May 2007

I was so excited having received several grasses and bamboos from fellow gardeners which they were thinning out. They arrived in the post and with no idea what lay inside i opened to see wonderful plants. I think you have to be a gardener to understand the sense of excitement of receiving plants in the post. Before planting i watered them and let them rest for 24 hours after the journey before setting them in their new homes. That's the thing about gardeners they are very giving people and like to share. Unfortunately my plants are not mature enough for me to yet share parts of my garden but i look forward to the day that i do. That said i have managed to share some strawberry plants so i feel at least that's a start.

Very busy in the garden of late getting things planted. We had a whole 10 days or more without a drop of rain but finally the skies opened and watered the garden nicely this weekend. You can feel the difference after rainfall the garden ready to gallop away again. We've another week of rain and then it should brighten up again but it will certainly give the new plants a boost.

Walking around the garden there's lots happening already, the strawberries are in flower and with promise of more to come it looks like a bumper harvest again. The gooseberries had been attacked by the gooseberry sawfly so i sat and handpicked off all the caterpillers and the eggs i could find. Having made several checks since it would appear that for now anyway i've done enough. The gooseberries have flowered already and i have small goosegogs already forming. The currant bushes are still in flower and will be a little behind.

These Nasturtiums were planted at Easter and have made great strides in growing. I find they grow better if you don't disturb them, they will grow on if transplanted but it really does slow them down so these days i just sow what i need where i need them. These are in pots either side of the arbour seat in the veggie garden. More have been planted but not showing through yet under the apple trees. The seeds for these Nasturtiums were given to me by a fellow gardener, Bob. For the small cost of postage he sent me loads of different seeds and i must say the germination rate is equal if not better to those i have bought.

Having made a good start by planting up twenty largish pots for starters, I've still got plants in the cold frame hardening off for pots so still more to do along with my hanging baskets and more plants waiting to be hardened off. I usually do five 14" baskets for the front of the house and usually include surfinias, geraniums and petunias. I used to add trailing lobelia but it's not very good when the weather dries out the compost so i tend to use plants that will stand a bit of heat and not go to seed just cos i'm a bit late with the watering. I find the trick is to keep deadheading and make sure you don't overwater them which is easy to do with baskets as i water them insitu. I tend to line the baskets with black polythene cut to size from bin liners and puncture a third of the way up the sides so that it only retains a reservoir of water in the bottom. To hide the black polythene i also plant the sides so that they are covered much quicker. I only need to water these daily usually in the evening and feed them once a week. Two of my neighbours have already asked me if i'm doing baskets again this year and when are they going up, but this won't be until June and they will stay there until the first frosts. Pots are hard work in keeping up with the watering in the hot summer sun but they are worth it. This year i've included fuschias too in the pots so will see how they do.

When i think of my garden as finished, if a garden is indeed ever finished, i always imagine lush green grasses and bamboos, interspersed with beautiful flowering plants with bright flowers that look naturally placed and complimenting each other...of course that is by day. I also would like my garden to look it's best at night when it's dark and really hanker after some sophisticated lighting. The garden at the mo is not mature enough to realise this dream but there are things that i can do now for the future such as planting the right plants. By keeping the palette light - i've planted lots of white flowers and those in very pale tints of pink or yellow that will glow at dusk and into the darkness. Many white flowers pack a double wallop in the evening garden: they're often more fragrant than brightly coloured (or even pastel) blooms. Some, such as nicotiana (flowering tobacco), release their intoxicating aromas only at dusk. Variegated foliage - striped, spotted or mottled with white - stands out at night in much the same way white flowers do. Any white flower looks good at night and you have hundreds to choose from in annuals and perennials of all sizes and shapes.

Add water in some form - a small pool, a fountain, even a birdbath. It will provide a reflective surface for moonlight and starlight, its gentle sounds lend a sense of tranquility to the scene and the extra moisture in the air further intensifies the scent of flowers. I have a birdbath sited amongst plants and also a water feature on the patio which i surround with big lush plants so that only the sound can be heard, this is quite effective and rather soothing. My larger grasses are illuminated using discreet solar uplighters and the larger ones are already quite effective at night, i plan to increase this through time and as the plants mature with downlighters. Solar lights give a soft glow at night and are very pretty. I also have solar lanterns on the fences too.

