Planting For Christmas

Christmas may seem a way off yet but when you're wanting to grow part of your Christmas dinner, it has to be thought about well in advance. I've decided that this year I'd like to grow Brussels sprouts. It's not a vegetable I usually grow, in fact, it isn't a vegetable I buy all that often as the rest of my family won't eat them. I do insist that we always have them with Christmas dinner though, it wouldn't be Christmas without them.

I sowed some seed of a variety called Evesham Special at the end of March but I'm never particularly successful when it comes to sowing brassicas so when we visited Harlow Carr in April and saw some seedlings of the very same variety for sale on one of the plant stands at the Spring Gardening and Wildlife Weekend I decided to buy some. I also purchased some kale seedlings. This is asparagus kale, something I've never tried before. Aparently, the new shoots of this kale taste of asparagus so I'm looking forward to trying it.

Instead of planting them straight out, I potted on the seedlings in to larger pots and they've now put on a lot of growth. They're ready for planting out but their bed is only half dug so they'll have to wait a little longer. Kale on the left, Brussels sprouts on the right.

The allotment has taken a bit of a back seat so far this year as we've had other things on and my dad has very recently been rushed in to hospital so nearly everything is on hold at the moment. We're not sure how long he's going to be in for but I shall be trying to keep up with my blog as well as reading posts on the other blogs which I follow. I may not have time to comment as often as I usually do though so I hope you understand.

Tulips From Amsterdam.....

.....via Wilko's.

After all the beautiful tulips I saw at Harlow Carr recently, which you can see in my last post, I thought I'd show you the tulips I grew in a container this year.

This was the first bud I noticed back in the middle of April. I get so excited at this point thinking of what's to come.

It was soon after that I noticed a yellow bud which reminded me that I'd planted tulips in a variety of colours this time. I usually stick to just one or two colours in a container.

The variety I'd gone for was Triumph and the packet included a mix of colours from the very darkest purple through reds, yellows and pinks to the purest white. When I remembered this I looked forward to seeing the combination of colours all blooming together.

I was a little let down once they bloomed. They were beautiful blooms but I ended up with reds, yellows and something in between, there wasn't a single dark one or white one amongst them. No pinks either.

Not a bad display for a pound though.

Some were a mix of red and yellow.

I can never resist taking close ups of the inside of tulips, they remind me of a kaleidoscope.

They've been planted in the front garden now where I hope they'll flower again next year. I think if I want a mixture in future, I should buy the single colours and mix them myself.

Harlow Carr in May

At long last we've visited Harlow Carr without risking hypothermia. We'd planned to go on Sunday as there was a Spring Plant Fair being held but the weather was terrible, it was pouring down with rain, much like today, so we went yesterday instead. Knowing what it's been like on previous visits, I wore my coat but I soon stripped off to a t shirt, it was so warm. We definitely chose the right day to go.

The first thing that hit me as we walked through the door was the tulip border. In March it was nothing but bare soil, by April a few yellow tulips were flowering but just two weeks later and the rest of the tulips had followed suit creating this stunning display.

As the weather was being kind on this visit, we decided to head in to the woodland.

Many of the rhododendrons are now flowering, though some are still in bud.

There's a good collection of different plants which you'll see from my next photos. I don't think they need any explanation.

This bee was covered in pollen.

We trip trapped over the small bridge even though a troll was on guard.

Work at Harlow Carr doesn't stop for a bank holiday, here some forestry work was being undertaken.

It's evident that lots more of this type of work has been carried out. Log piles line the paths in some areas.

Is it just me who can see a dinosaur in this tree? My knowledge of trees is sadly lacking, I'd love to know what this tree is if anyone knows.

We came upon the bird hide so we decided to see who was about. There wasn't any unusual birds on the feeders but we often see red kites soaring overhead whilst we're at Harlow Carr.

Daffodils are still flowering but they're really past their best now.

I'm not usually one for fancy daffodils but I though this frilly variety was lovely.

I like this narcissus Sir Winston Churchill, a multi headed variety.

The kitchen garden was looking very neat and tidy. I asked one of the girls working there what happens to the produce they grow and was told that they don't grow sufficient quantities to sell so the gardeners get to take it home.

Crops are starting to appear in the raised beds now. Here we have radish, spinach and peas.

Apple mint being grown in a sunken container. I know myself how invasive it is, my first allotment plot was covered in the stuff and we never managed to get rid of it. I'd never plant mint in open ground without some form of barrier.

The rhubarb bed has now been cleared of the forcing pots and the plants are being allowed to grow uncovered. There were bare patches of earth here and there when we last visited but the plants have put on a lot of growth since then. There's odd tulips flowering amongst the rhubarb.

There's been a lot more growth in the bed I'm following. I'm looking forward to seeing what emerges over the next couple of months here.

The tulips are really doing their thing now, so many different varieties. I'd like to leave you with some photos of the displays and varieties being grown at Harlow Carr.

This has been my favourite month to visit Harlow Carr so far but I'm looking forward to seeing which plants will be the stars of the show on my next visit.

Beware

It's nearly four years ago now since I wrote about my perennial sweet pea in A Thug post. I was gifted a cutting of this plant from Mick's uncle a couple of years before that and it wasn't long after that post that I decided enough was enough and dug it up. The flowers were very pretty but it made a bid to take over the whole border and just didn't work, there were bits popping up all over the place and it was so hard to keep it under control.

Four years on and I'm still pulling bits up on a regular basis. Not only that but it's now popping through the wall which retains the border.

Out of all the plants I've ever grown, this is my biggest regret, I don't think I'll ever be rid of it. Have you lived to regret a planting decision?

Emma Bridgewater Giveaway Win

A huge thank you to Jo at A Whole Plot Of Love, and indeed her husband Mike seeing as he pulled my name out of the wicker Rudolph, for the lovely goodies I won in her recent giveaway.

I absolutely love Emma Bridgewater pottery and this red squirrel mug is just beautiful. It's very hard to photograph though, so here's another photo of it to make sure I get all its best angles.

I really wasn't expecting anything else so I was thrilled to find some other lovely goodies in the parcel. A Wildlife World bumblebee guide and wildflowers attractor seeds pack, I do try to plant things in the garden with wildlife in mind so I shall enjoy sowing these seeds and watching the bumblebees make a bee line for my garden. See what I did there? Jo knows that like her, I'm a crafter. I love knitting and crochet so there were two balls of Sirdar Folksong yarn in the parcel. It's so soft, I shall enjoy using this. I've been saying for a while now that I'm going to get Eleanor's sewing machine out and have a go at teaching myself to sew, well I've now got some gorgeous fat quarters in such pretty designs so I've no excuse not to get on with it. Jo lives in North Wales so she popped some Welsh cakes in the parcel too. Now I've never tried Welsh cakes before but wow, they're so good. I shall be having a go at making these myself before long, they're absolutely delicious. A parcel full of so many wonderful things. Didn't I do well?

All these lovely gifts were sent with a cute card too, how I love this foxy design.

Thank you so much, Jo. What a generous give away, I'm thrilled with everything I received.