Wednesday 30 July 2014

Windows

I've made the most of decent weather today (it looks a bit dodgy for the next week), and painted the window frames in the garage. For the same reason, I mowed the lawn last night: very little growth, because it's been dry, but that did make it easier).

The windows look a lot neater now, although this photo's from the (unpainted) inside.


'Garage' interior (© Ian 2014)

I spent a bit of time messing around getting ready for installing an outside tap near the back door (near the greenhouse): there's only an internal tap, which isn't ideal, so I'm going to add a pair of external ones. Hole duly drilled in thick stone wall, and parts ordered for completing the job on some later date.

Other than that, I wasted a lot of time resolving a botched delivery that should have brought us plasterboard, plaster, and battening timber for the wall insulation, which tried to arrive on a 22t lorry, in clear contrast to my clear instruction to bring nothing bigger than 7t. Irritating, as they'll now have to deliver on Saturday morning, which, hopefully, won't badly delay getting started. I did manage to start getting the shelves up in the bedroom, though, and they're rather nice. We ordered planed oak boards from our friendly local timber merchant (ages ago, in January): I'm very fond of oak. I'll be finishing them tomorrow night, hopefully, but it might spill into Friday.

Monday 28 July 2014

Planting and Plastering

The first jobs for today were planting out the plants we bought at Tatton Park yesterday. Apart from the carniverous plants (kitchen and sitting room), and the brunnera (copse bed), the rest have gone into the long border. I need to add proper labels before we lose track of them, as they all came from show gardens as they were dismantled, and thus without labels.

This afternoon, we've stripped the wall paper from the side wall of our bedroom, and from the main wall of the dressing room, and re-plastered both. That's in preparation for putting up the new shelves on both these walls that we've had planned for several months, which I hope to do on Wednesday, all being well. That gets the shelf boards out of the way, along with everything that will go on these shelves, and should make installing the wall insulation easier: that starts next weekend, we plan.


Customary 'before' photo (© Ian 2014)


And gratuitous sleepy/supervisory cat photo (© Ian 2014)

Sunday 27 July 2014

RHS Tatton Park 2014

This morning, at about 0815, we set off for Tatton Park, as we have the last couple of years, to the RHS flower show. It takes about an hour, and having parked and walked to the showground, we were in the queue at about 0940, giving us a quarter hour to start looking at the show catalogue (and map) before being let in at just before 10. I've been impressed, this year and last, at how quickly they scan the bar-coded tickets and get you in.

There were some really good show gardens, this year. We particularly liked a heritage/allotment fruit and veg stall from a group of local allotmenteers, and were struck by a scarlet mountain spinach (orache) that we've never seen in the flesh before. It's a possible potager plant next year.Grasses were much in evidence, as well as chocolate cosmos, sanguisorba, crocosmia, and brunnera. That suited us nicely, as we've many grasses that could be used in combination. We have one sanguisorba, 'Tanna', and a brunnera, 'Jack Frost', both bought at Tatton last year, and came looking for more brunnera. We have a few crocosmia, but one caught our eye today that is apparently a fairly new introduction; Twilight Fairy 'Gold'. It has lovely bronzed foliage, but sadly wasn't for sale from the show garden (the Young Designer of the Year garden by Sam Ovens).

We saw a couple of water features we liked, which might inform later plans.


(© Ian 2014)


(© Ian 2014)

This garden had a rebar construction for its runner beans: apparently I'm not the only one using rebar to construct supports! It also had a rather good green wall, one of which Liz still wants to find a space for.



These garden seats were very good, and next door we saw some very weather resistant swing seats by the well-named Yorkshire Swingseat Company.


(© Ian 2014)


(© Ian 2014)

One feature that we enjoyed was a collection of eight vignette gardens that encapsulated larger gardens' feel in small plots. They're all from Cheshire, and included Arley Hall, which is actually just down the road from Tatton Park, and we thought looked worth a real visit, based on their 'taster' garden.


(© Ian 2014)

The floral marquee was, as ever, phenomenally stocked by nurseries, and although we only bought two plants, the other displays were excellent, and gave us contact details for a number of specialist nurseries. One, near Cambridge, might be a good source of alpines, if we do decide to put a green roof on the mini-sheds. There were a couple of hosta specialists, too, for when we dig the bog garden.


