Produce From The Garden

May 31, 2017May 31, 2017

Flippin’ pigeons!

I’ve planted a vegetable bed full of Kale; Cavelo Nero and Redbor. Not only a delicious multi functional vegetable, that we’ll be cropping until next March/April, but, also a stunner in the kitchen garden.

Sadly it’s not very stunning at the moment. Pigeons have been helping themselves to their young succulent leaves!

My kale, savaged by pigeons!

I remember Monty Don speaking of similar issues in an episode of Gardeners World a few years ago. His solution was to dangle a potato on a piece of string from a hazel rod. The potato is even wings with collected feathers. According to Monty, this menacing imitation of a bird of prey will scare any self respecting pigeon away. I failed on two counts, firstly, I couldn’t find any feathers, so had to improvise with rosemary. Secondly, our VERY naughty Spinone puppy ate the potato!

Plan A – Pigeon defence system

So onto plan B. Bunting! I’ve heard all the wise cracks from my husband and children, but, so far so good!

Plan B – Pigeon defence system!

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017

Pond dipping with my boys

Armed with a washing up bowl and kids fishing net, two of my boys decided to go pond dipping. We stuck gold, smooth newts and stickleback fish.

The pond dipping spot at the bottom of our garden

Studying their catch!

A terible picture of three of the fish the boys caught!

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May 9, 2017May 9, 2017

The garden coming to life, frost and our mini meadow

Oops I seemed to of lost a month of blogging! Not a technical issue this time, just my boys Easter holidays and life, preventing me from sitting at my desk telling the stories from my garden.

April has not been the easiest gardening month, Spring seemed to arrive at once, primroses, tulips daffodils, anemones, and any other Spring flowers you can think of, all blooming together, magnificent displays in warm, dry, sunny weather. A week or so latter a cruel heavy frost hit us, the lush tender shoots on my trees, shrubs, potatoes and yes, my beloved Dahlias were scorched to a black dried crisp. The warm weather seems to have gone and we’re left with cool cloud, the damaged plants are reshooting slowly, but without that excited gay abandon of the early glorious days of April.

The frost even managed to get my basil in the green house (I had stupidly left the door open!)

Dahlias blackend by frost, thankfully new shoots are emerging

Tender new leaves on my young smoke bush, destroyed by the frost

Regulars to this blog will know I’m trying to introduce wildflowers to the area surrounding our pond at the bottom of our garden. This includes a mini meadow. For meadow flowers to flourish, grass must not be too dominant, smothering other plants not allowing space for wild flower seed to spread and germinate. The solution is Yellow Rattle, this wild flower is parasitic on grass, reducing its strength, an essential for establishing a wild flower meadow. Last autumn I scraped away patches of grass and sprinkled Yellow Rattle seed on the bare earth. To germinate the seed requires a cold spell over winter, I was thrilled to spot Yellow Rattle success this week. There are strong seedlings developing in all the areas sown in the autumn.

Essential Yellow Rattle establishing in my mini meadow

Common Vetch starting to flower in the mini meadow

Inspired by a breath-taking display at RHS Wisley I’m planting a few Camasia bulbs each Autumn in my mini meadow, hopefully as the years go by I’ll achieve a Wisley Camasia effect, albeit on a much smaller scale! For now, I’m enjoying the individual flowers.

I don’t have great success sprinkling wild flower seed directly, I also don’t want to dig up all the grass, time is too short! So, my plan is to tackle the grass with Yellow Rattle and sow wild flower seed in pots and transfer them to the mini meadow to establish and set seed themselves. Here are red campion seeds I’ve sown, which need to be potted on.

A fabulous teasel growing in the bank surrounding my mini meadow

The froth of Cow Parsley also in the bank.

In the vegetable patch:

My Tomatoes are planted in the greenhouse, I just need to finish securing the twine for them to grow up.

My dwarf Kale (sown last year) has now set flower, this was unintentional, I just never got round to clearing the bed! I think I might leave it to set seed, I’ll harvest and sow next year!

The first Spring sown salad is nearly ready to harvest.

The cut flower garden:

I’ve turfed my cut flower annuals out of the conservatory in an attempt to toughen them up ready for planting. All the usual’s here, Calendula, Cosmos, Cornflowers, Dill, Zinnias, Clary, Nicotiana etc.

Self sown Nigella and Sweet William, all in bud. Hopefully I’ll be starting to pick in a few weeks.

