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Diaries 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/chicory/endive
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]