Alliums

I am very fond of Alliums and always on the look out for new varieties to try. So I was interested to read about Allium Tuberosum in a catalogue from Broadleigh Gardens a while back. The description called the plant 'Chinese Chives' and said it had sweetly-scented white flowers, beloved of butterflies. I didn't want anything else from that particular catalogue so added the plant to my wish list.

Yesterday I was reviewing my wish list and decided to research suppliers of the plant. To my surprise I discovered that Chinese Chives are also known as Garlic Chives, something I've been growing for years (and pictured above). Imagine, with postage and packing I could have spent £9 on three plants I already have!

This is the strongest example I've come across so far for learning the botanical names of plants. I'm trying, and this eposide has made me even more determined.

Georgie

Start them young!

This is my 13 month old granddaughter who takes a great interest in all my flowers. I'm hoping that she'll follow my love of gardening and I'm certain that she'll enjoy all the edibles I'm growing for her this year.

I've pricked out the Basil and Agastache seedlings and potted on the Cucumbers and remaining Chillies into 5" pots. As predicted I've run out of room on the kitchen window sill so the Tomato Micro plants have been moved to the greenhouse and I'll start hardening off Tomato Tiny Tim soon. The latter have reached the top of the window sill so are currently standing on the work surface.

I had a sprinking of Greek Cress tonight in a cheese sandwich. I've been growing it for a year or so now and to my mind it is far superior to the usual Cress. And if you leave one or two plants to mature they flower and set seed. So you never need to buy any again.

Georgie

Visitors Good and Bad

It was a glorious day here today. I cut the grass, potted on a few plants and made up some 12" planters for the end of the driveway. I've chosen some 'overflow' plants from the greenhouse and put a Pelargonium Quercifolim, Lychnis Coronaria and Hesperis Matronalis plant in each. It's not a mix I've tried before but hopefully the colour combination of white, deep pink and magenta flowers and silver, mid green and dark green foliage will work.

I managed to fix my camera too and thus I'm able to show the Dicentra Spectablis plant I mentioned yesterday: I love it.

On the wildlife front the good news is that I had a pair of collared doves visiting the bird feeder today - I can't recall seeing any in the garden before. The bad news is that I found my first Lily beetle of the season. I hate killing things but I'm afraid it had to be squished. I got some pond weed for the tadpoles and arranged it artistically in the water feature. But every time I went back to take a peep the taddies had rearranged it! I'll leave them to it I think.

Georgie

Shady Goings On

Today I thought I'd say a little about some of my plants which are growing in the shade. It was good to see the Dicentra Formosa (pictured) in bud today. This plant is has a long flowering period and is much loved by bees. I have three of them and this year I'm also growing Dicentra Spectablis f.alba, which has fancier white flowers. They have been blooming for about a week but strangely the bees are showing no interest in them at all.

I noticed that the Tradescantia cutting I was given by a friend last year is also in bud, as are the Hesperis Matronalis plants (Sweet Rocket) which I successfully kept over winter. The latter smell wonderful and are very popular with a number of beneficial insects.

The Convallarias (Lily of the Valley) are well in leaf as are the Digitalis purpurea Tinkerbell (a dwarf Foxglove), which look like they will have at least three flowering stems each compared to just the one last year.

My Geranium sanguineum 'Max Frei' has its first bud and the three plantlets I salvaged from my somewhat bedraggled Alchemilla Mollis appear to have survived the transplant, each showing at least one new leaf.

Spring has definitely sprung here.

Georgie

Walking round the garden

No gardening for me today but I did take my customary 'tour'. The Bergenias (pictured) are now flowering as is Ajuga reptans which is growing in both of my winter hanging baskets. The latter has wonderful deep purple/bronze leaves and the deepest blue flower spikes. Its trailing habit makes it ideal for hanging baskets and I'm surprised more people don't use it. My baskets also have Cyclamen, trailing Violas and a dwarf Hebe in them.

The Aquilegia Vulgaris seeds I sowed last year are coming on leaps and bounds. The plants are well over 2' high now with lots of flower spikes. They should be out in a matter of days and if they are the gorgeous blue I anticipate I'll post a picture.

The tadpoles are fattening up and very active. They are still feeding on the algae but I think I'll try and get hold of a bit of pond weed for them soon.

