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Time to chop down Karl Foerster
It’s the time of year to chop down ‘Karl Foerster’, don’t worry it’s a grass not a person! Official name Calamagrostis × acutiflora – tall grass to most of us. I discovered this grass about six years ago, when a neighbour gave me a clump in a large pot after splitting his own. Now at this point I would normally say, “beware of other gardeners baring free plants”! They are usually things that spread like a weed, but not always. This neighbour is a particularly good gardener with some lovely plants in his gorgeous garden borders. He told me that it was a well behaved grass and that it stays upright, well he…
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The Frogs have spawned at last – But there’s a problem!
Finally the frogs have spawned. They are really late this year, but then who can blame them. You’re not going to feel too much like romance in a pond covered in ice and snow now are you? They arrived back on the 19th February when the weather was quite mild. I have absolutely no idea where they all go to each year. When they first emerge from the pond the garden and greenhouse are full of little froglets, they seem to stay for the summer then they are gone. Only to return the following February. Bad weather stops spawning I thought we were on target this year for the usual…
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So we did get snow this week!
Well, the weather forecast was certainly correct, we did get snow this week! What a strange weather week it turned out to be! Up until Tuesday it was still feeling like spring had sprung, with more flowers appearing each day in the warm sunshine. The now familiar daffodils all along the grass verges were bursting into flower. But Tuesday morning. I thought it seemed a bit bright when I woke up. Sure enough we’d had a sprinkling in the night, just enough to make everything in the garden look really pretty. By mid-morning though, the sun had come out and the snow was a just memory. We had clear blue…
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Just as the garden is waking up from its winter slumber…
It’s typical really, just as the garden’s waking up from its winter slumber, with all the plants pushing up and the lovely flowers bursting out everywhere I look. The weather forecaster tells us that for the next week or so we’re going to be having, snow, sleet, rain and temperatures dropping below zero! So no doubt they’ll be taking a quite a bashing! Just as we’re all desperate to believe that spring has sprung, it reminds us that we’re not past the bad weather yet. In all fairness though we have had another incredibly mild winter taken as a whole, just that one very cold snap in mid-December. Seed Sowing…
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Pulmonaria – Perfect plant for a shady border
If you are looking for, a ridiculously easy to grow; hardy plant; with beautifully coloured flowers; a long period of interest, and something that grows in shade, then look no further. ‘Pulmonaria’ – or its rather unpleasant common name, ‘Lungwort’ – is the plant for you! When most perennials haven’t even started to wake up, and only the small snowdrop and crocus bulbs are out. Pulmonaria’s have shot their little flower spikes up and are flowering profusely. I hadn’t come across this fabulously good value plant until we moved here in summer 2013. There weren’t many flowering plants in the garden considering it’s size. A few nice bulbs, some grasses,…
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Demolition in the Garden
Well the last of the three original conifer trees was demolished this week. When we started to take them down eight years ago, we decided to keep the one, to use as a bird feeder. The birds have enjoyed it so much, especially being so close to their holly hedge. They flit between the feeders and the hedge, where they sit on the branches wiping their beaks . If you look closely you can see a goldfinch looking back at you! Totem Pole It’s become known as the totem pole and we grew some winter jasmine up it, to make it look a bit more attractive. It’s done a good…
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Carpet of Snowdrops at St. Mary’s Coddington
Join me on my annual snowdrops visit to the beautiful St. Mary’s church in Cheshire. It’s in a small hamlet called Coddington, which is just 10 miles from the city of Chester, and only one mile from the the country hotel and golf course ‘Carden Park’. History The parish of Coddington is recorded in the Doomsday book, and the quaint little church is grade II listed. The original church on the site was built between the 8th and 10th Century. With the current church being started in March 1833. The foundation stone was laid by Hugh Robert Aldersey, who was just a child at the time – the Aldersey’s’ are…
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Another Late Holly Chop
I thought we were late doing the annual holly chop last year, but this year we are even later! Winter is the correct time to cut a holly hedge, but as I’ve mentioned before we have to wait for the perennials growing under the holly to die back. This has been getting later and later over the last few years with such mild autumns. Luckily we had a very hard frost in mid December which did for all the remaining perennials, that were doggedly hanging on. Unfortunately due to other commitments we weren’t able to get it done before Christmas, which would have been ideal. Then the weather hasn’t been…
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How to Grow Potatoes in a Container
Trust me, growing potatoes, particularly in a container, is easier than you think! You should have a plate of delicious potatoes with butter melting all over them, just 2-3 months after planting. There really is nothing like the taste of homegrown potatoes, especially the first potatoes of the season. These are called ‘first earlies’, which simply means the first of the year. Sometimes gardening jargen can be off-putting, making you think that gardening is much more difficult than it really is. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t actually need special equipment to grow your own. You mainly need some compost or soil, some seeds or plants, and if…
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First snow of the year – No Gardening this week!
We’ve had the first snow of the year. I did hear someone mention snow last week, but I didn’t realise it was for our area. We don’t really get very much these days, and when we do it doesn’t normally last that long. There’s certainly no physical gardening gone on this week! The snow came on Monday night and there’s still a little around where the sun hasn’t reached. As I’ve said before, I absolutely love the snow but… I want the snow on a Friday night when I’m home for the weekend. It’s not much to ask, is it? It is a shame we can’t get exactly the right…
