I was absent without leave last Saturday as I had twisted my ankle in the week and I was definitely not in a gardening frame of mind. The ankle is improving, there has been some rain and the days are not so hot so all in all things are looking better. Here’s six things from the garden I hobbled round today.
One
The tomatoes have been ripening at a steady pace. I have not watered them quite so much as in previous years and they seem not to have minded. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there.
Two
I remember writing a few weeks back that new flowers on the dwarf beans were few and far between. But look: second pickings did materialise and there are more to come.
Three
On the flower front, the roses also seem to have coped with less water. This one is the climber ‘James Galway’.
Four
I sowed seeds of delphiniums earlier in the year and have seven plants on the go, this one has even put up a flower spike.
Five
In the flower border a bought-in delphinium has also just come into flower. A good strong blue, can I remember the name – no.
Six
The annuals that I sowed for the old fig tree site have also coped with the dry conditions and this week’s rain has encouraged them even more.
The garden is littered with fallen apples. Most are infected with codling moth caterpillars. The wise trees seem to know which ones to shed first. I’ve a whole host of pruning and removal jobs to done which I have handed over to a tree surgeon. I shall sit back and enjoy the garden while fretting about the weeds. Situation normal perhaps! Here’s the link for Jim’s Garden Ruminations were the SOS merry band gather each week to share gardening news. Happy Gardening everyone.
Life has a habit of getting in the way of gardening sometimes and so it has been the case this year. The drought has made matter worse as more time is needed for watering duties. I thought I was on top of the apple trees, thinning them out and religiously picking up the brown rot apples. But it was not so. Here’s my six from the garden this week.
One
The apples are much smaller this year but the number is plentiful and even though I had been thinning them I was clearly being too kind. This bough broke and the quantity of apples was immense. On today’s tour of the garden another broken branch was spotted. I have to get tougher.
Two
I’m growing marmande tomatoes this year and they are just ripening. There is always one tomato that does this. Fasciation I think. Does anyone else find this?
Three
The miscanthus ‘Silberfeder’ gets a photo to itself this week. After three years it has formed a sizeable clump and is providing a good distraction from the fence behind.
Four
The grapes on the vine are actually ripening this year. There is some splitting but not as much as in previous years. They have had no additional watering. The vine is grown to shade a pergola so any edible fruits that we do get will be a bonus.
Five
The scented leaf pelargonium ‘Capitatum’ was left outside last winter as the greenhouse was being replaced. As you can see, it survived and is doing very well.
Six
These are the apples from the fallen bough. Quite a lot as you can see and plenty of very small ones that I should have picked off. Live and learn.
Garden Ruminations is the place to go for all the SOS links and for Jim’s wise words. After another week of hot temperatures here I am looking forward to next week which will at least be cooler even if, once again, no rain is forecast.
I’ve called time on most of the courgettes, it looks like the cucumbers growing outside may be on their last legs as are the dwarf beans. It’s not been a bad year especially given the erractic summer. Here’s my six for this week.
One
This is going to be apple picking weekend. The first photo is of the reluctant ripeners but finally they have caught up, the pips are brown and so they are ready to pick for making into juice. The second photo is of a cox’s apple, also ready to pick and also going to juice.
Two
I have very fruits on the persimmon this year, here’s one I spotted this week and there are about four or five more. They won’t be ripe until December.
Three
I have been picking plums for a couple of weeks. There are plenty with brown rot but there seem be much fewer showing wasp damage. The wasps have definitely been less visible than previous years but one or two have been spotted this last week.
Four
The tomatoes have been slow to ripen, these are a yellow cherry variety which have been wonderfully sweet when ready to eat. These will have another chance to ripen this week and then perhaps it will be time to pick them for ripening inside.
Five
I grew four varieties of courgette this year and this is the last survivor. Probably the best cropper too. They’ve done us well roasted with tomatoes or on the barbeque.
Six
And lastly, I could not resist this photo of the verbena bonariensis. Caught in the early low light. They seed everywhere here but when they look as stunning as this I love them all over again.
I hope you garden is doing well this week. I did get some rain and although it seemed there was a good downpour or two the garden is still quite dry. The water butts filled up again though and so they will soon be emptied out on the plants that need it most. The season is shifting and we’re into the prep and planning stage for next year. I am about ready to start with some re-arranging and some major weeding of the dreaded cinque foil. Jim, host of the meme, has a colourful selection this week. Happy Gardening.
