Tuesday 31 August 2010

Cuttings

The weather forecasts have been reporting ground frosts 'in rural areas', which sounds suspiciously like a description of home, and—although this seems early—I don't want to lose some of my tender perennials, nor miss the opportunity for some cuttings. Hence, we've popped out and taken a few trays. Quite a lot of lavender (30-odd) soft-tip cuttings (evenly split between the three clumps we have); several from each of four fuchsias (several fuchsia's didn't survive last winter, sadly, but I've taken cuttings from most of those that did, including the rather pretty 'Annabelle' in the hanging baskets); pink/white/red pelargoniums from the front beds; and a couple from the wallflower by the front gate. We also put about 40 stems from the petunias into jars of water: if they send out adventitious roots, then they'll be potted up.

As I say, it seems too early to be worrying about frosts, but there you go. The morning temperature (according to the car at around 0630: sunrise is nominally about 0615 now) has been about 9°C, so frosts can't be far off. I'll have to think about fleecing up some plants, and this means it'll be nearly time to bring the olive tree in, and collect apples and sloes.

Plant Orders

An exciting set of plant orders has been made, ready for the autumn.

Firstly, I've ordered 50kg of mixed daffodils. We planted, at a guess, about 200 last autumn, and now want to extend the planting up the garden, and possibly add some to the verge in front of the house. These are from Fentongollan in Cornwall.

Next, I've got 400 Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica coming from Peter Nyssen. These are little hyacinth-like flowers, only 10cm tall, with a blue stripe on the petals. We put in 100 of these last year, and I rather liked them, so more are on their way.

An offer in a newspaper has led to 48 mixed cottage garden plants (scabiosa, hollyhocks, kniphofia, lupins, achillea, geum, delphinium, lobelia, galliardia, poppies, aquilegia, and aubretia); a further 40 from Van Meuwen will join them (aquilegia, hollyhocks, gypsophilia, Chinese lanterns, lupins, kniphofia, sea holly, delphinium, liatris and echinacea).

From Thompson & Morgan, we've got 10 hellebores, 168 viola 'Amber Kiss', and six honeyberries (a honeysuckle/Lonicera that is, unusually, edible), and a gardenia.

Lastly, a big order from J Parker: 10 cyclamen, 400 Siberian squills (to add to the 100 from last year), some heathers, 200 muscari, 172 candelabra primulas, 100 anemone blanda, 145 miscellaneous narcissi, 60 tulips, 3 blackcurrants and 30 raspberries (to fill the gaps left by those that didn't take last year), 12 monarda, 172 'Cat's Whiskers' pansies, and some centaurea.

Most of the bulbs are headed for the copse; the bedding will go in the front, in hanging baskets, and elsewhere; the fruit, obviously, is going into the fruit beds; the honeyberry will go up trellis at the edge of the fruit beds (demarcating the start of the kitchen garden); the 'cottage garden' plants will go where the cotoneaster currently is. That probably won't be the final spot, but it'll do as a holding ground while they grow, and we clear space.

This will almost certainly mean an epic planting session, in all weather. That will be familiar, as the bulbs last autumn were planted in wet and cold conditions, with latex lab-gloves over the garden gloves, and waterproof trousers...it was surprisingly good fun.

Monday 30 August 2010

Raising the Veg Beds

After yesterday's rapid progress, I started building the raised beds this morning. This was the same sort of construction as for the fruit beds, but modified, as they're not designed with tall posts for netting. Instead, the posts are only as tall as the boards, and crops that need netting will have these supported on canes. We decided to do it this way, as the netting requirements will vary with the crop, which will themselves move, and to have each bed able to cope, integrally, with any crop would mean having tall posts throughout.