(© Ian 2014)

The two plants we bought were both from the Hampshire Carnivorous Plants: one was a Sarracenia hybrid (a North American Pitcher Plant), which suited us because it actively requires a good cold winter spell, probably in the unheated greenhouse. The other is a dangling/hanging sort of plant, a Monkey Cup called 'Linda' (a hybrid, Nepenthes cv 'Linda') despite being a dioecious male. It now hangs, slightly threateningly, in the sitting room.

For us, though, the Young Designer Gardens were the best. We felt that the television coverage (Thursday and Friday evening) actually let these down, and all three, but particularly Alex Schofield's, were much better in the flesh. In fact, everything else we purchased came from these three gardens.


(© Ian 2014)

Acquisitions were:
  • From Alex Schofield's garden:
    • Brunnera; I need to check the cultivar
    • Astrantia 'Gill Richardson'
    • Sanguisorba (S. officionalis)'Tanna'
    • Sedum (S. spectabile) 'Matrona'
  • From Clare Broadbent's garden:
    • Echinacea 'Secret Love'
    • Eupatorium, I think E. purpureum
  • From Sam Ovens' garden:
    • Scabious 'Pink Mist'

(© Ian 2014)

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Brassicas

On Friday evening, we lifted the Red Duke of York, the Lady Christl, and some of the International Kidney/Jersey Royal potatoes, as the haulms were clearly going over. They're being washed and bagged up, slowly.

This has created some space, particularly where the earlies were, in the bottom bed, and allowed us to plant out a number of brassicas there yesterday evening: Romanescu cauliflowers, January King savoy cabbages, Mystique cauliflowers, and Rudolph purple sprouting broccoli. We've also sown two rows of Golden Ball turnips, between these and the Defender courgettes. They, incidentally, are just getting into full speed, and producing almost daily courgettes. They seem more upright plants than our previous courgettes, as well as generating better textured (less prone to disintegrating in the pan) courgettes, and I'm rather pleased. I reckon we'll be into a glut in a couple of weeks.

Tonight's been less exciting, as I've mown the lawn—whereas Liz has collected enough sweet peas for eight vases. We're definitely into 'glut' for them.


Sweetpea Centrepiece (© Ian 2014)

Sunday 20 July 2014

Paths

Today started with a soft-fruit picking session. The raspberries are nearly over: probably one, maybe two more pickings left. However, the gooseberries are really just starting: the fuzziest, first variety at the top of the bed, Invicta (which also seems to have bigger fruit) is mostly ready, and some of the red and golden Hinnonmaki are there, too. While I prickled myself collecting these, and then a bowl full of blackcurrants, Liz collected about 80% of the redcurrants. The whitecurrants are always a bit later, and some of the red weren't ready yet...but it's still a lot of fruit. The bushes have now properly hit their stride, in their fifth year (we planted them in December 2009), although one of the blackcurrants isn't doing nearly as well as the other two. That's a shame, as blackcurrants are my favourite (compared to red/white/pink...I don't know how I'd choose a soft fruit, let alone a fruit, as a favourite), but there you go. I'm hoping that a couple of year's good mulching and pruning might see it straight. Alternatively, it may not be getting as much irrigation, as it's at the top of its bed (which is, literally, the highest point of the kitchen garden, and furthest from the watering system inlet).

A few clumps of ragwort have been growing in the orchard, and while certainly not an infestation (there's a nearby field which is just a mess of ragwort—and, worryingly, is a horse paddock), I wanted to remove it before it sets seed. When we bought the land, there was, comparatively, quite a lot, which a year of strimming and pulling has mostly resolved. Anyway; I pulled up what I found, and checked in on the graftlings, which all seem to be doing ok.

When I'd done so, Liz had weeded beech bench bed, and the bed to either side, and had also put down cardboard mulch sheets around the beech. That was a prerequisite for spreading chippings around the beech, which will now have much less competition for light, water, and soil, and look a lot tidier. I moved the turf stacked in front of them, and the spoil heap of stones (including a couple of large lumps of concrete, and several stones worthy of walling or pond-side). Between us, we've laid out weed-membrane, and covered it with chippings, to form a path down that side of the lawn. During the winter, when we're bringing wood up from the wood shelter, that path quickly gets muddy, so this should be a better route, now.

