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Diaries 2008
December 2008
Once more I find myself hurtling frighteningly fast towards 2009. Which
isn't all bad, I am planning to sow the first batch of sweetpeas next
week, an old one, Flora Norton. Last weekend the broad beans went in to
cold claggy ground, don't envy them. The Hardy Plant Society seed list
arrived last week and I will spend some time making choices, some familiar
some new, shall I try some more peonies? Also put in bulbs which were
a bit late in arriving this year, Crocus Blue Pearl and Cream Beauty,
Tulip Philippe de Commines and various others all tucked away to surprise
in the Spring.
We
have as usual flip floppy weather, the last few days glorious sparkling
frosts and gold sunny blue sky days. In some places the frost didn't lift
all day and then it feels bone cold.
Have checked the Glastonbury Thorn in the Bath Botanic Garden, it is in
fitful flower and the number of buds tell me it will indeed be in flower
on Christmas Day.
In a not very good humour a few weeks ago I was walking back in the dark
from the local station and a Prunus x subhirtella Autumnalis Rosea in
full flower which grows in a very unpromising situation in a niche inset
into a brick wall on the pavement, caught my eye. I broke off a small
twig and it has graced my kitchen windowsill with its flowers for two
weeks - cheered me up.
The pigeons are feasting on the abundant holly berries opposite my house,
the cotoneaster remains untouched for now. They are not leaving much to
deck the halls with. Now the leaves have fallen the balls of mistletoes
appear in unexpected trees, two in easy reach are in the front of a block
of flats on the Gloucester Road in Bristol, others grow high out of reach.
Seasonal Greetings n'all
[06/12/08]
November 2008
The year marches on apace. Recently flip flop weather, frosts followed
by rain and wind. Overcast today, old foliage and stems blotched with
motley rotting greys, dingy dark khaki bean leaves hanging limply from
their canes and the oh so perky nasturtiums stopped in their upstart tracks
for this year [seeds litter the cleared ground]. Took out and composted
some of the more obvious frost victims. In the unheated greenhouse double
nasturtium Margaret Long and one of the heliotropes totally gone. The
small heliotrope cuttings not touched though. Cut
back The Bishop of Llandaff [he performed stalwartly all summer] and gingers,
planted out wallflowers mixed from a local garden centre. My sowing of
Erysimum Blood Red in the summer was chewed to nothing by the slitherers
- planning ahead coming to nothing in this instance.
De-constructed hanging baskets today excavating the tubers of the
fancy leaved ipomeas, will they overwinter in moist compost in
an unheated grenhouse? We'll see, save a few quid if they do. Might try
Sweet Potatoes next year, GW trial seems to suggest the rather industrially
named T65 is the best performer for our climate.
Been attempting to make the most of Nature's bounty and all that on a
Crab Apple hunt this weekend - we found a couple of scabby
trees on some back roads, nothing like the golden globes that tempt you
on main roads. A scrumping of Bramleys from a deserted house site precipitated
a stampede of curious and rather frisky heifers - hard fought jelly now
residing amberly in 6 pots!
Still waiting for my bulb order Jacques Amand! Why is there a delay? Did
the Dutch have a wet harvest season too? I am itching to get bulbs underground
and christmas presents growing away in pots.
[02/11/08]
October 2008
October has come in with wind and rain after a few still weeks of sun
and calm. The heaving trees in the park provided a restlessness to early
morning thoughts. The last few weeks have been about tidying and starting
to bring plants inside, collecting seeds and taking a few cuttings including
Heliotrope and Pelargonium as the parent plants are too large to come
inside. I had a sneaky excavate of two pots containing seeds of Paeonia
Mlokoswitschii and P veitchii sown in January and kept in the fridge for
3 months then outside in a cold frame. All but one of the seeds had sent
a root down this year so hopefully next year leaves will appear above.
I have also been thinking about bulbs and looking
forward to Spring, planting in pots Narcissus Thalia and Crocus Advance
[good value from Westonbirt Arboretum Plant Centre].
