#strawberries

Six on Saturday: Time to get going

/ n20gardener / 9 Comments

As the garden gets going it is time for the gardener to step up the pace. The beginning of March has been cold and wet here but growth continues. It is time to give the fruit trees their quarterly feed of bonemeal and the roses will receive a handful of fertiliser to propel them into abundant flowering. Having spent a week away from the garden I came back to find a very soggy lawn and wet borders. I have snowdrops to divide and the last of the herbaceous perennials to cut back. Not a seed has been sown yet but this weekend I will start the tomatoes off. Here’s six from the garden.

One

I plant the David Austin rose ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ in 2020, in its climbing form. It has now made up to the top of the arch and the new growth is lining up nicely. I’m hoping for more of its lovely red flowers this year.

Two

I have been taking stock of what has survived the winter and I’m pleased to say that this salvia ‘Amistad’ planted against a south facing wall is just beginning to show signs of new growth. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get caught by a late frost. I have insurance in the shape of a cutting in the greenhouse which looks good too.

Three

The euphorbia oblongata has also come through unscathed. It’s described as a short lived perennial, so I should be prepared for it to fade away soon. It’s been with me for about three years, it will be interesting to see how short lived it is.

Four

No seeds sown this year but these are lychnis coronaria that I sowed last autumn. Lychnis are self seeders so these were a bit belt and braces. I will plant them out away from the parent plant, spreading a little more hot pink around the garden.

Five

I took some sage cuttings last year when the very old sage bush had a good cut back. The parent plant seems to be none the worse and the cuttings have taken.

Six

In June I will have been gardening here for six years. I inherited a large pot of strawberries that I transferred to the greenhouse in the hope of an early crop of fruit. But there they languished producing very little at all. I am finally about to dig them up and use the space for something else. The soil will need some improvement. In the meantime I have six new strawberry plants, three of ‘Cambridge Favourite’ and three of ‘Elsanta’, chosen from the limited selection available at the garden centre. Roll on Summer, I am ready!

More garden reports can be found on The Propagator’s site, where he hosts all the SOS links. Join in or simply read for pleasure. It’s a merry band.

Six on Saturday: The race is on

/ n20gardener / 27 Comments

Aah, what a gentle occupation gardening is.  Full of quiet moments pottering among the flowers, pulling carrots, picking strawberries.  Or are you, like me, engaged in the mad dash to get it all done before June!

One

The cold and the rain delayed much of my gardening efforts but this week I finally finished cutting back the hydrangeas.  In my defence there are seven of them and only three have been waiting patiently.  Here you can see that the first flowers are forming.

Two

Seed sowing for vegetables is happening almost daily.  Leeks, carrots, red cabbage, spring onions, climbing french beans are all in the greenhouse. Some carrots have been direct sown along with parsnips, radishes and lettuce.  The rocket sown in February is now out in the ground. And the last of the potatoes – Sarpo Mira and Belle de Fontenay have finally been planted.  Phew!

Three

The onions and shallots planted out in November are enjoying some warmth.  I have been very interested to see that many people plant their onions in modules and don’t move them outside until later.  I am going to try this next year.  I did protect these against the birds but that was all removed this week.

Four

Seed sowing for flowers is ongoing.  The teeny tiny seeds of antirrhinum White Giant have produced teeny tiny leaves.  Tithonia and nasturtium look a little stronger, but does that mean finding time for potting on?  Zinnias and calendulars have pushed through.  But I have yet to sow any cosmos! How is this possible I ask myself?  I’m not panicking.  Last year I direct sowed some in early May and planted some in modules as late as the end of April . . . Ok,  brief panic!

Five

It has felt a little frantic but it is important that we take ‘time to stand and stare’ and I have really enjoyed the tulip display, the result of a mass November planting.  These are Queen of Night, Shirley, Barcelona and Violet Beauty.  I love them!

Six

And these are Angelique – a pink double, Spring Green – a viridiflora and China Town – a shorter viridiflora with white edged leaves, beautiful.  These were quite tightly planted in two groups in a new border to leave space for some bare root roses that were arriving later.  There is definitely room to spread them out a little, which is the plan, unless of course, I am tempted by some lovely perennials that I know will be featuring in a couple of local plant sales in May.  Have space, will fill it!

And whilst standing and staring I noticed the irises and alliums are just about to open, and the first strawberry flowers are showing.  Oh yes, we will soon be pottering!

If you’d like to stare at a few more Six On Saturday posts stroll over to The Propagator’s  blog for all the links.  Sit back and enjoy the display.

 

 

 

 

Six on Saturday: Rain delays

/ n20gardener / 22 Comments

It was a no show here for snow but the rain fell insistently most of the week.  I would love to be planting out the first early potatoes but the soil is cold and wet so this week’s six starts in the greenhouse.

One

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Just in time, I have potted up the new dahlia tubers. My dahlia wish list consisted of Arabian Night, Magenta Star, Cafe au Lait and Mary’s Jomanda.  But I bought Thomas Edison.  Six of these will go into the borders and a combination of Blanc y Verde and Furka will go into three terracotta pots.  They are resting in the greenhouse for now.

Two

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Settled in the greenhouse I gave the strawberry plants a tidy up and donated them a bag of my recently acquired council compost.  I am on a steep learning curve with the greenhouse.  Red spider mites made themselves known last year and the soil feels very depleted.  I have manured and mulched, added chicken pellets and another bag of council compost has gone on the other side, even so I may grow the tomatoes in grow bags again this year.

Three

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A gardener’s dilemma: mystery seedlings.   Are they from something I grew in the greenhouse last year? Or a throwback to something the previous owner grew?   They look interesting so I have left them for now.

Four

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It really was time to release the autumn sown sweet peas from their pot.  These are from seed collected from last year’s plants.  I am curious to see how well they do.  The plant in front is Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’, just coming into leaf.

Five

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And as I walked down the path I noticed that my ailing euphorbia is showing the very slimmest glimmer of life.  A few new shoots at the end of one stem.  I’m keeping that one too. Perhaps it will catch up with its neighbour!

Six

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Planting out the recently purchased Clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ will also have to wait a while.  I need to have some sturdy trellis installed and then grab a break in the rain.  Thank you to all those who shared pictures of your clematis in flower.  It convinced me that this was a necessary addition to garden. I’m looking forward to next year’s flowers and their scent.

For more inspiration visit The Propagator’s blog.  The links to other #SixOnSaturday posts will take you on a gardening journey around the world!