Garden Diary

And the snow came down...

2010-12-06T22:34:00.004Z

Well my last blog was prophetic. The snow came with a vengeance. Here was my back garden a few days ago.

Most of the snow has gone, though it is still very icy here as we are quite high up and get the full benefit of the north wind!!!

It's amazing how plants can survive this. Where the snow has thawed, there is still greenery. The wallflowers are battered but recovering and will hopefully put on a good display next year.

A cold wind blows....

2010-11-18T21:54:00.002Z

....And we shall have snow. Winter doesn't technically arrive in the UK until mid December. Here we are in mid November and already the forecasts are for heavy snow next week. It seems hard to believe. It wasn't long ago that I was bemoaning having to cut the grass and hedges because the mild October weather was providing ideal growing conditions.

I found a poem today by William Cullen Bryant that sums up my mood today at hearing we might have an early snowfall:

November

YET one smile more, departing, distant sun!

One mellow smile through the soft vapoury air,

Ere, o'er the frozen earth, the loud winds ran,

Or snows are sifted o'er the meadows bare.

One smile on the brown hills and naked trees,

And the dark rocks whose summer wreaths are cast,

And the blue Gentian flower, that, in the breeze,

Nods lonely, of her beauteous race the last.

Yet a few sunny days, in which the bee

Shall murmur by the hedge that skim the way,

The cricket chirp upon the russet lea,

And man delight to linger in thy ray.

Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear

The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air.

William Cullen Bryant

Update

2010-11-17T22:03:00.002Z

I wrote my last post many many months ago. Life was hectic and I had decided to put my blog on hold for a while. If truth be told, I thought I had hung up my blogging shoes forever. But I was surprised and moved to see regular statistics showing that my blog was still receiving visitors and comments.

My life and plans for the future have changed considerably since last year. The only thing that hasn't changed is my love of gardening which I continue to find therapeutic in these turbulent times. I am still gardening the same front and back gardens in a typical London street.

Looking back through the posts on my blog, I am inspired to start writing again. I can't promise daily blogs but will aim for weekly updates. I am also looking forward to catching up with all the blogs I used to enjoy reading. Don't look now....but I'm coming soon to a blog near you.

An exciting year ahead

2009-03-12T08:57:00.002Z

I have thought long and hard about what to do with myself this year. I spent winter getting myself fit. I am now revitalised and ready for anything. It goes without saying that I will continue my gardening. The weather recently has just started to improve and I have spent a few hours tidying, pruning and planning for the season ahead.

But my big decision this year is to sign up for an Open University course. This decision has surprised me as I am already a busy person. The courses I am interested in are a Certificate in French and a computing course. I will probably do both. Whichever I decide to do first will mean at least 5 hours online each week. That means an hour each evening after work.

Something will have to go! Sadly I have decided not to write in this blog this year. My garden is small and any blogging here would be a repeat of last year! I had a great time last year and really enjoyed reading other gardeners' blogs. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and following my blog. Rest assured that I am still a dedicated gardener and always will be. Soon I will be a gardener who knows a bit more about French and computing! Au revoir.

Spring has sprung...almost

2009-02-21T16:50:00.002Z

What a glorious spring day. These 2 photos show the same bunch of daffs. The snowy picture shows them 19 days ago and the sunny photo shows them this afternoon. They have survived weeks of frost, snow and ice. Isn't nature wonderful?

Today was "walking in the park" weather. Daughter and I went to Greenwich Park because she had to take some photos of crowd scenes for a school project. Everyone was out drinking in the good weather after a really terrible winter. It felt like we were all recharging our batteries.

The heathers were out in flower in the park. But the trees were bare and the bulbs are not yet flowering. I don't know what they use for manure, but the borders smelled far from fragrant! When we came home, I spread my compost over the vegetable patch. It smelt much better, richer and more earthy than whatever it is they use in the park. It has reminded me how much I enjoy being out in the garden. Here's to a better summer than last year!

2009-02-02T15:52:00.004Z

As promised, here are a few of today's snow

pictures. They displayed in a different order to how I intended. The details are below with numbers corresponding to order. I'm fussing about nothing, as it is all pretty obvious!

2) My favourite shrub. A red cordyline in my front garden. Very hardy, so I have my fingers crossed that it will survive.

1) My back garden showing a bottle brush plant, a statue and fountain resembling someone in a sudsy shower, and a tiny bird bath looking more like a pint of frothy beer.

4) My bird feeder. Or non-feeder as I've never seen a bird using it.

3) Somewhere under this is a compost bin. It shows how much snow we've had so far and the same amount is forecast for this evening!

5) Daughter's snowman.

The snow is still falling thick and fast. At the moment, it is soft and powdery. Tomorrow, it is expected to turn to ice. Eek!

The lull before the storm

2009-01-31T12:29:00.003Z

My British obsession with the weather continues! This is now the coldest winter for 13 years. The forecast predicts inches of snow in my part of the UK by early next week. Looking out at the garden, it is hard to believe. The sun is shining and the cats are rolling around on the patio. Small buds have bravely started to appear on my roses and the wallflowers are looking strong and healthy. BUT days of freezing weather means the ground is rock hard. If it snows now it will settle like a blanket. My new camera has a "snow" setting. It looks like I will have an opportunity to test that out soon. Watch this space for snow pictures next week!

One good thing about this cold weather

2009-01-21T08:04:00.002Z

Yesterday I thought of one advantage to the freezing cold winter we are having this year. My grass has stopped growing. Yipee. In previous winters, the weather was so mild that the grass carried on growing. By the time of the first cut, it was a long and soggy mess. Now I'm racking my brain to think of another advantage. Nope. Can't think of any more.

First signs of spring

2009-01-14T20:23:00.003Z

Today was very cold, as usual. But the sun shone and the birds were singing. It made my heart leap. This has been a very long, cold winter and it isn't over yet. But the first signs of spring are definitely here. My daffodil bulbs are sprouting, although later than last year. Here are some I missed when I was digging over my vegetable patch last year. I will let them flower and then move them to a flower border. Happy days are nearly here.

Jack Frost is here

2009-01-10T13:20:00.003Z

Looking at my blog labels makes me realise that I spend quite a lot of time talking about the weather. That is supposed to be a very British habit. This is the coldest winter for many a year. The amount of frost and ice we have had recently is making me worry for some of my larger plants. I would hate to lose the cordyline in my front garden. It has turned into quite a specimen over the last 4 years. I'm not the sort of gardener who wraps plants up for the winter. So, as soon as we have a mild day I will have to make a tour of inspection. That won't take very long in my small garden!

One month later

2009-01-04T22:57:00.003Z

It seems like more than a month since I posted here. Christmas and New Year are such busy times except in my garden. Almost everything is resting for the winter. The brave exceptions are the bulbs...mainly daffodils and grape hyacinths...that are pushing themselves up through the frozen soil.

They are braver than I am. The weather here is far too cold for me. I admire the back garden through the kitchen window and slide down the frozen front path on my way out to work. That's all the gardening I can manage at the moment.

Seasons greetings

2008-12-04T20:18:00.004Z

When I started blogging it was really just for myself. I soon realised that other people were reading my Garden Diary as well. That has brought me a lot of pleasure over the last few months. My blog has had visitors from:
United Kingdom
United States
Canada
India
Germany
Sweden
Australia
Netherlands
France
Norway
Lithuania
Hungary
Korea, Republic of
Brazil
South Africa
Malaysia
Philippines
Saudi Arabia
El Salvador
Italy
This has surpassed my wildest dreams. Many visitors have left lovely comments and I have enjoyed reading their blogs as well.

My part of the world is in the grip of a very cold winter and my gardening has ground to a halt. So now I would like to wish everyone all the joys of the season and a peaceful 2009. I will be back in the New Year as soon as the first crocuses appear. Bye for now.

Changing the subject just a little

2008-11-29T15:13:00.004Z

As things are fairly quiet in the garden at the moment, I have had time to do other things. One of the garden bloggers mentioned the SparkPeople website. This is a completely free, wonderful site.

Most of the members are trying to lose weight. But, even if you are already slim, this site is a boon if you want to make sure you are eating all the right nutrients. That probably includes most gardeners, especially those who grow their own food. There is even a team dedicated to gardeners.

This is the link to the site www.sparkpeople.com
I'm really glad I signed up.

The disappearing sparrows

2008-11-22T18:39:00.003Z

I put up 2 bird feeders and a bird bath recently and have yet to see them being used. I was hoping to take a photo of a bird on one of them, but no luck. The cats now drink disdainfully out of the bird bath. We are possibly on the birdy cat nav of gardens to be avoided. But we all know that birds start singing at the crack of dawn. My cats go out about 8 o'clock to munch grass and then come in again. The birds are either total cowards or not hungry.

