Sunday 17 June 2012

On A Positive Note

After my last post, which was full of woe, I decided that I needed to be more upbeat, so I toddled off in to the garden to look for some good things which are happening at the moment. The first thing I came across was this Typha Minima or Mini Bulrush. I added it to my tiny pond three years ago when I first set it up, but this is the first year that it's produced the brown seed heads. Gardeners do need to be patient sometimes. I'm hoping that now it's got going,  it will produce them each year as they certainly add something to the little pond. I've also had my Caltha Palustris or Marsh Marigold since the pond was set up and that's come on leaps and bounds, in fact, it could do with a trim. It flowered profusely earlier on in the year. It's blooms are a wonderful cheery yellow and are a welcome sight in spring.

I made a new strawberry bed at the allotment this year, but I've also got lots of strawberries in the garden too. Some of them are new plants, but others were from runners off the plants which were dug up in the old strawberry bed. I'm really pleased that these new plants seem to be producing well already this year, there's lots of strawberries on the plants and I've noticed that some of them are just starting to turn red. I'm hoping for a good strawberry year.

I had a great harvest of blueberries three years ago, but they've been pretty poor for the last two years so I decided that I'd try replenishing the ericaceous compost in the pots they're growing in. I never got round to doing so, but it seems they didn't need it as it looks like it's going to be a good year for blueberries, the plants are covered in them. It won't be long now until they ripen and then it will be blueberry muffins for tea.

17 comments:

  1. Hope that you are soon eating strawberries. Our blueberries don't seem to have much fruit and I have conscientiously fed them with a plant food for acid lovers.

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  2. Glad your feeling a little more upbeat hun. Sounds like you should have good crop of strawberries. We've already had quite a few from the lottie, along with mangetout and lettuces and radish.

    Let hope for dry sunny weather soon.

    X x

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  3. Blueberry muffins are one of my favourites!!

    Glad you are finding something to smile about in all this miserable weather!!

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  4. Mmmmm blueberries and strawberries, glad something's enjoying this rainy weather and producing lots of delicious fruit in your garden Jo.
    lily x

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  5. It's nice to take stock of the good things in life. Talking of stocks do you grow them? Lovely scent in the evening air.

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  6. I like that mini bulrush. Will have to look out for that as an addition to our pond marginals. Our Marsh marigolds flowered well too but we've just got lots of brown seed heads now.

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  7. Here's to blueberries and strawberries - you'll be over flowing with antioxidants.

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  8. Strawberries and Blueberries together are a good combination. I wonder if you ever make Summer Pudding?

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  9. That's an interesting bulrush :)
    No blueberries for us I think, but we do have some strawberries ripening.

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  10. Our strawberries are ripening now and I hope to get to them before the slugs. Fingers crossed.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  11. I think we have all been telling tales of woe just recently - so I agree it is nice to look at the positive. I love blueberry muffins so let me know when you are baking and I'll pop round and help you eat them.

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  12. I've jsut netted my strawberriesa s I noticed some were turning red and i'd rahter the blackbirds didn't have them all! Like you they appear to be doing very well this year, maybe they like the weather?
    I'm impressed with your bullrush, I had one, but it died (well actually it never really lived!) - enjoy yours!

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  13. Wonderful that your soft fruit is doing well, at least the tons of rain has done some good! In fact, probably a good idea to save a barrel of it for the blueberries while you can! My strawberries are all doing so well, in fact I need to get rid of quite a few but I don't like to while they're cropping - may as well have the harvest first! I need to get straw down under them but I keep thinking it will blow away in these dreadfully strong winds we've got here!

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  14. Good to see your pond plants doing well.
    Thankfully it does look like we're going to have a good year for soft fruit. That at least will help to make up for the disappointments! Flighty xx

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  15. I think the strawberry eating will commence within the next few days, Sue. Sorry to hear about your blueberries, it makes it all the more annoying when you've been looking after them so well.

    It sounds like your lottie is doing well, Please may I? I'm going to have to sow more mange tout, mine have been eaten by slugs.

    Blueberry muffins are delicious, Tanya, I can't wait to make them with my own blueberries.

    I think the rain must suit soft fruit, Lily. It's not suiting my veg though.

    I love stocks, John, but I've only grown them once and that was when I bought in some bedding plants. It's funny you should mention them though as I'd already decided that I'm going to grow some this year, to flower next, along with some Sweet Williams.

    The mini bulrush is something a little different to add to the pond, Martyn. It looks especially good now it's got seed heads.

    I'm just hoping I get plenty, Liz, it's looking good so far.

    I don't ever make summer pudding, Mark. We're not really pudding eaters. I'll find plenty of other uses for them though.

    I'm really pleased with the bulrush this year, Mo. I'd just about given up hope of getting any seed heads.

    I always find some nibbled strawberries, Mum. Slugs are such a pest, and it's hard to keep them off without using pellets.

    You'd be very welcome, Elaine. Blueberry muffins are a favourite here.

    It's taken a while for the bulrush to produce seed heads, Su, but it's been worth the wait. I always net my strawberries, there wouldn't be many left after the birds had picked over them if I didn't.

    I've still got some old strawberry plants in, Caro, but I've noticed some fruit on them so I'll delay pulling them up just yet. I never put straw under my plants and I never have much damage.

    I think it's going to be the year of the soft fruit, Flighty. At least all is not lost.

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  16. My own pond is looking decidedly iffy at the moment. It looks more like green soup and it looks like one of the oxygenators has died.I'm just psyching myself up to tackling it at some point, now we're back from hols. I do like that bull rush but perhaps I need to see where I'm going wrong with the pond first. Blueberries love lots of moisture so at least something is happy with the summer so far!

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  17. I don't think you're going wrong with the pond, Wellywoman. I had lots of green algae in mine when it was new. I used barley straw, which can be bought in garden centres, and that cleared it, but I think it's inevitable until a pond gets established. You should find that as your pond plants grow and cover more surface area of your pond, the algae will reduce.

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