I’m being a harsh judge this week. I don’t have dahlias, the slugs ate the cosmos and the zinnias and so the late summer garden is looking, well, scrappy. The hedge needs a cut and once that is done things will sharpen up a little. I fully intended to take my six photos yesterday when the sun shining, but as the sun was shining, other gardening jobs were done. Let’s cut to chase, here’s my six for this week.
One
Friday was sunny but also very blustery thanks to us being on the edge of Storm Lillian. The apples were dropping off one of the trees and investigation into the other apple trees showed that the pips were still white. A dilemma. We usually manage to pick all our apples at the same time and take them off for juicing. The apples from the duo tree needed to be picked or they would all end up as windfalls. I set to work. The apples are ‘Golden Delicious’ and I think ‘Elstar’. These have been stored and will be checked over regularly. There are still more to be picked but the main harvest may be two weeks away.
Two
I was also picking tomatoes. The first of the year, it seems so late to me but at least they have begun to turn and maybe next week’s sunshine will encourage a few more.
Three
The elderberries on my neighbour’s tree overhang our garden and the dark berries are gleaming, so very tempting for the pigeons!
Four
I think this is a first appearance: potentilla ‘Abbotswood’. I planted it in the front garden about five or six years ago and it has quietly got on doing its thing. It’s in a dry, part shade corner and really hasn’t complained. I can imagine in a more favourable spot it would have romped away but it’s filling up the corner quite nicely now.
Five
A little while back, I planted up a container with a mixture of ferns and an epimedium. This year they were turned out as they had become overcrowded. I moved them to the front garden and they seem to have settled in. This is polystichum setiferum plumosodivislobum. I made a note of that one.
Six
And this is epimedium x versicolor Sulphurerum, as the name suggests the flowers are yellow. I managed to divide the epimedium into two large clumps and I look forward to them stretching out, if they are happy in their new home.
Rain for today, which is most welcome, will prevent gardening but will no doubt encourage growing. I should really take a leaf out of Jim’s gardening book, he has so much going on his garden right now. Very admirable! I should also be thinking about bulb orders. Even when it rains there is so much to do. Take a look here if you’d like to join the SOS gardeners, it’s a great explanation of how the whole thing works. Wishing you all a great gardening week.
I’ve had a spell of not gardening: either it was too hot or I was busy elsewhere. The UK Bank Holiday weekend offered up cooler weather and some precious time. The garden was looking scruffy and I thought I’d give an honest six this week showing it’s disarray. But this morning’s walk round revealed a few positives and I have been persuaded to look on the bright side. Here they are, mixed in with a some reflections on the less successful aspects of the garden.
One
The roses continue to push out new growth and are the mainstay of colour in the garden at the moment. This is ‘Madame Isaac Péreire’. Nearby there should be a pop of helenium ‘Short and Sassy’. Not a sign of it, eaten by the slugs in it’s first year in the garden. That’s heleniums crossed off the grow list.
Two
Sorry to be repetitive but not being a fan of dahlias I don’t really grow them. However I do recognise their valuable contribution to late season colour and so I try one or two here and there. This year’s trial was the orange flowering ‘David Howard’. I was going to kill two birds with one stone here, beautiful chocolate leaves giving me a break from green and ochre orange flowers for contrast. The aforementioned slugs got in first and nibbled down the top growth. The dahlias fought back and the foliage is lush, but as yet not a sign of flowers. I wait patiently, maybe they will come.
Three
The back border was newly planted this year with a selection of grasses and three persicaria polymorpha. The white frothy flowers are exactly what I had in mind, but the stems do not seem to be able to support the flower heads and I regularly find snapped stems languishing in amongst the froth. This is most strange as the description suggests it is a ‘bulky feature plant making strong stems’. Next year perhaps?
Four
Before the back border was planted up I used it as a heeling in space for various self seeders from the main garden. In one of those serendipitous moments this astrantia ‘Roma’ combined well with periscaria, survived the drought and has won a permanent place in the back border where I hope it will self seed some more.
Five
I’m definitely focusing on the positives in this photo. The hydrangeas are a sad scorched affair this year but with the help of a few showers of rain they have shown their resilience. There’s new growth to be seen and one or two heads of new flowers have appeared.
