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.

Garden 2013 no 2

Garden 2013 no 2

Last weekend I spent a whole hour in the garden, one whole hour. Not that I did very much but it was good to get out there. First thing was to empty the shed and put it all back in some sort of order. I’ve been thinking about my old bike recently and when I was sorting out the shed I dragged the bike out from the back. It’s not ‘ridable’ at the moment but I don’t think it needs a lot doing to it, new inner tubes for the tyres and maybe some new brake cables and that should be it. The chrome handlebars have lost their shine and are rusty but I guess I could clean them up. I’m still not convinced I would be safe riding even if I did get the bike sorted, but  I have someone who knows someone so it shouldn’t actually cost me vey much to get this bike of mine back to road worthiness and then I’ll give it a go. There is only one way to find out if I can still ride safely and that’s to try.
 
After the shed was sorted I turned my attention to the ‘water’. We have a lot of water here, but even so I don’t like to waste it. I have one smallish water butt that’s full and I also have a collection of old buckets and containers scattered around the garden. These are in various stages of ‘full’. 

The empty wormery but has been in the shed ever since the worms died and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to use it as another water container. I always thought it would come in useful, and now it has. It’s full of rainwater ready to water my plants in the dry season, if we ever get a dry season. I still have buckets lying around the garden, I like to collect as much water as I can, we have so much of the stuff fall from the sky and I really hate seeing all that good water flowing down the drains and being wasted
I had a general tidy up, spread chicken poo pellets over the veggie plot in readiness for my shallots, picked up all the littler that had blown in off the street and checked out the new spring growth. So far I have Snow Drops and Dwarf Iris in flower and I’m sure the daffs will be there soon. Now all I need it the opportunity to dig over the plot and plant the shallots which I’ve already bought.
Like I said I didn’t do much, but it’s a good feeling to know the garden is starting up again.

March 21 2012, Garden no 7

Garden 2012 no 8

The weather has been good and it’s light until after 6 which means I’m able to spend an hour out there most evenings. There is a bit of a lull in gardening activity at the moment, most things I can do, I’ve already done.  I’ve sown all the seeds I have space for. I would like more veg seeds in but until I can figure out a way to create more space it will have to wait. There is an area behind the pond I’m going to use once all the bulbs have finished, I hope it wont be too late, but even if it is at least if I do it this year it will be ready for planting next year. The snow drops have come and gone, the daffodils are in full bloom, there seems to be more of them every time I look, but the bluebells won’t be up for another month or so.

I’m hoping I will get that little patch dug over in time to plant veg this year but like I said, if not, it will be ready for next year.

At the moment I’m enjoying spring in the garden. I’ve stopped feeding the birds, they don’t seem too pleased  but it’s time they learn to fend for themselves over the summer. Dining will resume next winter.
 Even the periwinkle is starting to flower; I think it’s a little early this year.
This pink primula didn’t flower very well last year but this year it was  early and is still going strong.
This pretty pink blossom on the wild current bush is at its best right now. This grows on my neighbours side of the fence and he has mentioned cutting it down, I do hope he doesn't. 
Even the pond is in bloom.
One thing I have achieved is to separate my fruit bushes/ trees from the hedgerow bushes. I’ve re-sited the fruit in a row along the side of the veg garden and covered the area in bark chips.
I was told that its not good to allow the grass to grow around the fruit trees because the grass takes the goodness from the soil. Now they have sole use of this little bit of soil and I’m expecting bumper crops as thanks for my hard work.

Tags: garden 2012, plants, garden.

Prev: Art Sunday; Mary Jane Ansell
Next: just a couple of songs

reply edit delete

8 Comments

Add a Comment

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Mar 23 I hope you get your bumper crops. Everything looks fantastic. Surely there's a way to find space where none exists. Doing a search on the internet, I'll bet you'll find some usable ideas.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Mar 22 if i was a frog ~ this is were i would hang out :)

delete reply reneenay wrote on Mar 22 everything looks quite wonderful -makes me look forward to my flower bed blooming soon

delete reply djdx wrote on Mar 22 Lovely. You seem to be at about the same timing as us even though you are so much further north.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Mar 22 It's all looking splendid!! How are the frogs?

delete reply catherinearmant wrote on Mar 21 Oh, more Colours now, how lovely dear Loretta.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 21 thanks Deb.....................I'm trying to be organized but mostly I'm enjoying being out there again.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Mar 21 WOW, you sure have been very busy! it's all looking very organized and spiffy. what a happy bunch of bloomers!

Feb 5 2012, Garden no 2

Garden 2012 no2

The day was cold, about minus 2, the earth was frozen but the sun shone in the clear blue sky. I wanted to sow radish seeds and plant onion sets but the earth was solid.
The compost in the potato barrels was frozen to about a depth of 2cm, I broke up the frozen crust and beneath that was soft compost ready to receive my seed potatoes.
There was enough unfrozen compost to fill another pot and sow the new mint seeds. My mint is a few years old now and I thought it was time to start growing new plants to replace any that become too old and woody to use. I remembered to put the seed and fat balls out for the birds and right on queue, as a thank you, the robin appeared.
The snow drops are up and the first daffodil has appeared today. I wanted to do more, its very frustrating having seeds ready to go into the ground and not being able to do any thing because the garden is frozen solid.
Its especially frustrating when the sun is shining and it looks so inviting out there.. I think maybe I should start covering the ground to try to keep it a bit warmer.
The picture at the top is another shot of the reflected light in the windows across the back yards from me……….the light is quite something this time of year.

Tags: garden, garden 2012, plants

Prev: Song Saturday; Vivaldi & Roberta Flack
Next: Avatar; the flower Duet..............fantastic film and beautiful music.

reply edit delete

13 Comments

Add a Comment

delete reply catherinearmant wrote on Mar 20 How lovely, ... !

delete reply veroniquemariquita wrote on Feb 8 Love your spring flowers. I have two crocus blooms... (a really early variety)... and flowers on my winter jasmine.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 6 bennett1 said Gardening is wonderful for the spirit! Tomorrow I will put in my snapdragons. you must have left a trail of snapdragons all over Florida by now.............its quite nice to think you've left something behind to mark your stay.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 6 artprevails said I've looked forward to seeing more pics of the backyard scene in the different lights. This one is stunningly glowy. Love those daffy flowers♥ glad you like them..............I can't stop taking pictures of this scene............the light is just so amazing out there.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Feb 6 I can't wait to see your garden in full bloom.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Feb 6 Well, you got some things done, so it counts as a productive day. Shows how mixed up the seasons are becoming, with daffs appearing already. A neighbour here has had daffs out in his garden for nearly two weeks. It has been pretty mild here most of winter til the last couple of days of last week.

delete reply artprevails wrote on Feb 6 I've looked forward to seeing more pics of the backyard scene in the different lights. This one is stunningly glowy. Love those daffy flowers♥

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Feb 5 Gardening is wonderful for the spirit! Tomorrow I will put in my snapdragons.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Feb 5 Your larger flower bulbs come up about 4-6 weeks before mine do. We have forsythia bushes, crocus, snow-bells and snowdrops in Feb and Mar. What a great sight to see, the first shoots breaking through.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 5 i'd say so :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Feb 5 yes...........I got a little dirty and played with the pots, so i guess it was worth it. :-)

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Feb 5 I love your pots

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Feb 5 well ~ at least you got a little dirty :)