It's true that sparrow numbers have declined noticeably. The only birds I see now are wood pigeons, magpies, and blackbirds. The blackbirds wait for me to mow the lawn and then dig for worms. The woodpigeons use my fence as a pit stop between trees. The magpies must be very disappointed if they are looking for treasure in my garden. Perhaps that accounts for their cross squawking. I remember when a robin would sit and watch me in the garden. Now, the only robin I'm likely to see is on my Christmas cards.

Seasons

2008-11-19T22:26:00.001Z

I seem to remember a controversy in September about when autumn starts. The Met Office gave the date as September 1st. Yesterday, I heard them say that winter is November, December and January. So that means autumn lasts only 2 months. Not on my calendar! I'm going to stick to the old-fashioned 21st of March, June, September and December for the start of the seasons. Not that it matters what I think! The weather does its own thing anyway!! This week's mild weather is due to change at the weekend with a blast of air from the north. Winter draw(er)s on.

Beans, beans, good for the heart

2008-11-16T18:18:00.002Z

I'm on a bit of a health crusade at the moment. Here's a photo I took a while ago when I saved some runner bean seeds for next year. If they all germinate, I'll have plenty to give away at work.

I think gardening, cooking and keeping fit are hobbies that are all heavily intertwined. Growing vegetables this year really made me appreciate the taste and value of homegrown produce. I can't wait to start again in the spring.

Autumn glory

2008-11-14T21:31:00.002Z

Here is a photo of 2 shrubs at the end of my garden. The one on the right has nearly finished for the year, but the other is so eye-catching.

As usual the name tags are out in the shed, so I can't say what they are. However, Hubby loves these. I always threaten to remove them in summer because they are a boring shade of green. But in the autumn, they suddenly burst into such lovely colours.

Some of my plants really seem to prefer bad weather. I shouldn't be surprised because I try to buy plants for all-year colour. But, somehow, I don't believe it until it happens.

While the gardener's away..

2008-11-12T20:29:00.002Z

Late start today as I had a dentist appointment before work, so I actually saw my garden in daylight. Not just daylight, but glorious, warm sunlight better than some of the days we had in "summer".

I couldn't believe my eyes. While the tough old rose bushes have definitely gone into hibernation, this beautiful little tub plant is still flowering happily. Well done!

That time of year again

2008-11-11T19:36:00.002Z

This is that depressing time of year when I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. I haven't seen my garden in daylight since Sunday! I would go outside and use the "night" setting on my new super-duper camera, but it's too blooming cold. That reminds me. My camera has a "snow" setting as well. I think I will definitely need that one this winter.

Bargain of the month

2008-11-09T22:01:00.003Z

This month's free gift at my local Costafortune garden centre is a hand-held water sprayer for house plants etc. I collected mine because it is bound to come in handy someday. What a good marketing strategy. It obviously hasn't cost them anything because it carries an advert for something that happened in the year 2000. I've done my bit to clear out their stockpile of items that will never sell and, at the same time, I also bought a bird feeder and bird bath. I'm happy, they're happy and the birds are happy.

Blackheath fireworks..

2008-11-08T22:50:00.003Z

How do you squeeze 100,000 people onto a heath on a cold, wet and windy evening? The answer is the annual Blackheath fireworks show.

This is a beautiful and historic heath that is sadly criss-crossed by several busy roads. During the year it plays host to circuses, funfairs and kite-flying displays.

I can think of only 2 occasions when the roads are closed. One is for the start of the London Marathon and the second is for the annual fireworks show.

It was a good opportunity for me to try out my brand new camera (!). This has many features that I will probably never use. But the "fireworks" setting came in very useful tonight.

Shock, horror; sun spotted in England

2008-11-06T20:39:00.003Z

Fleur likes to warm her botty on the compost bin. Here's a picture of her being confused and startled by her own shadow. You need the sun to get shadows, and we haven't had much this year. Summer was autumn, and autumn has arrived as winter. The silver lining is that, logically, winter should be more like spring. I won't hold my breath.

Ghostly goings on

2008-11-04T20:52:00.003Z

I took this photo a few days ago for some reason I can't remember. It was dusk and I think the sky was looking especially interesting.

I was just about to delete it because it doesn't meet my usually high photographic standards (hee hee). Then I noticed several moons. I've counted at least 5 in a bigger version of the photo. Hubby says they are dots on the lens which I don't believe because my other photos are ok. Daughter who is currently studying photography says they are ghost orbs.

For someone like me who is "very sensible" and doesn't believe in all that, ghostly happenings can still be quite alarming. Is there anyone out there?

Sweetpeas..week 8

2008-11-02T20:35:00.004Z

Here are the sweetpeas 8 weeks after sowing the seeds. They are getting nice and tangled now. Today they had to put up with a very hot and steamy kitchen as I was blanching courgettes. Not a glut of courgettes that I have grown myself, but the result of an online shopping mixup.

Some of the courgettes went into a tasty recipe for courgette lasagne that I found on the BBC Good Food website. If anyone is looking for new recipes, this site is well worth visiting. The link is here www.bbcgoodfood.com You can search for recipes alphabetically, by keyword, by special occasion, or special diet e.g. vegetarian, low fat etc.

History of the Halloween pumpkin

2008-10-31T21:07:00.003Z

Here's my Halloween pumpkin. It is made of stone and I can't for the life of me remember where we got it from. It spends all year in the loft, apart from Halloween when I drag it down and light it mainly for Daughter's benefit.

Here's a link to a webpage that explains the history of the Halloween pumpkin:
http://www.hellokids.com/c_9040/reading/reports/halloween-history-and-facts/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern

Apparently, it started as an Irish tradition that was brought to America by immigrants.

I think the story is so charming that I have taken the liberty of copying and pasting it here. Thanks must go to the website.

"The original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin. The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History.
Jack, an Irish man, grew up in a simple village where he earned a reputation for cleverness as well as laziness. He applied his fine intelligence to wiggling out of any work that was asked of him, preferring to lie under a solitary oak endlessly whittling. In order to earn money to spend at the local pub, he looked for an "easy shilling" from gambling, a pastime at which he excelled. In his whole life he never made a single enemy, never made a single friend and never performed a selfless act for anyone. Stingy Jack, a miserable and old drunk, liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself.
One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter Heaven. He then went down to Hell.
But the Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between Heaven and Hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him a burning coal from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one.
For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".Since, on all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away.
The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns."

Apologies for the very long post, but I just thought this story was so interesting. Happy Halloween.

Crude carrot...not for the squeamish

2008-10-30T19:21:00.004Z

They say little things please little minds. Daughter and I had quite a laugh today when I pulled up this carrot. Sorry about the blurred photo, but my camera won't win any prizes.

Joking aside, my carrots have been a great success. I was very careful not to sow the seeds too close together. But it looks like each seed has grown into a bunch of carrots instead of the single carrot I was expecting.

This is the only one that forked...no pun intended! I see now why the previous owner here grew nothing but carrots. The soil must be perfect for them and the flavour is really special. They bear no resemblance to the carrots sold in supermarkets in either taste or shape. This one would never have made it past the quality checking stage!

Cheap and cheerful

2008-10-28T19:27:00.003Z

Here's a photo I took recently. I keep this tub in a shady corner because it does such a good job of brightening it up.

The actual plastic tub was abandoned here by the previous owners. I pulled out the ivy which I don't like and replaced it with this shrub.

Whatever it cost, it has been great value. It comes back from the dead every spring and flowers at least twice during the summer. It looks even better at the moment as there were quite a few buds waiting to open when I took the photo.

Sweetpeas..week 7

2008-10-27T21:22:00.003Z

Here are the sweetpeas 7 weeks after sowing the seeds. The teenagers have turned into little monsters. I'm following advice to bring them up tough to get them used to outdoor conditions. They are in the kitchen which is , strangely, the coldest room in the house. Snow is forecast for later in the week. I've never seen snow in October so I will be as shocked as them if it happens.

Trampolines

2008-10-25T23:23:00.002+01:00

I remember when one of the amazing things about flying over England was looking down and spotting swimming pools in back gardens. Another less amazing thing (considering our climate) was that there was never anyone swimming in them.

Now the game is "spot the trampoline". I wonder how this craze started here. My last house had a garden big enough for a trampoline but Daughter was happy with a small plastic climbing frame and a treehouse. My present house sadly doesn't have enough flat lawn space and I am officially the world's worst mother for not buying a trampoline.