This was really part of a larger chipping-spreading activity, as we've put a path (membrane and chippings) through the middle of the herb garden. It's not planted, apart from the lavender lines crossing it, and having the lined path will mean a bit less weeding. The un-dug part of the potager, which has had weed membrane down on it for some time, has now also had a layer of chippings, which makes it look much more attractive than black membrane.

Putting this path down meant moving four box that were an edge in the old design, but are no longer, as the edges have moved, and aren't going to be box any more. The four plants have moved into the long border, replacing clumps of alchemilla, and will gradually form balls.

Lastly, I've had to add more strings to the legume supports, as they finally, slowly, start to grow. They went out too late, really, delayed by the work on the back of the house, so it's not going to be a productive pea and bean year, sadly.

Saturday 19 July 2014

Windowboards

Now that the windows are in, we've been able to add the plasterboard reveals to either side, and cut a plywood board to form a windowsill. It's all taken rather longer than intended, but is now sorted, and all the windows look really good from inside.

Window Installation


The last couple of weeks have had the garage in a slightly suspended state, with floor, ceiling, and walls (kind of: plasterboarding them will be rather later this year) finished, but the window apertures boarded over while the joiner works his magic. This hiatus was deliberate, and fortunate: the holes for the windows haven't worked out exactly the same size as expected, and they're certainly not identical, so it's been good to have them complete before measuring them 'in the flesh', rather than off-plan.

On Wednesday, however, the windows arrived. And they fit. The installer had to pop back on Thursday to tidy up, but they were in and looking good by the end of Wednesday. Now I just need to paint them...several times...before autumn.


The garage from inside, with boarded up windows (© Ian 2014)


From outside, awaiting windows on Wednesday morning (© Ian 2014)


And with windows in, on Wednesday evening (© Ian 2014)

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Apple Walk Arches

Earlier this year, we planted the twenty-two trees of the apple walk, each one next to a tube that formed the base of an archway. In time, each tree will be trained up the arch (with horizontal espaliers on one side), forming a living arched walk. Of course, we're some time off that point; but several of the trees have grown strongly this year, and have reached to the top of the steel tube already (about 1m). That's meant that I've had to get round to adding the arches themselves, in order to have something to continue tying apple growth on to—and that's been today's work.

I ordered a number of 6m length, 10mm diameter reinforcing bars (rebar) some months ago, and they've sat outside the kitchen waiting since then. I constructed a bending jig out of timber, and used this to help shape the arches. Each one is a semicircle of 2.4m diameter, with straight legs around 90cm long (I had to trim kinked ends off the rebar, so they're not identical). These are then slotted into the tubes, and fixed using three A4 M5 bolts at the right height. Before they went in, I painted the straight sections: painting the rest will be another day's work, in the next couple of months).

Once they were all in, I've added a horizontal rod at the level of the third espalier tier (1.2m height), and one along the apex of the arches. I still have 4½ rebars left, which will probably all be needed in diagonal braces between arches (to stop them leaning over as one). Again, that's another day's work: bending 11 arches by hand is quite enough effort for one hot July day.

I did, however, prune and tie in the new apple growth: they're doing very well. All but a couple have the first tier well formed (Hunt House took a long time coming into growth, and is rather behind); many have a second tier tied down and growing out; a couple (Cat's Head and Grandpa Buxton) even have a third tier started, and one or two more will get there this year). I've had to order more soft-tie wire!

Elsewhere: the sweet peas keep coming.


This week's sweet pea centrepiece (© Ian 2014)

Sunday 13 July 2014

Punting

We've enjoyed a weekend in Cambridge, doing nostalgic things like picnicking on the backs, going punting, and wandering round college gardens. I'll cut straight to the photos.


