• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • The College Of Roseisle
    • Local History
  • Village Hall
    • Hall Membership
    • What’s On at the Hall
    • Hall Booking
    • How to Help at the Hall
    • The 100 Club
    • Roseisle Hall Newsletter
  • Events
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Places of Interest
    • Haugh Garden
    • Local Golf
    • Local walks and cycle paths
    • Roseisle Gallery
  • Contact Us
  • Coronavirus News

Roseisle-News.com

Community Blether

Gardening

GardenTips#21/02

February 24, 2021 by Gwynne Hetherington

What a change the last week has brought us from snow and freezing temperatures and biting winds to sunny and mild days which are to continue for the next 10 days or more with the night temperatures from this coming Sunday to Tuesday dropping to 2 or 1 C degrees and moderate winds.

We certainly have had strong, gusty and cold winds, the mini Beast from the East, bringing down dead wood in both the mature and young woodland, even plastic bags and polystyrene found their way into the garden! Sadly a number of shrubs especially Hebes and Hypericums have suffered badly and only time will tell if they will recover, even the roses look very unhappy! Being an optimist and believing in nature’s survival of continuity, things will recover!

We have pruned and shaped our Viburnum and Buddleias globosa and x weyeriana. The Buddleias of Black Knight, the mauves, the whites and the pinks will get their more severe pruning towards the end of March. The Hawthorn, our native species and Cotoneaster hedges have had a cut before the birds think of nesting. The winter heathers too have had a trim.

Our feathered friends, the birds, are still very grateful for the feed we put out for them, although the demand on apples has tapered off a bit. With the birdsong around us I have started cutting back the flower borders and am delighted to see a number of Ladybirds resting among the dried up leaves!

Meanwhile David has turned the dung and ryegrass into the potato bed ready for planting our tatties later in March.

Work in our ruin in conjunction with building the stone tower is taking its time, there is a lot of excavation of earth, stones and big rocks to deal with, the bigger stones end up in the middle while the smaller stones get packed nearer the outside of the stone tower. The big boulders with at least two flat sides are placed on the outside wall and the more rounded rocks are swallowed up inside the tower.

Sowing of seeds has also started and it is always a little miracle of hope when seedlings unfurl and a new beginning of a plant starts its development and you cannot but smile at every emerging seedling! The same can be said about the Snowdrops here and there which is a joy to see, enjoy your garden as it opens up to the Spring!

Filed Under: Gardening

Garden Tips#21/01

January 21, 2021 by Gwynne Hetherington

A Happy New Year gardeners and nature lovers.

What a spell of wet and cold weather we are having with frosty mornings! Needless to say we are in the last few winter months so we should expect wintery conditions still to come.

This is a good opportunity to take time and plan ahead what it is you want from your garden especially what seeds to order for the vegetable beds and perennials and annuals for the flower borders. My list of to do things is growing to a pageful of tasks. We try and support the local nurseries but this year have had to resort to online ordering of seeds.

It won’t be long to start sowing seeds eg, leeks and sweet peas and the rest will follow with the anticipation of checking every day if the seeds have germinated and so too the days will lengthen and the new season of growing will commence yet again! What excitement to look forward to!

Once this wild weather moves away and temperatures rise above zero I will weed through the flower borders one last time, the annual weeds are easy to see as they are in the green and easy to pull out.

The snowdrops are through with the petals tight shut and in the next warm sunshine the white petals will open and give pleasure to us, the hellebores too are ready to show their splendour but with them we shall cut back (our first time ever) the old leaves to let the emerging flowers have free space and reduce hellebore leaf spot, although we don’t have a problem with that yet.

Due to bacterial canker in one of the gean trees we had to take that one down altogether due to the severity of the spread of the canker. In its place we planted a Czar plum tree and watered it in thoroughly – it is a wonderful feeling to plant a tree for its ‘presence’. Now is still a good time to plant bare root trees and shrubs till the end of March but the sooner the better.

Looking out the window the little birds are grateful for their daily apples and birdseed we put out for them and fresh water too. For you bird lovers out there we shall also be taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch between the 29-31 January as our annual ritual and it is great fun too. This year we can also note down our daily visits of red squirrels and who knows what else might be sighted!

Keep warm and safe and in no time the daylight hours will lengthen and new life will emerge from the ground!

Filed Under: Gardening

GardenTips07

June 28, 2020 by Gwynne Hetherington

Unsettled weather for the week to come, more showers and cooler.