The vegetable beds, then, have 5cm square posts, 60cm long, at each corner, and breaking up the long runs. These are short enough to hammer into the ground (impossible for the 8-foot posts making the raspberry beds!), which considerably speeds up emplacing them. Once they're in, the 15x2cm board can be cut and screwed on (I prefer screwing them into place, rather than nailing: more secure, and easier to remove and re-jig). As before, I've gone two boards high. This makes quite a nice height for kneeling next to, and, when filled to about 60% of their depth, gives a good root run in 'improved' soil, while allowing space for mulching. The wood's all pressure-treated pine, so it should last well.

I've got about a third of the C-shaped bed done, and about half of the Q-shaped bed. That's allowed almost all of the remaining heap of top-soil to be brought down, and means I've probably got another weekend of construction to go. In all, the progress has been enormous: all of the ground cut, about a third of the beds raised, and a quarter of them filled—much more than we expected to get done!

I also broke in my new spade, a lovely ash-handled stainless steel affair. It's got a longer shaft than our other spade, which makes it better for me, and a tread edge. I have hopes of more tools from the same supplier, as the spade was excellent (and has a lifetime guarantee).

Sunday 29 August 2010

Veg Beds Cut!

A shockingly effective day spent preparing the veg beds. We had help, in the form of parents-in-law turning out. The weather started a little unprepossessing (light rain), but cleared by 11ish, and we got started. I hadn't expected to get as far, but the addition of a strong father-in-law meant that digging speed was more than doubled. The Q-shaped bed is all but cut and turned, and almost the entire C-shaped bed, too. The top-right corner of this was rather difficult: there was a cotoneaster growing well into the proposed bed, and a berberis rooted outside the bed, but hanging into it. The latter was easily resolved, but the cotoneaster was a struggle to cut back, and then up-root. Eventually I managed to dig its roots out (discovering, along the way, that it was an appropriately named Cotoneaster congesta, purchased for a miserly £2.25—probably some thirty years past), and then did a bit of excavation, as the ground sloped up quite steeply under it. The bed will be butted up against one of the large rocks that support the terracing, but I think (hope) will miss it.

The long rectangular bed was already partly dug—we'd cut a nursery bed, quickly, last autumn, knowing that it would roughly fall where the veg bed would eventually be. It's not far off, about a foot north of plan, so the plants that fell in the new path were quickly lifted and replanted, and the uncut section can be prepared tomorrow.

In laying out the beds, we also worked out that there should be a 12x16 foot space available for greenhouse/shed. I'm quite taken by this shed/greenhouse combination. It would allow the two to exist side-by-side, and catch the sun best with the greenhouse part.

Tomorrow, I'll start building the beds, while everyone else finishes cutting the turf, digging it over, and barrowing down top-soil.

Saturday 28 August 2010

Marking the Veg Beds

Despite some intermittent rain, we've strimmed the 'lawn' that is currently the vegetable beds (lawn is generous, as it's not been cut in around 16 months, and was rather rough), and marked out where the beds will lie. We had previously marked the beds, but—unsurprisingly—over seven months then some of the pegs have vanished, and a lot of the strings had been chewed through or broken.

Anyway, the beds (a large rectangular one on the south edge, continuing a raspberry bed; a C-shaped one abutting it; and a Q-shaped one inside them) are now marked with pegs and string. Tomorrow we'll start cutting them, ready to raise and fill them.

In other news, my Sweet William seeds have started to germinate.

Sunday 22 August 2010

Fruit Beds Finished

At last, the fruit beds are finished. We put the wire and net up on the strawberry beds, which completed the netting. It was by far the easiest, as it only needed one net, and it's only a couple of feet off the ground (by contrast, the rasperry beds' net is 7–8 feet up, and the blueberry/currant bed required three nets).

The strawberries have been extremely busy, sending out runners. We cut off a lot from the edges, to get the netting in place, but there are many more running within the bed. The prunings have been potted up, and we now have about 40 extra plants of each variety (Honeoye, Cambridge, Florence). Where they're going to go, I know not. Liz keeps suggesting a second strawberry bed...

We also sowed some more seeds: lupins, astrantia, and species tulips, all collected last Wednesday. I don't know how reliable they'll be (especially the tulips), but I thought it would be worth a go.