Six
Apologies for sharing more tomato photographs. The San Marzano in the greenhouse have been amazing this year. I was extravagant and bought new seed, then planted the seedlings in a new bed on the other side of the greenhouse and focused my watering attention on them. We’ve been eating them for a few weeks and have also frozen a batch of cooked up passata.
Oh the joy of selective photographs, my scruffy gone-to-seed garden offers up some gems and I can put together a positive viewpoint. My mind is racing with plans to replant certain areas and I have been sowing seed of echinacea pallida and e. ‘White Swan’ in preparation. I have not ordered any spring bulbs and have no plans to. Those late offers may tempt me of course but for now I am reviewing what I have and looking at how to rework plants to better advantage. It all begins again, another year, another chance.
For more gardening thoughts take a look at The Propagator’s site, he’s not in this week as there is another mammoth run to be completed but as always the links to other SOS posts will appear over the weekend. Happy reflections on your gardening year. I will soon be collecting the juice from this year’s apple crop. That’s one for next week already in the bank.
Dare I say it? It is the last weekend of August. September is in sight and a sense of the seasons changing is in the air. This weekend is set aside for apple picking and it seems that the plums are also ready to pick. There was a good long downpour last Thursday and all the water butts are full again. Here’s six from this week’s garden.
One
I’d left my ‘Jazzy’ new potatoes in the ground, digging them up as and when needed. After the heavy rain of Thursday morning I thought I’d better dig them all up for fear of leaving in them the soggy ground. A few forks in revealed that the surface was nicely damp but down below things were still pretty dry. I did dig them all up, collected a few windfalls and picked the outside San Maranzo tomatoes. These are so much smaller than those in the greenhouse, but appreciated nonetheless. The potato haul was 8kgs, which I am more than happy with.
Two
It’s a good crop of plums this year. Variety unknown. As is common, they are suspect to plum moth so the early ripening fruits often have those darling maggots. This means that each plum is cut in half and checked over before use or more usually before freezing. That’s another job for the weekend.
Three
One way or another I always seem to end up with a packet of sunflower seeds and for no reason at all I usually sow a handful. This year’s plants have grown to heady heights, loving the heat and somehow drawing on a secret supply of water. They are going to seed now and have been tracked down by the local parakeets who are managing to balance on the flower heads and are feeding excitedly on the seeds.
Four
I’m slightly more proud of sowing the seed of thalictrum delavyi. From my less than perfect notes it looks like the seed was sown in 2020. Two years on then and they look firmly established. It’s quite difficult to capture their delicate flowers with the trusty phone camera but this isn’t too bad.
Five
Dahlias. Not a fan, but somehow I always have a few in the garden. This one was grown from seed last year and the tuber left in the ground over winter. I prefer the simpler variety. It has perked up considerably after rainfall.
Six
This hart’s tongue fern was also a sad sight before the rain came. Now plumped up again and flourishing. The garden’s resilience is encouraging.
There’s more gardening celebrations to be found on The Propagator’s site. Yes, crispiness abounds but it’s always possible to find something to enjoy. Lift your spirits with a visit to the other SOS garden posts. Happy gardening.
The tough times continue. No rain and no sign of rain to come. I am watering the french beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. I’ve selected two courgette plants to water and the other three are being let go. The autumn fruiting raspberries look very sad and so I may relent and water them. In the flower garden only new additions are being favoured. There be tales in these parts of underground streams and one corner of the lawn is suspiciously lush, it is of course the corner where the snowberry grows and it too is verdant. In other places a well established choisya is close to death and the very large rhododendron is wilting and yellowing. There are plants that are coping perhaps aided by those secret underground water supplies. Here’s this week’s six.
One
Every year these rudbekia shout out ‘Look at me, look at me.’ ‘Yes.’ I say ‘Yes, but don’t be quite so pushy.’ This year I apologise profusely and say ‘Yes, please take centre stage.’
Two
I’m always happy to have agapanthus in August and these are ‘Midnight Star’. Purchased about three years ago as 9cm pots they are finally bulking up and putting on a show. They seem not quite as dark as I remember them but I’m grateful for anything in flower at the moment
Three
Echinacea ‘White Swan’ is another perennial favourite of mine and it too seems to be coping with the tough conditions which fits with its native prairie land origins. They have been in the garden for about two years and having had time to establish themselves they are toughing it out.
Four
The apples on one half of the duo tree are ripening and windfalls are being collected. This is presenting a small problem as the other apple trees are a little behind and we usually pick everything at the same time and take them off for pressing.
