Season's Greetings

The snow is melting so I brought the tree in and decorated it today and here it is, nicknamed 'George' by my daughter! No idea why!

Wishing everyone who reads this a happy and healthy 2010.

Georgie

Winter wonderland

This is how my garden looked first thing this morning. The plant in the foreground is my Christmas tree which is waiting to come into the house at the weekend. To be honest, nature has done a lovely job of decorating it and I'm tempted to leave it.

I haven't done any gardening for weeks and it doesn't look like I'll be doing any in the coming days either. Hopefully we'll get some drier weather over the festive season.

Georgie

Nature knows best

This year I have been toying with removing the Buddleia from the sunny border. I bought the plant back in 2003 from J.Parker, who I have since learned is not one of the most reliable suppliers, particularly for shrubs. But way back then I was impressed by the photo of the plant which was grafted onto a three foot standard trunk and was billed as ideal for a patio. However, it didn't thrive in a container so I moved it into the border where it proceeded to rocket to ten feet or more in height (that's seven foot long branches on a three foot stem), no matter how often I pruned it in a season.

Anyway, I had been dithering so last night nature intervened. We'd had very gusty winds and heavy rain all day and when I went out in the garden today (bright sunshine and clear blue skies) the plant was at a 45 degree angle. That's it I thought, it has to go! First I cut off all the branches to a height of about 5 feet and filled three garden sacks. Then I broke/sawed off a few more of the thicker branches and then I started rocking the plant to expose the roots. The border is very closely planted and I didn't want to dislodge other plants so this was a tricky task and very hard work. As the roots broke through the soil I severed them and eventually got the thug out. And wow, what a difference it has made, the garden looks twice the size! But don't worry about the butterflies, I have another self-seeded Buddleia in large container next to the compost heap and shed. That one is not in the way so it can stay - for now.

The photo is of one of the blooms on the Pineapple Sage. It's so vivid and is a firm favourite of mine at this time of year. In fact I'm very fond of a number of plants in the Salvia family. It's a shame I don't have room to start a national collection but removing one Buddleia isn't going to crack it I'm afraid.

Georgie

Still lots to do

I took advantage of the sunny, if cold, weather today and spent a good few hours working in the garden. But before I started I had a walk around, camera in hand, and took this photo of my Fatsia which is now in full flower. These blooms put me in mind of Myrtle (although they are not scented, unfortunately) and they provide much needed nectar for any insects that are still around. Indeed, just after I took the photo a bee came for a feast.

The most pressing task was to empty some of the summer containers to make room for planting more spring bulbs. So Tomatoes, Chillies, Tree Spinach and Basil made way for Narcissus Spring Dawn and Tete a Tete, all topped off with the Pansies I've grown from seed. I've still got some Tete a Tete left to plant as well as Tulips and Wallflowers but these will have to wait until more containers become available as the Heliotrope and Laurentia finally give up the ghost.

I thought I'd lost my Crocosmia 'George Davidson' as all the leaves went brown and it failed to flower this year. But as I tipped the gravel out of the container, I noticed lots of little green leaf tips coming out of the corms. So I potted it up into a new, slightly larger container, and hopefully it'll flower next year.

The Pansies I sowed in late September needed pricking out into individual pots so I selected a dozen of the largest seedlings and composted the rest. I'm hoping these will be the beautiful lavender blue I grew by chance earlier in the year. One of two had a spot of powdery mildew so I gave them all a good spray of bicarbonate of soda solution.

The Sweet Peas have finally finished flowering so I collected the remainder of the seed pods. I'll keep the seeds and sow them in spring rather than risk sowing them now and putting them in the greenhouse where they will be a tempting treat for slugs/snails or failing that get powdery mildew.

After this I was getting cold and tired so I called it a day. If it's nice tomorrow I'll be out there again as there is still plenty to do.

Georgie

A wet and windy weekend

Although it is unseasonably mild, quite heavy rain over the last couple of days has meant that there was little scope for gardening (and probably just as well as I'm only just over the 'flu). But the sun did come out yesterday afternoon so I was able to go out and potter for an hour as well as take some photos.

