A Late Bloomer

I bought this flag iris for my little pond a long time ago. I waited patiently year after year for it to bloom and was disappointed each year when it didn't, it was all foliage and no flower. My hopes were raised this year when I spotted that it had produced some buds.

The sunny weather encouraged the flowers to open. I'm quite partial to yellow flowers, these are so vibrant.

The flowers don't last very long, you can see here that they're starting to fade.

Please ignore the drab fence. I was growing some morning glories to cover it but the slugs had a feast the minute they were planted out. It seems that nothing's safe this year. I need a plan B.

It's Strawberry Time

Mick popped to the allotment last night and came home with these, the first strawberries from the plants which I inherited on my new plot.

Not many ready yet, but Eleanor and I shared them and they were delicious, sweet and juicy.

There's plenty more to come so I shall see if we can get to them before the slugs do.

Something else which won't be long, tomatoes, hooray.

These are on one of the Maskotka plants, a bush variety, which are growing outdoors.

Strawberries and tomatoes, anyone would think it was summer.

Little Miracles Do Happen

It's been touch and go with my tomatoes this year. They didn't get off to a very good start when the compost I pricked them out in to was rubbish, the seedlings turned yellow and didn't grow. I quickly repotted them in to a different brand of compost and they rallied round really well putting on lots of growth and greening up beautifully.

Then came the Arggghhhhhhh. Disaster! post telling of how the plants had been left inside a hot greenhouse without any ventilation. Needless to say, they weren't in the best of health when they were discovered but I managed to save a couple of them which weren't in too bad a state. I was going to dispose of the rest of them but I left them in the greenhouse just to see if they made any sort of recovery, and they have. Well, some of them have.

In the meantime, I'd bought a few tomato plants from a local plant sale, so my final tomato count for this year is as follows:

Greenhouse Plants
Costoluto Fiorentino
Gardeners Delight
Alicante (bought from the local plant sale)

Outdoor Plants
Costoluto Fiorentino
Gardeners Delight
Ailsa Craig X 2

Outdoor Bush Plants
Maskotka X 2 (bought from the local plant sale)
Gartenperle (bought from the local plant sale)
Ildi
Totem

I got them all put in to their final positions at the weekend. I'm using tomato growbags cut in half for the outdoor indeterminate, or cordon, tomatoes. I used this method last year and it worked really well.

The bush type tomatoes have been planted up in pots which contain compost from a growbag.

I bought some self watering containers at the back end of last year for the three tomatoes I'm growing in the greenhouse, these have also been filled with the compost from a growbag. Unfortunately, there was a problem when I came to fit one of the watering tubes in to the container, it didn't fit, so I could only plant up two of them. I got in touch with the company who supplied them and they've sent me some replacement tubes. It was super quick service, great customer service. Things do go wrong with orders sometimes, but I don't mind so long as a company takes ownership of the problem and sorts it out without delay. I'll be planting up that last container this weekend. The two plants already in these containers are ones I grew myself, you can see the damage to the lower leaves which was caused when they'd been left in the greenhouse without ventilation but the new growth looks strong and healthy.

Lots of my tomato plants are now flowering, especially the bush ones. It won't be long until they're setting fruit.

Now that the tomato plants have taken over half the greenhouse, I've had to have a bit of a reshuffle. The staging is still in place on the right hand side for the time being and this is holding seed trays. I've sown some dwarf French beans, some wallflowers and some sweet williams. They've actually all germinated since this photo was taken.

Down the centre of the greenhouse is my little peach tree, can you see the peaches hanging from the branches? My fig tree is also here and so are a couple of my cucumbers. I'm growing two varieties of cucumber this year, Mini Munch and Crystal Lemon, I've got two plants of each and I shall be trying one of each in the greenhouse and one of each outdoors just to see which do best. I wasn't going to bother with Crystal Lemon this year as I'm not keen, but they were such a big hit with my dad last year that I thought I'd grow some for him again. The staging will soon be removed so that the cucumbers can be positioned in its place and I'll move the two little trees outdoors.

