The trials, tribulations and occasionally utter futility of growing flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Summer in the Garden
Monday, 21 June 2010
Dry, dry, dry
Friday, 18 June 2010
Late for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Yellow Flowers and Mystery Potato Disease
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Blue Geranium
The small patch of garden which came with my house has several problems; thin, poor soil; limited ability to build up the soil due to its proximity to the road (soil can wash off downhill); and its dryness in the summer - under trees and in full sun (when we get it!) for several hours a day. The soil bakes in the sun and then it's hard to get water in, contributing to the soil washing off. So although I do add compost and soil where I can, a bit of lateral thinking was called for.
I decided to ensure there is a constant covering of plants across the whole bed and this consists of woodruff and geraniums mostly. This stops the soil getting baked and helps retain moisture in the soil under the leaves. This blue geranium covers the roots of the old (shrub) rose, which suffers in the heat - you can just see it behind the plant here. The rose has really benefitted and now, though I have to water in dry spells, at least it doesn't run straight off like it used to. This old rose is covered in flower buds, and I'm looking forward to it flowering soon - will post a picture then. While the bed is lacking in colour during July and August, in reality little would survive the conditions so I satisfy myself with the green and varied foliage the plants provide.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Remedy for a bad back
It eased a tiny bit yesterday, but this morning was still sore. Still, the plants weren't going to plant themselves, so I got on with it, popping in plants, building a new pea climbing frame, spreading fertiliser, until my back refused to do any more and I hobbled off. A hot shower and a few hours later while sitting on the sofa I suddenly realised I could feel no pain, stretched gingerly and decided I was right - cured! So there you have it - all you need to do to cure a bad back is plant 8 cucumbers, construct a support for peas and transplant around 50 cabbages. Works every time, well the one time anyway.
Here are a few shots from the plot. The bed you can't see in the foreground holds parsnips, cucumbers and pumpkins. You can see the first peas (about half their final size now) in the next bed, the second pea sowing is just behind and behind them are the courgettes. On the right the wonky wigwams are for the runner beans. Behind are the herb beds, the rhubarb and the jerusalem artichokes which are doing so well they're expanding into the beetroot bed next door.
The broad beans have just started flowering, quite late this year like everything else. It will be a couple more weeks before the peas flower.
Here are the strawberries with the potatoes in the background. The strawberries desperately need weeding but I can only do them when wearing a thick long sleeved shirt and gloves as the leaves irritate my skin for days afterwards. That's my Mum's legs on the left!
We're told we may have drought restrictions in a few weeks due to the lack of rain - it's certainly been an unusually dry spring as well as a cold one. Rain is forecast tomorrow, so let's hope we get a good downpour. Happy gardening!
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