Gardening

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!

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.

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.