Hello again. I'm struggling a bit with the garden lately - which makes me sound as though I'm elderly or frail, but what I mean is I'm finding it hard to get on with it. No excuse. I'll be blogging about it more here soon though.
In the meantime you could read about my adventure on Ben Nevis here if you fancy:
http://thehillsarefaraway.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-winter-climb.html
Right: a garden post will follow here soon! Happy Christmas.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Latest progress
Here's how a few bits of the garden are looking just now. These pictures were taken well into the evening with little light left so they do look a bit dingy - sorry. I won't have time to post for a few days now and things change so quickly just now that I wanted a record today.
First the front. The left is working pretty well (needs weeding obviously, but balance of plants is how I like it):
The right has a few gaps caused by failures. I think I'll get another acanthus to go near the wall, to match the one on the left. I'm pleased that foxgloves have reappeared here though.
Here's the pond. Still haven't fixed the leek (ie above this level - it's not dropping all the time). I've risked moving a couple of pots out.
This bed is now too shaded by the hedge which must be drastically cut back. Pippa is coming out of a place she shouldn't have been in... Nice bluebells though!
I love this - it's a japanese painted fern. Obviously it's just getting started for the year:
One of my least favourite jobs is tidying the greenhouse. I put it off so long that I have sown most of my seeds in the conservatory, but this does make some sense as it's so much warmer. Anyway, I did tackle the greenhouse eventually:
I've just finished weeding the fruit cage:
I've planted onion sets, and also a courgette which thanks to the lack of rain is growing away slug-free so far, in the veg garden but there's not much to see there yet. So here's a view back from the apple trees:
And back again, taken from just outside the greenhouse:
First the front. The left is working pretty well (needs weeding obviously, but balance of plants is how I like it):
The right has a few gaps caused by failures. I think I'll get another acanthus to go near the wall, to match the one on the left. I'm pleased that foxgloves have reappeared here though.
Here's the pond. Still haven't fixed the leek (ie above this level - it's not dropping all the time). I've risked moving a couple of pots out.
This bed is now too shaded by the hedge which must be drastically cut back. Pippa is coming out of a place she shouldn't have been in... Nice bluebells though!
I love this - it's a japanese painted fern. Obviously it's just getting started for the year:
One of my least favourite jobs is tidying the greenhouse. I put it off so long that I have sown most of my seeds in the conservatory, but this does make some sense as it's so much warmer. Anyway, I did tackle the greenhouse eventually:
I've just finished weeding the fruit cage:
I've planted onion sets, and also a courgette which thanks to the lack of rain is growing away slug-free so far, in the veg garden but there's not much to see there yet. So here's a view back from the apple trees:
And back again, taken from just outside the greenhouse:
Thursday, April 21, 2011
More pics
Hello all,
Nice to see your comments again. I have onions and courgettes in the veg garden now (I'm gambling on the weather re the courgette).
Rob, the tree is an olive. I think we've basically lost it, sadly. I'm not sure why - too cold over the winter maybe. Also perhaps olives don't like heavy clay but that's my excuse over rather a lot... and one of them was in a pot so that hardly applies. :( I'll give it another month or so though. Then I'm thinking I might just put a clematis up it - with maybe something to shade the base. It's a nice shape. But we had originally planned to get anoher fruit tree for there - if I can find a small damson, I'd love one. Not sure whether they do them. I miss damsons.
Sorry not to get round many other blogs just yet - I do intend to, only as you can imagine I'm busy trying to chase my tail.
A couple of pretties:
Nice to see your comments again. I have onions and courgettes in the veg garden now (I'm gambling on the weather re the courgette).
Rob, the tree is an olive. I think we've basically lost it, sadly. I'm not sure why - too cold over the winter maybe. Also perhaps olives don't like heavy clay but that's my excuse over rather a lot... and one of them was in a pot so that hardly applies. :( I'll give it another month or so though. Then I'm thinking I might just put a clematis up it - with maybe something to shade the base. It's a nice shape. But we had originally planned to get anoher fruit tree for there - if I can find a small damson, I'd love one. Not sure whether they do them. I miss damsons.
Sorry not to get round many other blogs just yet - I do intend to, only as you can imagine I'm busy trying to chase my tail.
A couple of pretties:
Sunday, April 17, 2011
How things look at the moment
Hello,
I haven't posted here for a long time so here are some pictures of the garden at the moment. I'm out in it most days and enjoying it very much.
Note: Please do click on the pictures to see much better versions, which come up straight away.
This is taken from a window in my study. The apple tree (blossoming) in the middle of the picture is about two thirds back in the garden: the little bit of fence just to the right is before you get to the vegetable garden.
The first bit of garden you come to - the patio and the pond:
Where you came from - conservatory, and the herb bed - looks a bit bare because it's just been weeded but will fill out very soon:
Two views of the square garden which you come to next - the weeding here isn't finished yet...
Then you get to this bit, in pretty much the centre of the garden:
This is just to the left. The chicken wire and trillis on its side are where I'm trying to keep Pippa off some new plants, and from scrambling over a low fence. They'll be gone soon! She doesn't live in the kennel, by the way - it was left by the people before us.
At the back is the vegetable garden. Most of the veg is still in the greenhouse (which I'm not showing because it's a mess - I'm not showing the fruit cage either!) It's funny how much the camera shrinks things: these beds are each 12 feet by 4:
And then back:
I haven't posted here for a long time so here are some pictures of the garden at the moment. I'm out in it most days and enjoying it very much.
Note: Please do click on the pictures to see much better versions, which come up straight away.
This is taken from a window in my study. The apple tree (blossoming) in the middle of the picture is about two thirds back in the garden: the little bit of fence just to the right is before you get to the vegetable garden.
The first bit of garden you come to - the patio and the pond:
Where you came from - conservatory, and the herb bed - looks a bit bare because it's just been weeded but will fill out very soon:
Two views of the square garden which you come to next - the weeding here isn't finished yet...
Then you get to this bit, in pretty much the centre of the garden:
This is just to the left. The chicken wire and trillis on its side are where I'm trying to keep Pippa off some new plants, and from scrambling over a low fence. They'll be gone soon! She doesn't live in the kennel, by the way - it was left by the people before us.
At the back is the vegetable garden. Most of the veg is still in the greenhouse (which I'm not showing because it's a mess - I'm not showing the fruit cage either!) It's funny how much the camera shrinks things: these beds are each 12 feet by 4:
And then back:
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