Garden 2012 no16

Garden2012 no 16

So now I’m 11 days post surgery and absolutely NOT supposed to be gardening. But I needed to go to the shop which is only across the road and that meant walking though the garden. The first thing I did was to fall over my tub of beetroot, while I was down there, sitting beside it, rubbing my knees and feeling very foolish, I was close enough to notice how badly it needed watering. I thought ‘just doing a bit of watering couldn’t hurt’, and that’s what I intended to do, just a little bit of watering. 

That is until my friend arrived, she’s not a gardener but she knows how much my garden means to me. She agreed to pick the last of the broad beans and pull what was left of the bean plants ready for composting. 

Some of the beans were already going black on the plants, they wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Picking the beans, pulling the plants, collecting the canes and then doing some watering was the only work that was done today, plus pulling a few of the biggest shallots and   beetroot, but it was enough to stop me getting really frantic. 

I couldn’t help noticing the rhubarb needed pulling, some of the lettuce has to come up and some of the Tay berries are ripe. 

The nasturtiums have mostly gone to seed and there is grass growing in their tub.   

And of course the weeds are thriving in my absence.  After my friend helped me out we just sat outside, enjoyed the sunshine and admired the plants. The pond is looking good. It is covered in duckweed now which, as far as establishing a wildlife pond goes, is a very good thing. The water under the duckweed is crystal clear and the tadpoles and baby frogs are loving the cover it gives them.

Today is the first time I have sat in my garden, in the midst of my plants and enjoyed being there for almost two weeks, It was lovely, until big black clouds appeared and blocked the sunshine.

This evening I have bottled my first jar of beetroot and my first jar of shallots. It’s a start and the rest will be OK in the ground for a little longer. I hope I can get back out there soon, my garden needs me.

                                                                                                      

Oct 16, 2011, Garden no 14

I’ve not posted a garden update since July, before I went to France. I didn’t realise it was so long and much has happened since then. I’ve had a period when I was unable to work in the garden due to the arthritis, which put a holt to the gardening for a while. But that wasn’t the only problem. For a start, I faced total disaster when I came back from France in July. Something awful had happened to my pond. I left it with plants, tadpoles and baby frogs, when I came back the pond was putrid and almost dead. There were some dead baby frogs in the pond and I guess the others had managed to jump out and get away. I’ve no idea what caused this, it looked like pollution, and all I could think was that someone had tipped something noxious in the pond while I was away. The smell coming off the water was unimaginable. I had no choice but to empty it out and refill it. I took as many plants out I could out and rinsed them off under the tap before replacing them, some had already died and were slimy and smelly. I managed to get hold of a handful of duckweed, which I know spreads rapidly and has a purifying effect on the water. After a couple of weeks I could see a visible improvement in the pond plants, the water was clear and there was no smell. On the down side, the pond had improved sufficiently to be full of mosquito larvae, and as I had no frogs left I had to buy a couple of goldfish to keep the larvae under control. I’ve not seen the goldfish since I put them in but the larvae is under control so I’m guessing they are still in there somewhere. I didn’t want goldfish, I’m back with the same old problem I had last year of trying to find them and get them out before the freezing temperatures hit and they freeze to death. Even if they are lucky enough to survive the winter in the pond, they will have to be removed in the spring before I put new frog spawn in and try (yet again) to establish a wild life pond. All that happened at the end of July, and today is my first full day in the garden for ages, there is  no sign of the goldfish, but no larvae either, the water is clear, the plants are thriving, the birds are coming down to drink and bath and the pond is looking good.
The garden was a bit overgrown, but I made a good start on it today and if I can get out tomorrow I think I can really get back on top of things.
One of the first things I did was to paint my new gate and touch up all the blue doors. If you remember my garden gate was blown off its hinges in the storms a few months ago. The old wooden gate was beyond repair but my son-in-law very kindly welded, drilled and generally fixed an old iron gate, that had been laying about the garden for years, onto the wall and now……….its perfect. No amount of wind will blow this one away.
I have cut the grass, re-cut the grass and re-cut the grass again, it was so overgrown it needed a lot of work.
I weeded my vegetable garden and even managed to salvage quite a few of the carrots.

