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Progress

Progress is slow or maybe I’m just too impatient.

The weather hasn’t been great and rather nonspecific to be honest. It hasn’t been terribly warm and has rained just about everyday. I haven’t particularly had to do any extra watering of the plants but feel they could do with some of that, all important, sunshine to get things moving a bit more.

The greenhouse hasn’t arrived yet, much to my frustration. It should be here imminently though, if I’m to believe the seller. Tomatoes are doing ok but really are outgrowing their current situation on the windowsill in the utility room. One is actually touching the ceiling!

There has been some progress in the cottage garden area. Varying new growth on the majority of plants and no deaths (yet). I’ve actually managed to add a couple of plants too. A pretty little fuschia and a purple sorrel. The cottage garden will look lovely if all goes to plan.

Fuschia

Sorrel

Veggies are doing ok and we have a particularly impressive salad barrel just now. It has a lovely harvest of rocket going on!

An area of strong growth in the garden is amongst the aquilegia. Its growing wild in various area but very pretty so I shall allow for the time being

Bring on the sunshine!

Well, we had all these tomato plant and a couple of chilli plants, a load of lavender grown from seed which turned out to be basil (don’t ask) and various little plants that love the warm environment of a sunny windowsill. Unfortunately we were becoming victims of our own success. These plants were thriving and taking over all of our windowsills. Not being particularly forward thinking at times we hadn’t anticipated the need to move out of our house in order that the plants could thrive to their maximum potential! Desperate times call for desperate measures! I’m now happy to announce I am the very proud owner of  a greenhouse (if you could see me grinning). Its not arrived yet but could be any day now!

Baby tomatoes

Mama tomatoes

Yes, progress has been slow. The heart is very willing, as is the flesh! Its the weather that has been a bit weak to be honest. The spectacular month of April has been followed by a monumental disappointing month of May. That is, in terms of sunshine and tolerable gardening conditions. On the other hand the rain has been, at times, relentless and I can’t recall the garden looking more green and lush than it is right now. Strawberries and raspberries are doing very well. Potatoes also, though I cant understand how they’ve managed to defy the straight lines they were planted in (perhaps the odd rogue from last years planting -note to self – must improve my digging and harvesting skills).

Our first harvest of the year has already taken place. It came in the form of some delicious rocket which was thoroughly enjoyed during a barbecue (rare window of sunshine which occurred just in time for Nigels birthday).

My sweetpeas are “on fire” and I fully expect a harvest of flowers very soon. In previous years my progress as been very slow in this department and at times its been August before the first flowers!

Holiday is organised. A little hopscotch expedition over some westerly scottish islands. I’m going equipped with some secateurs, some rooting hormone and,perhaps, a growbag in the boot of the car. I’m going to take full advantage of the Gulf stream and the resulting interesting plantage.

Minimal pictures due to my camera and rain being a dodgy combination. Here, however, is a nice picture of my shiny new wheel barrow (with inflated tire) taken from the safety of my living room. It’s hazy looking because the window needs a wash, and quite frankly, life is too short to be washing windows.

I’m looking forward to a bumper crop of fruit this summer. Mainly to have with various combinations of meringue and cream, though I could consider some healthy options too I suppose… nah.

Our gooseberries are on fire! This, as with the rest of the garden, has been allowed to do its own thing, and currently is dripping with fruit. It also has several little baby gooseberry plants that have sprouted all around. I shall re-home them at some point in the various baldy patches of our garden.

We have strawberries too, first time ever. I have put nets over them already and they are looking pretty good. It’s all very much a trial and error situation just now never having done anything like this before. So far so good though.

Raspberries too! These were planted at the same time as the strawberries and do seem to be enjoying their position.

My Grampa had fantastic rasberries and managed to produce stacks every year. Granny mostly made jam from them. Grampa always said raspberries are best grown against a south facing wall, however ours are being grown on a north facing slope. Oh well, just got to make the best of what you’ve got.