Everything else has now been moved out of the greenhouse and most things are now settled in at the allotment, just a few things left to plant, including my leeks. I still need to start off some more climbing beans to replace the ones which the slugs have eaten, that's another job for this weekend.

A Wander Around The Garden

A few snippets from the garden.

The peaches are coming on a treat. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they hang on until maturity, how exciting it will be to harvest my own peaches.

More seed trays planted up, this time with dwarf French beans, though I shall be sowing more climbing beans this week too as the slugs have devoured the ones I've already planted at the allotment. I've never used slug pellets before but I may have to resort to it this year.

My leeks never get to the size of a pencil before they're planted out, they just never seem to thicken up. Perhaps it's because they're sown and grown in the same pot, I don't pot them on at all.

Do you remember the lovely terracotta pots I bought at the local plant sale? They were a bargain at £1 each. Here's one of them potted up with pelargoniums which I overwintered from last year. It's stood to one side of my back door. Excuse the weeds in the paving, that's another job I need to get round to.

Here's what's at the other side of the door.

You may wonder why I don't have a terracotta pot at each side. This is why.

Mick somehow managed to get Archie's lead wrapped around the pot as he was leaving the house and brought it crashing to its side with calamitous consequences. It's only fit for crocks now.

My new rose, Golden Wings, has another flower bud. Archie seems very keen and keeps checking to see if it's open.

We had a thunder and lightening storm yesterday afternoon and there's another one due today. It looks like the rest of the week is set to be dry, let's hope the forecasters have got it right as there's lots of jobs I need to be getting on with.

A Fruity Fiesta

I keep mentioning fruit, but I've gone from having very little, both on my allotment plot and in my garden, to having quite a bit this year. I'm just hoping that the harvest comes good.

My little plum tree is looking good, it's laden with fruit. There were more plums on it than there are now but many small specimens have fallen, I suppose it's the June Drop. There's still plenty of fruit left though and they're growing well.

I bought a Gloster apple tree in March 2012. It's on dwarf rootstock and grown in a container. I haven't had any fruit from it yet but it looks as though this year might be the year.

Similarly, my Golden Delicious, also on dwarf rootstock and grown in a container, was bought in August 2012 and hasn't yet given me any fruit but it's looking hopeful this year.

I've mentioned previously that I'm creating a new border along the fence. I've already planted my Golden Wings rose there but I'm now considering planting my two apple trees in this border too. As they're on dwarf rootstock, they shouldn't take up very much space but I think they may do better in the ground than being grown in a container.

My blueberries have flowered and I can see the beginnings of the fruit. It doesn't look like a bumper year, but we should get something. I've got three bushes. I think I may replenish the ericaceous compost this year as well as giving them a bit of a prune.

There wasn't very much blossom on my Stella cherry tree this year so I wasn't expecting a very big harvest. I think we'll be lucky if we can count how many cherries we get on two hands.

Overall, we should do quite well for fruit this year. Here's hoping.

A Race Against Time

We knew that rain had been forecast for Monday evening. Tea was on the table when Mick came home from work and after we'd eaten, off we dashed to the allotment hoping to get the squash and courgettes planted before it started pouring down. We just made it.

We had a quick look around the plot at other things we'd already planted. The beans have been nibbled but I'm hoping they'll recover, unlike the parsnips which did germinate but have since disappeared. I suppose the slugs have had a tasty meal. I don't know whether it's too late to sow more now, it's quite late.

We'd only just finished planting when the heavens opened. At least we didn't have to water the plants in. There was only one other person on the whole allotment site and he'd packed up and gone just in time, we weren't so lucky.

Our plot is the furthest away from the site gate and I didn't fancy making a dash for it, it was raining so hard so we sheltered a while in the shed. I really don't know how we managed on our last site without the luxury of a shed on the plot.

