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Garden Diary – The white borders turned into a white garden!
When I started Monday off with a photo from one of the white borders down in the white garden, little did I know just how white the whole garden would be by Tuesday morning! Yes I know the weather forecast said snow, but the last time I looked it had changed it’s mind to sleet. And when was the last time we had that much snow in November? Let’s face it, it’s been a very strange weather year all together! The garden has certainly had a good watering this year. I’m expecting great things from the trees and shrubs next year. I’ve always found they’ve been better after a wet…
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Garden Diary – A Week of Highs and Lows
It’s been a week of highs and lows both for me and the garden. Those of you that have been following my garden journey over the last few years will know that “I hate autumn” at the best of times so this year was never going to be good. I started the week on such a high, nine weeks after falling and fracturing my back I was finally ready for physiotherapy. He was very pleased with my progress and made me feel like I should ‘go to the top of the class’. This gave me the green light to, get back to work, which always makes you feel normal again.…
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Garden Diary – Started in the pink, ended with thunder bolts!
What a week of contrasts! After last Sundays big downpour we actually had a good week with plenty of sunshine, but Saturday was the loudest thunder I’ve heard in a very long time. And some poor soul not far from here had their house set on fire by a thunder bolt! I’m pleased to say no one was hurt but the poor lady escaped just with the clothes she was wearing! It’s hard to imagine loosing all of your possessions. I’ve always said that after saving the ‘acting head-gardener’ and the cats, it’s my photographs that I’d want to save. I feel most other things are replaceable. Before the storm…
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Garden Diary – Tomato bonanza, there’s even enough for soup!
It’s the peak of the tomato season and those of you that have followed the gardens progress will know my dream before moving here was to grow enough tomatoes to make soup. Well this years tomato bonanza is certainly providing enough for soup, sauce, salad and anything else we can think of that uses tomatoes. The raspberries are starting to ramp up and we’ve had another first of the season with the first ripe pear. My hand was dripping with pear juice as I peeled it ready to share. I think the acting head gardener has eared the right to share the first one! It was a pretty good weather…
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Garden Diary – Alfresco cooking with aliens lurking
With the beans up to full production now, the ‘acting head-gardener’ has been making lots of bean curry (half a freezer full!). And as the weathers been reasonable he’s taken the portable hob outside for some alfresco cooking. I’ll bet the neighbours thought it was an interesting smelling barbeque lol. At this time of year the garden can provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, and quite often does. With various fruits starting the day, tomatoes and cucumbers or soup at lunchtime, then plenty of veg to make dinner. The plums were finally ripe this week, and despite not being that many they were incredibly delicious and as you can imagine, didn’t…
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Garden Diary – Insects and harvests
So just like in lockdown the garden and the weather are helping to keep my sanity as I struggle doing nothing whilst my back fractures heal themselves.Ironically I have spent rather a lot of time sitting and lying on the hammock I tripped backwards over, that put me in this situation! As the pain has lessened and I’ve been able to concentrate again, I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading. So catching up with the last three Brunetti books by Donna Leon, I’m transported to Venice where her books are set, whilst sitting in the sunshine with bees, butterflies and mating ladybirds – finally more numerous – flying around me. Trying…
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Garden Diary – Blue skies at last – but dragons on the horizon!
There I was lapping up the good weather, we were having sunshine and blue skies at last! The garden at its fullest, bursting with colour, the insects finally appearing in larger numbers, although still not as many as usual, but getting better. We were at the beginning of maximum harvest season and I’d already defrosted one of the freezers in readiness for all the cooking sessions ahead. And then…. On Tuesday 30th July I fell, whilst walking backwards carrying a radiator. Now this might sound like a funny thing to be doing, but not at our house! After spending all those years landscaping the garden we are finally getting on…
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Garden Diary – All the B’s, Bees, Butterflies & Blueberry cake
I’m pleased to report even more bees & hoverflies this week, in fact more flying insects of all kinds including butterflies. I’m so happy in my summer garden with buzzing wings all around me. The blueberry bush has cranked up production this week and once it gets going there’s no stopping it! I’ve made two lots of cakes including one evening after work. All a bit tiring but worth it at the weekend when we have it for breakfast. After a really slow start the garden has finally caught up with itself this week with much more colour from the flowers and yummy things to eat around each corner. Happy…
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Garden Diary – Figs, Blueberries & Tomatoes, not necessarily together!
The top photo is Hydrandea ‘Sunset’, she’s quite a newcomer to the woodland border so I’m thrilled how many flowers she has on this year, although I think like all shrubs she’s loved all the water. Unlike most of us humans! The harvesting has really got going this week with as predicted the first tomato, who ate it? Find out below. And the first good hail of blueberries, despite the blackbird’s best efforts to pinch them! The purple potatoes are nearly ready for me to have a root around and judging by the amount of flowers on the climbing beans its a good job I’ve defrosted one of the freezers…
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Garden Diary – Rain, rain, the produce is liking it, but the bees are not!
Well, rain, rain, thunder and more rain this last week! In all fairness the sun did peep through and was wonderfully warm when it did but really! This is our summertime! Luckily the apples and pears are plumping up with all the watering and most of the veg is doing well despite the awful weather. We’re getting a few firsts of the season now like our first fig this week and we are now tantalisingly close to the first tomato. I do hope two ripen then I won’t have the dilemma of whether to share or not! The mid summer flowers have been late but are now starting to open…