The still, sunny weather has been glorious, my mother's borders [right]
have been bright with Asters, Sedum [particularly Matrona]
and Eupatorium on one side and perennial Helianthus, Coreopsis and more
on the other! A late hatch of very fresh looking Comma and Tortoiseshell
butterflies as well a masses of bees have been taking hectic
advantage of this late bounty.
I
finally got my auriculas potted up which was a task neglected last year,
I am hoping for a better display next April.
There is quite a lot of comment on various UK gardening blogs about the
'dumbing down' of our gardening magazines and gardening programmes. Gardeners
World under its new leader Toby Buckland appears to be leaning
toward the Geoff Hamilton years. To be honest I haven't watched GW with
as much enthusiasm since Geoff. There was an honesty about the presentation
which we lost subsequently to some extent. But I was younger then and
had gardened less and I was living in London and it was a link to the
countryside - so lots of things all bound up.
One of the current comments is about the emphasis on the basics all the
time - it is useful to be reminded of seasonal tasks but I too get
fed up with the lawn care side of things. One of my favourite
programmes for a while was Real Gardeners which was hosted
by Monty Don [Blogger Garden Monkey pet hate] but it gave time for things
to develop and the garden year to unfold in different gardens with their
gardeners/tenders - then I think the producers pushed it towards a makeover
format too far and it lost its reality! Another much appreciated 'slow
garden' programme was Dan Pearson in a Year at Home Farm.
Excluding the RHS magazine, Gardens Illustrated owned
by the BBC is probably the one I read the most even if it sometimes teeters
on the brink of Country Living cutseyness. I have sometimes subscribed
to Hortus on and off since its launch years ago, it has
been described as elitist [I agree but] over the years there have been
articles, writers and thoughts about gardening that have really stuck
with me - but time moves on? There was a rush of new plant magazine launches
with bigger aspirations a few years back but they died off quickly - the
market does not appear to be there - Why?
Are the various smaller plant societies dying a slow death - a comment
in the HPS magazine about the seed distribution is worried that fewer
seeds are coming in [mea culpa too] and that less people are requesting
seeds from the swap - are these societies ageing with us?
If you are reading this from outside the UK the comments re the magazines
and programmes won't mean very much probably - sorry!
Have a rummage around these UK gardening blogs if you haven't come across
them for some scurrilous through useful to just slightly bonkers thoughts
and comments - you decide!
| >> Garden Monkey | >> Veg Plotter | >> James Alexander Sinclair | >> Nigel Colborn | >> R Pete Free |
For now I am off to pot up a couple of woefully neglected orchids as we
have sunshine at the moment!
[01/10/08]
September 2008
When do we feel Summer becoming Autumn? Is it because we know that September
the first is with us or is it the light and long shadows, forlorn chirruping
of late grasshoppers, seedheads and bleached grasses? Over the last few
days the condensation in the morning has been gathering inside windows
and heavy dews are showing silver the web baskets in the grass.
In
Royal Victoria Park the conkers are falling and squirrels already making
the most of the harvest. Hawthorn is heavy with red berries, elder clusters
nod glistening black. Some trees are already yellowing, fallen leaves
eddy in the gutters. Many Horse Chestnuts bear scorched leaves - just
the wind or Leaf
blotch, Guignardia aesculi?
The tomatoes in the greenhouse felt chilled at 8:00am and the race on
to ripen before clearance for winter and green tomato chutney or blight
signals the end of the growing season. Peacevine
Cherry has set prolifically and is starting to ripen, as
is Noir, both from Garden Organic, Cuor di Bue
had just started to ripen outside but succumbed to blight quickly - a
pity!
Quick veg roundup - the first sowing of peas, Lancashire
Lad with purple pods from Garden Organic were tasty as pods and
peas, a second sowing of what might have been Telephone from saved seeds
has been less successful, the pods stringy when flat, the peas are fat
and quite floury but not unpleasant. Beetroot Bulls Blood
is not really making much of a beet and a white one Albina Vereduna
[T&M] is also not very large although well beetroot flavoured. French
beans may not be as prolific as runners but purple podded Trionfo
Violetto from Seeds of Italy was not stringy at all even when
very mature. Dwarf French bean green Pirata [GO] started
early and produced sturdy plants with white flowers but didn't crop that
heavily, maybe due to the weather. Courgette Rugosa di Friuli
[SI] has warty sweetcorn coloured skin and the flesh texture is a mix
of squash and traditional courgette - different!
