First day of the month in the front garden: May 2012

Yes. I know. It's not the 1st of the month. It's not even the 2nd or 3rd. In fact, it's a month since I last blogged. Mmmm. Well, you see... Actually, you don't want to read about me being very busy with work and... Let's get onto how the front garden is doing.

I did actually take the photos on the 1st of the month. Score!

The word that sums up April and the garden on 1st May, wet. Yes, I'm late to the table about the wetness of April, every other garden blogger has already done that one. So how were the plants?

As you can see, the flowering Cherry was, well, flowering. Unlike previous years, where I got flowers first and then the leave, this year the flower and leaves came out at the same time. After the silly warmth of March and then the sudden wet and cold of April, the tree obviously didn't know if it was coming or going.

Going as it turned out. What the photos don't show is the lovely 'petal snow' as I call it. Flower petals all over the front garden like pretty pink snow. However you can see how lush and green everything is. The warmth of March and the rain of April has really got things growing. To a point.

As you can see from the not yet flowering sage (above) and the not yet flowering Iris (below), the cold return to freezing temperatures by mid-April suddenly slowed everything down again. This time last year both were flowering profusely. Though of course April last year was unusually hot!

Alternatively, the self-seeded Cerinthe was flowering.

As was the first of my strawberries...

And the Tiarella 'Spring Symphony' was beginning to sound its trumpet.

The broad beans were flowering with vigour, but looking a little wind-worn.

My beautiful and sturdy sculptural obelisk has began to fill up with the Helenium 'Moerheim Beauty', and the teasels are taking off.

And the new kid of the block is....

A very young perennial Kale 'Daubenton' seedling. Not very exciting to look at yet, I grant you. But I've had promises of great things to come...

Pulsatilla vulgaris

One of the most tactile flowers I can think of, Pulsatilla vulgaris, is also known as the Pasqueflower. Pasque comes from 'Easter' (Pasqua the Italian - finally high school Italian pays off!) and it predictably flowers around Easter. As you can see from the photo, it is very hairy and this invites you to touch, to stroke it.

It is pretty much a fuss-free alpine perennial, and mine flower at home in my north-facing garden close to the house. So it can be placed in sun or shade, though in a shady space they will flower a few weeks later.* It might look delicate, but it is very hardy, surviving the long cold winter of 2010-11. Bees like its pollen too, so it has wildlife value, and it's seed head is also very pretty, extending the period you can enjoy it. Finally, it is happy in containers, which means you don't even need much of a garden to grow it in.

Pulsatilla vulgaris is a beautiful flower that delights anew each year. I wouldn't be without it.


*These photos were taken at Waterperry Gardens at the end of March.

First day of the month in the front garden: April 2012

March was such a warm month and subsequently plants really started taking off so that by the first of April, the front garden is much more lush than that of March.

The broad beans have taken off fantastically, and in fact started flowering just after mid-March, very very early. I wonder if that will reduce the effects of black fly when they come, as they will in summer?

By first of April the leaves on my pear trees also started unfolding. Though they are now 4 years old, they were moved house (garden?!) after the 2nd year, which seemed to have rather halted their growth a bit. I'm hoping they will be more settled in this year and I'll get more growth and blossom.

I planted out some Lettuce Bronze Arrow seedlings a week ago, and they are taking off nicely. What a lovely colour! This variety starts off quite bronze, but develops into a more green-like lettuce with bronze tinges (click on the link to see what the mature lettuce looks like). This is my favourite lettuce as it gets growing early in the year and will keep going even through first frosts (you need to cover it to get it through winter). It's doesn't immediately bolt. And best of all, I love the slightly nutty flavour of the leaves, and it looks pretty too. What's not to like?!

I have spinach that I grew over winter that are ready to pick, and the empty space in the picture above, should see young perennial kale 'daubenton' plants in situ by the beginning of next month. This is an experiment, the first time I have grown a perennial kale. I'm hoping it will give two yields, as food, and as some over winter structure and interest to the front garden. Will be interesting to see how this pans out over the coming months.

Enjoying the spring sun was the rosemary, tulips, jonquil narcissus and cat-Merlyn :-)

And the lovely Prunus (non-fruiting) is almost ready to burst into flower. It's a beautiful breath-taking sight - I'll try and remember to take some photos of it in full flower.

I'm getting frequent visit by goldfinches too, a flower of the bird world. They smartly sit on the electricity wire, way out of reach of cat-Merlyn. As the beginning of April has suddenly turned cold again, a shock after such a warm March, their chirping is a welcome sound, reminding me that spring hasn't disappeared, just taken a short holiday. I hope...!

Busy spring sowing begins, and how to protect fresh sowings

Narcissi amongst the strawberries

I'm a bit behind with the sowing of seeds both in pots and down at the lottie. Today I managed to catch up a bit on both.

I have found that I have no luck sowing broad beans direct to soil at the lottie. Most of them get eaten before they have a chance to send up the first leaves, and those that do get destroyed either by slugs or by the mice eating the rest of the seed anyway.