Then I decided to get fit and bought myself a very small trampoline at a bootfair. Big enough to jog on and small enough to hide behind the shed so Neighbours can't see me. Daughter still thinks she is the centre of the Universe and automatically assumed it was for her. That's fine by me. The more the merrier. After school she tries out the latest moves on it. Then after work she tries to teach the moves to me. Gardens can be such fun places.

Wannabe no more

2008-10-23T20:18:00.004+01:00

I've just changed my posting name from Lottie Wannabe to Lottie. That's what people call me now and it is also much more realistic. Come the glorious day when I no longer have to work for a living, I think I will be about 90 and barely able to lift a watering can.

Yesterday was so warm and sunny that I decided to tidy the vegetable patch...closely supervised by the cats as usual. Here is Fleur enjoying the sunshine.

This year's efforts had mixed results. The carrots, radishes, spring onions and tomatoes were a huge success and I will grow them again next year. What great value and the taste is out of this world. Even Daughter eats up all her vegetables!

The parsnips were a total disaster. They took forever to germinate, then got tangled up in some catmint runners that invaded the veg patch. I managed to harvest 4 parsnips yesterday!!! The dwarf peas were also a waste of space and time. They were more dwarf than I expected and only managed to produce 4 pea pods. My peanut plants are still growing, but something has been digging the soil around them. A hungry squirrel maybe?

But you live and learn. Even my "smaller" crops were cooked and eaten. Next year I will sow earlier and concentrate on what we like and what grows well in my garden. Looking forward to it already.

Blogging pot plant

2008-10-21T21:33:00.003+01:00

Just had to share this...a pot plant in a Japanese restaurant has started blogging. The link to the full story is here: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20081021/twl-blogging-plant-grows-big-in-japan-41f21e0.html

Just in case the link stops working, here is the article:
Blogging plant grows big in Japan
Gardeners have long believed talking to plants can help them grow - but don't usually expect them to talk back.
A pot plant in a Japanese cafe has been writing her own blog on a computer to keep customers posted on its thoughts.
Engineer Satoshi Kuribayashi, who has been studying how to communicate with plants, helped Midori-san express herself.
He wired up the hoya kerrii, commonly known as a "sweetheart plant", to a sensor that measures bio-electric signals and translates them into Japanese using a computer algorithm.
A typical blog entry reads: "Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot. I had quite a bit of fun today."
Customers at the Bowls Cafe in Kamakura, near Tokyo, are taking a keen interest in their green friend's musings.

I kid you not! Sadly, I don't know the name of the blog.

Sweetpeas..week 6

2008-10-19T19:24:00.003+01:00

Here's a photo of the sweetpeas just 6 weeks after sowing the seeds. The conditions on my kitchen window sill must suit them. They are romping away and now look like teenagers with arms and legs everywhere. I'm hoping their growth spurt slows down a little. Otherwise I can see them coming into flower before I'm ready to plant them outdoors.

Autumn has arrived

2008-10-17T21:34:00.004+01:00

The leaves are now falling with gusto. The pavements here are covered with a slimy, treacherous layer and the street sweepers are losing the battle. It must be a soul-destroying job for them at the moment.

Here is a photo of a tapestry I sewed many moons ago. It no longer suits my decor and has been banished to the loft. That's why the camera flash went off and spoiled the picture. Daughter recently showed me a button on my camera that stops the flash going off. Isn't modern technology a wonderful thing? I had been planning to buy a new camera, but I've decided I should learn how to use this one first!!

Free beer

2008-10-15T20:30:00.003+01:00

Only kidding. I just need to get my visitor figures up into the next millennium. Plus there's the fact that I didn't do much in the garden today. The most strenuous thing I did was to open the lid of the compost bin to let in the rain. The compost was the driest place in the garden and I'd heard that could attract rats. They say we are never more than 6 feet away from a rat in London, but I have never seen one here. Maybe the cats put them off.

(Apologies to everyone who was looking for free beer.)

Sweetpeas..week 5

2008-10-14T21:18:00.003+01:00

Here are the sweetpeas 5 weeks after sowing the seeds. They're filling out nicely now. The pots looked huge at the start...now I'm wondering whether they will be able to cope until next spring. Oh well, if I can..they can.

Garden of England

2008-10-12T17:52:00.006+01:00

I spent yesterday driving in and out of Kent, otherwise known as the Garden of England. We set off very early as we were going to a bootfair. The pale sun was still trying to burn its way through the autumn fog. The mist rising like a blanket from the fields was a picture to behold. The overwhelming colours on our journey into Kent were, therefore, white, grey and silver.

Having tramped around the muddy bootfair and bought a few bargains, we set off on the return journey home. What a contrast. The sun was now blazing in a cloudless sky. The colours were gorgeous...blue, green, gold and rust. The trees in Kent are still mainly in leaf, though some have started to drop.

The heat in the sun today was real. It wasn't one of those deceptive sunny but cold days. As I write this, I can hear Neighbour Who Avoids Gardening actually cutting his front lawn. I think he waits for good weather before he does that. That explains why his lawn has been more like a wilderness this summer.

I planted the bargain violas that I bought at the bootfair. £3 for a tray that contained enough to fill gaps in 4 of my patio tubs. Although they are annuals, I know from experience that violas survive for years if the weather stays mild, so I'm rather pleased with my gardening yesterday. I will, hopefully, have something pretty to look at all winter.

Cat photos and dire poetry

2008-10-11T23:53:00.005+01:00

Apparently, according to the Inelegant Gardener, Sunday is Let's All Post Cat Photos and Dire Poetry On Our Blogs day. Technically, it is still Saturday here. But, by the time I've managed to find a photo and write a poem it will definitely be Sunday.

Here's my little sleepy Fleur

Fast asleep and dreaming.

She has a supersonic purr.

Her face is always beaming.

Maybe I won't give up the day job just yet.

Out came the sunshine....

2008-10-10T19:00:00.004+01:00

....and dried up all the rain. This week has been glorious in London and, miraculously, the good weather has coincided with some time off work.

Here is a photo of the sky at dusk. It's looking good for tomorrow and, for once, I will be able to sit and enjoy the garden.

I've managed to weed, prune, trim the hedge and cut the grass. Sadly, a couple of spiders' webs were demolished in the process. We have very clever spiders here. They make their webs in corners that I don't normally reach. But, this week, nowhere escaped my autumn cleaning frenzy. Please, please, pretty please let it be the last time this year!

Serendipity

2008-10-09T19:25:00.003+01:00

I came across this photo by chance this evening. I took it in Stratford-upon-Avon this summer at one of the Shakespeare properties. It caught my attention because I have 2 of these plants in my garden. They were a chance find at my favourite market stall. I would be delighted if they spread like this.

Another bargain...and a mystery

2008-10-08T20:04:00.002+01:00

Just when you least expect it, Nature gives you a glorious gardening day. Today was one of those days. We had warm sun all day. That always gives me more energy.

First I pulled up some carrots, spring onions and peas. These went into a tasty casserole with tomatoes, radish and mushrooms. Only the mushrooms were shop-bought. Sometimes the wet weather produces a crop of mushrooms in my garden, but I never pick them as I am hopeless at telling the difference between mushrooms you can eat and those that will kill you.

Then I went to my local Costafortune Garden Centre. Their free gift for October was a pair of gardening gloves, so I can't complain about their prices today! While I was there I checked the price of their wallflowers. It looks like I saved a princely 79p by buying mine at my favourite market stall.

I noticed that they were also selling wallflowers in pots. This is where the mystery comes in. I overheard a member of staff telling another that "all the potted wallflowers have to go back". I wonder why. What is wrong with them? Will I sleep tonight?

Another biggie

2008-10-07T19:14:00.002+01:00

This is the radish I left in the ground to see how big it would grow. The nights are getting very cold now, so I pulled it up today. I cleaned and trimmed it and put it in the fridge. So far, nobody seems keen on trying it. I wonder why! Tomorrow, I will probably chop it finely and add it to a casserole. It will definitely add some "Je ne sais quoi".

Sweetpeas.. week 4

2008-10-05T19:31:00.003+01:00

Here are the sweetpeas 4 weeks after sowing the seeds. They are starting to feel like part of the family now. I have them sitting on the kitchen window sill which faces south so they get plenty of light. Normally the sun coming through the window might have scorched their leaves, but that definitely hasn't been a problem here this year!

Mock gooseberry

2008-10-03T21:16:00.002+01:00

Here is a photo of my mock gooseberry plant taken about a month ago. It was doing a good job of hiding the compost bin which is probably its ultimate destination so it doesn't have far to go!