Saturday 21 August 2010

Stitching

Today we finished stitching together the netting for the first raspberry bed, and put together the netting for the second bed. The raspberry beds are now completed, some months after they should have been...

They look enormously better, with complete nets, and this should end the problem of raspberry canes poking through the top of the nets...for now.

We were in Derbyshire yesterday, in the picturesque village of Endon (no Ewoks in sight, sadly), for Ann and Alan's wedding. Lovely event: lots of decorations made over the last couple of years for the day, and good to meet some of their family we've not encountered before. The weather was, sadly, a bit lousy: they just about got the group photos done before it started raining, and we managed—after dinner—to snatch a game of croquet.

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Deliveries

A day working at home, and receiving deliveries. Most of them were related to the kitchen: the units were all delivered, and then the worktops; the in-line water heater, and the fridge (a Baumatic integrated) also arrived. (There were also some bike bits for Philip's new bike, which I'm ordering as apparently I know what I'm doing.)

I'm really hoping the water heater will make life better: because hot water is only available after oil-heating a whole tank, I boil a kettle to wash up. Not ideal, as I can never be bothered to wait for two kettles, which is what you need. The on-demand water heater (basically, like a self-heating shower, attached to the tap) should improve this situation.

The kitchen units look really gorgeous. They're made by PWS, and bought from DIY Kitchens. They're really good quality, and an extremely reasonable price. Hopefully they'll go in smoothly, and look as good in place...

Over my lunch, I also straightened up the workshop, which looks miraculously improved, and collected some lupin, tulip, and astrantia seed, which I hope to sow this weekend.

Sunday 15 August 2010

Clearing the Cotoneaster

When the garden was claimed from the hillside (when the cottages were converted, about thirty years ago), a mainstay of the planting was a number of cotoneaster. I have no idea which variety, but the leaves are a mid-gloss green, fairly small, and the berries are red and about 5mm diameter. It is entirely undistinguished. I have nothing, in principle, against cotoneaster: the berries are very good for birds, and the flowers produce nectar that's invaluable for bees during the June Gap.

However, it's really not that interesting, and there is far, far too much of it. As in, around 50m2. Removing most/all of it has long been the intention, and we've finally got started. We cleared a big gorse last September, with my mum's help, and—once again—she helped with the cotoneaster. The target was the patch at the end of the upper long bed, on the eastern end. We've certainly not eliminated it, but we've cleared probably 4–5m2, which is a nice start, and it's uncovered a rhododendron and conifer that were buried. The area will need clearing of roots, and we'll probably replant it with herbaceous perennials. They won't necessarily remain there, but it'll be something to fill the ground with, and they can get growing (a tactic of frugality: buy 'em small and cheap, and grow them on, as we have plenty of space).

It's nearly time for the autumn orders to go off. I'm hoping to get in a load of spring bulbs (daffodils, of course, and more puschkinia and squills), some perennials, and replacement raspberries and blackcurrants. If the weather's acceptable, we also hope to get started on the raised vegetable beds. They've been on hold for some time, but I want to get them finished before winter. Of course, we still need to finish the raspberry beds' netting!

The local blackberries are nearly coming into ripeness, which means jam & winemaking can't be far off.

Monday 9 August 2010

Tidying

We travelled down to Ludlow on Friday afternoon, and then on to a wedding in Dorset (near Shaftesbury) on Saturday. We came back to Ludlow late Saturday night, and stayed with Liz's grandmother until lunchtime today.

The wedding—of two of our college friends—was a wonderful event. We met up with lots of friends (some of whom we've not seen for a year), and everything went really well. There was a monumental buffet which deeply satisfied my inner gourmand (including a really excellent Stilton), and an entertaining ceilidh in the evening. The bride looked lovely, the groom looked delighted, and the guests looked happy: what more could you want?