It soon became clear that the rain just wasn't going to stop so we ended up having to make our way off the site in the pouring rain. I hadn't even taken a coat with me and I was absolutely soaked to the skin by the time I'd made it back to the car. That'll teach me to take a brolly with me.

Blackbird Fledgling

I was looking out of the kitchen window the other day and saw a blackbird hopping around the patio. It was so unusual that I mentioned it to Mick, commenting on how we don't often see birds on the ground in this part of the garden.

After I'd taken Archie for his morning constitutional, I was having a wander around the garden when something next to me made me jump. As I looked to my side, there, about two feet away from me, perched on the arm of the garden chair was a baby blackbird. He didn't move at all, apart from his head which moved from side to side as he gawped at me.

I wondered if I'd scare him if I shot inside for my camera, but decided it was worth the risk. He was still there when I returned and I just managed to get a quick photo before Archie realised there was something invading his territory and started barking, scaring the little blackbird away.

He flew over the fence in to next door's garden and throughout the day I noticed a couple of adult blackbirds sitting on the fence, so I suppose they were looking after him until he found his feet.

I'm just hoping that next door's cat isn't as observant as Archie.

Slug Patrol

I was in the garden last night hunting for slugs by torchlight. My garden doesn't usually suffer too badly with them, but I've found lots just recently, perhaps because of the very wet weather. Every bit of my parsley has been munched by the slimy molluscs.

I'm pleased I wasn't the only one on slug patrol last night, look who I came across.

My pond is only tiny but it provides a home for all manner of wildlife which keeps the ecosystem in balance. Perhaps that's why I don't find too many slugs in my garden, thank goodness.

Living Rabbit Food

You may remember, last year when I was purchasing seeds in The Garden Centre Group sale, I came across a seed mixture especially for rabbits. Having two pet rabbits ourselves, I decided to have a go at growing it.

On the back of the packet, it says: "A mixture of seeds for sowing as living pet food which has been specially formulated to supplement the diet and suit the natural and nutritional needs of rabbits. The seeds can be sown in containers or in the ground and the rabbit can eat the plants directly or they can be harvested, washed and dried before being given to eat".

I decided to sow the seed in to seed trays. There looked to be lots of different seed included in the mix, however, once it had grown, all I could see was what looked like clover.

Monty didn't seem to mind, he enjoyed his snack very much.

So did Sammy. He made short work of his treat.

You can see how much they enjoyed it, it was nibbled right down to the soil.

I've grown more than a dozen of these quarter size seed trays full of living rabbit food from the one packet of seed, so Monty and Sammy have enjoyed lots of extra treats. There's food available for guinea pigs, hamsters, budgies, dogs, cats and more in the same range. I shall definitely be looking out for the rabbit variety again as my two bunnies seemed to love it.

Plant Progress

You may remember that last year I visited a nursery or garden centre each month and bought a plant which was in flower. I was taking the late Geoff Hamilton's advice, he said that doing this would ensure that there was something flowering in the garden every month of the year.

I have to confess that I've lost a couple of the plants. The plant I bought last March was pulmonaria angustifolia Blaues Meer and that was one of the casualties, there's also no sign of the scabiosa columbaria which I bought in June.

Some things have surprised me though, the cyclamen which I bought right at the start of the year have survived, even though there was a bit of a debate whether they would or not. They've bloomed right the way through the early months of 2014 giving me colour in the garden when little else was flowering.

I bought Lewisia For July and wondered whether it would survive or not as apparently, they don't like water to sit in the crown so it's a good idea to plant them on a tilt so that any water can drain away. I didn't do this but it's managed to survive and it's blooming its socks off. This one is Special Mix.

It was an Aquilegia For May and as you can see, it's blooming again at the same time this year. This variety is Clementine Purple, a double which I'm not usually keen on. I much prefer single flowered aquilegias but I'll make an exception in this case as I love the upward facing flowers on this short, bushy plant.

