Garden 2014 no 1

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Garden 2014 no 1

The spring flowers are blooming and what better way to spend the first semi decent Sunday afternoon of the year than out in the garden? Not that I did an awful lot. I had already decided to cut back on the garden this year and spend more time painting, but it still needs a little TLC.

Today I cut back the flowering shrubs ready for summer. The buddleia was so tall last year I found dead heading difficult, after today there is more of it in the garden waste bin than there is left on the tree. Hope I wasn’t TOO enthusiastic.


Apart from some vigorous pruning, the only other task I tackled was a general tidy up. The garden was swept clean of leaves and general debris the wind had blown in plus some bits of broken wooden boarders that I found scattered around.

I noticed the rhubarb was sprouting so I covered them with pots, if the weather holds I’ll get the first of this years crop with in a month or so.


Oh………..and I couldn’t help noticing all the buds on the cherry tree.

May 9 2011, Garden no 5

Garden 2011 No 5

Typical !! It rained and rained and rained all weekend and then as soon as we all have to get up and go to work…………………..the sun shines. I couldn’t wait to get home and potter around the garden, and then when I did eventually get home, the rain came back and I spent the evening dodging the showers.
I was pleased to see my Fence has survived the monsoon and the winds, in fact I was very impressed, it seems rock solid despite not having enough concrete in the post holes and being battered by the elements these last few days. It’s about half done, the plan is to remove the second half of the hedge during the week and build the rest of the fence over the weekend.
This is the size of debris pile, my guess is it will at least double in size by the time all this work is finished, and then I suppose I have to find a way of disposing of it.
But on a brighter note………….all this rain has done wonders for the plants, my little decorative corner garden is looking good and with no fear of frost I’ve bought the geraniums out again.
These red geraniums have sat on my living room windowsill all winter where they have cheered me up with their constant display of red flowers.
The rain has bought the onions and garlic on, last time I looked (before the deluge of rain) there were no shoots and just look at them now.  The lovage has also flourished in the rain, in fact I think this is the most prolific my lovage has ever been. The fruit canes are doing really well, but unfortunately something seems to have used my cherry tree as a scratching post. I’m not sure what has caused this damage, neither am I sure what, if any thing, I can do bout it. I just hope the tree recovers and there is no lasting damage.  Looking up into the old apple tree I can see the pink blossom already beginning to show, think I could be in for a good crop of apples this year. And lastly, this is my lawn; take a good look because this may well be the last photo ever taken of the grass. The area marked off with string is destined to be my new veggie plot.

Tags: garden, plants

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delete reply acousticeagle wrote on May 10, '11 You've pulled the privet for every good reason. When they get old, tatty and scruffy and you know nothing is going to fix it, then it really freshens things up to reef stuff out.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on May 10, '11 Vegetables are ever so much better than grass. Your picture of the apple blossoms is very lovely indeed.

delete reply djdx wrote on May 10, '11 Our hedge was starting to get away from me. I didn't get the top trimmed and with the snow we had this winter, it's falling over, but I had a go at it today. I would have planted something else but make do with what's here; it is lonicera nitida. I look forward to following your garden.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 PRIVET http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet ''Privet is also an invasive species. Many environmental volunteer groups seek out to remove it because it will take over most habitats''.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 acousticeagle said Just asking about the hedge. You decided to get rid of it, why was that? LONG STORY.......lots of reasons, mostly its a very old privet hedge and some of the bushes had totally died, I always seemed to be dragging old dead wood out, some of the roots were dead and just lifted out. Also it was bare at the bottom and bushy at the top and no amount of trimming changed that. There were big holes where dead bits had been taken out. By taking it out I have gained a lot of extra ground. And I have to admit, I have a bit of a 'thing' about privet, its not a native of this country, it was introduced as decorative hedging and if you HAVE to have a hedge, I think it should be native hedgerow, which is exactly what I am going to plant on the inside of the fence once the fence is finished. I have some baby hawthorn, dog rose, dog wood and holly saplings sitting in a bucket of water waiting to be planted along the inside of the fence. They will take a few years to make a good hedgerow hence the need for a fence and while they are growing I get to use the extra ground. By the time my little bit of old fashioned native hedgerow is fully grown I don't suppose I will be here to see it, but its a nice to think it will be there. I like to think it will encourage more birds and wildlife into the garden.

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on May 10, '11 Hey, all that looks super. Something used your new cherry tree as a scatching post - nooooo! Could that be a neighbour's cat? Maybe a little bit of plastic pipe curled around it while it's growing? Just asking about the hedge. You decided to get rid of it, why was that?