Of course, with lighting you are in control. If you have an ugly part in your garden at night you can ignore it... and only highlight the best bits. I recall staying in Aberdeen a few years ago and the restaurant next door had this wonderful garden that diners looked out on. They had mature trees with uplighters and the effect was really stunning. That image has stayed with me and one day would like to recreate that effect, of course my tree is only small at the moment but i can dream can't I?

End of April 2007

I was well chuffed today when i checked my tatties, some where through the ground and showing life. The soil still looks dry but when i dig down there is moisture further down, it has been showery this week so that's helped a bit too and the seeds are romping away now. My carrots and beetroot have now germinated too BUT what made my day was settling down to weed the asparagus bed and noticing that there are yet more spears showing through, green and purple. They look a bit thin but then i expect that this is because it's their first season. Hopefully as time goes on they will become thicker and more of them.

As you can see from the picture the Berry bushes are in full leaf, i've underplanted these with Lavender Hidcote, to make a fragrant addition to the beds. Did you know that Lavender softens the tartness of acidic fruits? Even just a few drops of cooking essence added to a saucepan of stewed fruit can make a big difference to the taste.

I lifted some strawberry plants today to reduce the size of the strawberry bed and started adding the grass mulch to the remaining strawbs. I dug over the area and took all the runners out that were there and was pleased to see that all the manure and compost had done the soil structure some good. By reducing the size of the strawberry bed it allows me an extra bed so i can do a four bed rotation, much better. Whilst clearing the bed i noticed that the strawberries are already putting out flowers and one or two were in flower. This is a whole month earlier than last year.

In this newly cleared space, I'm going to plant corn, beans and squashes, commonly known as three sisters. In a three sisters planting, the three partners benefit one another. Corn provides support for beans. Beans, like other legumes, have bacteria living on their roots that help them to absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use. Corn requires a lot of nitrogen to grow. The large, prickly squash leaves hide the soil, preventing weed growth. The three sisters also complement each other nutritionally. Corn supplies carbohydrates and a variety of important amino acids. Beans have protein, including two essential amino acids that corn lacks. Squash contributes vitamin A. Squash seeds also contain quality fats that corn and beans lack. Anyway this is my first attempt at Three Sisters so i'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Besides clearing away strawberries, i've also sown more seeds. Swedes and turnip. The turnip is a bit early usually being sown in May but everything seems to be a month ahead so i thought i'd give it a try. If it works i'll be harvesting early, if not, i'll be sowing more seeds. My soil is excellent for turnip, like other Brassicas, turnip grows best in a moderately deep loam, fertile and slightly acid soil. Turnip does not do well in soils that are of high clay texture, wet or poorly drained. For good root growth turnip needs a loose, well aerated soil, for this reason i tend to sow my seed on the top of a drill (similar to when tatties are earthed up) as this is the only way i've been successful in growing turnip and swede.

In readiness for the rest of the brassicas i've raked level the bed and cleared any weeds that were there. I plant my brassicas in the bed that onions were in the year before. The reason for this is that i've found they like the soil being that much firmer. I just dig a hole and drop my brassicas in and then firm around them.

Remember the Impatien seedlings i pricked out into trays, just look at them now. Almost ready for putting into small pots. They have fair picked up speed in the last week or two. Even as seedlings they are easy to look after, just plenty of light and make sure the compost is moist.

These will look nice in tubs come the summer and remember to jam them in. If you want your impatiens to grow taller, space them quite close together, about six inches apart, but if you want them to spread out more, plant them at least eight inches to one foot apart. Also they are one of the few plants that will do well in shade and flower their socks off. In actual fact too much sun stunts their growth with smaller leaves and not many flowers.


In the ornamental garden the Chives are already putting out flowers and are a particular favourite of mine. I will split the plant up later in the year and spread around the garden as the clump is getting quite a size. It would make nice edging in the veggie garden and give me some herbs to harvest.

The garden is really gathering pace and the growth spurt is on. Some of the earlier stuff is in flower and it's a real time of change, with the best still to come, i for one can hardly wait.

Happy Gardening!