Some highlights from the rest of the garden:

Narcissus pheasant eye – gorgeous subtle scent

I love the acid green of this small Euphorbia. Forgtten it’s name, it’s banished to a pot as it was very invasive in my last garden!

Erysimum (Wallflower) ‘Bowles’s Mauve’, this is an amazing plant, it flowers for most of the year. Although a short-lived perennial, it’s easy to take cuttings from and lifts a border when not much else is in bloom

Centaurea Montana, a lovely cornflower for the border

Excitment, Bearded Iris in full bud …

…the next day in bloom, my favourite flower in the garden at the moment!

Aquilegia – I only seem to manage white ones when they set seed. I think I need to introduce some other colours!

Finally, Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, this will be my favourite plant in the garden next week when it’s opened in to a full ball.

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March 28, 2017March 28, 2017

Willow and Hazel Craft from the garden

I’m becoming interested in creating craft from materials grown and found in my garden. Not only is it hugely satisfying, it adds another dimension to the garden and costs next to nothing.

This willow heart I made hangs from a cupboard door

A homemade gate from garden hazel, a new entrance to my kitchen garden.

Coppicing (cutting back a tree to ground level periodically to stimulate growth) is a great way to keep certain garden trees to a manageable size, whilst also providing you with a crop of crafting material from your garden. I’ve just been coppicing my Hazel and Willow, it needs to be cut in winter when the tree is dormant, before it bursts into leaf. I have six Hazel trees, the idea is that I coppice one or two a year, I then leave them to grow for 4-5 years, before coppicing again.

The hazel before coppicing

The coppiced stumps of hazel

Hazel with one years growth after coppicing

Hazel with two years growth after coppicing

The Willow, a speedier crop than Hazel, is coppiced one a year. I have three willow trees, all different varieties providing me with yellow, green and nearly black willow whips. This year I thought I’d increase my willow crop, planting a couple of the coppiced willow whips into the ground. It couldn’t be simpler, you just push the end into damp ground and it will root very quickly. This should be kept in mind, don’t use the willow whips as stakes in the ground for projects unless you want a tree there!

The Willow before coppicing

The willow after coppicing

The willow whip I’ve just planted. Next winter I’ll cut back the branches and new growth, creating a stump for the whips to grow from.

I have used my willow and hazel in various projects this year. The most important has been creating an Alice (my naughty puppy) defence system. Alice’s holes are becoming legendary, and are high up on the husband’s moan list when mowing the lawn, closely followed by all the children’s toys, vehicles and detritus that is liberally scattered around the garden! The holes have become more of a pressing issue for myself in the Kitchen garden. Sowing seed in the freshly prepared beds is a disastrous waste of time! So, I’ve barricaded myself in with a hazel fence and a few gates, which I secure shut with woven willow hoops. The result, I’m gardening in constructive peace. The husband’s still moaning, so all’s back to a comfortable equilibrium in our household.

The hazel fencing, keeping Alice here, out of the Kitchen garden!

A very simple rustic gate from the hazel, with a woven willow hoop to fasten.

I’m really pleased with this hazel gate I made, a lovely entrance to the kitchen garden.

The hazel stakes create great structures for plants to clamber up.

A hazel structure for runner beans

I have tethered the hazel stakes together with garden twine. This is not only a strong supportive structure for Runner beans to clamber up, it also gives a lovely rustic feel to the vegetable patch.

Obelisks look great in borders, they add structure and are a good support for climbers such as clematis or sweet peas. They’re easy to make from hazel stakes with willow woven around them. Don’t worry if the willow weaving looks a bit messy, once finished it all comes together with a homemade natural charm. You’d never be able to buy an obelisk like this in the shops!

An obelisk I made for the front garden of my boys school

Obelisks are easy to make. First of all secure 6-7 stakes in a circle in the ground.

Weave a willow hoop and bring the stakes at the top together.

Start to weave willow around the stakes. I highly recommend this is not done with an Alice!

The completed obelisk

I have also made some willow cloches, I find them useful to pop over tender plants early in the season, giving them a little protection from a chill and wildlife that would like a nibble on their tender shoots! In the same way, I started the obelisk, you just need to secure willow hoops in the ground, this gives you a strong base to weave from.

The start of a willow cloch, place six/seven hoops in the ground, ready to weave willow around.

The finished cloche

As you’ve already seen, simple woven willow hoops are useful for many purposes in the garden and home, here are a few more I’ve made:

A willow hoop or wreath hanging from our fire place

I decorated this willow hoop with flowers and catkins for a friends Spring wedding reception

I’ve hung these hoops from our oak tree as fun sculptural art from the garden. My boys seem to think they’re the equivalent of Quidditch hoops!!