The Cam, from Garret Hostel Bridge (the back of Trinity Hall) (© Ian 2014)


The University Library (© Ian 2014)


The History Faculty (© Ian 2014)


Clare Bridge, and the back of King's (© Ian 2014)


Topiary in King's (© Ian 2014)


King's College Gatehouse (© Ian 2014)


Liz, Philip and Katherine (© Ian 2014)


Clare College Gardens (© Ian 2014)


Clare College Gardens (© Ian 2014)


Clare College Gardens (© Ian 2014)

Thursday 10 July 2014

Bramble-Tip Wine

I totally forgot to do this yesterday, so after mowing the lawn this evening, I've transferred the bramble-tip wine (pint of bramble tips, steeped overnight, boiled for fifteen minutes, poured onto sugar, yeast added when cooled, and sat for ten days) into a demi john. It smells surprisingly enticing: I'm looking forward to trying it in a few months.

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Flower Arrangements

For which Liz must take the credit.


26th July (photo © Ian 2014)


2nd August (photo © Ian 2014)


9th August (photo © Ian 2014)

And three more window decorations from 9th (all photos © Ian 2014):




Tuesday 8 July 2014

Harvest Mild

Last summer, I made a batch of Young's 'Harvest Mild' beer, which was ready, I think, in August/September. We've really enjoyed it, and it made very good Wiltshire cured hams, so—as we're getting to the end of the barrel—I thought I'd make more. I've set it off this evening, having freed up the big 5 gallon fermenting bucket from the elderflower wine. The little barrel (3 gallon) still has a gallon of bramble-tip wine in it, which will go into a demi john on Wednesday.

It took a long time (two months) to be ready for a barrel last year, so hopefully it'll be a bit quicker.

Sunday 6 July 2014

Nettle Cordial


The days started with some weeding, and my finishing off the shed-boxes (needed to add weather strips inside the last two boxes' doors, and paint the floor of the one which has the lawnmower in, as this will often be a bit damp). I also added some extra strings to the willow-less legume frames, as they're starting to get going.

Even though we planted out a great number of things earlier, we still have a lot of small plants growing on, mostly around the greenhouse, or on the weed membrane near the kitchen. Today we managed to plant out a number of these—but there are still lots of pots left! It takes many, many plants to fill half an acre, it turns out.

Into the long border have gone several astrantia (A. major, A. minor, A. maxima, as well as a variegated form from my parents' garden—it might be A. major 'Sunningdale Variegated'); a few trios of coreopsis; some more of our seed-grown Stipa tenuissima; and some geums.

More geums, and some mixed achillea, went into the bed on the games lawn side of the septic tank, to balance it with the other side (the geums there are doing marvellously, and look good set against the new green background of the sheds.

A few spare achilleas, and then some campanulas, aquilegias (Magpie and Royal Purple), and lupins (mixed, hopefully nice colours!) went into the two beds around the sweet peas that aren't looking so good (the back one of the three is pretty good, but the others' wildflowers didn't germinate well.

We also had three little dicentra (with rather darker, single-colour flowers: we're not much taken with the pink & white normal form, but this one, and the all-white we already have, are much more to our taste), which have gone in the copse bed.

A bunch of hardy fuchsias (Hawkshead, Delta's Sarah, and Army Nurse), have been potted up, along with a dozen box cuttings, a number of 'Tail Feathers' grass (Pennisetum macrourum), rose campion, and other achilleas.

Over lunch, we moved the elderflower wine into demi-johns (adding yeast nutrient), and also bottled the nettle cordial which we started a week ago. It looks a brighter colour than last time.



Nettle cordial straining (© Ian 2014)

We had hoped to move a load of chippings onto the weed membranes, but only managed about ten barrow-loads, because first we had raspberries and courgettes to pick. The raspberries are doing much better this year, probably because they've been well mulched last year and this, and we got the pruning right last August. The courgettes are just starting to form: it seems earlier than last year. I think we just about had them in mid/late July, so it's earlier than that. The plants seem to be fruiting at a smaller size, too: I don't know how much of all this is down to the variety (Defender), which is new to us.

It's been a good weekend for cat company: they've been much in evidence.

Hungry cat (© Ian 2014)

A number of seedlings are growing on well, including these dierama, which I'm looking forward to having.