It
is also time to start looking back and wondering what happened to those
heady humid nights planned for in spring and scented plants sown but which
never really made it. I blame variable quality of compost again on the
lack of real performance of the white Mirabilis
jalapa [not just the lack of warm humid nights!]. Every so
often the Heliotrope have enticed and the Sweetpeas performed well in
this damp year especially King's High Scent. Nicotiana
has just produced huge leaves, nary a flower so far.
On a rainy afternoon in mid August a visit to Hidcote
must have been the quietest I have ever seen it and therefore far more
enjoyable than the shufflings and 'Excuse Me's' required to negotiate
the paths on more clement days. A mass of heliotrope planted near the
entrance scented the passage through [not sure what to do about mine as
they need to come in for the winter but generally sulk on windowsills].
Also visited Pan Global Plants to see how the garden
is coming on, some staunch plantings of white Crinum, Verbena bonariensis
and soft grasses and wow's included an Erythrina in full scarlet flower.
The weekend just gone taking advantage of a warm sunny day paid a quick
visit to Montacute's walled garden, perhaps not as zingy
in its late planting as I have seen it in the past and a visit to Abbotsbury
- the delightful play of light and shade from the managed canopy had that
dozy late summer feel and the sound of the wind in the trees the restlessness
of seasons moving on.
So here we are - another year of sowing,
planting, pruning, chopping, digging, weeding, picking and watering starts
to draw to a close.
>> Listen / Download Podcast for September 2008
[01/09/08]
August 2008
Time flies - obvious but true. The honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica Hall's
Prolific has been drenching the garden in delicious heavy scent for a
few weeks, Buddleja Nanho Blue is now adding honey to the mix. The fat
red candles of Lobelia tupa lend an exotic touch, if you don't know this
substantial red lobelia - take a look at my plant
index, it's not your normal bedding type! Sweet
Peas have continued to produce after their slow start, a fresh bunch scents
the house.
Rich jewel colours of dahlia Bloodstone and David Howard look sumptuous
in a glass vase back lit by the sun.
I am quite pleased with my Agapanthus, re-potting has
stimulated flowers - I know that treat 'em mean is supposed to make them
flower but I think a pinch of salt may be taken on that one at least in
some instances. I have 3 flowers on a mix from the RHS seed distribution
too - I guess the plants are 3-4 years old. The picture is of Nigella
papillosa - much more 'in your face' than N damascena, also available
in off white.
Visited
the Special Plants nursery a couple of weeks ago just to the north of
Bath. Couldn't resist the S African Berkheya purpurea
in bud - I have tried this prickly thistly daisy from seed a few times
but never got it to flower. Also bought another Heliotrope, Chatsworth,
I love the scent on these tender shrubby plants even though the plant
itself is nothing much to look at.
The weather has been warm and sunny, grey and windy and just now a passing
shower has sent people scurrying under cover in the park.
[01/08/08]
July 2008
Sunny and a bit windy for the last few days and quite chilly at night.
Today is cool and grey with dismal spits of rain on and off.
I have been out Vine Weeviling with a torch at around 10:00pm for the
last few nights, the neighbours probably wonder what I am up to! The toads
are certainly curious. The
fat grubs are now dopey black, flour coated weevils, unlike lily beetles
they don't drop to the ground at the first tremble of questing fingers.
Provado will be employed in late August/Sept especially in the pot of
Impatiens omeiana they have taken a liking to.
Cornwall is currently the land of nodding foxgloves, red and purple Fuschias
in hedgerows, bud bursting Agapanthus topping Cornish stone walls and
the yellow and vibrant pink flowered succulent Carpobrotus edulis
from South Africa all over the cliffs at Cape Cornwall. Visited the
Hardy
Exotics Nursery near Penzance and fell for a Dandelion
Tree from the Canary Islands [Sonchus], how wierd it is to see
a giant shrubby dandelion, there was also a fabulous Isoplexis canariensis
in full bloom. A specimen
of the Dandelion Tree can be seen in the NT's Trengwainton
gardens alongside Melanoselinum decipiens and lots of flowering shrubs
and plants from New Zealand and Australia.