Five
A mix of salvia microphylla, blackcurrant sage, and perovskia ‘Little Spire’ in a sunny corner. The blackcurrant sage really does have a wonderful blackcurrant smell and reportedly can be used to give drinks an added dimension. I chose ‘Little Spire’ in an attempt to avoid the dreaded flop but inevitably the lean towards the sun cannot be denied.
Six
The tomatoes are cropping nicely now. These are ‘Principe Borghese’, an Italian variety, apparently good for sun drying and with this weather perhaps I should have a go. At the moment they are being eaten as fast as they are picked.
Nature is harsh, the weather is a challenge and this week we have witnessed a fox cub trotting down the garden path with a young squirrel in its mouth, a dead pigeon on the lawn may also be a victim of the fox, but two new cats have also been seen prowling around.
It’s holiday time for many, Mr P has returned to join the ranks of those with dry gardens and continues to host all the links. Happy gardening to those who have had rain, those of us who haven’t will have to look for the positives where we can!
The garden has been surging forward in this last week of sunshine. But hold on, there is cold weather to come. April can be a cruel month. Even so, gardeners are getting busy and anticipation is high. Here’s six from this week’s garden.
One
The thalia have arrived, my favourites. But no sooner do they open out then the slugs slither up the stems and nibble the flowers. Sad, but I have learnt to shrug my shoulders, sigh and move on.
Two
I am showing the muscari again! I had some left overs in pots, awaiting an opening in the garden. I have now put them into a shadier border and the colour looked so strong in the shadows. I’ll get away with it this year because they benefited from the warmth of a sunny corner before I planted them out. Next year I might find that this spot is just too shady for them.
Three
The perennials are really bulking up and the lovely leaves of thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’ look great. The dark stems are already quite striking. These are in a shady spot too and do very well.
Four
The seed potatoes are chitting away but back in February I planted up three or four in an old compost bag and left them in the greenhouse. The top shoots have just come through so another layer of compost will be added. I might have some early new potatoes in April.
Five
The tomato seeds sown in early March have been potted on. These are destined for the greenhouse. For the moment they are in the spare bedroom.
Six
The pergola project is moving forward with very little sucking in of breath! There is a possibility it will be done next week. In anticipation of a smart new pergola, a smart new garden table was purchased. The old pergola is doing a good impersonation of being a solid structure, but the truth is hidden. All four support legs are rotting away. Now I am anticipating the sunny months to come. In my dreams I also see a trachycapus fortunei swaying in the breeze. Does anyone have experience of growing those in pots?
I am, as always, delighted to compliment The Propagator on his dedication to SOS. All the links to this joyful meme will be found there. Wishing everyone a great gardening weekend.
As I didn’t turn up last week let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year with much good gardening to enjoy and less and less of that covid stuff.
I used New Year’s Day to spend some time in the garden cutting back the autumn fruiting raspberries, sprinkling a light dusting of bonemeal around and then mulching with a layer of leaf mould. The fruit trees have had their quarterly dusting of bonemeal and soon the winter prune of the fig tree will be tackled. It felt like Spring already but a frost was to come with temperatures of -3 degrees centigrade recorded in the greenhouse. Now it seems we are back to a spell of warm and wet weather. In general the garden takes it in its stride. Here’s Six for the New Year.
One
I tweeted this frosted rose bub last week. This is the last rose I have to prune but it keeps on putting out new flowers. I think it is going to need a healthy dose of fertiliser come Spring to give it an energy lift. New buds or not it must be pruned soon.
Two
Also on the pruning list are the gooseberries, can’t imagine why I am putting this job off! But I have a new weapon in my armoury against those thorns. A much appreciated Christmas present of Gold Leaf gardening gloves which will offer some protection when I finally get round to tackling this task.
Three
I did grab a quick moment between showers to move a rose. ‘Souvenir du Dr Jamain’ had been lingering in an unhospitable corner trying to valiantly to put on a show for about three years. Not much progress had been made so I decided there was nothing to lose by digging it up and offering a slightly more hospitable spot. I confess to losing part of one root in the process which is a shame as there wasn’t much to start with. Clearly it was not happy where it was. I used mycorrhizal fungi and a helping of Fish, Bone and Blood to help the good Dr on his way.