On the edibles front there are lots of flowers on the Strawberries and the autumn fruiting Raspberries have a number of new shoots. All the herbs are putting on new growth and the Radishes, Spring Onions and Greek Cress are romping away.

Georgie

Design Challenge

I haven't mentioned this before but last year I was lucky enough to win the Shoot People's Gardening Award gold medal for garden design and prize money of £1,000 in gardening vouchers. (The site can be found at http://www.shootgardening.co.uk )

Since then - naturally I shared my tale of good fortune - I've found that lots of people have been asking for my advice which is a bit daunting for a relatively novice gardener. Only yesterday a friend wanted advice on planting up window boxes that look attractive, smell nice and provide useful edible plants. I've emailed my suggestions to him today and I hope they give him some useful ideas.

And now it's confession time. I mentioned that I was worried about the white markings on the leaves of my Chilli Trifetti. Well it turns out it has variegated leaves, something I should have realised if I'd read the description properly! We live and learn.

Georgie

Greenhouse

This is my main mini greenhouse (I have a four-shelf plastic one too) where I over-winter seedlings and cuttings and grow on the more tender plants before hardening them off. It's unheated but because it's sheltered against a south facing wall it's frost free. The photo was taken this time last year but it's just as full this year, if not more so! I've got three types of Radish, Spring Onions and Greek Cress in there, all of which have germinated over the last few days. On the flower front there are lots of Pelargonium and Fuchsia cuttings and an array of seeds and seedings.

Today I got the hosepipe out and gave all my pots a thorough soaking. As there are about 130 of them this takes some time. But it's a good thing to have to do really because it gives me a chance to inspect every plant for any signs of pest or disease. I also make a mental note of anything which needs potting on, moving to a different position, pruning etc. In the border I gave the Ivy and Rosemary a bit of a trim and cut out dead wood on the Jasmine.

This evening I pricked out the Basil and Hyssop seedlings and just about found room for them on the window sill. There's still an awful lot of seeds to sow but there's time - I hope!

Georgie

Miserable weather

It's been cold and wet today and not condusive to pottering. So all I managed to do in the garden was to move some of the pots of spring bulbs which have finished flowering, replacing them with pots of Lilies which are coming on nicely with lots of glossy foliage.

Indoors, some things are doing really well whereas others are slow or on the leggy side. On the plus side the Tomatoes Micro (pictured) are flowering profusely and there are trusses developing on Tomato Tiny Tim. Chilli Sicily and the yellow one (name unknown) are developing nicely in their 5" pots. Chilli Thai Hot is still tiny but looking well and all three varieties of cucumber are developing their first true leaves. The Basil seedlings are looking strong and the Lemon Grass has germinated.

On the other hand I am very disappointed with my Physalis. The pineapple variety I was so pleased with last year is looking quite spindly and the violet variety I was trying for the first time grew tall and leggy with very little root growth and I had to throw it away. I'm sure it's because it's been so much colder this spring than last year.

I'm also a bit concerned about Chilli Trifetti. Both plants are developing well but a number of the leaves have white patches on them. I don't think it's a mineral deficiency and there is no sign of pests so I'm assuming it's leaf scorch although I can't think how it happened. I'll keep a close eye on them.

Georgie

It's a wild world

The tadpoles are just about big enough to photograph now as you can see from the pictures. They are busy eating the algae and far too numerous to count.

The garden is buzzing with honey bees and bumble bees and there are quite a few hoverflies around too which is good news. The current 'magnet' flowers are Pulmonaria, Honesty, Hyacinth, Cyclamen and Pelargonium Quercifolium.

The new bird feeding station I put up a few weeks ago is attracting regular visits from a pair of wood pigeons and a flock of starlings: the sparrows seem to prefer the Pyrocantha in the front garden. But to my amazement today I saw a pair of magpies on the feeder. They swooped down to the open tray, took a mouthful each of the moistened wholemeal bread I'd put out and flew off again. They did this three times in the space of a few minutes. I've seen magpies around but I've never had them in the garden before.

Georgie

Tadpoles!

Bless their cottton socks the tadpoles have hatched and what looks like about a hundred of them are swimming around. I gather that they will live on the algae in the water feature until such times as they grow their back legs and become carnivorous. In the meantime I will just keep topping it up with rain water and hope for the best. This is so exciting!