We hope you all are well and enjoying your gardens. What a joy it is to see rain which is lasting more than 3-4minutes, the gardens certainly need it as do the farmers!

It has come to my attention that the Diamond-Back Moth is about and devastating the Brassicas, Aubrietia, Wallflowers and Alyssum, so if your plants are not protected with fleece or fine micro mesh I would make sure to try and cover them up. The moth is very small about 1cm in length. One life cycle is completed in 15-30 days so their numbers can increase hugely. Garlic solution, washing powder in dilute mix with water might help. Hopefully this message has reached you in time.

We are deadheading in our flower borders, cutting grass and edging the lawns and now the Strawberries are ripening and they are deliciously sweet. Next it will be the Peas and Broad Beans to pick in a week or two’s time. It is a productive time in the garden calendar which we will enjoy and what we can not use we will process and freeze to consume in the winter months.

We are making the most of relaxing in our garden taking in the scent, colours and birdsong which lifts anyone’s spirit.

Filed Under: Gardening

GardenTips#06

May 22, 2020 by Gwynne Hetherington

Our weather is going to be rough for the weekend with high winds and rain showers. Then we are back to warm and sunny days with night-time temperatures much milder, 7 – 9 C degrees.

Whether we will actually get a good splash of rain or not, any dampness is welcome so I will dig up three big clumps of Primulas, split them into single plants and pot them up. I could plant the single plants back into the flower borders where they eventually will go but the little plants might get lost and I will not be able to keep them watered so having them in pots means they will be planted later in the year.

The Daffodils have just about finished and the big clumps that I want to lift and divide have a small cane next to them to remind me later, when the foliage yellows, to deal with them.

With night-time temperature much milder it is time for the Dahlias to be planted out in the big pots, I will need to add some home made compost to the old compost, mix together and the Dahlias should thrive.

The vegetables are coming on a treat but we do need to sow another lot of Beetroot and Lettuce seeds. Like last year the Parsnip seeds are not appearing which might be that the first sowing was too early so we have to take note and next year sow them a few weeks later. Still wishing to have Parsnips I have sown some single seeds into cells yesterday and hope to see results in a few days, following a friend’s advice!

We have some Willow canes left lying behind the house which have dried out enough to use as stakes to support the Delphiniums and Lupins in the flower borders and with the strong winds coming I had better get busy!

It is such a pleasure having a garden and it is a joy working in it with the birdsong and scent coming from various plants.

Filed Under: Gardening

GardenTips#05

April 30, 2020 by Gwynne Hetherington

The next few days are more unsettled but with warmer night time temperatures of 4-5C degrees, some showers, hopefully, with sunny spells.

To us this is an ideal time for planting out our vegetable plants which have grown on in our poly tunnel to healthy looking plants and then we watered them well. Then we covered the vegetable bed with our “Wondermesh” with the posts topped with a jam jar to support the mesh.

Going round our garden David has been deadheading the Daffodils daily then he is ready to continue with a low wall using our endless supply of stones. I have been looking out for the Bittercress weeds which are at a stage before they pop their seeds in all directions.

While the sun is not shining strongly I have been taking plants that have selfseeded or plants that have grown too large for the space they are in and are no longer needed, to pot them up for the nursery.

Being one of the fortunate ones with a garden, we are enjoying a more leisurely time getting jobs done and appreciating our environment with the many birdsongs and the scent of the Narcissi and the sight of the Geans in full flower, all of which is awe inspiring.

Filed Under: Gardening

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 17
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Roseisle Village Hall Facebook

Don't miss another post. Get Regular Roseisle Blether Posts via Email.

Enter your email address here and receive all new blog posts by email.

Join 55 other subscribers.

Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Mar
25
Thu
2021
7:30 pm Hall AGM 2021 @ online by zoom
Hall AGM 2021 @ online by zoom
Mar 25 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
This year our AGM will be a bit different. Our first virtual AGM. The zoom link will be posted here on the day of the AGM. All Welcome
View Calendar
Add
  • Add to Timely Calendar
  • Add to Google
  • Add to Outlook
  • Add to Apple Calendar
  • Add to other calendar
  • Export to XML

Past Blogs

© 2019 Roseisle-News Built and maintained by community residents. Email: newsletter@roseisle-news.com

Footer

Hall Kitchen
Hall Facilities
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Hall Kitchen
Roseisle Hall Kitchen

Copyright © 2021 ·