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 brendainmad said I do love your garden. thanks Brenda... i love it too when I can get out there and not be stuck indoors watching the rain :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 esoterika713 said wish to do the same with a spot of grass on our co-op property I have read several reports recently which all seem to be saying that turning gardens and waste land over to food production is becoming more and more common. Seems to be one of the positives of people having to cope on less and less money.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on May 10, '11 I do love your garden.

delete reply esoterika713 wrote on May 9, '11 I wish to do the same with a spot of grass on our co-op property. I need help with the design and the building. I hope to find someone who is handy. :)

March 2 2011, garden no 2

Garden 2011, no 2, Fruit

I planned on spending quite a bit of time in the garden yesterday. The plan was, do ‘stuff’ that always needs doing at weekends in the morning, head down the town and buy a few bits, then home and spend the bulk of the day in the garden. You know what they say about plans…………..
By the time I actually finished my chores and managed to get out into the garden most of the day was done. It’s defiantly spring, but living on the Northern hemisphere, we are still plunged into darkness at about 6.30 every evening which makes the day very short. As soon had I got out there and opened up the shed,  one by one my neighbours  appeared, all  wanting a little conversation which began with something like……………’is that you starting in the garden again?’ It’s lovely they show such an interest and they want to chat…………..but as the light faded my frustration rose.
I achieved very little, I planted a cherry tree that I came across in the supermarket that morning, I assembled and filled a strawberry tub ( the assembly bit was quite hard) and I was about to plant a few fruit canes that I bought when the light faded too much and I gave up and came indoors.

So………………no points for guessing where I’m off to now , hope to be back later with more photos.
Isn’t it nice to be back in the garden?

Tags: garden, garden2011, fruit

Prev: music for the weekend; Fruit and fun.
Next: Garden 2011 no3

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edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 6, '11 nemo4sun said the house down from the one i grew up in had a cherry tree it attracted birds from everywhere :) funny you saying that, my daughter said exact same thing today, she said I'll be lucky to get the cherries before the birds do.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 6, '11 veryfrank said Strawberry jars are a chore to plant. they certainly are. This is a plastic one that needs to be assembled and then filled with compost and then planted. I actually assembled it twice.............first time I made it upside down and all the little 'pots' on the side were facing downwards .........not amused having to do it all over again. I planted the strawberries today, there are holes for 36 plants but I only had about 25 so need to buy more.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 6, '11 greenwytch said we are dancin' in the dirt. dancing in the dirt...........love it :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 6, '11 veroniquemariquita said Heart-warming to see a gardening blog thankd Vero, heartwarming to be doing them again... :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 6, '11 mitchylr said How did your day in the garden go then? Did you get anything done or were you ambushed by the neighbours again? good day..............just getting cleaned up and getting some photos sorted out. The neighbours stayed indoors today but I was visited by a daughter, much as I love her it interrupted my day by taking a 2 hr slice out of the middle. thanks for asking :-)

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Mar 6, '11 How did your day in the garden go then? Did you get anything done or were you ambushed by the neighbours again?

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Mar 6, '11, edited on Mar 6, '11 the house down from the one i grew up in had a cherry tree it attracted birds from everywhere :)

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Mar 6, '11 Definitely a 'get busy' time for you. I grew veges in my plot and now at the beginning of Autumn in Aussie, I'm winding it all down. I learned from my mistakes this season past and will do better next year. I hope your new tree and plantings go super well.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Mar 6, '11 Glad to hear that you can get back to gardening, we are still a month away from planting outdoors. Strawberry jars are a chore to plant. I have four, each having 12 openings, and may pass them on to the younger generation this year.

delete reply msowens1 wrote on Mar 6, '11 sounds like you need a few days off during the week to catch up on everything! glad you back to gardening and loving it all! ;-)

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Mar 6, '11 Gardening is so good for the soul!!!! I am glad you are back to gardening and that your plants do well and are - well - fruitful.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Mar 6, '11 i am very happy that you are getting out to scratch the Gardener's Itch once again. telling you to have fun would be somewhat rhetorical, eh? at this time of the year, folks like us are not dancin' in the streets. we are dancin' in the dirt. ; D

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Mar 6, '11 Yes, Spring is definately sprunging!! There's been warm sunny days all week down here in Wales. Of course, as soon as the weekend arrived, it clouded over again. Typical!! Good luck with the fruit-growing.

delete reply veroniquemariquita wrote on Mar 6, '11 Heart-warming to see a gardening blog. (After a balmy night of rain here , it's snowing!) waaaa! Days are definitely showing more light though and most of my early perennials are sporting new growth. Did I tell you I met another "Loretta"? She's a new member of my garden club. Just my age too!

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Mar 6, '11 I'm happy for you, Loretta. Hope to see some photos later.