Author: n20gardener

Six on Saturday

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There are some lovely bonuses to this meme.  Shared knowledge from around the world and the weekly deadline sends me out into the garden nosing around in every corner to find out what is new for this week’s post.  This also means I can’t avoid seeing the pests and  diseases to be tackled and the jobs that really must be done! Here’s the six.

One

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The first flowers on the viburnum have opened.  The poor tree is riddled with viburnum beetle but it doesn’t seem to affect the flowering.  Can anyone give a more specific identification on the variety?

Two

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I was also very pleased to spot this first hellebore bud.  It is Pretty Ellen Red which should begin flowering in February, so this is an unexpected early start.  I have planted a small group of these in a shady corner at the back of the garden.  The new growth is clearly providing a food source for the slugs.  Just wish something would eat the slugs. Job for the weekend: cut back the old foliage – looks like hellebore leaf spot has a hold.

Three 

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This is in its second flush of flowering, it’s a common border plant but I just don’t know its name.  It sprawls down a low wall.  Can someone put me out of my misery?

Four

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Apologies for the bright blue background.  I was using a plastic trug to collect any spilt compost as I potted up these tulips.  This year was the first time I have ever lifted and stored tulips.  These were grown in a pot, stored in the shed over summer and I have just spotted that they had begun to sprout.  Quick action required:  out of shed and into pots immediately.  Last year I used compost, this year it’s a mix of grit and compost.  This year’s new tulips for the borders will be planted out in the coming weeks.

Five

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The mulch has arrived.  Mulched borders are so lovely.  It’s like mowing and edging the grass.  Suddenly the garden looks tidier and healthier.  Some of this mulch is for the newly dug out border and the rest will gradually go to the other borders and the veg patch.

Six

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Speaking of vegetables, here is my last productive strip in the veg patch.  The parsnips.  I grew Tender and True, sown in May.  The weather is telling me that it is parsnip time and I’m looking forward to pulling up and roasting some of these soon.

I hope the weather is good to you and that there is some time, no matter how brief, for you to enjoy your garden this weekend.  Thanks to The Propagator for hosting the wonderful Six on Saturday.  Read his blog posts and all the other Six on Saturday posts from around the world at The Propagator my plant obsession

New garden, new borders, new optimism

/ n20gardener / 6 Comments

In starting this blog site I wanted to record the progress being made on renovating the old borders and bringing the veg patch back into production.  As always I was over optimistic.  Three new borders were started before the blog came into being and tracking back to find all the photos and then producing the accompanying words has been a stop start process.  Now work has started on a fourth border so reports on those other borders and the veg patch will have to wait a while longer. It is time to sketch out the work for the latest project before I lose track of what is going on.

Here’s the border before work started.  It was a narrow strip running in front of a hedge of bay, viburnum and elaeagnus.  It is planted with geraniums and phlox which are all jostling for space and light under the hedging.  Something needed to be done but I’m the sort of gardener that never manages to lay down a paper plan.  The thought process was: this border needs to be wider, I saw a lovely rose at a garden I visited, I have a large pot that would look good there and those other plants can be brought forward to give them some space.  Oh and tulips are needed.  That’s a plan.  Let’s go!

The first stage has been completed.  The grass has been turned in on itself and will miraculously turn into loam.  I know, optimism.  It will soon be buried with a mixture of topsoil and mulch which will prevent regrowth and suppress weeds.  Even more optimism.  These ideas have been taken from the ‘no dig’ principles advocated by Charles Dowding.  I hope they will work.  There is a deadline for the work to be completed as the new rose and the tulips need to be planted during November.  Next post coming soon then!