It is looking a bit more windswept now and the "lanterns" have changed from purple to gold. Colleague told me the fruit isn't edible, but the books say it can be eaten in October. Maybe I will try one tomorrow....

Pinch punch...first of the month

2008-10-01T21:21:00.002+01:00

I noticed that 3 of my sweetpeas are growing very tall and showing no signs of sideshoots. I pinched out the growing tips at the correct time, but wasn't confident that I was pinching the correct part. Turns out I was right, so I pinched them again today. I promise that is the last time. If I pinch them again they might start to fight back. Pinch punch....no returns.

Memories

2008-09-30T21:45:00.003+01:00

Just when you're least expecting it, something can send you back to a life many years ago and stir up a lot of memories. My favourite market stall is selling Solanum plants a.k.a. Winter Flowering Cherries. Phew! A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since the last time I saw one of these.

Although I took an interest in our gardens as a child, I was never trusted to do anything more demanding than watering. When I finally had my own garden to look after, someone bought me some Solanum seeds. I followed the instructions to the letter and soon had some healthy seedlings. These were the first seedlings I had ever grown and I was amazed that a green plant could grow from a tiny brown seed. The instructions described them as indoor plants. I was more an outdoor person and so out they went where they made a lovely display.

I soon found out that, despite their name, Winter Flowering Cherries don't like very cold weather. Only 2 plants survived. These grew big and bushy and flowered profusely. I had never seen anything like the green and orange berries. Even my green-fingered relatives were impressed at my novice success. Every year they told me they could not survive another winter. Wrong!

After 4 years I moved house and left my plants behind. With hindsight, I should have taken them with me. Now I have the chance to buy them again. Interestingly, the market stall is describing Solanums as outdoor plants which says something about our changing climate. I can't think where I have enough space to plant one. But when did that ever stop me? The market stall beckons!

Sweetpeas..week 3

2008-09-28T11:05:00.002+01:00

Sorry about the over-exposed photo. The sun was shining for once and took me by surprise!

Here are my sweetpeas 3 weeks after sowing the seeds. Last week I had 23. Now I have 24 as one of the missing seeeds decided to germinate this week. You can just about see it at the front of the photo in the centre pot.

Sideshoots are now developing and all the plants are looking healthy. Fingers crossed.

The plot thickens

2008-09-26T21:51:00.006+01:00

Isn't that a good name for a gardening blog? I wish I'd thought of it before. Anyway, I'm really talking about the green beans that I have been losing sleep over. It turns out that Friend of Friend (who gave me the beans) doesn't know what they are either! All she knows is that they grow to about 5 feet in height.

Here's a photo of them. After a lot of Googling yesterday I finally decided that they are definitely runner beans. Unless someone else knows better!

Sod's law

2008-09-26T21:33:00.002+01:00

I'm allowed to say that...I'm a gardener! Glorious weather today and I was stuck at work. While I was there I found some time to Google my green beans and I might be about to solve the mystery. More news tomorrow.

Garden danger

2008-09-25T22:23:00.003+01:00

Did you know that every time we go out into the garden we are in danger? No need to panic. I'm talking about anagrams. I arrived home in the dark tonight so I could not do any gardening. Instead I decided to do some mindless anagram games.

The Wordsmith website here http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html is a great place to while away a few minutes. I turned the name of my blog into hundreds of anagrams. Some don't make much sense. The eyecatching ones include:
Reading Yard
Arid And Grey
Ready Daring
A Randy Ridge
Randy Ear Dig

The best one, simply because it sums up this year's summer, is "Add Grey Rain".

Batten down the hatches

2008-09-24T20:41:00.003+01:00

Apparently the whole of the UK had a dry sunny day today except London. Guess where I live! Here, it was cold, wet, and windy.

The only good thing about today's weather was that I didn't have to water my recently planted wallflowers. The bad thing was that I had plenty of time to look around the garden and I spotted that the dratted hedge has started to grow again. I blame that on the rain which has also kept my grass growing like a lush spring meadow.

All hopes of putting away the mower and shears have evaporated like the morning mist. :-(

What's long and green?

2008-09-23T20:44:00.003+01:00

You all know that game where someone says something and the next person passes it on down the line. When it reaches the end, it comes out unrecognisable. Nobody can remember how it started. That's a bit like some green beans Friend of a Friend keeps giving me.

All I know about this is person is that she grows vegetables. I sent her some grape hyacinth bulbs and she promised me some runner bean plants. Weeks later 4 runner beans arrived.....not the plants.....just 4 runner beans. I think. They are long and green, but could be any type of bean. I plan to sow the seeds but my books don't help very much except to give me various sowing dates depending on the type of bean.

Obviously I need to know, so I asked Friend 1 to ask Friend 2 what they are. Several weeks later, after a deafening silence, what do I find waiting for me at home? Only another 5 long green beans. Looks like I'm going to have to guess.

White carrot

2008-09-22T22:43:00.002+01:00

Here's a photo of some carrots I pulled up to go in a casserole. We were all amazed by the white one. The seeds all came from the same packet so this one is definitely a cuckoo in the nest.

The leaves were definitely carrot leaves. But the colour and texture belonged to a parsnip which is a big coincidence because my parsnips are growing next to my carrots in the veg patch.

Everyone wanted a piece of the white carrot, so I had to slice it very finely. The casserole, by the way, was delicious. I put in homegrown tomatoes and spring onions as well. Cooking the spring onions cooled down their flavour just enough.

I still have a lot more carrots growing and we are wondering now how many will turn out to be white.

Sweetpeas..week 2

2008-09-21T10:00:00.002+01:00

I can't believe it is only 2 weeks since I sowed these sweetpea seeds. Everything I read told me how hard they are to germinate. One article even said I should rub the seeds with sandpaper before sowing them. As Daughter would say, "Get a life!".

So I sowed 25 seeds and 23 are romping skywards. Not sure what happened to the other 2, but I had my doubts about 1 of them to start with. It just looked like an empty seed case.

The instructions say to pinch them out when 4 true leaves have appeared. I did that today, though I am not a confident pincher. However, they are still alive and I can see side shoots appearing, so perhaps I did ok. If I still have 23 seedlings next week, I will be happy.

Season of mists

2008-09-20T22:17:00.003+01:00

At last I have given in and accepted that summer is over and autumn has arrived. For some strange reason the UK Met Office decreed that autumn began on September 1st. I clung to what I was taught at school. In other words, autumn begins on September 21st.

However, to be strictly accurate, it seems that the autumnal equinox is on a different day each year. See http://www.nmm.ac.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/time-facts/equinoxes-and-solstices#equinox Looking at the chart on that website, we can see that autumn begins on September 22nd this year.

I like early autumn. I no longer expect good weather, so when the sun shines it is a pleasant surprise. This week has been sunnier and warmer than August. Walking through leafy Greenwich the other evening I noticed that the trees are starting to lose their leaves. The earthy smell was intoxicating.

This is conker season when the ground is littered with horse chestnuts and their broken spiky shells. Is it my imagination, or have kids really stopped picking these up?

Wallflowers 1578 - 2008

2008-09-19T21:17:00.004+01:00

My favourite market stall came up with the goods yet again. It was selling bunches of wallflowers for £1.20. All I had to do was pick them up and pay. What a contrast to my local garden centre where you have to put your name on a list and wait for a telephone call!

The plants I bought looked a sorry sight. Here is a photo taken after soaking them for a day. They looked a lot worse 24 hours earlier! But I know from many years experience that by next spring they will transform into the most sweetly scented flowers.

I remember these plants from when I was very young and curious about their name. Our garden didn't have walls, so I wondered how they would grow. When they finally flowered, they were always orange. Since then, the plants I buy are supposed to be mixed colours. They are still always orange!

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, these flowers were first called wallflowers in 1578. They were wild flowers found growing literally in walls. Much later, in 1820, the word was used for ladies "sitting out a dance". Strangely, it does not seem to have been an insult. It was a pleasant expression comparing ladies to flowers. Nowadays, ladies are embarrassed to be referred to as wallflowers. Maybe, they should be reminded how pretty and fragrant the wallflower is.

Mine are now growing in spaces vacated by fading summer bedding plants. I know they will look half dead through the cold, frosty months ahead. Some years it is amazing what they can survive and still produce stunning flowers in the spring.

Went to mow a meadow..

2008-09-17T22:52:00.003+01:00

Spent a couple of hours today cutting and weeding my front lawn. At this time of year I always give it a very thorough finish in the (usually vain) hope that this is the last cut until next spring. The rainy summer has meant the lawn weeds are still flourishing and I managed to dig out another bag full. The lawn is now looking pretty good considering my mower is on its last legs. It's only 5 years old so I don't want to replace it yet. But I suppose if I measured the mileage it has been around the block a few times and more. That makes two of us!