Off cuts of hazel stakes make wonderful plant label sticks, they look fabulous in the kitchen garden, can be clearly seen and are not so easily taken and distributed around the garden by children and dogs, compared to the little white plastic labels!

Plant label stakes

Willow hearts are simple to make with two whips of willow bent over, twisted and woven to secure at the bottom. I hung the large heart on our front door for Valentine’s day, it’s now moved to an oak pillar in our dining room.

My willow heart on the front door for Valentines day

Trees in the garden are a lovely feature, great for wildlife and even better if you can harvest a crop from them for creating craft from the garden!

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March 25, 2017March 25, 2017

All you need to know: Dahlias

Regulars to my blog will know of my passion for Dahlias. They’re amazing flowers that never fail to put a smile on my face. They come in a vast range of colours and shades, but, never blue and quite rightly so, a blue Dahlia is just wrong! Their shapes and sizes are also wonderfully varied, never allowing you to bore of their splendour. If I was a mathematician I would wax lyrical about their geometric patterns and Fibonacci numbers, but I’m not, I just love how some are pom poms, some open flowered, others water lily shaped and the show stoppers are the size of dinner plates! Once they start flowering in late June/July they don’t stop until the first frosts, they’re the best cut flower you can grow and my home never looks better when filled with their blooms. If I was to be hyper critical and in the pursuit of a balanced argument, they are lacking in scent, but it would only lead to a sensory over load whilst taking in their magnificent appearance, so a lack of scent is a good thing!

The Dahlia bed in full bloom

How to grow Dahlias:

Now is the time of year to go Dahlia shopping. Buying a Dahlia tuber is the best garden investment you’ll ever make! Your local garden centre will no doubt have a selection, but for a fully satisfying dahlia retail experience I would recommend:

http://www.peternyssen.com/ – A very dangerous web site, their bulbs are amazing and I just can’t stop myself, I worry every spring that the husband will notice the number of new bulbs I’ve invested in!

An exciting Peter Nyssen delivery

http://nationaldahliacollection.co.uk/ – another great dahlia shopping site, they’re based in Cornwall near Penzance, you can visit their amazing dahlia fields in the summer, well worth a trip if you’re on your holidays in that neck of the woods.

Plant up the tubers in approx. 10inch x 10inch pots (enough room for the dahlia to comfortably sit), water and keep them in a green house, conservatory etc. They’ll start to shoot, feed them every few weeks and keep watered. Don’t plant them out until the end of May when there’s no chance of frost, you’ll have nearly a foot of growth, and they be strong healthy plants that will be sufficiently mature to withstand a slug and snail attack. Dahlias are quite greedy plants, they like to be planted in ground that has been enriched with manure/ chicken poo pellets, in fact any fertiliser.

Place the tuber on a bed on compost in the pot

Fill the pot with compost leaving the old stem showing at the top of the pot

New dahlia shoots, if you have more than five, you can take cuttings from them with a sharp knife

Once planted you’ll need to stake them, many dahlias can hit a meter or more in height and width. A strong breeze will snap the stems destroying a dahlia plant in its prime.

Either cut the flowers for the home or let them put on a show in your border. If you’re not treating them as a cut flower it’s important to snip off the spent buds after flowering, dahlias are a cut and come again crop, that will stop flowering if they think they’ve gone to seed. Clip the for the pointy Spent buds, the dome shape buds are about to flower.

Dahlias in my home:

After the first frost the dahlia foliage will go black. You need to decide if you’re going to dig up your tubers or leave them in them planted over winter. Being a fan of low maintenance gardening techniques I leave mine in. I cut back the black foliage leaving a foot of stem (it’s a marker so you know where to look for new growth next year), I then mound up with 12 inches (30cm) of insulating mulch (wood chip, manure etc.), I’ve managed to successfully get dahlia through winters hitting -10°C. In spring, knock back the mulch ready for shoots to break through, do bear in mind this will be latter than the one brought on in the green house.

If you’re far more organised than me, want to ensure the survival of your dahlias over winter and bring on an earlier flower crop (June instead of July) dig up the tuber, (don’t store them in a tray like the books say, you’ll lose loads to rot), pop them in a pot with compost. Very lightly water and then just leave in the greenhouse over winter, when they start to shoot in Spring just follow the same steps as when you plant a new tuber.