So I've sown lots and lots of broad beans in pots today, including Martock and Red Bristow, which I got from the Heritage Seed Library, along with oldies but goodies Aquadulce Claudia, Express, Witkiem and Bunyards Exhibition. I'll let them get to a decent size before I take them down to the plot to plant. I also sowed in pots tomatoes, aubergines, various brassicas and calabrese, and some Echinacea purpurea.

Young garlic plants, from autumn planting

Down at the lottie itself I found my garlic coming along nicely. I got to work preparing a couple of beds for sowing. I pulled up the last of the parsnips, so we will be having roast parsnips in the next day or so! Also collected the last of the Brussels Sprouts and pulled the remains up. Then, because I'm behind and didn't do this in February, I sowed my first parsnips for this year. I also sowed my first rows of golden and rainbow chard and a row of perpetual spinach.

Ok, what's going on here you ask? This is the three rows of chard and spinach I sowed, then with some sticks on top to help protect them. Protect them from what? Well, not complete sure, but at least foxes, and probably cats and other creatures. I've found in the past that once I've nicely weeded a bed then sown new seedlings, I can come back a few days later to find it half dug over and tell-tale footprints around the rows.

To combat this problem, I've found that if I put down some sticks over the rows, including some sticking out, that seems to deter the creatures and allow my seedlings to grow. Once they are an inch or so high, I can remove the sticks as they don't appear to get disturbed once they get to this point. It's odd I know, but it seems to work and we get our food, so that's what matters, right?!

Lottie in early spring

Overall, I felt I managed to catch up a little and feeling pretty pleased with how the plot is looking. I've decided to try to not to worry if I think I'm 'late' with getting my seedlings going. After all, this is meant to be fun and relaxing, as well as a way of growing my own food.

First day of the month in the front garden: March 2012

The first of March. February, gosh, February, what a month. The weather went from deep freeze to being almost able to wear t-shirts. Only almost. I've never become quite British enough that I start stripping the moment the sun comes out... But I hardly got into the garden or down to the allotment. Between my two engaging but very busy long-hours freelance jobs, being ill for a week with a flu-virus and then having my back play up, well, you can see that I barely had a chance to garden, let alone blog.

I did finally get into the garden for a short time last Sunday, and did some tidying up at the front, getting rid of anything damaged by the hard frosts from earlier in February and pulling up weeds that have suddenly sprouted in the warmer latter part of February. If you compare the top photo to those from 1st February, it doesn't look a lot different.

But there are some subtle changes. The spring flowers are awakening.

Today started deeply foggy but by lunchtime it burned off and the sun shone. And in the sun the beautiful crocus 'Whitewell Purple' simply sparkled.

This is probably my favourite crocus. It has the most delicate silky purple-blue to mauve petals that glimmer in the sun. The orange of the stamen matches perfectly. It closes in the dark or on cloudy days, then bursts open the moment the sun peeks from behind a cloud. What's more, they are one of the easiest to grow, you don't need a whiff of experience, and they'll happily self seed in abundance, giving you more beauty each year.

As you can see, I have them in beds and in pots. I cannot get enough of them. This pot will have months of interest too. I have narcissi following, then Tulipa 'Spring Green' and by the time the bulbs are over, the two grasses will have grown and have began to take over.

Primula Vulgaris.

Not much to say. Simple beauty, happy self seeder. I love it. It's not spring without Primula Vulgaris.

A seven-spotted lady bird appears to have done some chewing on the leaves of Tulipa turkestanica. These will start flowering in the next week or so, and usually last several weeks. I've got them growing with the strawberries, giving some interest in this part of the border whilst the strawberry plants get going. By the time the strawberry leaves grow and take over and their flowers come out, the Tulipa turkestanica will have died off and returned to the ground until next year.

My potted fig has Fritillaria acmopetala coming up, along with Tulip Queen of the Night. Both have maroon flowers (maroon and yellow/cream in the case of the fritillary) which I think complement the turquoise pot quite nicely. And again, by the time they die off the fig leaves will be coming out - which helps to hide the wiring behind the pot!

I love the side view of the ladybird - such dainty legs. Coming up behind is Anemone blanda. I can see this year I'll be getting more flowers than last year, so they must be happy where I have planted them.

I think if it is sunny tomorrow, this Crocus chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty' will open up fully.

And finally, let's not forget the vegetables! A couple of the broad bean plants got hit by frost, but after cutting the damaged bits out, the rest look really healthy. And the garlic is also taking off.

And see, more primroses. I also have crocosmia whose shoots will start coming up soon. The flowers should be out just after the broad beans have been finished. I'll probably put in some lettuce after the broad beans to fill the gaps.

Although the initial overview photo may have given the impression not much had changed in a month, on closer inspection you find lovely spring flowers, lady birds and vegetable growth. I wonder if the change will be more obvious by 1st April?