My spring onions

2008-09-16T20:27:00.003+01:00

Today I pulled up the last of my radishes except for one that I will leave in out of curiosity to see how big it will grow. I also picked all the spring onions that are big enough to eat. Here they are. They have a very strong taste and one at a time is enough for me. We all like them though, so they will soon be eaten. There are a few still growing in the garden and they should be ready before the frosts.

I also had a busy day cutting the lawn in the back garden. Miraculously, we have had a couple of fine days. The grass was still damp but it will only get worse as autumn approaches. It was also covered in very large worm casts which I have decided to take as a good sign. Mowing them was a bit gross, but the grass now looks lovely...like a smooth green velvet.

Poll results

2008-09-15T22:28:00.003+01:00

The results of my fun poll are now in. I asked how many hours you spend in the garden each week. The answers were as follows:

0-3 hours.....20%

4-10 hours....40%

11-20 hours....40%

over 20 hours....0%

So what does that all prove? Nothing really. From reading all the amazing gardening blogs, it is obvious that many gardeners spend more than 20 hours gardening and quite a few hours blogging. If you think about it, they are probably too busy to answer poll questions!

Thanks again to everyone who took part. Normal blogging will resume tomorrow.

Please take my poll...

2008-09-14T19:32:00.001+01:00

I've moved my poll up to the top of the page. Thanks to everyone who has taken part so far. More votes welcome and the results will be announced tomorrow!

Sweetpeas..week 1

2008-09-13T21:46:00.002+01:00

I was amazed this morning to see my sweetpea seedlings have already appeared after only 1 week. The packet says germination will take 12-21 days so I wasn't expecting any developments until the end of September.

They had the required temperature because they have been in a propagator. They have also been on a window sill out of direct sunlight. The last part was easy because we haven't had any sunlight!

I sowed 25 seeds, so it will be interesting to see how many survive to adulthood. Watch this space!

Garden tapestries

2008-09-12T21:47:00.002+01:00

Here is a tapestry I sewed many years ago when I was footloose and fancy free. It probably took me a few months, but I know I enjoyed doing it.

I've always thought roses were special flowers. I had so many rose bushes in one garden that, when I sold the house, the description of the garden simply said "roses". There were roses of every colour including a very rare blue variety. My wedding photos include one of the happy couple standing in front of a very tall Queen Elizabeth rose bush covered with pink roses.

One particular favourite was a white "Iceberg" rose. I successfully managed to bring it with me to my next 2 gardens. Sadly it did not survive the journey to my present home. That was probably a good thing because the soil here does not suit roses. I have grown a few, but they always get black spot. I am close to pulling up the last 2 rose bushes. The only thing stopping me is that Neighbour likes looking at them from her upstairs window. From there, she can only see the gorgeous petals. Close up, I can see the horrible black spotty leaves. I'm afraid their days are numbered.

Garden watching

2008-09-11T22:49:00.002+01:00

When I am tired of my own garden, there are always others to look at. I walk to and from work and should really have a crick in my neck because I am usually looking sideways at the gardens I pass. These fall into the following categories:

1) the tiny utilitarian space between the house and the front wall that contains gravel and wheelie bins. Some of the wheelie bins have been covered in pictures of ivy or roses in an attempt to camouflage them.

2) the slightly bigger space that has been paved over as a driveway with a potted plant by the front door and a hanging basket.

3) the overgrown gardens that have seen better days and are waiting for better times ahead.

4) the tidy, simple gardens belonging to busy people.

5) the gardens bursting with a riot of colour in all seasons.

Some contain plants such as magnolia trees that I admire but will probably never grow. One has a lawn that is enviably flat and never weedy. Another has a hedge that must be trimmed by a mathematician because every line is straight and every angle the same. Yet another has an eco-friendly jumble of logs to attract insects.

My favourite has to be the garden I can see from the staffroom at work. The owner is always outside pottering around and improving things. He is a perfectionist and constantly mowing, planting and weeding. His latest project is making a coldframe. Next week it will be something else. A few of us at work follow his progress with interest. He doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he seems to appreciate an audience. On a good day he will look up and blow a kiss!

Pretty leaves

2008-09-10T22:34:00.003+01:00

When I decided to grow some veg this year, the last thing on my mind was how pretty it would look. As it has turned out, the leaves on the carrots are the prettiest in the garden. The parsnip leaves are very close behind in the beauty stakes.

This blurry photo just about shows the carrots in the foreground and the parsnips in the background. The ragged leaves to the right belong to the radishes which taste great despite their "plain Jane" leaves.

Other attractive leaves that you can't see in this photo belong to the peanut plants that I am growing just for the interest really. I'm not expecting any nuts in the type of weather we have had this year, but the leaves are a very unusual heart shape

The Jury is still out on the appearance of my spring onion leaves. For weeks on end they resembled grass. Now they look like inflated green straws. One thing I found out is that they make a very loud pop when you stand on them by accident.

Indoor gardening

2008-09-09T20:45:00.004+01:00

It was perfect weather for indoor gardening again. In other words it was raining cats and dogs. At this rate we will soon be overrun by poodles and tabbies.

Someone kindly reminded me recently that it is time to sow my sweetpea seeds. Here they are. If you look very closely you can see the rain drops on the garden bench. I left them there for an hour to be "watered in". That's one good thing about our weather recently. I haven't needed to walk around with a watering can twice a day.

I chose a dwarf variety that doesn't need staking. I grew up with a garden where everything was in regimented rows and tied or even nailed to walls and fences. Ughh. Now I'm the gardener, I let most things get on with it. I don't have time to mollycoddle, so sometimes it really is a case of "survival of the fittest" in my garden.

Dandelions

2008-09-08T22:33:00.003+01:00

I've noticed quite a few bloggers have been writing about the seamier side of gardening.....the mess, mishapen veg etc etc. My qualification in this area is a gold medal in the Olympic sport of weed growing....dandelions in particular. Where are they all coming from? I regularly patrol with a carrier bag and half fill it with young dandelion plants. It is very, very rare that one grows long enough to set seed.

When I was at school we used to play in a field. None of us picked the yellow dandelions because we all knew that the other name for them was "wet-the-beds". But we all loved to pick their white, fluffy heads and blow the seed as far as the wind would carry it. We thought of these as fairy flowers and never made the connection between the two plants.

Now history has come back to smack me on the nose. When I was looking for what I thought must be a monster dandelion hiding under a shrub, Daughter sheepishly admitted finding a fluffy, white fairy flower and blowing it all over the garden. They say one year's seeds is seven year's weeds. Hey nonny no.

My last tomato crop

2008-09-07T22:40:00.003+01:00

The tomato plants in my hanging baskets have gone a very strange grey colour. Probably some dreadful disease. Over the last few weeks, I have picked quite a few delicious tomatoes. But now the plants no longer look capable of sustaining any sort of growing fruit. So I picked all the tomatoes this weekend.

The ripe red ones went into a casserole. Reading some blogs recently makes me feel lucky to have any red tomatoes. Our dreadful summer seems to have delayed ripening for a lot of gardeners. The photo shows the last remaining green or unripe tomatoes. Eagle-eyed bloggers will have spotted the banana. Apparently all I need is the peel to ripen the tomatoes. I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow!

Bargains!

2008-09-06T21:07:00.002+01:00

My local "Costafortune" garden centre is convenient but pricey. It is within walking distance, has a good range of stock, and even runs gardening classes. I have bought quite a few plants there over the years and even saw a celebrity (who shall be nameless) arguing with his wife about marigolds!

Every year they send me a calendar with lovely garden and wildlife photographs. This year's calendar has vouchers on every page. Here is a photograph of September's special offers. I bought 10 dwarf narcissus bulbs for 50p instead of £1.99. The bird feeder was completely FREE. It should have been £4.99. What great bargains!

All the rain we are having has turned my garden into a sodden quagmire, so I will have to wait to plant the bulbs. I'll also wait until winter before I hang up the bird feeder as there are still lots of natural edibles in the garden. We don't want lazy birds, do we?

Singing in the rain

2008-09-05T23:35:00.003+01:00

Bloggers around the world might have guessed from reading the UK blogs that we have had a miserable and wet summer here. I decided to look for a few quotes about rain and actually managed to cheer myself up. Here are the quotes that did the trick. They might work for anyone else depressed by the continuing deluge.