Four
Some new seeds have been purchased. After the poor crop of ‘San Marzano’ this year I thought it was time to invest in new seeds. I also chose ‘Principe Borghese’ – sucked in by the shiny tomatoes on the packet! I haven’t grown Mangetout for some time but they deserve another go so a packet of ‘Snow Wind’ was thrown in for good measure.
Five
Seed potatoes have also been chosen but are yet to arrive – hence the vacant egg box! I was going to grow a French variety ‘Cherie’ this year but would you believe it, due to Brexit difficulties in sourcing and the high tariffs on things that can be sourced the supplier cannot provide them. Of course you can believe it! So it’s back to ‘Anya’ for me.
Six
The hellebores must get a look in. I’ve been cutting back old leaves here and there and enjoying the slowly developing show. These are ‘Pretty Ellen Red’ in the rain. They share a shady corner with some euonymus.
I have itchy fingers desperate to order new plants for the garden, a few more evergreens for structure and some herbaceous perennials for the border. In another month I hope it will be full steam ahead with more of the garden plans for the New Year.
I’ll be dropping in on The Prop host of SOS and other SOSers over the next few days. It will good to see everyone again. Happy gardening year to you all.
There is always a job to done in the garden and I admire those who systematically list them and then work through the list. But I suspect many gardeners set out to do one thing and get waylaid into doing something else. Fortunately, sometimes it is possible to do the original task and the silence the siren call of the new job. Last week I set out to pot on the tomato seedlings, the sun was shining and it was impossible to avoid noticing the shabby state of the potting shed. The five minute job I set out to do became a mornings’ worth of sweeping, sorting, reorganising and throwing out the debris of last season. But it was one job done from my mental list and the seedlings were potted on.
One
Here are those tomato seedlings which will eventually go into the greenhouse. I shall be sowing some extra seeds for a few outdoor tomatoes in the next week or so. This first set have moved on from the sunny windowsill above the radiator and are now colonising a sunny spot on a bedroom floor. I was a day behind in my plan to pot them on and I swear they grew at least an inch taller in that day.
Two
I’m a little shamefaced to show you this one. It is remarkably similar to a photo that graced this blog a year or so ago. The slabs were from removed from another spot in the garden and were stacked in front of the compost bins waiting to be used to even off the site. The end of the wait is in sight. I now have someone lined up to do the work. I have spent the odd moment here and there this week turning out the contents of the bins into builders’ bags so that I can move the bins and leave the builder with a cleanish site to work with. I have one more bin to empty. Two jobs for the price of one. Compost gets a turn and the site is cleared.
Three
It may have been cold and windy this week but when the sun did shine there was some warmth to it. The anemone blanda are just opening up here and are filling in the gaps among the primroses.
Four
The warmth seems to have finally encouraged last autumn’s planting of camassias to make a showing. These are camassia leichtlinii caerulea. I heave a great sigh of relief here. Autumn was so wet and when I planted them they were pretty much sitting in water. Winter continued to be wet and I thought they may well have rotted away. Some camassias like it damp and I am hoping I chose the right ones for this patch of the garden. The camassias elsewhere in the garden are already several inches taller.
Five
In the now pristine potting shed there remain two trays of foxgloves. I use the potting shed as a cold frame over winter, this year home to delphiniums, aquilegia and several trays of foxgloves. Two trays have gone out into the garden already and these apricot ones will go out next week if all goes to plan. The delphiniums are staying inside for a little longer but they have enjoyed a few hours outside on the warmer days.
Six
Last November I bought up half a dozen packs of tête-à-tête daffodils as an end of season bargain. I planted them all in pots so that I could move them out into those empty spaces that become all too apparent in Spring. They are just coming into bud now, well behind my older plantings of tête-à-têtes. I have put a couple out into the land grab border and I’m pleased to say they came out of the pots very well. At least half of the remaining pots are destined for the front garden. The rest will probably go into the western end of the north facing border but I have to keep their cheerful yellowness well away from the apricot foxgloves that are destined for the more eastern end. This will be my conundrum for next week’s gardening.
I suppose the upside of these strange times is that there is a little more flexibility in my week which does allow me to fit in a few gardening jobs. I am not sure that today’s sunshine and showers will fall at the right time but I am waiting with trowel and spade to hand! Happy gardening to you all, and to The Prop who manages to garden and run with great abundance. Take a good look at his website this week as it also holds the link for his fund raising for Macmillan, the cancer charity. As usual the links to other SOS posts will appear on his website.
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