Last week Puddle and I decided to go for a walk. It was a lovely evening and the weather had been glorious for several weeks before. The various weather forecasts, however, were indicating  an imminent fresher spell with eagerly anticipated rain. With this rain would come the sensational and, I imagine, award winning nettles which invariably make this particular walk impossible by mid June. The walk follows the stream from our garden along a winding gully between 2 fields and 2 farms. Its a long strip that runs for about 2 miles that would be of no use to either farm. I would love to buy it from whoever owns it but until then I shall just have to exercise my roamers rights! Its a fantastic wild life walk with all sorts of species of plant life and birds alike, not to mention foxes, badgers and deer of which there are plenty.

I came across an interesting plant just outside our garden area. It consisted of lots of bamboo like stems with what appeared to be buds on top. It was rather striking and excitedly I took pictures for identification purposes on return to my computer. Later I discovered this was horsetail, aka public enemy number 1. An invasive weed that is immune to most weed killers, and is in actual fact a living fossil!

I was kind of glad I didn’t attempt to dig some up there and then what with all that negative press.

We had a lovely walk jumping back and forth across the stream (and often in the stream) avoiding the large trees, branches and particularly steep slopes. Eventually we spotted a nice patch of bluebells so decided to scale the hill up to the field and try to take some pictures. We did so but my photography skills do leave something to be desired. I’m just not able to capture the lovely bluebell effect… ah well. We walked across the field spotting some deer (the things you see when you don’t have a gun… hehe). We then joined the path to bring us home.

The next day came the rain as predicted and massive nettle growth spurt. Goodbye woodland walk. See you in the autumn xxx

Due to the fantastic weather during the month of April, we have been able to get cracking with a little project we had been discussing, deliberating over and arguing about all winter. I love the cottage garden feel and ulitmately I would love this in the garden directly surrounding the house. Trying not to bite off more than I can chew (which is my serious downfall) it was decided we should focus on an area directly in front  of our living room window. An area of about 4 metres by 5 metres. It was originally grass and some long residing perennial weeds, not to mention some serious root systems coming from the fantastic, unruly, wildlife ridden hedge that defines our garden from the road! After much discussion, some of it heated, we decided that we should nuke the area (chemical warfare) which was very effective. Then would be the very simple task of rotovating. Easy? In your dreams! To cut a long story short it hurt, lots! There was no need for me to go to my keep fit class that week.  Then came the really enjoyable bit of going to the garden centre and spending lots of money on plants. What a feeling! A lovely day followed, with the children visiting their grandparents, we were able to position and plant our buys. It rained warm rain all day, and at one point I was knee deep in the stream collecting rocks! We were soaked to the skin but not in the least bit bothered.

Before (planting that is – the punishing rotovation had already taken place at this point).

before planting

After

Its early days but we hope this is going to look lovely in a few months time.

Our garden always seems to be a bit slow to start in Spring. We’re rather high up and our neighbours down in the valley have daffodils flowering a good fortnight before ours. I don’t really mind as they’re all worth the wait.

We inherited a hillside of daffs when we bought the house. The area is in a more inaccessible part of the garden so they really are left to get on with it. The display is stunning (and ever increasing year on year) and brings many an admiring smile to passers by. Mother nature announcing, on no uncertain terms, that spring is well and truly under way!

spring colour

I suppose, as I’m going to the effort of writing a blog/diary, I aught to try to learn the name of some of these plants. Then I would have to get spellings, which I can’t be bothered doing. For the time being this shall be known as the spring, pink flowering alpine which was bought at a seriously marked down price and has taken to our garden like  duck to water!

spring colour

This is a lovely spring flowering clematis which from a distance appears to display a shadow like effect as it drapes over the pergola. It had quite a “doing” from the sheers a couple of months ago but has made a sensational come back!

spring colour

Cherry blossom. Gorgeous.

spring colour