All wrapped up

The wrapping up has been done; not the Christmas presents, but the greenhouse.  All nicely bubble-wrapped against the frost, at least the walls are; the roof proved just too tricky (and I ran out of bubble-wrap).  We had had one frosty night, and the brugmannsia was looking very peaky, so it had to be time to turn on the heating, and make the greenhouse as draught-proof as reasonably possible.  I'm quite pleased with the result, and the temperature in there is now about 7C.  A couple of hardy seedlings have been put out in the cold frame but the rest are benefitting from the extra warmth, especially the sweet peas, which are germinating much better with a little extra heat.

The frost was something of a one-off, though, and it has been more a case of battening down than wrapping up.  The wind got up the other day and it has been quite blustery from time to time (and more of the same is forecast - a windy Christmas rather than a white one).  The relatively mild and damp weather is tempting a few flowers to come into bloom - there's an honesty plant with a flower truss under the hedge, and there are a few flowers on the bergenia.  Tellingly, some weed seedlings are showing in places - always a sign of warmish soil. 

The bullfinch has been around several times, and today was accompanied by his lady bullfinch.  They are very partial to the sweet rocket seeds, and - given that they're quite stocky birds - are quite acrobatic in working over such spindly and fragile stems.  I had thought of clearing the dead stems away, but now I'm glad I didn't.  The goldfinches, on the other hand, have been feeding on the seeds of the Big Yellow Thing (bupthalmum?).  The mistle thrush has been a rather noisy presence all week, and occasional pheasants and partridges wander in at times, especially when there's shooting going on in the surrounding estates.  I haven't seen the sparrowhawk this week, though I'm sure it won't have gone away.

Red in tooth and claw

When mentioning the sparrowhawk in my last post, I almost added that we haven't actually seen it catch anything.  Presumably it does, otherwise it wouldn't hang about here so much; and it may be responsible for some of the little piles of feathers that appear from time to time about the garden.  Yesterday, however, I witnessed it striking lucky.  I was in the new greenhouse (having a ponder about greenhousy things) when a woodpigeon flew onto the wall under the rowan, looking hunched, slow and unhappy.  This usually means that it knows its time has come, and in such circumstances pigeons tend to find a sheltered spot on the ground in which to sit down and expire.  After a few minutes it flew onto the lawn and laboriously made its way towards the border under the dining room window.  It never made it, though, because the sparrowhawk appeared from nowhere, landed on it and dispatched it with considerable efficiency, then tucked into a generous supper.  Other birds of course made themselves scarce, except for a hen blackbird who had been picking over the soil among the raspberry canes and who opted to crouch down behind a clump of grass, doing a very convincing impression of a clod of earth.  After a while a male pheasant turned up to scavenge for seeds dropped under the feeder, and actually wandered over to see what the hawk was doing, getting within about 15 feet of it; either it was a very dim pheasant, or it worked out that the hawk had quite enough food for the moment and wasn't about to attack anything else for a bit.  The meal was still going on when dusk fell, so I left the hawk to get on with it with a view to clearing up after it in the morning.  I was actually very keen for it to leave as little behind as possible, both because I don't much like having to deal with dismembered remains and also because of the difficulty of finding somewhere in this garden, with its shallow soil, to dig a deep enough hole to bury something the size of a woodpigeon.  I had to do that last year, when a sick pigeon expired on the patio, and I had to excavate a shallow grave for it.

This morning, however, there was only a pile of feathers on the lawn; not even a wing or tail, let alone the bones.  Down in the damson hedge at the bottom of the garden I found more feathers - but I doubt if the hawk had taken the carcass there; it would have had to drag it at ground level, which is more the action of an animal than a bird, and it would have had to eat all the bones.  So my guess is that the hawk left the carcass, which was picked up, and devoured (bones and all) in the shelter of the hedge, by a four-legged predator - perhaps a cat but also possibly a fox.  At least the poor pigeon had a swift end, and nature dealt with the body in its own efficient way.  And no need for another shallow grave.

More cheerfully, a little flock of long-tailed tits passed through the garden this afternoon, all trying to get onto the peanut container for a quick snack before flitting off into the neighbouring gardens.  This week's partridge tally was 20, all wandering off in a long line past the back door, over the drive and out on to the road.  We also have two dunnocks feeding together; already paired up in preparation for spring.  And the mistle thrush has been around, as has a male bullfinch.

The weather is still mild, and there has been little rain, but the air is very damp and the lawn is now much too wet for cutting.  There has been some fog but no frost; and rain is coming in the next few days.