It ain't no use to grumble and complain;
It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice;
When God sorts out the weather and sends rain,
Why, rain's my choice.
- James Whitcomb Riley

For after all the best thing one can do when it is raining, is to let it rain.
- Longfellow

Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains.
- unknown author

When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
- Benjamin Franklin

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.
- unknown author

Have you watched the fairies when the rain is done,
Spreading out their little wings to dry them in the sun?
- Rose Fyleman

Don't blink...

2008-09-03T19:19:00.003+01:00

...or you'll miss it. Today we had a blue sky for the first time in weeks. I celebrated by taking a photograph. What it doesn't show is the strong breeze. One of my taller potted shrubs blew over at least 5 times today. It's the huge gooseberry shrub I use to hide the ugly compost bin so it's in the vegetable patch. The spring onions and catmint have already been squashed, but made a good recovery. The peas and parsnips are also in danger depending on which way the wind blows the pot. My nerves couldn't take it anymore, so I finally had to move it to the patio where it can't do any damage. That was definitely the right thing to do. I think I can even see the cloud on the left giving me the "thumbs up" sign.

Weather for ducks

2008-09-02T20:08:00.003+01:00

So much for thinking positively yesterday. I splashed my way to work this morning through puddles the size of small lakes. The staffroom was full of people wringing out their trousers and drying their feet. Lovely sight! The spare pair of trainers I keep in my locker finally came in very useful. My work shoes were still soaking when I came home so they are now sitting on the garden wall being blow-dried by the breeze.

Miraculously, the sun came out this evening. The garden is looking clean and green after all the rain. But the ducks aren't far away. Their favourite weather is due to return later this week. I might turn my back garden into a big pond!
(Thanks to kecute.wordpress.com for the lovely photo.)

Think positive

2008-09-01T23:02:00.002+01:00

When did the seasons change? I'm not talking about holes in the ozone layer, global warming, or tides higher than the Thames Barrier. I'm simply confused by the changing dates. Apparently September 1st is the start of autumn according to the Met Office. Why? I know we haven't had much of a summer. I saw a news report today saying that Britain had 96 hours of sunshine during August. That averages out at 3 hours per day. Not where I live. The last fortnight has been cloudy and before that it was wet and windy. But I am going to think positive. Summer doesn't end until September 21st in my diary. The days are still long and we could have weeks of golden sunshine ahead of us. I'm going to hold on to that thought!

Tomato surprise

2008-08-31T20:20:00.002+01:00

Occasionally I find time to cook a proper recipe and put healthy food on the table. The real title of this recipe is "Grilled Veggie Macaroni". The surprise was the single, solitary, lonesome tomato that the supermarket delivered with my home shopping order. Apparently I clicked on "item" instead of on "kg". Luckily enough of my homegrown tomatoes were ready to use.

The recipe was quick, simple, cheap and delicious so here it is:

Ingredients:
250g macaroni
500g tub of cheese pasta sauce (or make your own if you prefer)
4 tomatoes..chopped
400g tin of broad beans or butter beans..drained
135g mixed watercress, spinach and rocket salad..chopped

Method:
Boil macaroni for 12 minutes, then drain it.
Stir in the cheese sauce and heat gently.
Stir in the tomatoes, beans, and mixed salad.
Place in an ovenproof dish and grill for 5 minutes.

The finished dish will feed 3 or 4 people. We had it with a buttered French stick. Very filling and full of flavour.

Talking compost again

2008-08-30T20:44:00.004+01:00

While browsing through the gardening section of my local library, I came across this book: "The little book of compost: recipes for a healthy garden and happy planet" by Allan Shepherd. It was published in the UK last year so will be a lot more relevant to my garden than the last compost book I read. That one recommended elephant dung, but since the local circus no longer stars elephants I can't get my hands on it.

I recommend this book to all compost makers from beginners to experts. It is full of practical advice given with such humour that it livens up what can be a very dull subject. Types of compost included are: soil in the bag, cold turkey, bokashi sushi, worm stacks, hot Californian turnover, compost tea, comfrey cordial, and wafer-thin mints. As you can see there is a culinary theme running through the book. The author gives us recipes for an 8-course meal. The meal is not intended for human consumption but for the millions of organisms that inhabit our compost heaps.

In his introduction, the author gets straight to the point: "A successful compost heap is a hot bed of fornication, consumption and defecation............If you've never made compost before, you may be thinking, Jeez he wants me to make a bucket full of poo. Yes I do, but this isn't the kind of poo you wouldn't want to step into; this is clean, beneficial, lovely poo that smells nice and helps our plants to grow."

Once again, an excellent read and available from a library near you!

Albert's travels

2008-08-29T22:05:00.004+01:00

This, believe it or not, is a photograph of my red cordyline otherwise known as Albert. Does anyone else give names to their plants? It was named by Daughter when I brought it home from the market 5 years ago as a skinny little pot plant. I think it cost me £1. That's why I like market bargains. Much cheaper than my local garden centre and not a financial headache if they shuffle off this mortal coil.

Winter was looming when I bought the plant, so it spent the first few months indoors as a pampered guest. In the spring, I planted it in a sunny bed in the back garden. The following year it was in danger of disappearing underneath a pink mallow tree which had grown much bigger than expected. So I packed its cases and sent it to live in the front garden where it is positively glowing with health.

I never have any qualms about moving plants if they are in the wrong place. They say it takes 5 years to make a garden. Albert's wanderlust has been cured and he is happily making roots in his "forever home".

Typical

2008-08-28T20:05:00.004+01:00

This photo shows what the sky has looked like here for most of the summer. We have had a few sunny days and it has been fairly warm and dry. Last year's widespread flooding hasn't been repeated. But the sky has usually been cloudy and grey. Until now that is. As soon as I go back to work we have been promised a hot, sunny weekend. Typical.

All I did today in the garden was to pot up a strawberry runner. If the weather stays like this, I won't be eating strawberries this year. However, I read that you can safely leave out strawberry plants all winter. Even though my back garden is a sun trap, I am a bit incredulous that they will survive until spring. Only time will tell.

Blaze of glory

2008-08-27T19:32:00.005+01:00

Blaze of glory doesn't refer to my garden, although it could (boast, boast). It refers to the way I have just ended my very long summer holiday. It has been nearly 3 weeks which is the longest I have ever been away from work. I know I'm going back to a pile of work, so I decided to get all my gardening jobs up to date. I mowed, deadheaded, pruned and swept up. The gardens should easily tick over nicely now for a couple of weeks. Just long enough for me to get straight at work.

It's very rare that I cut the grass at the front and back on the same day. All ideas about joining a gym have evaporated. As Neighbour said "why do you want to join a gym with all the exercise you get in the garden?" After today, I agree.

I even pruned a shrub which is technically growing in the next door garden. That's where its roots are anyway. It is a very large leafy shrub about 12 feet tall with flowers like white lilac. It might even be a lilac, but it has only just flowered and I thought lilac flowered in the spring. Neighbour has these shrubs growing all around the garden. Admittedly he had a major pruning session last week, but would have had to be a gymnast to reach the branches overhanging my garden. Problem solved, the branches are now chopped up and happily rotting away in the compost bin.

Sulking cat

2008-08-26T17:42:00.003+01:00

Here is a picture of Fleur Cat who is sulking because Chloe Cat was yesterday's blog page 3 girl. Not really. She likes sitting on next door's garage roof to watch the world go by. The wooden monstrosity in the foreground is a garden bench with a pergola on top of it. I've never grown anything up it and nobody has ever sat on it! The only thing it is used for is a cat scratching post. I'm quietly hoping it will rot away as quickly as possible.

Nature's gym

2008-08-25T23:28:00.003+01:00

So I finally finished cutting my hedge. That was quite a workout with all the bending, walking and lifting the supposedly light hedge trimmer. Not to mention the raking and sweeping afterwards. I suppose it is too much to hope for that I don't have to do it again this year. One consolation was the thought of how many calories I was burning up. The other consolation was that the cats kept me company. They are usually confined to the back garden, so love to follow me out into the front whenever they can. They are very good and don't go out onto the pavement or road. Here is Chloe Cat watching to make sure I am cutting a straight line.

Topiary

2008-08-24T16:50:00.002+01:00

I've just been watching the closing ceremony at the Olympics and noticed the red London bus at the end. When it opened up there was a topiary hedge in the shape of the London skyline. I think it was a fake hedge, but who knows these days? Maybe topiary is going to make a big comeback. Not to be outdone, here is a photo of topiary at New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon. It looked more impressive from the other side, but I couldn't get a good angle for some strange reason. Daughter thinks it is "pathetic" but she isn't the one who cuts hedges in my house. However, she was impressed by the hedge we saw about 3 miles outside Stratford-upon-Avon. It had been cut into the shape of a steam train. Fabulous. Maybe that is something to aim for when I finish cutting my hedge tomorrow. Or maybe not!

