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Now for something completely different – The Purple Potato Project
My first early purple potatoes are ready! I wasn’t going to grow potatoes this year, as we really don’t eat very many, but when I saw the Purple Potato Project, I couldn’t resist! As I’ve said before, I am drawn to something a bit different, and I already grow so many other purple veg. They don’t actually taste any different, but they are better for you, with antioxidants in. The particular antioxidant they have is anthocyanin – known for its positive health benefits. It is purported to reduce inflammation and protect you from conditions like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Anthocyanin is also found in red cabbage…
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Jubilee Garden Celebration
What else could it possibly be today, but a jubilee themed garden celebration. As Her Majesty the Queen celebrates an incredible 70 years as our Monarch. Fancy being in the same job for seventy years! I thought we’d do a look at the garden with a royal coloured theme. We’ll start with a collection of produce from the garden, in Red, White and Blue to get you in the mood. Purple – The Colour of Royalty As the official colours of the Jubilee celebrations are Platinum for the seventy years and Purple for royalty. I’ve decided to shout about all of the purple flowers and produce in the garden, and…
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The Madness of May!
May is the month when the garden seems to explode. Not only do new flowers appear everyday, but more appear during the day! When I go and open the greenhouse every morning, I have a mooch around. By the time I’m out there at lunchtime, more flowers have opened. The growing rate at this time of year is incredible! I keep toying with putting a time-lapse camera on the tomato plants. They seem to grow from hour to hour! The Edible Garden Crops we are already eating Breakfast has been zinged up now with the start of the rhubarb harvest. We simply stew it in it’s own juices, then eat…
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Hurrah, hurrah, it’s Damselfly Day!
I wandered down to the pond last weekend, to have a look at the giant tadpoles. They seem much bigger than they usually are this time of year. As I crouched down, a damselfly surprised me by landing on my leg. I looked up and saw a couple of them bobbing around the pond. It was obviously damselfly emerging day! The heat of the sun, between the showers must have tempted them out. I took a couple of photos with my phone, then went off to the house to get the ‘proper camera’. Damselfly, official name – Suborder Zygoptera. If you are in any doubt, the way to tell a…
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Sciatica Makes For A Frustrated Gardener!
I need an apprentice! This has to be the busiest time of the year in the garden. Unfortunately I am still struggling with sciatica. So I can safely say this is the most frustrating spring of my gardening life! There is a reasonably famous garden, blogger Dan Cooper, he calls himself ‘The Frustrated Gardener’. If he hadn’t have already used the name, I’d be pinching it! I’ve been comparing this time in my head to lockdown, stuck at home for weeks on end. However lockdown physically for me was good, beautiful weather, no bad back and all the time in the world to garden! On the other hand mentally it…
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Garden Diary – Wake up & smell the roses
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Catching-Up With The White Garden – Part 2
The White garden is at the very end, where it eventually goes to a point. It is split in two by a central path, dividing the white shrub border on the left and the perennial border on the right. The Holly Border – White Perennials The right border has the holly hedge running down the side of it. This means we had to plant perennials on that side, so that they die back in the winter. Allowing us access for the annual hedge trim. Conditions in this border are quite tricky, because it’s dry from the hedge. It’s also reasonably shaded as it faces North West. Although I do believe…
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Catching-up with the White Garden – Part 1
Five years on from the first flowers being planted. The white garden is now needing a bit of a sort out. As with any new garden, or just new border, some things work out and some things don’t! You need to give plants a few seasons to see if they settle. Some plants need to put their roots down before they start to grow properly. This usually means after a couple of years of underperforming, I have a stern talk to them. It goes a bit like, “ok, one more year, if you don’t do anything between now and then, you’re out!” I’d say eight times out of ten, it…
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What’s growing in the kitchen garden
Time to catch up with the kitchen garden and what’s growing in the raised beds. Firstly the four that are rotated each year. The Roots Bed Back in the autumn I planted up half of the root bed with onion sets. I’m growing red onions for the first time this year. I do love them roasted. The other half of the bed has now been sown with the three varieties of beetroot we grow every year. Red Ace, Golden Globe and Choiggia. The Brassica Bed Two small Italian kale plants, sown last year and overwintered in the greenhouse have now gone in. With this warm weather they’ll soon be growing…
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The Greenhouse – My Happy Place
What’s been happening in the greenhouse? Thanks to my reoccurring back problem, I’ve been spending more time than usual in the greenhouse recently. Gardening probably isn’t the best hobby for someone with a bad back, but I’m afraid I didn’t pick it, it picked me! Gardening is the one time that I feel completely relaxed. Time just vanishes, even doing small tasks like pricking out and potting on. As these are the main tasks at this time of year, it’s lucky they can be done sitting down! Chillies – Young and Old I sowed the chilli seeds back in January and they are still only two inches tall! They are…
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Chilli Explosion
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Muscari
The grape hyacinth, as Muscari are commonly known. Really do resemble little bunches of grapes, but they are not in fact related to the traditional hyacinth. True Blue The intense blue of these little bulbs, is incredible. In gardening terms, any flower that’s a shade of purple, is classed as blue. These bulbs are true blue. The majority of our blue muscari, our planted in the woodland border. They seem to tolerate partial shade very well. You don’t find many properly blue flowers. Here I have two together, with the Brunnera in the background. At this time of year, the deep blue is ideal for setting off yellows of primulas…