I wouldn't expect my later in the year purchases to be flowering yet, but the Sedum For November  which I bought has grown really well. This is Brilliant, a pink flowered variety which is attractive to butterflies and insects, so it should provide some nectar for them later in the year when other things are winding down.

I should have really photographed each of the surviving plants I purchased last year and then done a progress post at the end of the year, perhaps I'll do that next year.

Just Peachy

Do you remember the Crimson Leaf Patio Peach Tree which I reviewed last year for Gardening Express? I was really pleased with it but wondered how it would over winter and whether it would look as good this year. I can tell you that I shouldn't have worried, this is it now, in my opinion, looking better than ever.

It's got beautiful, glossy leaves and looks stunning. But what's that I spy?

Lots of little peaches which seem to be growing well.

The branches were literally covered with tiny fruit but many have dropped off, still leaving a good number which are growing by the day. Hopefully, we'll be harvesting our own peaches this year.

I just wanted to show you how my tiny fig twig is getting on. It was A Bargain Fig which I bought from Morrisons for the princely sum of £2, and though it looked little better than a twig when I purchased it, it's now put on some growth and is looking very healthy indeed.

It may take a few years before I get any figs, but I'm happy that it's looking so healthy and growing well.

Blooming Beautiful

Do you remember my Waiting In The Wings post from the 1st of May? I told of how my Golden Wings rose had, at last, been planted in the garden. I didn't notice the little bud on it at the time, but looking back at one of the photos, you can see it quite clearly. Here it is on the right hand side of the bush.

It didn't take long for that bud to open and here it is, taken on the 4th of May, in all its glory.

Isn't it beautiful? Such a pale yellow, just as I like, and the scent is fabulous, so sweet.

There's no sign of any more flowers at the moment, but I don't mind, this one will keep me going for a while.

A Bit Of A Risk

I got some things planted out at the allotment last Friday. Actually, I was taking a bit of a risk as I wondered if the nights would still be too cold for them, but I'm glad I got them out of the greenhouse when I did otherwise they may have suffered the same fate as my tomatoes which I wrote about in my last post.

My beans were growing very well so I didn't want to keep them in their pots much longer.

I've got four wigwams so far, just one of runner beans - St. George and three of French beans - Blue Lake, Cobra and a purple variety, Purple Cascade.

I sowed the beans in a different way this year taking Monty Don's advice when I saw him sow his on Gardener's World. I sowed three beans to each pot and then when they were ready to be planted out, the whole pot, minus the plant pot, was placed at the bottom of a cane. Some of the seeds I sowed were from old packs so a few didn't germinate, but most did.

I also planted out a courgette - Parthenon, a summer patty pan type squash - Custard White and a winter squash - Autumn Crown. I've got more of these waiting in the wings but I wanted to test the water, weather wise, first.

The first batch of potatoes I planted out at the allotment was on the 14th of April, and more have been planted at various dates since. There's just one more row of Pink Fir Apple to go in now, a little late but they should be ok. The earlier plantings are growing well but I forgot to take a photo of them so you'll just have to take my word for it. Of course, I've still got plenty of potatoes potted up in containers too, it shouldn't be long until the first lot are ready to be eaten.

It looks like the strawberry plants I inherited are going to give me a good crop, there's plenty of flowers on the plants and I shall have to think about netting them soon to prevent the birds from taking the harvest. The patch needs a bit of a weed around the plants, a job for next time.

There's going to be a good gooseberry harvest too.

This blackbird sat and watched me disturb the earth where I did my planting before swooping down to pinch a worm just as soon as I moved away. It carried the worm in its beak for ages whilst it hopped around the plot, presumably while it looked for more. I expect it's got babies to be fed somewhere.

Right next to my plot is a huge hawthorn tree. It looks fabulous at the moment as it's covered with a profusion of flowers.

We were working on the plot until the sun started to set, it was so peaceful listening to the birdsong while we were busy. Evening is definitely my favourite time to visit the allotment.

We had a chat with an allotment neighbour and then we had a wander around looking at the other plots before heading home. Such a lovely evening.