Quiet enjoyment

2008-08-23T18:29:00.005+01:00

A gorgeous day especially for the end of August. I get a lot done when the weather is like this. After a busy morning shopping, walking, and checking out the local gym (!), I sat in the garden for a whole hour. Mad dogs and Englishmen came to mind. Daughter was with me and, although the sun was starting to burn, I didn't want to spoil the lovely mood by moving indoors. She is going through a prolonged stroppy teenage phase but sitting in the garden is guaranteed to make her mellow and a pleasure to be with. We both unwind and chat, sort out our thoughts and plan for the future when we sit in the garden. Maybe it is something to do with the colours and scents which seem to be getting stronger as summer moves on. Whatever it is, I wish someone would bottle it. I'll take 6 crates!

Sadly, all good things come to an end. I had to get up and trim one of my hedges. This photo was taken about a month ago and shows just half of the hedges I have to cut. Somehow it didn't seem so much of a chore today. I even had the energy to trim half of the hedge on the other side of my garden. My cordless hedge trimmer, however, didn't have the energy to carry on so I have saved the rest of the hedge for Bank Holiday Monday. Yipee!

Sunflowers

2008-08-22T22:27:00.004+01:00

Cheating a little here with a picture of the sunflowers that greet me every time I open the front door. As you can see, they are indoors rather than in the garden. I've never had much luck growing them. My daughter still likes to remind me of the time I killed the sunflower she brought home from school. I think I planted it out too early and a late frost finished it off. It might also be something to do with the soil or climate in my area. I sometimes see a solitary sunflower tied to a stake to stop it drooping. When I do, I just want to put it out of its misery. Sunflowers should look like the fields I saw when driving through Europe one summer. Literally mile after mile of bright yellow flowers all reaching their heads up to the sun. Glorious.

Grass sofa

2008-08-21T22:49:00.003+01:00

I spent a lovely few hours on London's South Bank today and came across a fake lawn covered in huge armchairs and sofas also made of fake grass. This was all happening just feet from the Thames. The South Bank comes in for a lot of criticism about its vast expanse of bleak concrete, so it was nice to see some greenery...however fake! I kicked myself because my camera was at home, so here is a photo I have gratefully borrowed from the Internet. As it is still the school holidays here in London, the giant furniture had children clambering all over it which gave it all an "Alice in Wonderland" feeling.

Waxing lyrical

2008-08-20T23:05:00.004+01:00

While I have been waxing lyrical about Shakespeare's gardens I haven't been neglecting my own. I've been pruning, tidying and weeding so much that there was nothing left to do today. I make regular use of my compost bin which is very close to my back door. The slightly cooler weather this week means that all my recent additions to the bin are still looking as fresh as a daisy. I decided that I simply must turn the compost. So out I went, opened the lid, looked at the compost, closed the lid and came back indoors. Naughty I know. It reminded me of the hilarious scene on "One foot in the grave" when Victor Meldrew decides to clean the venetian blinds and then doesn't do it. Tomorrow I will just have time to either clean my blinds or turn the compost. Compost it is then!

Famous mulberry tree

2008-08-19T20:24:00.003+01:00

When I was in Stratford-upon-Avon last week, I visited Hall's Croft where Shakespeare's daughter Susanna lived after her marriage to Doctor John Hall. There is a beautiful walled garden containing herbs that would have been used for medicinal purposes by the doctor. There is also the customary mulberry tree. The curator of the house gave me a very interesting talk all about it. It does not date back to the 17th century but is still very old. About a hundred years ago, one of the main trunks fell over. It has been supported by a brick wall which is just out of view to the right of my photograph. This probably saved the rest of the tree which is still flourishing and producing fruit. The downside to all this is that some bright spark came up with the idea of covering the fallen trunk with concrete to make it into a garden bench! It can just be seen in the photo behind the flowers. Luckily these flowers help to disguise the "bench" and discourage visitors from sitting or climbing on it.

Shakespeare's trees

2008-08-18T21:30:00.003+01:00

There is a story that King James I wanted to start a silk industry in England so he encouraged landowners to plant mulberry trees. Many landowners including Shakespeare showed support by planting mulberry trees in prominent positions. Silkworms love to eat the leaves of white mulberry. Unfortunately, the landowners planted black mulberry and, consequently, England has many mulberry trees but no silk industry!

Shakespeare planted his tree in the grounds of New Place where he lived until he died in 1616. After his death, tourists flocked to see it. In 1759 the owner of New Place was so fed up that he chopped down the tree. Soon after, to avoid paying Land Tax, he demolished New Place completely and all that is left is Shakespeare's Great Garden.

Here is a photo I took in the garden. The larger tree in the foreground is said to have been grown from a scion from Shakespeare's tree. That was my new word for last week. Apparently, it just means shoot, twig, or sucker. The smaller tree in the background is a "child" of the larger tree and was planted by Dame Peggy Ashcroft who used to learn her lines in the garden. Her ashes are scattered under this tree.

Shakespeare's flowers

2008-08-17T22:39:00.005+01:00

Shakespeare was definitely in touch with his feminine side.
He understood flower symbolism and used it in many of his plays and poems. There is a famous speech given by Ophelia in Hamlet in which she mentions flowers and herbs. Here is a short quote:
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember: and there is pansies. that's for thoughts."

The Shakespeare properties in Stratford-upon-Avon all have lovely gardens that still contain the same type of plants common in the 16th and 17th centuries. Here is a photograph of the garden in the grounds of New Place where Shakespeare lived until he died in 1616. You can just about see the Elizabethan knott garden design of hedges and groups of flowers.

New Place was sadly demolished in the 18th century. The house in the photo is Nash's House where Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Hall lived after marrying Thomas Nash.

Note the gathering rain clouds. Shortly after I took this photograph, the heavens opened!

Lovely break

2008-08-16T22:34:00.007+01:00

Have just returned from a lovely few days in Stratford-upon-Avon where we did all the usual tourist things including going to see David Tennant (Doctor Who) in Hamlet. I'd definitely recommend Stratford-upon-Avon to anyone who enjoys quiet holidays with a bit of culture and history thrown in. We saw lots of beautiful gardens at their summer peak and I took a lot of photos which I will probably be sharing here in the next few days.

The weather was typical Midlands weather, a mixture of sun and some short, sharp showers. The local canals are looking worryingly full and I could see how easily they flooded last year.

Here is a photo of a floral display in a font that is believed to have been used for Shakespeare's baptism. When it was replaced by a newer font, it spent some time outside as a garden ornament which must account for its weather-beaten appearance. Luckily, it was eventually rescued and returned to the Holy Trinity Church where it is on display close to Shakespeare's tomb. The stand seems fairly new, but the font is quite corroded although it has scrubbed up very nicely and will probably survive another few hundred years.

My first job on returning home was to water all the pots and tubs. We don't seem to have had much rain as they were very dry. The tomatoes have made great progress and nearly half have changed from green to red in my absence. That just goes to show that a watched pot never boils.

Lawn reborn

2008-08-11T21:21:00.005+01:00

For someone who hates mowing the lawn so much, I seem to spend a lot of time planning to do it. The last 2 cuts were so short they almost killed it....so that plan nearly worked! Since then, it has been growing in uneven clumps and long stalks among the scalped parts. Wembley Stadium it isn't.

My only real success has been keeping it relatively weed-free. When we moved in 5 years ago, we had weeds the size of cabbages. I dug out sackloads of the things. Now I only have to walk around about once a month and dig out a few young interlopers. Digging them out is probably the secret. My fight with bindweed years ago taught me that you have to remove the roots as well...or else.

Most of yesterday was dry and sunny. But as soon as I had time to cut the grass, down came the rain. Today, though, I rushed out to cut the grass before the forecast rain. The rain still hasn't arrived, but at least my grass looks better. It didn't take long at all. In the spring I can easily fill 4 bin liners with grass clippings and getting rid of them is a problem. Today I hardly filled a carrier bag so I was able to tip the lot into the compost bin. Easy peasy. Now that the growth rate has slowed down, I am leaving it to grow slightly longer. It is actually starting to look like green grass....if I look at from a distance with one eye closed.