Georgie

April Showers

My first task today was to pot on some Pelargonium cuttings, Fuchsia cuttings and Parsley plants (grown from seed last year) into 5" pots. I'd no sooner taken them out of the greenhouse and given them a good soaking when the sky went very black. So I had to ferry everything indoors whilst it poured down for about an hour. Then the sun came out so I took everything back out and rearranged the pots so that the Pelargoniums pretty much fill the top shelf of the main greenhouse (along with the two Pineapple Sage plants and the spare Lychnis plants) whilst the Parsley and Fuchsia plants were moved to the 'overflow' greenhouse which is in partial shade.

I was going to tackle the Alchemilla Mollis plant next. This poor thing has been in the same pot for about three years and it's looking very sorry for itself. However there appears to be some offsets around the rim so I was going to try and detach them and pot them up. But it started to rain heavily again and I was forced back indoors.

So I turned my attention to the plants on the kitchen window sill. The Tomatoes, Chillies and Physalis are all romping away and I gave them a feed of diluted seaweed solution. Once they are in their final pots they will get slow release organic food for pot grown plants and a foliar spray of seaweed solution every few weeks and that's all.

It was good to see that the Hyssop and Swan River Daisy seeds sown on 8 April have germinated but goodness the seedlings are tiny. Fortunately I sowed them very thinly so they will be easy enough to prick out when they are big enough to handle.

Georgie

Lots of jobs done today

The picture is of Pineapple Sage which has been flowering since about December in the greenhouse. It's quite tender but I'm bringing it out during the day now to harden it off. This plant is from a cutting I took from a plant I was given last year. Cuttings root in water in a matter of days and the leaves really do smell of pineapple.

I've been quite busy today. I gave the Forsythia a hard prune now it's finished flowering and I've put a large pot of Honeysuckle underneath to grow through it to add some interest in the summer months as well as to smell nice and hopefully attract butterflies. Then I planted out the Lychnis coronaria I grew from seed last year. This plant used to self-seed quite readily a few years back but then one year I lost it all. I've kept a few plants back in the greenhouse in case the slugs and snails decide to have a feast! I also sowed grass seed in an old window box by the shed. I'll let it grow long in the hope of creating a breeding ground for moths and butterflies.

I trimmed the edges of my lawn path and put in some extra solar lights. I'm still looking for some new border edging and stepping stones which is a bit annoying really as I wanted to get that job done whilst the ground was still relatively wet and workable. The job will be so much harder if I leave it much longer.

The next job was a regular one, rearranging the pots on the concrete path. Things that have gone over like the Hellebores and some of the Primroses have been hidden at the end of the garden by the shed and replaced with Aquilegias and Hesperis, both of which are in good leaf now. In doing so I was concerned to see that there is still no sign of new growth on any of my three pots of Fuchsia Lady Boothby. It is supposed to be hardy so it's just as well I took some cuttings last year just in case.

Finally I sowed more seeds including the edibles I mentioned yesterday and more flowers to attract beneficial insects such as Cuckooflower and Devil's Bit Scabius.

Georgie

Seeds and Seedlings

The Cucumber and Basil seeds I sowed on Saturday have germinated. This is great news of course but will present a problem when they need pricking out because the kitchen window sill and shelf are already full. I think the only option will be to move the Tomatoes into the mini greenhouse but they should be fine. Fortunately most (but not all) of my remaining seeds can be sown direct or in the greenhouse either at the end of this month or in May. On the edibles side I'll be sowing Radish, Greek Cress, Broad Beans, Lemon Grass and Richmond Green Apple Cucumber tomorrow.

I spoke too soon about the little Heliotrope seedlings I moved into the greenhouse. I lost two out of five to slugs/snails so I've moved the seedlings to the other mini greenhouse in the hope of fooling them! Another problem has been aphids on my Fuchsia cuttings. I've been picking them off where I can but had to resort to a soft soap solution for the worst affected.

Georgie

Chillies

This year I am growing four varieties of Chillies: a yellow one (variety unknown - I've been growing it from saved seed for a few years and the original came from a shop bought fruit), Thai Hot (small upright fruits), Trifetti (purple fruits) and Sicily (long red fruits and pictured here).

They were all sown in early February but it's interesting to see how they develop at different rates. Sicily is by far the biggest at about 9" tall and I've just potted it on into 5" pots. The yellow and Trifetti are about 5" tall and Thai Hot is only a couple of inches tall at the moment. All are thankfully looking healthy but I'll start spraying them with tepid water every night now to keep the dreaded red spider mite at bay.

