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Garden Diary – Too hot, to be gardening!
Well, that was certainly a hot week! Far too hot to be gardening, unless you count constant watering, which I don’t as I find it quite boring! To me it’s frustrating seeing all the jobs I’d like to be getting on with instead of standing there sweltering. A number of the crops have been loving the heat, one being the tomatoes. We got our first ripe beefsteak tomato ‘Brandywine’ last week, which I know I go on about a lot, but you would if you’d tasted it, it’s delicious. It’s not at all like those big tasteless varieties, it’s soft, creamy and full of flavour. We made it into our…
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Garden Diary – Craving rain in a British summer!
The week started off dull but still very warm, finally though we had showers forecast for later in the week. Who’d have thought we’d be craving rain in a British summer! The days turned cooler and it was much more pleasant catching up with the gardening chores, by which I mean weeding. I don’t mind weeding when I’m on top of things, which I always used to be, but after a long bout of sciatica a few years ago, I don’t feel I’ve ever truly got back to grips with the weeds. It wasn’t helped by us spreading our own compost all around the garden, that unfortunately turned out to…
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Garden Diary – Roses, Rescues & Wildlife
Last week saw more roses blooming, me rescuing a plant and a bee, and lots of wildlife viewings. Two more roses opened up their beautiful flowers after their buds have been promising loveliness for some time. One is a newish bush planted in a pot so that I can enjoy it on the patio, whilst the other is getting on a bit now, but still looking very healthy despite being bought when we were at our last house and so dug up to move here. Roses are resilient shrubs. Talking of resilient plants, I accidentally bought a new one. I popped into a shop and there was this pathetic looking…
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The garden is full of life
Birdsong for better or for worse As soon as you enter the garden at the moment, your ears are full of birdsong. Admittedly some are more pleasant than others, as we do get gulls regularly squawking overhead, despite being rather a way from the sea – even as the crow (or gulls) fly. Talking of crows, we also have rather a lot of them too, Jackdaws mainly. I think it’s because of the huge old trees we have around. You really can see where the saying ‘Noisy old crow’ comes from. And of course wood pigeons, that go on, and on, and on. But despite the not so pleasant cries,…
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The Big Lavender Chop
The Lavender path along the greenhouse has had a seriously big chop this year. I’m not sure how this story is going to end, and I guess I won’t know fully until next year! To keep your lavender looking good for as long as possible, it’s really important to trim it every year. It needs to be done as soon as the flowers have gone over, this is usually early September. It’s also important to not trim it too late in the year. It needs time to put on new growth and for this soft new growth to harden up, giving it protection through the winter. The most important rule…
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Food from Flowers – With help from our little friends
Have you ever stopped to notice the flowers that become our food? A lot are small, some are insignificant, but others are as beautiful and spectacular as any ornamental flowers we grow. Fortunately, however small and plain they are, the insects that pollinate them don’t miss them. They busily fly from one flower to another, getting their reward of nectar and pollen, unwittingly pollinating the plants. The big majority of our food is reliant on our busy, buzzy, little friends doing this service for us. As they pass pollen from one flower to another they fertilise the plant and so allowing it to produce seeds. As with everything in life…
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