Propagating dahlias:

You can never have too many dahlia plants! So, if you’re new to growing dahlias you’ll soon want to know how to multiply your stock.

Cuttings

When you’re growing dahlia tubers in pots you only really want five or six main stems, the others can be cut off, taking a little snag of tuber, pop into compost and grow on in the greenhouse, soon you’ll have a new plant. Just one tip, if the stem is older and hollow the cutting won’t take, it must be solid. Once the cutting starts growing and has a good root system, pot it on. It might not flower this year and it will benefit from staying in a pot and not plant out, a tuber will form over summer take the pot back into the green house for winter and then plant out the following year.

A new cutting

Seeds

This is the first year I’ve sown dahlia seeds, previously I’ve not gone down this route as I usually can’t stand the faddy duddy colours that the dahlia seeds often come in. However, I saw a cheap out of date packet of mixed colour pom poms and I couldn’t resist. Once sown I popped the seeds in my propagator and they germinated within four days. I’ll report back on their success, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for pinks and whites, I won’t be doing it again if I end up with yellows and peach flowers!

Dahlia seedlings, they will need potting on in a few days.

Tuber division

After a few years, the dahlia tubers do get to an enormous size and do benefit from being dug up at the end of the season and divided up, then following the overwintering in a greenhouse method. This is an easy way to bulk up your dahlia stock.

If I’ve not convinced you yet to grow dahlias, take a look through these beauties:

Dahlia Sam Hopkins

Dahlia possible Glorie van Heemstede

Dahlia Hillcrest Royal

Dahlia Furka

Dahlia Edinburgh

Dahlia Cafe au Lait

Dahlia Ambition

I hope I’ve inspired you to go dahlia shopping, it’s well worth it, they’re my number one flower and it’s incredibly easy to catch the slightly obsessive Dahlia bug!

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March 8, 2017March 8, 2017

Time to start cutting flowers for your home

Life’s on the up, we’re out of that dreary January/February patch. I’ve changed web service providers, so hopefully large chunks of my blog won’t go missing again, and most importantly the gardens blooming with late winter, early spring flowers. I’m filling the house with blooms again. My spirits are lifted!

Here are some of todays cut flowers giving my home a lift.

A winter posy of flowers from the garden. Tete a Tete Daffodils, Primulas, Pulmonaria, ornamental cherry blossom, and ‘Red Giant’ Mustard salad leaves from the greenhouse.

A single crocus stem in a miniature bottle

I think a grouping of late Winter, early Spring flowers can make a stunning display

A Hellebore, an essential garden and cut flower at this time of year. Try also floating the flowers in a dish.

Two Hellebore stems sat on the Piano.

Daffodils, Tete a Tete.

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February 7, 2017

A big crash!

Apologies for the lack of blogs. My service providers server had a bad crash and sadly I’ve lost all postings since November. I’m going to have a bash at reposting, then hopefully I’ll be back up and running.

In the meantime here’s a picture of snowdrops emerging from under our Oak tree today.

November 2, 2016

Frost!

We had our first proper frost this morning; I suspect it will spell the end of my annual cut flowers and beloved dahlias for the year. The ice crystals on the edge of the dahlia petals did look magical first thing this morning, it was almost worth the soggy blackened dahlia mess I’ll be clearing shortly!

A dahlia in frost

Frost lined edges to the dahlia petals

Solid proof of frost on the windscreen!

Frozen grass on the lawn

This year we’ve been treated to an autumn spectacular, the leaves have been putting on an amazing display which has wowed me daily. The yellows, oranges and reds shine out in the warm low sunshine. As the leaves elegantly glide to the ground, it makes me think I’m in an American movie set in ‘Fall’. Sadly my photographic ability has not been able to capture the wonderful colours and evocative atmosphere, but here are a few pictures to give an idea.

Copper beech leaves

Ginkgo leaves that have turned into an amzing yellow

Viburnum Opulus leaves that have turned a rich red

Well, if this years supply of cut flowers are over, I’ll be happily cutting branches of autumn leaves to replace them.

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins carved by the kids. Think they’ll do the trick, some of them do look seriously scary, I’d go as far as to say, disturbed!

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October 31, 2016

Lots of flowers for cutting at the end of October

Here in Kent it’s been a very dry and warm autumn, we seem to get a bit of rain once a month at the moment. The result, abundant flowers in the cutting beds, the house is full of blooms and there are plenty for gifts. This was a little thank-you posy for a friend. I like the purple sage leaves with the pink dahlias, cosmos and penstemon.

An October posy of garden flowers