The plant picture has changed little, but walking down the garden one day I was stopped in my tracks by a trace of scent; yes, the winter honeysuckle on the other side of the garden had put out two tiny flowers.  It's remarkable how the fragrance carries.  It's an ungainly shrub, but I can forgive it a lot for its winter flowers.

Under glass

My new greenhouse is now fully in place - :)).  Today I bought it a heater, and some bubble-wrap, to prepare it for the winter.  The more tender plants have been sheltering in there for a couple of weeks while the greenhouse was being finished (long story there....) and they seem happy, but the temperatures have been relatively mild on the whole so far and they'll need a little heat to tide them over the winter months.  The sweet peas have been put in there too, and seem to be coming up better than they were doing in the cold frame (which has been relocated next to the greenhouse door); this could be because of the better light, slightly better warmth or the fact that they're now out of the reach of slugs and snails (there are a couple of truncated shoots that look as if they've been nibbled off).  I have good intentions of better-organised sowing for next year ....

The weather has not only been on the mild side, with only a few frosts, but also quite dry.  We're wondering whether we might actually manage to cut the lawn, which is looking decidedly shaggy.  Colder weather is forecast for next week, but that leaves me time to get my tulips planted: a Sarah Raven collection of Prinses Irene, Couleur Cardinal and Havran (a deep purple).  They will go in the bottom bed under the big tree, where I hope they'll make a good splash of colour.  I haven't managed to organise the pots this year; they still contain last year's bulbs, which probably won't do well, but maybe that will make me more willing to dig them out after flowering so that summer bedding can go in.

The yellow chrysanths are still blooming, a little shabbily now, but otherwise it's winter colour only - the viburnums, winter jasmine and, if you look closely, a few cyclamen.  The holly berries have all been eaten by the birds (but we managed to pick some for Christmas decorations before they all went).

We do have a lot of blackbirds this year.  A large flock of small birds has been in the top of the ash tree a few times; it's hard to see what they are (finches? buntings?).  A wren has been around, which is encouraging after our run of hard winters.  And one day we had at least 50 partridges in the garden; they just kept on coming.  They seem to be finding food in the veg plot; this must be weed seeds (there isn't anything else there at the moment other than the leeks and garlic, which are ok) so I'm happy to leave them to it.  The sparrowhawk still visits occasionally, although the closest shave in the last few days was when a cat - a new, blue-grey one - pounced on some birds feeding on the patio (they all escaped, fortunately). 

Autumn leaves

We returned, in early November, from more than two weeks away, to find rather more leaves still on the trees than I had been expecting.  There were plenty on the lawn, but still more to come, even though there had been a lot of wind at the end of October.  Apparently the second half of October was mild, which has delayed leaf-fall.  A trip through the Slad Valley early last week showed the beech trees still in magnificent golden leaf, and even now in our garden most of the leaves are still to fall from the apple and hazel trees.  Two big leaf piles are now gently and slowly rotting down, helped by the addition of handfuls of comfrey leaves.

It may have been mild in October, but after our two weeks in Mediterranean temperatures, November’s chill and damp was a bit of a shock.  Daytime temperatures are currently in low single figures, with occasional frosts at night; enough for a thin layer of ice on the pond but not persisting during the day, even in the shade.  A mix of blue skies and murky chill.

The garden is somewhere between late autumn and early winter.  The last of the Nerines were still in good condition on our return; they’ve been in a vase since and are only now fading.  The only flowers still really performing now are the yellow chrysanthemums, although the pinks and the Choisya ternata have had a late flush of flowers, and there are odd late blooms on the Calendulas, Gaura and a couple of other plants.  The winter shrubs are starting to flower: Viburnum ‘Dawn’ and the winter jasmine.  We’ve also had a good crop of toadstools in the lawn, which suggests a warm and damp autumn; and the lawn is badly in need of cutting, but it's probably too late for enough dry weather to make that possible.

The beans and squashes have been harvested (as I thought, the winter squash plant succumbed before its fruits could come to anything) and composted.  There were a few usable broad beans even last week.  All the eating apples are now picked, before the birds could start on them, as well as most of the cooking apples; the fieldfares and redwings are here for the winter, and the fieldfares are happily feeding on the remaining cookers.  We have a lot of blackbirds as well, so any apples left out are being pecked quite quickly; even a few left on the back doorstep weren’t safe.

The sparrowhawk has been around quite a lot, though without actually catching anything that we’ve seen.  The birds are in full winter mode, tucking into any food we put out for them.  Today we had a wren, robin, dunnock, sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, fieldfares, redwings, coal/blue/great tits, green/gold/chaffinches, lots of collared doves, woodpigeons, a couple of magpies, spotted woodpecker and a hen pheasant – not a bad total.  Sadly, no sign of our lame pigeon since our return.