Georgie

Honesty out and other surprises

Okay, it doesn't look this good yet but I was surprised to find the first flowers on my Honesty today. I love this plant because it attracts beneficial insects, is happy in sun or semi-shade and the seed pods are fabulous either left on the plant or picked for dried flower arrangements.

Another suprise today was to see that my two new Dicentra Spectabilis f. alba plants are in flower and Allium Purple Sensation and Nectaroscorum (Allium Bulgaricum) are well in bud. These are all at least a month early.

I was relieved to see that the Nicotiana Affinis White and Heliotrope Hybrid Marine seedlings I pricked out yesterday had survived the night in the mini greenhouse. I wasn't so concerned about the temperature but the tiny slugs and snails who somehow always find their way in when there is something new and tasty to eat!

The strawberry runners I rooted last year and over-wintered in the mini greenhouse are well into flower now. It was warm here today so they were left outside for a few hours and were soon visited by the hoverflies. The parent plants on the other hand which have been outside all winter are tiny in comparison with not a flower bud in sight.

Georgie

Attracting Butterflies and Moths

I try my best to attract these beautiful creatures into my garden. I already grow Ivy, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Honesty, Pansies, Primroses, Verbena Bonariensis, Evening Primrose, Sweet Rocket, Agastache, Buddleia, Daisies, Sedum, Oregano, Thyme, Hyssop and Nicotiana, and this year I'm adding Cuckooflower, Garlic Mustard and Lady's Bedstraw. Someone has also suggested Asclepia tuberosa so I'll have to see if I can lay my hands on a few seeds.

There is no room to let a patch of lawn go wild so I'm going to sow some grass seed in an old window box in the hope of encouraging some to breed. In the scheme of things I find caterpillars do relatively little damage in the garden and a few damaged leaves isn't a high price to pay for the colourful adults in the summer.

Geogie

Planning the veg plot

Apart from some perennial herbs in the sunny border, I grow all my edible plants in pots. Some things like Beetroot, Mint, Radishes and Watercress are happy in the semi-shade but the rest have to compete for space in the sun in an area about six feet by five feet.

I have started off the Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Chillies, Physalis and Basil indoors. The Strawberries, dwarf Broad Beans, Chives, Garlic Chives and Thyme are already growing from last year so now it's time to think about what else I can squeeze in. Looking at my seed box I see I've accumulated two types of dwarf French Beans, two climbing French Beans, Runner Bean Hestia (another dwarf), Pea Half Pint and three types of Spring Onions. I think it's going to be a tight fit!

I grew the peas in hanging baskets last year and that was quite successful as it had the added bonus of keeing the slugs and snails off. I think I'll do that again. I've not tried climbing French beans before so I think I'll plant them in half-barrels. The varieties I've got are both purple podded types so I might try under-planting them with Greek Basil (which is a lovely bright green) and purple leaved Basil. I'll let the herbs flower to attract pollinating insects.

Georgie

Snow!

This is what I woke up to this morning. Needless to say I didn't get any of my annual seeds sown!

Georgie

Tomatoes and other seeds

I potted on my Micro and Tiny Tim Tomatoes today into 5" pots. They were all sown on 3 February and the Micros have about four trusses each and one even has its first flower. The first trusses are just beginning to develop on the Tiny Tims. I will be keeping them inside for a few more weeks before moving them into the mini greenhouse and eventually outside.

Window sill space is at a premium now so once again I've made a simple shelf to accommodate more seeds. I sowed a couple of seeds each of Cucumber Crystal Lemon and Burpless Tasty Green (as both have performed well for me in the past), some Basil Sweet Genovase, Everlasting Sweet Peas, Black Millet and Lady's Bedstraw.

Tomorrow I'll be tacking the job of potting on all last year's cuttings which are in the mini greenhouse and weather permitting sowing a few annuals direct.

Georgie

Welcome To My Blog

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog. I am setting it up to share my thoughts and experiences about organic gardening in a small city garden. And my garden is quite small believe me: it's 3m wide and 15m long.

I've been gardening organically for about three years and I'm beginning to reap the benefits. Only earlier this week I found frogspawn in my ground level water feature!

Georgie