Big radish, little radish

2008-08-10T22:09:00.003+01:00

Today I decided to pull up all the radishes, rake over the soil and sow more radish seeds. That explains why some radishes were the size of small potatoes and others were like little acorns. I should have pulled up the bigger ones earlier, but Chief Radish Eater has been away for a couple of weeks. I couldn't resist taking a photograph. The variety is French Breakfast and the radishes are supposed to be long. Next time I might leave one in the soil to see how big it will grow.

Nothing to report

2008-08-09T20:45:00.003+01:00

It was definitely not gardening weather today.
Wet and windy just about sums it up. So I spent some time trying to improve my
picture skills. Every gardening blog I have
looked at has great photographs. I think we need
a lot more bad weather before mine does!
Here is a photograph of a sign I bought
at Haworth Station in Yorkshire last year.
It caught my eye as we had just built a new shed.
The person who "lives" in the shed was quite
flattered!

Little and often

2008-08-08T23:13:00.003+01:00

Another busy day at work, so I had little precious time for gardening. What I did have was spent walking around and cutting back any parched bedding plants and shrubs. Little and often works for me. I find that is the best way to keep up to date in the garden. It's odd how some plants are still romping away and others have already shrivelled up. They haven't been wasted as they are now in my compost bin. Talking of compost bins, I found out today that I could have had a free one from my day job. Maybe I won't mention that at home where we spent hours putting together the one I bought last month. Never mind!

Cyclamen

2008-08-07T19:38:00.005+01:00

Well, my favourite market stall was still selling winter-hardy cyclamen at a bargain price. I bought these 2 and have planted them in my shady north-facing garden. They are much prettier than in my photo and have lovely variegated leaves. The patch I chose used to be a semi-circular lawn area. I already had more grass than I needed, so I turned it over to shrubs about 5 years ago. It wasn't easy. It was a hot summer that year and the grass was dry, hard and compacted. It took days of digging and years of adding compost to make a successful shrubbery. One neighbour even told me I was making a big mistake! Since then I have planted mainly shrubs of a spiky or prickly nature that cope well with the cold gloomy conditions common in north-facing gardens. Spring bulbs also do very well there, but summer bedding plants never impress due to the lack of sunlight. Apparently, these are the conditions that cyclamen plants thrive in. I have seen some beautiful pictures of cyclamen that has self-seeded and spread. Hopefully, that will happen in my garden. When I planted them today, I was pleased with how easy it was to dig the soil. In contrast to 5 years ago, it is soft and healthy. Now I have neighbours telling me how nice it all is, and one has even planted similar shrubs in her garden. Imitation is definitely the sincerest form of flattery.

Smiley face

2008-08-06T22:22:00.006+01:00

Here is the happy smiley face of some of the homegrown produce that I picked today. The radishes are "French Breakfast" and the tomatoes are a hanging basket variety called, I think, Tumbler. The tomatoes have a wonderful flavour and are much better than anything in the shops. There are plenty more on the plants waiting to ripen. I will definitely grow them every year, but will probably choose a bush variety in future to cut down on the watering. I've decided the radishes have a stronger taste when they are smaller, so I will be picking them earlier from now on. The BBC Grow Your Own Veg was very good again tonight, but I think it should have been scheduled for the spring. Then, anyone who was inspired by the programme would have had a full growing season ahead of them.

Multi-tasking

2008-08-05T21:42:00.007+01:00

My south-facing back garden has many functions including suntrap, flower show, vegetable patch and clothes airer. The last one is probably the least attractive. Here is a picture to prove it. Daughter has just come back from foreign parts with a suitcase full of washing. We have a useful area at the side of the house that is given over to sheds, bins and a clothes line. As the sky stayed steely grey all day, the washing was the brightest thing in that part of the garden. Now what is that saying about airing one's washing in public?....

Anticipation and suspense

2008-08-04T21:24:00.003+01:00

Sometimes the pleasure is in the anticipation. This was another day when I was far away and unable to get my hands dirty. However, I did find time to do some research on sweet peas. We love scent in the garden and try to pick supposedly fragrant flowers. Sometimes we have been disappointed. This week, however, I heard about the beautiful scent of sweet peas. Different websites give conflicting advice about how easy they are to grow from seed. Some people have more success than others. How will I fare? Well, I won't know until I try.....which will be very soon as, apparently, you can start sowing seed in September to give hardy plants for planting out in the spring. It will make a nice change to see something growing when everything is dying down in the autumn and winter. Thanks to Vanda for her beautiful photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/vandaspictures/

Something else that turns nature upside down is winter hardy cyclamen. My favourite market stall was selling potted cyclamen plants today. Never having grown them before, I looked them up on the Internet. They will be perfect in my shady front garden which is mainly given over to grass and shrubs. They will inject some colour into the sea of green and add life to an otherwise dormant shubbery. What a bargain! I'm feeling very mean now that I didn't splash out a meagre £1.50 and I hope they are still there when I go back later this week. Will they or won't they? Wait for the next instalment....

Compost

2008-08-03T19:34:00.005+01:00

At last the rain has arrived....a steady downpour that is soaking into everything in the garden. Lovely, we desperately needed it. Now is a good time to ruminate about my compost. They say that 40% of household waste can be composted. I can double that figure as I have just spent a week cleaning a teenager's bedroom! Seriously though, it is amazing what can go into a compost heap. Apparently cotton and wool can go in. I'm not convinced about that, but have experimented by throwing in an old cotton towel. Maybe I should have chopped it up first, but it's too late now! I don't put in weeds even though the books say you can. A couple of years ago, I made the mistake of buying compost from a local farmer. Goodness knows what was in it, but I have just spent the last two years pulling up enough dandelions to feed an army. That is just one reason I now make my own compost. At least I know what has gone into it. It is one of life's mysteries how the multicoloured contents (orange peel, banana skins, hedge clippings etc) always make brown compost. I expect there is a very good scientific explanation for it. I leave you with a picture of Chloe Cat drinking a puddle of rainwater. She prefers it to my London tap water which is a bit worrying as I drink quite a lot of it!

Mile a minute hedge

2008-08-02T20:23:00.003+01:00

Today was hedge-cutting day. I have 3 hedges and 3 lawns because my plot is triangular. Unfortunately, I hate cutting hedges and lawns though I do like the finished result. Today I cut the hedge between my garden and Sylvia's. It's a beautiful yellow colour that glows in the sunshine. I don't know the name of it but it is very common in my area. It grows very fast in the humid weather we have been having lately. In contrast my lawn, as you can see, has been scorched by the sun. Here is a picture of the end result. The clippings are very soft and make great compost. That's where they are now, hopefully decomposing nicely. I take quite an interest in my compost heap, but that's another story.

Armchair gardening

2008-08-01T21:57:00.004+01:00

For reasons I won't bore you with, my normal routine was turned upside down this week. I had little time or energy left for "hands-on" gardening. That doesn't mean I didn't do any gardening. I just did it from my armchair. Auntie Beeb (the BBC) has just started a new series on Wednesday evenings...Grow Your Own veg. It was especially interesting to me as it followed people trying to grow veg in smaller gardens rather than allotments the size of a football pitch. I envy people with allotments, but would never have the time for one. Then tonight there was the ongoing Gardeners' World...excellent as usual. Here is a photo of some of my gardening books. Some of them are decades old. They don't always include the newer varieties of plants, but they are still very useful. Ah well, life should be back to normal tomorrow. My hedge has been waving accusingly at me all week, so I suppose that is my next job.

Let it rain

2008-07-31T21:28:00.005+01:00

Every weather forecast for the past 2 days has brought warnings of heavy rain. Where? Not here. I eventually gave up and went out to water the garden. I thought that was sure to bring on the rain, but there's not a sign of it yet. I consulted Google and the good news is that I now know what parsnip seedlings look like. The bad news is that I pulled some of them up last week because I thought they were weeds! The survivors are definitely too close together. They must have meandered after I sowed them. Now I have to decide whether it will do more harm to leave them alone or to move some of them. It's too late now, so I'll have to sleep on it.

Decisions, decisions

2008-07-30T21:26:00.003+01:00

The battered, bargain strawberry plants I bought in the market are growing new leaves every day. There is even a runner hanging down which shouldn't really surprise me as this is supposed to be a hanging basket. But should I poke it into a pot and let it root? I imagine I could get quite a few new plants that way. Even if I don't need them, I love giving things away. My parsnips need a bit of attention as well. There are definitely some green plants coming up in a row where I sowed the parsnip seeds. But they seem very close together and I distinctly remember spacing them carefully. Do I move them around? Or would I simply be transplanting weeds? You can tell I'm new to this! My favourite veggie book doesn't show what parsnip seedlings look like. I think that is a big omission as surely every gardener needs to know his/her seedlings from his/her weeds. Google here I come.