A dish of strawberries

All right, a very small dish.  Of very small strawberries (the alpine strawberry 'Baron Solemacher').  But not at all bad for the middle of October.  I spotted a couple of lovely ripe ones on a plant that has self-seeded into a sunny corner near the pond, and it prompted me to go searching under the leaves; I collected a good little portion for supper, all on accidental plants rather than those in the 'proper' place.  I think that tells me that I need to get plants settled in in the autumn instead of waiting until spring, which is probably too late.  It's an obliging little plant, growing happily in shade if necessary and not fussy about soil, but the plants do need replacing every three years or so.

Given the time of year, I managed quite a reasonable harvest from the garden at the weekend.  Besides the strawberries, I picked three types of bean (the last of the French and runner beans, and some broad beans), courgettes, cooking and dessert apples (the Ashmead's Kernels are just starting to be ready), some radicchio leaves and a couple of spring-onion sized leeks (they were never thinned!); the potatoes and garlic are already in store, and I have had a couple of hazelnuts, although the squirrel has been seen attending to those.  Not bad given the very haphazard planting this year.

Cyclamen hederifolium

The leaves have started to fall, and the leaf-raking season has begun.  The old leaf-mould has been spread on the new bed under the ash tree where the soil is extremely dry and thin.  I hope that will help the plants along a bit.  The only flower colour in there at the moment is from the 'Bowles' Mauve' wallflower, which has flowered on and off all year, and from the sedums; the perovskia does have a (single) flower spike on it, but you wouldn't notice it (it was only planted this year, so I'm hopeful that it will put on more of a show next year).  Elsewhere, there are still flowers here and there; the purple aster has started blooming, the dianthus seem to be getting second wind and there are still a few roses about, the sweet peas and phlox are tailing off.  The little cyclamen are looking good, though.  And the echium is beginning to fade; it will be cut down before it can seed too much.

Bees on the echium

The weather has been more autumnal - cooler, with wet and windy spells, but with some sunshine; Saturday was almost warm, but it has been wet since.

There are still a good number of sparrows about, and the occasional starling and dunnock; the robins are tick-ticking in the background but coming less often for food.  I disturbed a partridge the other day, and the odd pheasant has wandered in.  A green woodpecker has been heard close by but not seen.  I wonder if he's staking out the cooking apples again?

P.S. Further examination of the cooking apple tree reveals a large apple next to a convenient perching branch with big beak-holes in it.  My money's on the woodpecker.
I had been going to say that the butterflies have all disappeared, but not quite; just down from the pecked apple was another apple with a comma sunning itself on it.  Probably the last of the year, I fear.

Season of mists

Is it really a month since I posted last?  Not much has happened in the garden since then, and non-garden things have rather taken over.  Autumn is still coming gently, with some lovely sunny days like today but some very misty or downright foggy mornings and short spells of wet or windy weather to remind us of what's to come.  Some of the autumn colours are in evidence, although we're still waiting for the main show.  The mellow fruitfulness is also here - plenty of apples, although they're on the small side this year, and courgettes and beans still cropping nicely.  The single surviving winter squash is at last producing female flowers; I had despaired of any fruit at all, although it'll have to get a move on if it's to produce anything worth eating.  And today I planted the garlic - the earliest crop to go in the ground - and sowed the sweet peas, orlaya, ammi and larkspur.

Echeveria in flower

This year's sweet peas have also taken a while to get going but are producing a nice little posy a week.  The phlox is just starting to tail off, while the Japanese anemones are producing occasional flowers and the nerines are just starting.  There's a good display of cyclamen under the holly tree and a few in my little spring patch.  The buddleia is virtually finished for the year, and the bees, which have been enjoying it greatly, have transferred their attention to a self-sown echium (viper's bugloss) on the patio.  This plant is the result of some seeds I sowed a number of years ago; it's a bit of a seeder, with a fearsomely deep taproot so difficult to get out, and they're uncomfortably hairy plants to handle, but the flowers are lovely and they do attract the insects.  I've dropped a few seeds from this plant into the bit of verge by the drive entrance which I've cleared in the hope of making a sort-of wildflower patch for the bees; it's sunny and should suit the echium well if I can get it to establish there.

