancy party which was held at the end of July 2009 this is how it looked on the day.

If it looks like this then I will be very pleased.

I have been scouring the tropical and jungle plant sites which is not a good idea as in my mind I have spent £100's if probably not £1000's. But before we get ahead of ourselves this is what I am dealing with.

We are still toying with raising the veg beds by another sleeper, in the hope that we manage to keep the soil on the bed not in the gravel.

My friends Mark and Gaz have a magnificent 'Jungle Garden' and are busily constructing a 'Koi Pond' if you have a look through this blog post you will see that they have built brick raised beds. Both hubby and I really like this idea and are thinking of doing this on the patio but using sleepers. This would give us a bit more height and hopefully stop the dog jumping on the beds.

Currently the patio area looks like this

The Ensetes are still upright, which is more than they have been for the past couple of years. Lets hope February is kind to us.

Looking up the garden from 'Terminal 1'

To you this probably doesn't look too bad, but to me there is a list of jobs...

Can you see the new extended flue to the left of our dormer? Well the old one had been there for 20+ years and began swinging in the breeze. So we had to get someone in to redo and attach it more securely, doesn't it look awful. I mustn't complain at least we got it done before the bad winds.

this is the worst part of the lawn and took a hammering last year. I can't decide whether to dig it up and re-turf or just re-seed.

This turf I laid at the very end of last year, then it was folded back so the path could be laid, it hasn't recovered so may need to be redone. If you remember this is where one of the old veg beds was.
Below is the other side and where I had the strawberries, looks quite good I think.

The flower bed or should I say the twig and leaf bed. This needs some major work, I will raise the edge of the border and find some new plants, plus grow some bedding plants to fill gaps.

I have finished the compost bins, using up the left over bits of wood, still need to fix a lid, which is currently being used as a shelf in the greenhouse, so I am using carpet and odd bits of wood to protect it.

The bottom patio is now clear of all the wood and debris, but looks a right mess. The fence belongs to our neighbour and is collapsing but they can't see this as they have a huge hedge hiding it. My garden is slightly higher so I am going to get some scaffold boards in and put them along the base of the fence, to protect their fence and keep my soil in!

All the post, bags of compost and wood got stashed here

Apart from ordering sleepers, I need to clear this lot of wood next. This will have to be moved through to our log store.

So day off today to let my back recover, but maybe some online shopping? lol!!!

Things!

Remember this from my last post?



Well, on Countryfile, last night (BBC1 Sunday nights) they where looking at newts and this definately does not have the tail of a newt. They are like a paddle thinning at the edges? This does not thin at the edges, so maybe hubby is right? ??????????
Everything is growing and going to seed! look at the lettuce lol!! New plant a lettuce tree hehehe!



The concrete is going in today



On the patio everything is going bonkers, the plants love this humid weather.



Having said that, when I walked the dog this morning it felt very autumnal! :O( I do hope not.