My daughter has agreed to come back next week and enlarge the vegetable plot and today I managed to cut a small trench in the grass outlining the new boundary.
I also did some herb maintenance; I weeded and trimmed all the herbs growing in containers. I also harvested seeds to save ready for next year.
As soon as my fence was finished and painted earlier this year, I emptied a couple of packets of wild flower seeds around the inside of the fence, and this is the result.
Not bad considering the fence was only finished a couple of months ago. Some of these flowers don’t exactly look like ‘wild’ flowers, but they are pretty and colourful.

The biggest problem I have right now is finding space for all the compostable garden waste. I have mounds of grass cuttings, weeds, herb cuttings, turf dug out from the vegetable patch and used compost. Both of my compost bins are full to overflowing, one should actually be ready by the spring but the other one I’ve only just finished filling so it will longer. I refuse to throw this organic matter away and so for now it is piled into unused containers and covered, guess I’ll decide how to use it next year by which time it should have composted down a bit.
If the weather stays this nice tomorrow, and if I’m still feeling ok, I’m going to try to prune the fruit canes and generally finish of out there ready for the winter.

Tags: garden, garden2011, plants, pond

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delete reply mitchylr wrote on Oct 17, '11 Sorry about the pond disaster, but glad to hear it's doing well again now. The rst of it is looking pretty good now you've had a bit of time on it. I like those wildflowers.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 17, '11 brendainmad said I was thinking just the other day that you hadn't posted a garden update for a while. So sorry to hear about your pond. oh its looking good now, it's half nine here and I'm just going to grab a coffee and then get out there again, will take more photos this time...........loving being back outside again .

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Oct 17, '11 I was thinking just the other day that you hadn't posted a garden update for a while. So sorry to hear about your pond.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 17, '11 djdx said I took cuttings of anthemis and potted up some geraniums exactly what I am going to do this morning................bring my geraniums in and sort them out for the winter

delete reply djdx wrote on Oct 17, '11 Yesterday I was taking care of a couple of things that would suffer when frost hits as it has been getting a bit nippy in the mornings. I took cuttings of anthemis and potted up some geraniums and a plant I bought which I found out later is not truly hardy (a South African aster called felicia). So the greenhouse is rather full. I like your blue paint.

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delete reply poshpause wrote on Oct 17, '11 Goodness me! We could do with your gardening know-how in our garden. We're just beginners to the whole idea of gardening and it's rather a hit and miss affair with us! What a shame about your pond. Seems very odd for it to have just upped and died like that. It must have been an awful job to have sorted it out!

delete reply artprevails wrote on Oct 17, '11 I am wild about the blue fencing...it really sets off the lovely colors of your gardens and potted plants. I hope the pond works out.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Oct 16, '11 The Force was with you. ; )

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Oct 16, '11 that is good news :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Oct 16, '11 thank you .............:-), its been good to get out there again after so long. I've had my daughter ill, I've not been up to gardening myself and the weather wasn't always good enough to get out. BUT... today it all came together, the weather was great, daughter(s) all ok and my achy joints not too bad. Had a really great day today.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Oct 16, '11 bummer about the pond but everything else looks real good i love the blue fence :)

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Oct 16, '11 Loretta, i am so very sorry about your pond and the froggies! : * ( the new gate is just beautiful. Kudos to SIL for a job well done. your 'wild'flower garden looks really pretty. glad you were able to harvest plenty of carrots. try to do some gentle stretches throughout the rest of your evening. the new garden is really coming together, i love it! thanks for the update. ; )