Also in flower is the blue echeveria which is spending the summer on the patio; it's either very happy or thinks it's going to die and wants to set seed!  It will have to be brought indoors soon, along with the brugmansia and the cordyline.  I had had ideas of putting these in a big pot for the summer, as an exotic-themed planting, but the tulips took so long to die back that no summer bedding ever went in.  The first of the winter bedding - pansies in the windowbox - is in place and looking quite settled.

Comma butterflies enjoying a rotten apple

The butterfly count has picked up.  Red admirals came late this year, and we've had some speckled woods about.  There are also at least three commas in the garden at the moment; I found them together enjoying a fallen apple which was rotting in the grass (although by the time I got the camera out only two were still there).  The apple is obviously very much to their liking; every time I passed it today there was a comma perched on it. 

The usual birds are around but not all the time, so there's obviously plenty of food for them out and about.  We have a woodpigeon with a bad leg who has been coming regularly for a few weeks now; he likes to pick up the seeds dropped from the feeder, and to soak in the birdbath, which we assume eases his leg.  He seems quite accustomed to us.  We've also had a vole visiting the patio occasionally, especially when we put bits of cheese out for the birds!  He hides under the lady's mantle, scooting out for food and scooting quickly back in again.

Sliding gently towards autumn

The day after my last post was the first morning of condensation on the windows and heavy dew outside - autumn not far off.  There are the first hints of leaves starting to turn in the woods, and the plum tree is starting to turn too.  Ah well, much to enjoy until winter comes!  The weather is still good, having turned very warm in the last few days though it isn't going to last.

Painted Lady

The butterfly count has perked up a bit.  We've had quite a few peacocks and tortoiseshells, and a painted lady (but no red admirals that I've seen).  The bird tally has been reasonably good too.  One morning we had a couple of bullfinches at the last tatty remnants of the raspberries, and two warblers apparently picking up the flies.  And another morning saw a male yellowhammer, resplendently golden, tentatively staking out the patio.  The robin is still about and getting territorial, and there are still young blackbirds not fully in their adult plumage.  Judging from the sounds coming from the roof area, there are still baby sparrows to come.  They've had a bumper year.  And there are still house martins and swallows about (the swifts left in early August).


The late summer plants are only just starting - phlox, echinacea and the like.  Lilium henryi is just finishing.  In the veg plot the beans are starting to crop quite satisfactorily, and there are a lot of apples but very small ones.  The plums are coming to the end; this is easily the latest they have ever cropped!

On the wing

The big explosion of butterflies predicted in the last post hasn't happened.  There are plenty of whites and a few peacocks; and today there was a tortoiseshell.  But no red admirals.  I hope we get some more butterflies.  On the other hand, there are plenty of wasps - most of them eating the plums (of which there are lots, fortunately).

I came home today to find flying ants on the patio.  The sparrows and the robin were delighted.  The birds have become less insistent on being fed in the mornings, and just today I was wondering whether it was time to ease back on the food; when I put out this morning's offerings there were no takers at all, although the food does all disappear over the course of the day.  But the ants were obviously a real treat, although a brief one; a couple of hours later they were gone.

A less welcome winged visitor appeared briefly in the small apple tree one day this week - a big female sparrowhawk.  Fortunately none of the other birds were around (they probably saw her coming).  She might have been responsible for the dead vole found round the back of the garage a few days ago; there again, it could very probably have been next door's cat.  There's probably a vole residence somewhere around there, as something small and furry scooted into the undergrowth when I was poking around there at the weekend.

Rose 'Golden Showers' - in its good phase

On the plant front, the Crocosmia is tailing off, the white-flowered plant whose name I can never remember (it's somewhere in a previous post) is just starting, and the autumn flowers (Sedum, Echinacea) are not quite there yet.  All I've been able to come up with for vases are a few sweet peas ('Royal Wedding', a two-tone violet blue, is doing nicely), some calendulas and rowan berries; and I couldn't resist cutting a couple of stems of the 'Moonlight' runner bean, which has pretty ivory and cream flowers.  I'm not surprised beans used to be grown as ornamentals.  There are also still some intermittent roses on the repeat-flowering plants, especially 'Golden Showers'.  It has done its usual thing this year: the first flush of flowers, and all the leaves, succumbing to black spot and looking dreadful, but then the plant recovers and produces a second flush with lovely clean foliage and more flowers.

   On the subject of foliage, building work has necessitated a lot of my pots being moved.  Some are grouped on the patio, and are making quite a statement just from their foliage: bronze sedge, variegated hosta, grey-leaved Anthemis and the purple Heuchera.  It sounds a horrible mix, and it's not a combination I would willingly go for, but it does show how much of an impact foliage can make.