Sweet Peas have started to come on in abundance having previously sulked
and refused to bud-up - the picture shows primarily the cream and blue
picotee edged Kings High Scent, which as the name suggests
is heavily fragrant.
Native orchids seem to be abundant this year, there are great swathes
of Commmon Spotted Orchids [Dactylorhiza fuchsii] along the M5 motorway
in Devon including the super giant type. On chalk grassland in Berkshire
a large patch of Fragrant
Orchids
[Gymnadenia conopsia] and another of Pyramidal Orchids
[Anacamptis pyramidalis] have been seen. My parents reported a lovely
group of Butterfly, Common Spotted and various orchid hybrids in a Scottish
National Trust garden they visited recently on the West Coast.
Battle has been engaged with a mole who found newly constructed
flowerbeds very easy to traverse, systematically working under newly planted
specimens and around established shrubs from a main run along the edge
of the bed - every so often you could see the wobble of earth as it worked
the beds - a liberal dosing of the runs with Jeyes fluid has been resorted
to.
Mid
summer was celebrated with a small bowl of very small vegetables - leeks,
carrots, broad beans and purple podded peas. Some Elderflower Champagne
was also made, most of the bottles have gone off with a pleasingly loud
pop and froth.
Also Good Luck to Kari
Beardsall with her first showgarden at Hampton Court
Flower Show next week!
[02/07/08]
June 2008
More upsy downsy weather. Last weekend
strong swirling winds brought down twigs and blossoms, broke newly planted
tomatoes and generally misbehaved! Today it is generally still, grey and
muggy with only a few glimpses of sun. The freshest green of tree leaves
is all but gone, hushing deeper green predominates now.
Roses in many colours are nodding and waving over garden walls
and
the scent of honeysuckle and philadelphus catches you walking in the parks
and streets. I can't help burying my nose in blossom as I wander about.
Last week in the Botanic Garden an elusive sweet bubblegum scent was traced
to the pale blue-purple bells of a pawlonia [Chinese Foxglove
Tree], the flower clusters high above our heads.
The
lime trees in the parks are soon to flower and tantalise with their refreshing
sweet cucumbery scent - a number of different species and cultivars have
been planted by the parks department to give a welcome extended flowering
season.
In the vegetable garden the first cut and come again
salad leaves have been eaten - the first mix sown in March is just various
lettuces but I prefer a mix with a bit of endive and chicory for variety,
sown last weekend [Seeds of Italy]. The Spinach has bolted, one variety,
Lorelay, slightly slower to bolt than the other, the rows are being replaced
by dwarf bean Pirata [Heritage Garden Organic]. Last weekend Sweet Corn,
Squash [Cornu d'Hiver], Pole Beans [Lingua di Fuoco and
Trionfo Violetto], Courgettes [Nice de Rond & Rugosa
Friulana], Sweet Pepper [Dulce Italia] and Tomatoes
[Brandywine, Noir, Cuore di Bue, Teton de Venus and Peacevine]
were all planted out. A busy weekend!
Various hardy terrestrial orchids I have been tempted by over the years
are flowering now including Dactylhoriza praetermissa and
D maculta. D fuchsii Alba is a little further behind. I succumbed to a
stonkingly huge form of D fuchsii at Keith and Ros Wiley's Wildside
Nursery in Devon a couple of weeks ago and look forward to
seeing it in flower soon. [The orchid to the right, Dactylhoriza foliosa
was also bought from the nursery].
I am plodding on re-potting plants in my garden which I do find a bit
of a chore, but well worth it when they start to show growing gratitude
for refreshed quarters! Go on you shirking Agapanthus, especially Purple
Cloud and A africanus!
Will it or won't it rain - shall I or shan't I get some gardening done?
[01/06/2008]
May 2008
Well the weather is upsy downsy - wet / cold / warm, even so the candles
on the Horse Chestnut trees are lighting up. Last evening the fresh green
immature leaves were highlighted by the late golden sun against a dark
purple-grey sky - sumptuous! Two weeks ago I was in SW France for a few
days pottering around the local Garrigue tripping over myriads of Orchids
and various other usual and unusual plants - click
to whet your appetite!