Having dragged ourselves back to Ludlow, we spent the Sunday and Monday pottering, and did a bit of tidying in the garden. Grandma built a small pond/water-feature with my sister-in-law at her last visit, which is a pleasing addition to the garden. We helped straighten the lining edges, and I re-positioned the pump (along with cleaning and fiddling with it), and it's now looking much neater, and the fountain is more vertical.

She also had a half-metre diameter clump of irises that were getting rather congested, which we dug up and split. We now have about two-fifths, Liz's mum has the same, and we replanted the last fifth in a better spot. I find it quite satisfying, splitting things like irises. They come apart quite well, with a sharp spade cutting them, and it doesn't seem too brutal.

We also took out a rose (brought back for us) which was badly located, and cut back a lot of ivy (growing rampant over a fence) and a bit of eucalyptus. Young eucalyptus is really striking, but the adult leaves are no great thing.

Otherwise, we also put up a mirror, and put new batteries in her smoke alarms. Bizarrely, doing so seemed to set the carbon monoxide detector off, which started claiming that it needed attention. As it's a mains-wired unit, supplied by Fire & Rescue, all I could do was disconnect it. Oddly, it's on the lighting circuit, not the smoke detectors' circuit, but there you go.

Back home, now, and back at work tomorrow!

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Anniversary

Today's the first anniversary of moving into the cottage. It's been a fun year; stressful to start with (I hate moving house, and being unemployed!), but it's picked up considerably. We're both (all, if you count the cats) really pleased with the house, and garden, and location. Progress on the house and garden has been a bit slow, necessitated by jobs, and weather: but I'm hoping to get on a bit over the next year.

Building the fruit beds, and really improving the front garden have been the highlights in the garden: inside, we've changed the utility room (and made it much more useful), and installed a lot of insulation, and the new windows. The next big change will be the kitchen, and—hopefully—the vegetable plot.

As a result of reaching this milestone, I don't think I can keep the profile entry to the right the same. I'll be updating it in a minute, but here, for posterity, is the current entry:

New resident of Yorkshire (just on the 'right' side of the Pennines), having moved up here in August.

I started this blog mainly as a gardening log, as it seemed a more interesting way to do it than in a notebook, as I can add links to things, photos, and tag posts. It's already branched out into cooking exploits, too, but it's unclear yet whether anyone else will ever read it.


Sunday 1 August 2010

Wine, seedlings, and friends

We had Hazel and Alex with us for the weekend, which was much enjoyed: we've not seen them since their wedding, so it was good to catch up, and see the photos and footage from the day. In addition to much board gaming and chat, we also tried a bottle of newly bottled blackberry wine. It was the 'over-spill' from the main demi-john (the recipe, which I'd not tried before, made a bit more than would fit in one), and it was—in my opinion—rather good. Quite sweet, and fairly strong, and wonderfully fruity. I think the blackberry and elderberry (made at around the same time) may be slightly too tannin-y, but we'll see.

In other pleasing news, some 18 of my pulsatilla seeds have germinated. They've taken about six weeks, but that's within the normal range, and I'm pleased that two-thirds have come up. Hopefully a few more will emerge over the next week or so.

The blackberries on my route to work are slowly ripening, but there's not much sign nearer home. I think they'll be another month, really. Unfortunately, I've not been able to collect more bilberries, but I'm holding out hope that I will, still. The blueberries (the older two plants) are producing lots of fruit, which is tasting good: sadly, I think we'll have no more strawberries. We lost a lot to rot, during the damp weather we've had.

We have a busy run of weekends coming up. Next Saturday, a couple we know from university are getting married in Dorset, so we're travelling down to Ludlow on Friday, staying with Liz's grandmother, going the wedding on Saturday, and then staying in Ludlow 'til Monday. It'll be a good occasion, and a nice short break. The weekend after, my parents are visiting. Then, the following Friday (20th), we have another wedding: this time in Derbyshire.

I'm hoping, in the next week, to order some new raspberries, and some other bulbs and autumn goodies. Next month, probably, we'll also pick up another big load of daffodils, to extend the patch of them. I'd like more Scilla and Puschkinia, too.