Peasant gardening

Oh dear, just realised it has been nearly a month since I posted last.  The big heat lasted about three weeks in all, followed by mostly warm weather, mostly sunny with a few showery days and a couple of big downpours; some thunderstorms too (one of which damaged our broadband access, which is my excuse for not having updated this).  There have been cool winds at times which have kept us eating mostly indoors, but we've been taking our chances when we can.

The garden is currently in its quiet mode, with the midsummer flowers gone and the late summer ones still not yet there.  The Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is out in all its glory, as is its companion Lilium henryi, and the Francoa is in bloom, but otherwise things are a bit quiet.  The next event will be the Buddleia, which is just coming into flower.  I have succumbed to a few impulse plant buys recently but not yet done anything with them; and I'm afraid I just haven't got round to summer displays in the pots this year, partly because the tulips were so late in dying back.  There's only the windowbox with its usual display of Mesembryanthemums, which have done miserably this year (too dry?? - but the reason I plant them is that they're supposed to be drought-tolerant!).

My vegetable gardening this year is best described as peasant gardening.  The veg plot has been left rather unattended this year, so most of it is out of commission; there's a couple of rows of broad beans with some dill and coriander at their feet, a little wigwam of the runner/French bean cross 'Moonlight' (in very pretty flower but not yet fruiting) and a couple of French beans; two patches of potatoes (which won't have liked the dry weather), some garlic which is ready to be dug up, some leeks which were never thinned, and two winter squash plants, one coming on nicely and one still tiny.  Most of these have been tucked into whatever relatively weed-free corner I could find.  The courgettes (one huge plant and two still quite small) are cohabiting with the sweet peas and pinks in the old herb garden. It's all rather haphazard - rather like those little plots you see in Italy where someone has put in a row of beans, a couple of tomato plants and a few cabbages in whatever bit of ground they can find.  Next year it will be better .... (as I always say ...).

I managed to salvage a couple of colander-fuls of gooseberries and a few raspberries, even though a fledging blackbird tried to defend the latter from me; he really didn't want to leave them when I approached.  The plum crop looks like being good this year, but the apples will be small.

A nice sit down

The birds seem to have thrived this year.  The robins and blackbirds are now moulting but the sparrows are still feeding young and even mating.  There are plenty of young starlings about, too.  Some of the woodpigeons have become quite trusting, even bathing in the patio birdbaths (which are really much too small for a woodpigeon); we came home one day and found two of them just having a nice sit down on the lawn quite near to the house.

The lavender, which is now just going over, has attracted large numbers of bees

Small Whites on the lavender

(particularly honey bees or something very like them) and, in the last couple of weeks, white butterflies (mostly small whites but the occasional large white too).  There have been one or two peacocks and one day we had a comma, but the big explosion of butterflies is still to come - should be in the next few days as the Buddleia gets going. 

Hotswolds

After such a run of dismal summers - since 2007 - we'd almost forgotten what summer weather was like.  It continues to be hot and dry, meals are still outdoor events and the watering can is in regular use.  There were a few thundery-looking clouds on Sunday afternoon but the sky then cleared again.  I've been weeding in the shade when possible and generally trying to keep everything alive.

Peony 'Sarah Bernhardt'

The roses are in full flood, and in the long grass yesterday I spotted three blooms on peony 'Sarah Bernhardt', which I had omitted to stake (and feed).  Poor Sarah has a hard life; I must do better for her next year.  The best of the blooms is now in a vase indoors: a huge pink, scented powderpuff and really impressive.  The Polemonium is seeding nicely in among all the grass and self-sown geraniums; that's another plant in need of rescuing next year.

On the edibles front, the broad beans are just coming to picking size, the gooseberries are nearly ripe and there are two big trusses of blackcurrants which I've protected as best I can - but not quite well enough, as the thrush demonstrated to me yesterday by slipping inside the mesh and plucking one to feed to its little one.  Baby thrush is very demanding and very vocal, so I couldn't be too angry.

There are still young blackbirds being fed too, and at least two dunnocks, not to mention all the sparrows.  A week ago we had a huge flock of young starlings fly into the holly tree, and another day there was an even huger flock of crows passed over.  The swifts continue to feed around here; two of them were coming very low round the house the other day.

Al fresco

The sun is shining, it's very warm and Andy Murray has won Wimbledon.  It's summer.

