End of January

The New Year has got off to a bad start really with the gardening team being broken up with my father in law's recent death. He's finally gone to the big vegetable garden in the sky. Dad and I worked tirelessly together on my garden until his illness three years ago and whilst i've continued the work he's always been there to oversee my efforts and watch it's continued progress. He really was a dedicated veggie gardener who taught me so much and really got me growing seriously whereas before i'd just dabbled and pottered. He will be missed very much but i hope that he continues to watch over the progress from his elevated status.

Despite the strain over the past few months with Dad's illness i've been itching to get going in the garden and whilst the weather has been nice and warm we've also had a lot of winds which doens't help. I'm always amazed at the amount of stuff that gets blown around in the garden and just how much of a mess is left behind. The continued high winds literally scalped the plants but i've also noticed one or two of them have broken bud too.

I'm planning on growing some bedding plants this year from seed so have been busy making my paper pots. They are quick and simple to make and are perfect for starting off seedlings and can be planted on complete as the newpaper will biodegrade.

Need to get stocked up on potting compost though so will pop along next week to the garden centre and see what offers are on. Will be a dangerous trip as no doubt i will come out with lots of impulse purchases too.

Need to get organised and get my paint/stain organised for the garden furniture. I seem to have loads of painting to be done this year with the fencing needing a coat of paint too.

I also need to revamp the front garden and thin some of the shrubs and plants. Have a some rather nasty roses in the front garden which seems to have become overgrown all of a sudden!

We finally finished putting the cold frames together....hmmm a bit larger than i had thought they were. As you see one alone covers the double guest bed, so i'm hopin they will give ample growing space. We're now just waiting for the weather to settle a bit and then pop them in the garden and anchor them down. Can't wait to start using them.

Flower Arranging

Mum sent a nice bouquet of flowers as a 'thank you' for Christmas Dinner. I arranged them in oasis in the hope that they would last longer. I find flowering arranging very therapeutic.

Whilst i was arranging them i thought i might try and grow flowers specifically for cutting in the garden so that i can do some arrangements over the summer. I often pick up bowls or baskets as i see them to use for this purpose.

May be one day when i'm semi retired i may do a flower arranging course and learn to do it all properly.

Electronic Petition

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to provide more land for allotments for people to grow their own vegetables

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/allotments/

This will do the following:

1. Allow people to save money.
2. Provide an area for abundant wildlife.
3. Help to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
4. Help to cut the amount of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere: people grow their own food instead of buying it all thus reducing 'air miles' (and shipping and lorry pollution).
5. Provide people with a community group to belong to and enjoy.
6. Provide people with a space to exercise while doing something worthwhile - it will benefit them in two different ways at the same time.

There simply aren't enough allotments around and waiting lists are ridiculously long in some areas.

Other petitions which may also interest you:

Allotments for Schools - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/schoolplots/

Petition against demolition of Manor Garden Allotments for Olympics -

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/manorgardens/

January 2007

Happy New Year!



Now the main event has passed i always look forward to starting the growing season all over again. My copy of the T&M catalogue arrived just before Hogmanay complete with DVD and this inspired me and i was raring to go. Well, that was until i realised that my ambitions were going to cost me a small ransom should i buy all my plants from T&M....much cheaper to raise the majority from seed.

Some may recall i received two of the Hall's cold frames for my birthday in November so in my quest for a bright, blooming and productive garden i'm busy getting these sorted and put together. I'm not sure how much they will hold in seed trays but the box says i have 12sq ft of growing space for each frame....what's that in proper money then?

I'm planning on starting quite a few plants off from seed and for the first time ever going to try growing on a few plug plants (just as insurance)....always been difficult for me in the past as i didn't have a greenhouse or cold frame and i found that trying to get these going indoors (usually in the dining room) is less than ideal due to modern heating and difficulties with watering. Much easier to throw water around without the soft furnishings!

I feel the cold frames are a good start to moving to the greenhouse and look forward to seeing what can be achieved, afterall a cold frame is just a mini-greenhouse and ideal for the cultivation of small plants.

Once I get everything under way and fingers crossed the weather will be kind to me i'll be getting the greenhouse base in. Decided that the best way to do this is to lay slabs rather than a concrete raft. The reason's for this are around flexibility; should the need arise to move or dispense with the greenhouse in the future then it can revert to another patio area, also slabs laid on sand would be easier to be removed if required, at least without the need for a pneumatic drill.

I find that April and May are my busiest months in the garden getting all the tatties in and vegetables underway, also fighting weeds is the biggest job for a couple of months...any slacking at this time of the year and they get the upper hand, turning into an even bigger job trying to get on top again...much easier to get the hoe going early and sever the little darlings when they are wee.

I don't know about anyone else but there's still certain areas of my garden that are in bloom and shouldn't be! I've still got Geraniums flowering in tubs from the summer bedding, a penstemon, pansies and more geraniums in the beds flowering too. Okay they're not at their summer best but if it keeps up like this then they will hopefully make a full recovery for next summer!

Had a quick peek out today to see if the bulbs are poking through the ground and they don't appear to be....but then again we haven't had the usual cold snap they like so if they do show through will they flower i wonder? I read that bulbs need 10 weeks of cold before they will flower.

Interestingly if the warmer temperatures are set to continue with global warming we may have to resort to growing bulbs by chilling in the refrigerator before we plant them in order to get them to flower. Thankfully daffodils don't require such a long chilling as tulips. If bulbs do not have the correct chilling time some will not grow and others will produce stunted stalks. I noted last year we had a relatively warm winter, and some of my less exposed daffies were stunted, this may perhaps explain the reason why. Ach well we'll see what happens this spring when they venture forth.