Many of my containers have a number of fungi in them in gorgeous shades of cream and brown such as the one in the photo. They are tiny but so beautiful. I know nothing about fungi so I'm on the look out for a good illustrated book to help me identify them.

I picked the last of the Tomatoes and Chillies and thought that was the last of the edibles as I cut the Raspberry canes down to soil level. But no. As I was tidying up the Alpine Strawberries, one plant had about half a dozen fruits just beginning to ripen and quite a few flowers too. I've moved it to the patio area by the kitchen in the hope I get to eat the fruits before the slugs do!

The Fuchsias are showing no sign of slowing down and are a riot of colour with both flowers and the attractive, burgundy-coloured fruits. I've tried eating them but they are pretty tasteless so I just leave them and enjoy the display. The Pineapple Sage flowers are just beginning to open and Salvia 'hot lips' has flowered again.

There were a few bees, hoverflies and ladybirds around but sadly no late butterflies, despite all the nectar on offer from the Centratherum, Verbena Bonariensis and Ivy flowers. I think this has been the worst year ever for butterflies despite my best efforts to attract them. Still, there's always next year.

Georgie

Withdrawal symptoms

This photo was taken on 11 October, the last time I did anything remotely garden related! We went for a walk in Hilly Fields (which is about ten minutes walk from our house) and I took a number of photos of the glorious trees which at the time were just beginning to take on their autumn hues. It was a beautiful afternoon.

The reason I haven't been gardening is because I've had the dreaded 'flu. I don't know if it was related but it started with my neck seizing up on 15 October, a cold over that weekend and then all sorts of nasty symptoms leading to me being prescribed Tamiflu last Tuesday. It's not the worst 'flu I've ever had but it has meant that I've had very little energy and even 'though the worst of it is now over I'm still feeling weak. I walked around the garden yesterday for the first time since I'd been ill but I had to come in after ten minutes as I felt quite wobbly. And it was the same today. I never thought I'd be so worn out after dead-heading a few Pansies!

In my absence the lawn has grown a good 15cm, there are leaves that need raking up, spring bulbs are still waiting to be planted and the bird feeders are on the low side. But it's all going to have to wait a while until I get my strength back. Perhaps the Pineapple Sage which I noticed is in bud will be the fillip I need to get me back out there and on the road to recovery. I do hope so.

Georgie

Mixed up seasons

This is one of the hanging baskets I've planted up for winter to add a bit of cheer. The Pansies replace the Sweet Peas, Dianthus and Birds Foot Trefoil which flowered all summer and as you can see from the photo the evergreen trailing ivy-like plant (I must find out what it is) has taken on some nice autumnal hues.

More signs of autumn in the garden this week include some fungi, buds on the Fatsia, lots more seed heads on the Ivy, ripening berries on a number of shrubs and leaves beginning to fall. On the other hand summer is clinging on: the annuals continue to bloom; I have some flowers on the Jasmine (which is very late); the Raspberries and Alpine Strawberries also have one or two flowers and I'm continuing to harvest a few fruits along with a smattering of ripe Chillies and Tomatoes. And it's not only me enjoying all these late flowers, there are still a few bees around too.

I was at a work-related conference on Thursday and Friday where I knew very few of the one hundred or so delegates. Well, I'm not sure if I have 'gardener' stamped on my forehead but only a matter of minutes after I arrived I was chatting to a chap who had just acquired an allotment! Then the following day I got deeply involved in a discussion about composting techniques and the merits of Viper's Bugloss. Gardening certainly brings people together.

Now, I know I said in my last post that I was pretty well made up for seeds but a gardener cannot resist a bargain and I did rather well in the Chiltern Seeds sale (only buying things on my wish list). So on the annual front I bought dwarf Nicotiana 'Nicki Lime' and Tagetes 'Tangerine Gem' which I've read (but don't believe) is slug/snail resistant. On the HP front I bought Centaurea Montana (mountain Cornflower) and Dicentra Scadens 'Golden Tears'. And on the edible front I bought Onion 'Paris Silverskin' and Tomato 'Gardener's Delight'.

Georgie