This is one of the Alpine Strawberries which is still fruiting as you can see. They are great little plants and a must for next year. I potted up some new autumn Raspberry canes today (a gift from a friend) and sowed some Lester's Peas in a half barrel which I covered with a bell cloche. (The Peas were also a gift). I've not tried growing Peas over winter before so this is a bit of an experiment. I just hope they do better than the Broad Beans I tried last year which gave me the sum total of three pods!
There was a fair bit of tidying up to do following the snow earlier in the week. For instance it snapped some of my Verbena Bonariensis stems which had reached over six foot high. I cut all the stems back to about four feet so they can continue to provide nectar for any late insects and shelter for them over the winter months in the hollow stems. I gave the Aquilegia vulgaris leaves a good trim back too as these had also been flattened. The Tree Spinach (Chenpodium giganteum) had shed all its leaves so they were pulled out and all the Lily stems had gone brown so they were cut down to ground level.
I had a bit of reorganisation between the two greenhouses. There were aphids on the spring onions again (now squished) but I was pleased to see that the Parsley seeds are beginning to germinate. I've lost a couple of Aquilegia seedlings but the rest are fine, and the Dianthus and Tagetes seedlings are looking healthy. The shelves are packed with cuttings - Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, Hebes, Box and Lavender - all of which appear to have taken as they are putting on new growth. The Lemon Grass I grew from seed earlier this year is also in there, along with a Strawberry runner I've potted up in the hope of early fruits. There are also a couple of Hesperis plants grown from seed sown in the summer and some of the tender Fuchsias which are still in flower. And I've still got to make room for the remaining tender Fuchsias.
Georgie
2 comments:
My you have been busy! I had plenty of broad beans and few peas this year but I don't grow them over winter.I've done little lately apart from collecting some seed heads and topping up the bird feeders! Hopefully this week...
I look forward to reading how you get on with everything. xx
Oh I forgot to mention the seed harvest, I must do a post about that soon. It's one of my favourite jobs - gathering the seeds, keeping what I need and using the remainder for swaps. I haven't started feeding the birds yet as there is plenty of natural food around for them at the moment. Their favourite seems to be the Passiflora fruits - thankfully I have plenty!
G x
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