Dierama (RHS seed) two weeks ago... (© Ian 2014)

...and now (© Ian 2014)

Saturday 5 July 2014

Sheds

During our few days off, we cleared the septic tank of the stones that have been on it for a couple of years, in preparation for installing new storage units on it. We've been without a shed for almost exactly two years, when we took the old one down: it was rotting away, and starting to leak, besides not looking very attractive.

Our plan, since then, has been to get a series of storage 'boxes' that went down the septic tank. The top of this is only 120cm wide, although it's over 5m long, so it took a while to find something suitable. In the end, though, we settled on four 2'x4' mini-sheds. They're about 5' tall, and that footprint means that four of them will fit on the tank, and be able to open. It leaves only a 2' passage, but that's proved sufficient.

The four packages arrived yesterday, and we had a very late night assembling two, and starting the painting (of the bases, which will be in contact with occasionally wet concrete).

We continued today, and it's been an all-day affair, with Liz painting while I assembled the last two. We manoeuvred them into position, and finished installing them. They're individually locked, and we've put a pair of shelves into the front one, which is where the frequently used things go: the boxes of hand tools, gloves, fertilizers, slug pellets, and string; and the lawn mower. The second one has the bigger tools: I'd like to put up hooks, or similar, to organize them better. The third has fleece, mesh, and heavy duty bags; and the fourth has all the plastic pots.

This has made an enormous difference in the 'garage', which is much tidier, and more room-like.


Liz busily painting (© Ian 2014)


Septic tank / willow arch from the games lawn (© Ian 2014) 


Bare septic tank cover (© Ian 2014)


Willow arch / septic tank from the pond garden (© Ian 2014)


Sheds in place (© Ian 2014)


2'x4' Garden Stores on top of the septic tank (© Ian 2014)

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Last Few Jobs

I'm astonished to say that, of our list of jobs we made on Saturday for the past five days, we've actually done them all. Today, I've turned the compost heaps (decomposing beautifully); replaced the satellite cable and LNB (finally we have two signals to the box, reducing recording conflicts); we've painted the bike shelter (it'll need another coat or two, but there you go); installed the loft hatch in the garage (still so named!); and hung ladder hooks in the same (necessitated by putting a hatch in the hole they poked up through). Liz has done a thorough weed of the long border over the last couple of days, and it's looking loads better. We've also managed to move all the stone (and turf) that we put on the septic tank two years ago when digging the beds on either side. This is because, having transformed the garage, we want to get some of the garden tools out; but, lacking a shed, this is tricky. Our solution (long planned) will be a set of storage cupboards along the septic tank, within the living willow structure we're growing over it. Ideally, these will each have a little green roof, probably planted with alpines (which have their interest mostly in the spring, before the willow gets into full leaf). They arrive on Friday, so in order to assemble them this weekend, the tank top needs to be clear.

Having uncovered it, I've been reminded that two of the five manhole covers don't fit at all well. By which I mean they're alarmingly unstable, and seem too small. The concrete lid sections have also 'drifted' towards the bottom end of the tank. We've pushed them back together, but the covers are irredeemably too small. I shall buy a couple of new ones, and mortar them in, which will make it all rather safer.

While we've been working, the cats have kept us company. Chess found somewhere shady to nap (I don't know how he got through the latticework).


Chess sleeping inside a sweet-pea pyramid (© Ian 2014)

We're almost, but not quite, at the point of enough sweet-peas for every downstairs room.


Liz's sweet-pea (and berberis and alchemilla) flower display for the week (© Ian 2014)

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Harlow Carr

We spent today at Harlow Carr: the first time, actually, we've been not on a weekend or Bank Holiday. Unsurprisingly, it's much quieter!

We found this in the scented garden, but couldn't see a label, sadly.


The Scented Garden, RHS Harlow Carr (© Ian 2014)


A heavenly almond macaroon (© Ian 2014)


Knautia macedonica, which caught our eye for the wide range of colour (© Ian 2014)


Sweetcorn (Snowbaby and Popcorn Fiesta (this one, with red stems)) in containers in the Bramall Learning Garden (© Ian 2014)


Rhododendron auriculatum in the woodland (© Ian 2014)

When we got home, there was enough time to sow some salad leaves (in pots: direct, they keep getting slugged), and a barrel of carrots.