Hay while the sun shines

We've had unbroken summery weather since late last week; since Saturday all meals have been al fresco at the bottom of the garden (though work regime starts again tomorrow and workday breakfasts are always on the run).  Temperatures today were mid-20s in the shade, though an easterly breeze kept it bearable.  Farmers are making the proverbial hay while the sun shines (I should add that the nettles in the foreground of the photo are in the field edge on the other side of the fence, not in my garden!), attracting a fair number of seagulls and crows, and the sparrowhawk sitting on the telegraph pole, but I saw a blackbird gathering food there too, so the usual resident birds are benefitting also.  The young starlings have started to appear, and the sparrows and robins continue to feed their little ones; chaffinches are about, and there was also a family of goldfinches (including little ones wanting feeding) round the pond this afternoon.  Have I mentioned before that we've had the usual young greater spotted woodpeckers around? and we heard a green one yaffling somewhere the other day.  There have been a few swifts around too, as well as the usual house martins and swallows, and a partridge has appeared in the past few days.

Most of the roses are now in flower, the Big Yellow Thing, the Phlomis and the Stachys are coming out and I keep hoping that the peony will open soon too.  Today I noticed that the Thalictrum, half-hidden behind rose 'Mme Hardy', is fully out, complementing the Buddleia alternifolia which is just starting to bloom.  This weekend's work included thinning the apples -  not too much to do there this year - and to start pruning the cordons.  It's a bit early for that, but I discovered a lot of aphid attack and some nasty-looking blotchy leaves on them and thought that some more air in there would be helpful (not to mention getting rid of as many of the horrible bits as possible); each tree was also treated to two bucketfuls of water as the ground is starting to get really dry.  I also planted out some beans - trying 'Moonlight' and 'Ferrari' this year - and some of the ornamentals I bought the other week - Dianthus 'Devon Dove' (white) and 'Cranmere Pool' (two-tone pink) among others.  The old herb patch is turning into a scented garden, although there are a few non-scenteds (notably the courgettes!) in there this year.

Still too many weeds and not enough time to get them out.

Just-in-time weeding

I practise just-in-time weeding.  Given the task of keeping on top of what has become a very weedy plot, I manage by targeting specific weeds just before they can set seed and make the problem worse.  The vetch is very nearly all out (that is to say, the flowers and most of the stems ripped up; the roots of course are another matter entirely).  The herb robert is coming out as and when I spot it, and the lesser willowherb too.  I've been tacking the creeping buttercups, and the herb bennet is next in line before its burrs can ripen.  The grasses are also in flower; in what is meant to be an open space by the hedge they are waist-high in some places, with their plumes providing a romantically summery haze around the geraniums (which are also weeds in this case).  So far I'm keeping ahead of the seeding ...

Windy spells have knocked the poppies around, but the roses continue to come out: the albas and Old Blush China are in flower, Mme Hardy is just starting and Comte de Chambord and Gallica Officinalis are showing colour on the buds.  And the honeysuckle, which I always forget to mention because it's out of sight at the bottom of the garden, is in full flower, as is the purple Verbascum under the ash tree (it has made a rather better showing this year). 

The sweet peas planted last week seem to have settled in.  To my surprise I also found two winter squash seedlings; these had failed to germinate indoors and before we went on holiday I dumped the seed tray outside out of the way.  Only noticed last week that two of them had in fact come up; so they have been put into a clear bit of ground in the veg plot.  I'm also trying to provide a better screen for the gas tank.  Some years ago we bought a Photinia (I say 'we': it wasn't actually my choice) and it has sat unloved in its pot since then for want of anywhere to put it.  A Buddleia and several ash seedlings germinated in there, and it looks as if the root competition has kept the Photinia's rootball small; this made it ideal to plant in the very shallow, stony soil in front of the tank.  I hope it's happier there.  I'm also trying a row of rosemary plants in front, which should like those conditions and help hide the tank once they grow up.

Pondlife 1: Damselflies on the iris

There were several damselflies (I counted four at one point) around at the weekend, especially near the pond.  The pond life is doing quite well; there are at least two smooth newts in there, and the iris and waterlilies are in flower.  On the bird front, there is still much feeding of little ones, with the sparrows, blackbirds and robin very active; a baby robin flew into the summerhouse at the weekend and I had to leave the door open to let it escape (which I think it did, though you can never be sure).

The weather has been on the cool side mostly, but is to warm up for the next week or so.  Dare we hope for summer?

Pondlife 2: Waterlily

Umbellifer proliferation

My rather erratic seed-sowing has been more successful this year than usual.  I tried two of the currently fashionable Umbellifers, Orlaya and Ammi, and both have given me a few plants.  Although the Ammi are still very small, I've planted out both lots in the new bed at the bottom of the garden, where I have vague notions of romantically billowing drifts of the stuff.  There's already one Umbellifer in there, Sweet Cicely, which was supposed to billow romantically under the Rugosa rose at the end of the bed; however the rose is showing more interest in suckering than in growing upwards, or flowering, and Cicely is towering over it.  A very impressive plant she is too; I've left a few seedheads on in the hope of a few more plants.  Meanwhile there's also lots of cow parsley over the fence.  Maybe I've overdone the Umbellifers.

