Snowy garden

Everyone's talking about it so if you can't beat them, join them!

There's a garden in there somewhere...I hope the fish are alright, they must be 2 foot down by now!

 

Cute little fella...

Other thank picking up leaves the only activity in the garden has been feeding little Squidgy! This is Jon trying to train him...

And when it's too cold to go out, he'll even come up to and onto the step of the back door!

Fuchsias are having another quick burst of activity before winter comes on.

The wind gave the garden a bit of battering and had to pick up alot of things and re-tie the fence that is falling down. Grass seeds are not germinating, guess th esoil is too cold now. Oh well, will try again in the spring!

Feeding the wildlife...

I know we probably shouldn't feed the squirrel but he was pretty cute and amusing to watch...

He took the nuts then went and buried them all around the garden so we may have some new plants coming up in the spring! He ate the odd one in between...



Little Alice cat doesn't seem to mind him, she certainly doesn't try to chase him! Gets a bit jealous of the attention I think though...

At last...Orchids!

I planted 50 orchid bulbs ages ago and they grew wonderful leaves, but alas did nothing else. I went away for two weeks and then they decide to flower!

There are also lots of spiders building their webs in strategic places, i.e. across the path. Find ourselves fighting imaginery attackers regularly! This one is the main culprit....

Waiting for the rain to stop so I can go out and pull up a few of the weeds.

Well it may have rained for most of August, but at least one thing has benefited from it! Garden looks pretty good even if I do say so myself, just a shame I can't sit out in it to enjoy it. The bench is covered and will probably remain so for the rest of the year now. It's great to go and pick potatoes for dinner (or to send Jon out to do it anyway!) and we are still getting a good crop of tomatoes. Have just discovered a pear tree at the bottom of the garden so we can add those to the apples. Neither tree is ours but no one seems to be claiming them so I shall...

First potato crop

Went and and dug up a potato plant today as they looked like they might be ready. Enough from one plant for a meal! Probably could leave them a little longer however, as there were still small ones on the roots trying to grow. Decent size though. Look forward to having those later...

An amusing tomato

Went into the garden at lunchtime to pick some ripe tomatoes and couldn't resist this...childish I know but since when is mis-shaped fruit not amusing?

Butterfy count

I heard about this on the radio and thought it was a good excuse to sit in the garden for 15 minutes...

http://bigbutterflycount.org/

You just have to count the number of butterflies you see and log them on the above site. They even give you a really nice chart so you can butterfly spot as well as count!

You have to count them between today and the 1st of August.

Spent an hour today planting some flock and loads of leeks. I think they are leeks, might be onions! They got mixed up in the greenhouse. Mental note for next year, don't shun labels...

I'm very pleased with the Fuchsias. The ones I didn't plant in the ground and left in the pots are doing much better. I can't believe the size of the flowers, this one fills my hand! It also has some amazing curved petals which I think I will have to draw, they would make a great embroidery. Dahlias are also blooming and the sweet pea wall is having another go now that I have pulled all the pea pods of it. It's still not going to look spectacular though.

Update...

Whatever dug the hole in my newly planted flowers has come back and filled it in again. Curious.....

First crop

I'm quietly pleased with my first crop of home grown peas. I've never grown anything edible before so I'm quite pleased with myself! A note for next year, plant them out earlier and plant some more later on so I have a longer crop. I'm not sure how successful my tripod of canes were either so I think next time I'll tie them to single canes.


I also scattered some flower seeds which came up quickly only to be dug up by a little critter. I'm guessing as there were a few nuts in the hole that it is probably a squirrel...

I have been away teaching for four days and I love to come back and see what's happened in the garden while I have been away. The potatoes have grown another few inches and some have flowers on them now. I'm sad my sweet pea wall is somewhat of a failure. Twice as many plants next year and again plant them earlier.

No signs of the tadpoles or any frogs though....

Summer flowers

Lots of things coming out now and the seating area is almost finished so there is somewhere to sit to look at what's coming out. Went for white stones to compliment the colour of the house and the white roses that are now coming out around the arch.There are white sweetpeas also but I'm a little dissapointed with the sweetpea wall at the moment. I'm wondering if I didn't plant enough plants...

I have been advised to water for an hour every week or so rather than a bit every night so that the water doesn't just evaporate off the surface. I have to say this seems to be working. I planted some summer bedding and give that a water daily as the roots are not yet very deep but other than that once a week has been sufficient!

Potatoes are unstoppable as is the ivy feature on the front wall. Borrowed this idea from the Travellers Poor House garden in Rochester.

Our wedding roses are looking great and every day there are more flowers but I'm still pulling out wretched brambles and bineweed, they are never ending. The weed killer works well but they just spring up somewhere else!

Garden diary, June

The pototoes are poking their heads through the soil! I wasn't sure what they were going to do as they were past their 'plant by' date but they seem to be doing something! I have never grown any food before so I am quite excited. The pea canes also have peapods on them and some of the strawberries are doing flowers.

There is a solitary flower on the sweeatpea wall so I'm sure the rest aren't far behind. The roses are coming out as are the fuchsias. The climbing roses are working their way up the arch preventing the squirrel from reaching the nuts.

The pond is also well established after a full season in action and we have pond skaters, damsel flies, bees and hopefuly soon we will get frogs when the tadpoles emerge from the water. I've given them a little ramp so that they can climb out.

Lilly pads are growing well so hopefully they will keep the algae down as the pond gets some sun in the morning.

In the beginning...

...there was a garden. Just an ordinary garden in the middle of surburbia. This project was started over a year ago now and the rewards are starting to show. This blog will continue from where the project is now, but just to show the transformation so far have a browse through the gallery:

To cut a long story short, the brambles were cleared, the yukka plant came out and a pond went in. The garden was ready for the next step (more of a breakdown to follow!)