Sunshine and showers

Had a good day in the veg gardens despite the intermittent rain. In the first one I have managed to clear most of the greenhouse bench and get plants into the ground outside and in. The tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies are in the greenhouse bed and staked as necessary but this will need upgrading at a later stage. I don’t want the tomato chaos that I had last year!

In the cold frame I have planted out the melon plants which I started off on my windowsill what seems forever ago. I prepared the frame last autumn with lots of muck and have been waiting for the plants to be big enough. I really hope that I get some fruit!

Over winter in the other half of the cold frame there have been autumn sown broad beans which are now ready for picking. First beans!

The climbing french beans are climbing and I have taken a risk and planted my reserve beans out too. Hopefully in this warm and wet weather they will grow faster than the snails/slugs/pigeons/etc can eat them. I also had the joy of that first sweetpea sniff of the year ahh perfume worth waiting for.

Then later to the pub garden to see how it’s doing.  At the front the edible flower beds are filling up nicely, just enough room to squeeze in the last few hyssop and chive plants and some chopsuey greens.

In the vegetable garden the courgette and pumpkin beds are planted and the carrot, radish, beetroot and leek seeds are coming up well now.

The potato beds are looking great with the first flowers showing on Vivaldi.

The salad leaves are really taking off and the restaurant has been able to take it’s first harvest of Calvo Nero kale and lettuce. Chard is looking good and the saltwort tastes nice even though I weeded a bit thinking it was grass!

With the thunder getting louder and the sky blacker I had a quick weed of the strawberries and with wet sleeves headed for home before I could get caught in another downpour.

 

Summer Evening

A balmy summer Evening,  with the birds still singing at 9.30, is the push that I need to get on with my own garden. After 4 days of rain, it is half term after all, the soil has lost it’s concrete texture and the weeds are coming up easily.

A wise gardener once told me that if you cut the grass and do the edges then the garden looks done. I also like to do the part that I see the most, so all my spring flowers are in the bit that I see between the car and the door and in front of the kitchen window. This evening, I have been working on the border that I can see from the window – doing the edges, pulling up giant weeds and trimming back some of the more vigorous plants so that everything gets a chance.

I also reckon if you can’t see the soil then the weeds won’t grow – fingers crossed! This border wasn’t there 3 years ago apart from the iris on the edge and and all the plants were bits from other people’s gardens and some plants that moved house with me. Now I can’t find anywhere to fit the cosmos in.

I also inherited some very 1970’s looking hybrid tea roses which I took a dislike to. However, after vigorous pruning they flower prolifically and that shade of orange almost glows at dusk.

I have a massive slug and snail problem at the moment, along with half the country it seems. I let the chickens garden with me this evening in the hope that they got a few. And the really good news is that they ate some horsetails, Equistium, too!

Pest patrol!