Poppy 'Allegro'

The earlier spring flowers are now over, and the big red poppies, the Veronica, Sweet Rocket, foxgloves
and the Penstemons are coming out (also the Alchemilla mollis, of which I have far too much).  The early single roses are going and the more showy ones are starting: Gertrude Jekyll and Alba Semiplena, with buds starting to show on Felicia and Queen of Denmark.  The Wisteria is still going strong, as are the Aquilegias; a couple of new self-sown ones have come up under the hedge, a pale pink and white bicolour, and a deep purple and white which is very striking.  Need to find a better home for them.

Veronica

Clearing out and ripping up continues.  The front bed by the drive entrance has been tidied, and the 'Tutankhamun' sweet peas planted to scramble up the side of the Philadelphus (which needed a lot of dead wood cut out).  I hope that works.  The other, bigger, sweet peas have been planted on two wigwams, one down by the honeysuckle and one in what was the herb garden (for want of space anywhere else at the moment).

Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll'

Left to my own devices the other weekend, I went plant-shopping :)).  Some scented pinks, a couple of old favourites, Geranium renardii and Allium karataviense, which I used to have but lost, and some Perovskia which I fancy will withstand the cold east winds down at the bottom of the garden.  (It occurs to me that Angelica might be good here too, since it grows wild in Norway - but it might be too big, and anyway it's yet another Umbellifer ...).  I also came away with a few other impulse buys to brighten things up a bit.  We'll see how they do.

The weather went cool and windy - very windy at times - again, with a lot of showers, but the last couple of days have been warmer and bright.

Bee on the vetch

The birds are still feeding little ones and greatly enjoying their breakfast on the patio.  There seem to be more bees (and bee mimics - can't tell the difference) this year; I'm gradually working through the vetch, pulling it up before it can seed, although the bees are still very keen on it.  They do have the comfrey, though, and the cotoneasters which they also like; and there are now plenty of other flowers for them to feed on.  A couple of butterflies have appeared from time to time - whites, or perhaps female orange-tips (I've seen a male a few times) - and there was an electric blue damselfly in the garden today.  And this evening a hedgehog was snuffling around under the plum tree - the first I've seen this year.  Good to know we've got one around.

Was that summer?

The rain finally went away, followed by mostly bright and sunny weather with some pleasant temperatures, at least when the sun was shining and the wind not blowing.  The sunshine is still tempered by cool winds, though it did feel reasonably summery for a few days.  Back to mizzly rain and bright spells, and a rather fresher feel.  Was that summer?

One of the 'posh' Aquilegias

The Wisteria

Tulip 'Orange Princess'

Work in the garden has mostly been trying to keep on top of the weeds as they come into flower; there have been clear-up campaigns against the cow parsley (pretty, but lots and lots of it clearly visible in the field beyond the bottom of the garden, so I don't need to grow it myself), the nettles, the herb robert and the herb bennet.  I also need to tackle the vetch that is flowering rampantly under the dining room window, but the bees have been enjoying it so much that I've left it for them for the moment.  The bees are also flocking to the comfrey which is in full flower.  Other colour is coming from the last of the spring flowers - Doronicums and honesty, and the Brunnera (which also needs to be cut down before it seeds too much).  Coming out now are the Aquilegias, Sweet Rocket, Wisteria and the first roses - 'Mary Queen of Scots' and Rosa altaica (in spite of the hard pruning I gave it).  The last of the tulips are also still here.  Those in the big pot have taken a bit of a battering from the wind, but 'Black Hero' is continuing to stand up well; it's rapidly becoming a favourite with its nearly black, shiny, dark flowers.  On the patio, 'Professor Roentgen' was already past its best when we got back from holiday, but I've been impressed by 'Orange Princess', which has lovely glaucous leaves and has also stood up well to the weather.  'Super Parrot' hasn't been a big success; the leaves have gone over very fast, and the flower stems are too short for the flowers to show properly (perhaps lack of water?).

Another big 'tidying up' job has been cutting back the big Osmanthus, which was getting to 10ft tall and in need of bringing down to size (and into shape).  In the event I took out rather more growth than I had intended, but at least lots of light will get in there now and give it a better chance of a healthy future. 