The swifts are toying with us, I saw a joyful skirl over
Bath Station yesterday then they were gone. On Saturday in the warmth
more Brimstone and Orange Tip butterflies were on the wing as were Swallows
and the sightings peaked so far for the Swifts
on the phenology website - they are way behind in comparison to last
year's sightings.
The epimediums are putting on the best show ever this year in my garden,
E x omeiense Akame
in particular at the moment [see right]. The whole wood bed has that plumptious
dewy-fresh look. I am waiting to see how my Barnhaven show auriculas from
seed are going to look, daily checking the buds as they very, very slowly
open up - it's always exciting to see 
them
for the first time.
Wonder of wonders Lunaria rediviva, Perennial Honesty,
has germinated for the first time having tried a number of times. I now
have to pluck off the voracious slimy hordes who have also discovered
the new growth.
Veg is coming up in the new beds - Spinach and a cut and come again lettuce
mix from Seeds of Italy will soon be ready. Spinach started in the greenhouse
and planted out is at nearly the same stage as a different variety sown
direct under a cloche at the same time as the first lot was planted out.
The last major sowing of 2008 indoors 2 weeks ago was Sweetcorn and Squash,
all are now up and raring to go into the greenhouse to get better light
- they are straining a bit.
I keep most seeds in the fridge and am surprised at how good the germination
rates are for some which may be 4 or 5 years old.
Happy First Day of May!
[01/05/08]
April 2008
The weather keeps switching between cold and sneaky northerly winds, torrential
rain and more clement sunny warmer days when the bumbling solitary bees
can be heard noisily visiting early flowers. I saw my first shiny new
sulphur Brimstone butterfly on Sunday which according to the phenology
website was the most popular day for sightings so far this year. The
early Easter seems to have thrown us all into confusion, garden
centres are selling tender veg already - unless you have nice cosy quarters
it is still too early - the soil is cold and the danger of frost is still
a threat even in the sunny 
South
West!
I sowed the seeds of two larger tomatoes, Noir [Heritage
Seed Library] and Cuor di Bue [Seeds
of Italy] on 20/03/08 in the heated propagator to give them a head
start on the ripening later on and the seedlings are all up. The slower
germinating sweet pepper [left] sown at the same time has just started
to appear this morning. The second sowing of tomatoes was made a few days
ago, Peacevine
[HSL] and Teton de Venus
[St Marthe] which despite last year's dull weather was 
one
of the more reliable croppers of the french tomatoes. The squashes and
pole beans won't be sown for a few weeks yet. Other seedlings already
up, Mirabilis jalapa, Nicotiana mutabilis, Senecio polyodon, Lettuce Leaved
Basil and outside Astrantia sown fresh last autumn has
started appearing. The peat free compost grew a lovely crop of mushrooms
in the heated propagator.
Sweet Peas sown in the autumn and early January have been put outside
to fend for themselves, Cupani, Percy Thrower and a selection
from Owls Acre Sweet
Peas. Carrots and Spinach sown on the veg patch under a cold frame
have started to emerge and Broad Beans sown inside have been planted out
- the 2008 season is under way!
Auriculas are starting to flower, the yellows and buffs predominate, Chamois,
Snow White, Gleam and various Barnhaven seedlings.
In the woodbed the Wood Anenome's are emerging fast,
Robinsoniana leads the pack alongside Bracteata
Pleniflora the two most vigorous the others generally sulk.
Every day there is something new emerging including the red jacketed gentlemen
of the lily beetle variety - squish I am afraid!
Sun is shining - hooray and good gardening.
[01/04/08]
March 2008
A blustery day - the winds of March and all that. Sun is out, daffodils
nodding everywhere and the chocolate vanilla scent of Azara microphylla
is being thrown around the garden in the strong breeze. A few auricula
flowers are braving the elements and the flowers of Skimmia japonica 'Kew
White' are shyly opening. The first flush
of single white flowered prunus is lighting up the hedgerows, the petals
twinkling in the air. The freshest enticingly green leaves of the emerging
hawthorn is starting to fuzz the starkness of February's twiggy branchiness.