July 1011, Garden no 11

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This bizarre weather pattern has its advantages, we’ve had torrential rain followed by periods of tropical heat, maybe we are moving toward tropical rain forest climate…….. but, the garden’s looking good on it.
Out of no where, I have bright purple wild geraniums, they must have self seeded. I didn’t notice them before because they blend in so well with what was already there, but I’m certain they weren’t there a couple of days ago and I know I didn’t plant them, so they must be self seeded.
At last some of my strawberries are beginning to ripen, I’ve had to wait a while longer than some people because mine are all outdoors. The green house ones always ripen earlier but mine should have a good strong taste. I never get very many at once so what I tend to do is pick and freeze, then once I have enough I can use them.
My pond is looking more and more like a wild life pond every day. I am resisting the temptation to take water out and put in fresh water in an attempt to get rid of the green water because every one tells me wild life ponds need to be left alone. Also, tap water actually encourages green water because it has something in it that algae feed off. The wild life doesn’t mind green water and the algae gives them all something to eat. I thought my tadpoles had died but now I’m beginning to see them more often. Some were like tiny frogs, they lost their tails and grew little legs but I never see them now. I hope they hopped away and are safe. The only ones I do see are the giant tadpoles that get bigger and bigger without growing legs. They have started to hang around the top of the pond sunbathing. If you wonder what that strange thing in the corner of the pond is, it’s a mini bale of barley straw, apparently a natural way to help combat green water in ponds.
My little pond doubles as a de-lux bird bath, guess this could be where some of my tadpoles have disappeared too. The birds tend to use the same end that the tadpoles sunbath in. I thought it was because of the little fountain there, but I suppose it could also be because the birds can get a tasty snack while stopping off for a drink and quick splash.
And that brings me on the Fence……………..its FINISHED !!!
It took a while but its finished at last. My daughter came round on Monday and we had a couple of really good days at the start of the week. While she was here we dig the holes, mixed the cement, put the last panel in and then topped up all the post holes with as much cement as we could. It all dried over night and the following day my grandson helped me to paint the bottom of the fence.
The idea was to paint from where the cement finished to above where the soil was going. The following day, when the fence paint was dry, I spent the day shovelling top soil back into place and planting the huge bag of bulbs I salvaged from my other daughters garden a while back. Since then it has rained heavily, which is OK in that every thing is well watered in, but it also washed away some of the top soil and exposed the bulbs so now I guess I’ll have to go get compost and make sure every thing is covered and safe. BUT………….the main thing is my fence is finished, all I have to do is make sure it all gets painted before the winter really sets in.

Tags: garden, birds, garden2011, plants, pond, tadpoles, wildlife pond

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delete reply forelithe wrote on Jul 11, '11 It's all looking just lovely and healthy ~ well done !

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Jul 10, '11 Great job on the fence. Really nice photo log here and journal update on your garden. Well done, L.

delete reply djdx wrote on Jul 10, '11 Looking good!

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Jul 9, '11 The garden is looking great. Glad you finally got the chance to finish off the fence.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 9, '11 The fence is really looking good. I know that had to be a lot of work.

delete reply nessiek wrote on Jul 9, '11 Lovely pics babes :o) Your garden is in such better shape than mine! Our three months of drought did for mine - nothing is flourishing here except weeds :o( My strawbs have come to nought, my veggies are eaten to death, *sigh!* its never easy being a gardener! LOL Nessie (oh and yes, that is a VERY cool fence :o)

delete reply esoterika713 wrote on Jul 9, '11 I love your pond. My sister's neighbor has a pond and he showed it to Ingrid. She was very envious I will let you know. But, she at least reaps the benefits from the sound of running water. Oh, so tranquil. :)

delete reply artprevails wrote on Jul 9, '11 And how fun to have a pond! I like the look of it.

delete reply artprevails wrote on Jul 9, '11, edited on Jul 9, '11 Your garden has really shaped up! You must feel so comforted in that space...and have a feeling of accomplishment. Love how it has been a real family effort...well done, Crew!

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Jul 9, '11 lookin' mighty fine, my dear! sounds like you are well on your way to get things balanced, with garden, humans and wildlife. my gardener's hat is off to you, good job! ; D

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Jul 9, '11 I hope you get to taste a strawberry or two before they are frozen. There is nothing like fresh strawberries.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jul 9, '11 kudos looks real good :)

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 9, '11 I'm glad your fence is finally planted. Your garden looks lovely. I wonder what some places like restaurants put in their ponds to make them so clear. I remember seeing one with lots of goldfish. One of my sisters has one with a nice strong pump, but it's green too. Her turtles enjoy it in the summer.