The big Osmanthus, before pruning

I'm starting to think that this is likely to be a year of cutting back and digging out - there's a lot that needs renovation.  I would like to get some more colour in the garden too, though.

The birds are still feeding little ones; there are two baby blackbirds around, and probably more in a nest in the ivy on the neighbours' garage wall, facing the kitchen window - a hen blackbird has been taking food in there.  She doesn't seem put off by the large skip that is sitting on our drive in front of her nest (part of indoor renovations going on!), and the associated activity around it.  The sparrows' broods are also coming on well and, while we haven't seen any young starlings yet, they are being very vocal in their nest high up on the gable end.  A thrush has appeared from time to time, and a jay visited briefly the other morning, to the great concern of the blackbird, which fought it off.

We have a self-sown Shining Cranesbill in the path under the dining room window.  I wonder if I can get it out and transplant it?

Hole in the wall, hole in the ground

Longthwaite,May 2012 and (below) 2013

Back after nearly two weeks in the Lake District.  Spring is even later up there than here, with many of the trees still bare; you can see the difference in the same photo shot taken a year apart!  Last year's weather was warm and sunny; this year was mostly damp and chilly.  The weather pattern continues to be that the sun is warm when it's out, but the wind is cold.  We had a couple of hailstorms, and there was light snow lying on the highest central fells one day, which you don't normally see in late May ....

Down here, the weather picture was the same but possibly with even heavier rain.  Some seed trays that I left out had the compost washed out of them.  This past weekend again had some lovely sunshine but with that rather fresh breeze; today has been miserably wet.  The forecast is for more of the same.

Custom-built hole in the wall

Before we went away, the tumbledown wall at the back of the vegetable garden was (very expertly) mended.  Since next door's ash tree has taken to leaning on it, rebuilding it as it was wasn't an option; so the tree now has its own custom-built hole-in-the-wall (with a little trellising inserted by the neighbours to keep their dog in!) so that it can lean without causing more damage (we hope).  The apple cordons are flowering on regardless; one job outstanding is to tie them up properly as they're lying rather flat at the moment (the stakes having been removed to allow access to the wall).  They've suffered remarkably little damage from having so much stone fall on them!

Another sort of hole appeared just before our departure: something small and probably furry had dug a hole at the bottom of the big ash tree at the end of the garden (fortunately without disturbing any of my new planting).  By the time we got back the hole had disappeared, but another has materialised alongside the brick edging of the 'hot' bed.  I wonder what's down there?  During our holiday we were entertained by the antics of two red squirrels on the peanut feeder, but whatever has dug these holes is a lot smaller and, I suspect, a lot less cute.

The tulips in the big pot

In my absence there hasn't been too much change in the garden.  The grass, both in the lawn and in the flowerbeds, has grown well (all that rain!), but the dandelion problem wasn't as great as I had feared; none seemed to have seeded and I was able to deadhead them before the damage was done.  The main flower change is that the tulips have come out nicely.  Down at the bottom of the garden, the grouping of 'Angelique', 'Uncle Tom' and 'Black Hero' in the big pot has lived up to expectations: the colours work well together and can be seen well from the house.  The perennials put into that pot to provide winter interest are recovering from their exposure to the east wind; the Heuchera and the Euphorbia myrsinites (the latter just peeping out in the picture) had been looking unhappy but are coming along quite well now.

The plants put into the bottom-of-the-garden bed seem to have settled in.  I'm thinking that they will need some more spring colour in there next year; the crocuses and Anemone blanda are too small to make a decent splash.  Some more tulips in there next year would be good - perhaps move the ones in the pot and see if they will come again next year?

Good value hellebores

The blue camassias have also flowered, and are nearly over.  Also on the way out at last are the hellebores; I dead-headed most of them before we went away but left the big one because it looks so good.  It has been flowering since well before Christmas; now that's what I call good value.

The birds, especially the blackbirds and the robin, seem glad to have us back; they're still feeding youngsters and come straight down when food is put out.  A thrush also visited today.  There are signs that the sparrowhawk has been about again: pigeon feathers, bits of another female pheasant and some brown feathers that suggest that the hawk has been in someone's chicken coop and brought a take-away in here to eat.  The magpies are also still here (bringing back unpleasant memories of seeing a crow raid a Lake District mistle thrush's nest). Just before we went away we spotted five swifts flying overhead; but there have been no signs of them here since, so they were probably en route for somewhere else.

The rain has topped up the water levels in the pond nicely.  After my last look in there I had feared that the wildlife had gone, but I see that there are water snails active in there, and a newt was sculling around on the bottom, so all is not lost after all.