A hard frost last week finally put paid to the top growth of Eomecon
chionantha and most of Begonia hatacoa which was out all 
last
year tucked against the house wall. Some pelargoniums appear to be quite
resilient left out in sheltered places. The Moschatel is everywhere in
the woodbed, a stealthy advance from the initial planting, thankfully
it goes dormant in the summer to make way for the even more rampant woodruff!
Saw 'wild' crocuses for the first time, Crocus albiflorus,
strange to see these single crocuses speckling rough grassland. They are
not native to the UK and the jury is still out as to whether that other
herald of spring, Galanthus nivalis is an early introduction or a native
nurtured and spread because of their association with Candlemas.
I have been somewhat tardy in my seed sowing so far this year. Of the
first batch aquilegia, Lupinus chamissonis, Silene Purple Prince and Rehmannia
are up and at 'em. Arum creticum, hosta and Geranium pratense all tardy
no shows so far. Outside the Astrantia sown last autumn has started to
germinate. My thoughts are turning to vegetables! I feel some seed sowing
coming on.
Good gardening
[01/03/08]
February 2008
This year so many things seem ahead of 'where they should be'. But are
more people planting earlier daffodils like Rijnvelds Early Sensation
- rather than all daffodils are early this year? There are quite a few
out already certainly here further South West but by no means is everything
out and ahead. The snowdrops still lend their pristine presence to hedgerows,
woodland glades and pockets under trees. In a few places, one of the hedgerow
single white flowered 'plums' are in flower [not blackthorn]. Went looking
for the predicted snow further west on Friday - no snow in these parts.
Today the wind cutting and the skies for the most part grey and rain now.
Further into Somerset near the coast quite a number of Camellias are already
in full flower, in my garden one Camellia, Mayasoshi has a bud almost
open - but that is fairly usual for the time of year. The first few yellow
puffs on the Acacia baileyana also open.
One of the treats when things are still on the cusp of Spring is to visit
glasshouses looking for alpines and more exotic plants. At Oxford Botanic
Garden this weekend the compact glasshouses had a range of plants in flower
from alpines to insectivorous.
Sowed the first seeds last weekend now inside an unheated propagator on
a windowsill and some peaony seed from the Hardy Plant Society seed distribution,
sown in pots which will now reside at the back of the fridge for a few
months.
[03/02/08]
January 2008
Looking back on this time last year the weather was windy and rainy -
this year generally grey, fairly dull and still. The sun appeared briefly
today bathing Bath in late afternoon light which makes the bath stone
glow rich gold. The frosts we had for a few weeks abated, the cold snap
has withdrawn for now. A walk around the Botanic Garden attests to the
milder weather. Two crocuses already in flower and a clump of snowdrops
by the grass bed. The first Sarcococca
flowers are open, the scent on S confusa? was cleaner than S digyna. The
eerily pale scented flowers of the Chimonanthus were fully out on the
bare branches as were various Viburnum, the Parrotia's pomegranate hearts
cupped in dark copper were on display. The Glastonbury Thorn still tightly
budded, a single white cherry in fitful flower. 
Note
to Bath Bot - where has the Corylopsis gone?
In
my garden I unearthed one of last year's pots from under the Euphorbia
mellifera and the daffodils are already 6 inches high and in bud - Crewena,
I think. My mother has reported aconites open in S Somerset. The Iris
reticulata and I danfordiae planted in the autumn are still only a few
centimetres up in the pots. A quick poke around in the woodbed shows the
tightly rounded new growth on the Helleborus purpurascens poised and pushing
but not yet ready to open up and the glaucous new leaves of the Stylophorum
ever so slightly revealed, tucked down in the tight rusty winter buds.
I have despatched my seed order to Garden Organic - including white carrots,
purple podded peas and new tomatoes to try. I am taking pot luck with
the HPS seed list but did my research with the help of google images.
I am itching to start sowing seeds but have to content myself with more
Sweet Peas for now.
What
do I wish for 2008 in the garden? Some sunshine please and a moderate
to warm summer, not the unrelenting cold and wet of quite a lot of last
summer.
Here's to 2008 in the garden!
[01/01/2008]