Trees, Seeds and Crochet

As lockdown eases and the temperature rises it has been lovely to get out & about over the Easter holidays. It is that moment in the year when the trees burst into leaf and bird song and I have spotted my first swallows of the year.

As usual, several windowsills have been full of seed trays, mainly flowers this year and now the days are warm but the nights cold, it is that seasonal dance of bringing trays in and outdoors as they start to harden off and grow on. 

The pasque flowers have survived the frosts  and I'm delighted to find lots of self seeding flowers in the garden, feverfew, ox eye daisies, pansies and a few foxgloves, natures own patchwork. What we need now are milder nights with some rain to help with the outdoor seed planting.

Pasque flowers

Quantock Hills, mini tree and sheep.

Beautiful tree shadows at Glastonbury Abbey in the Spring sunshine.

Mini Granny Squares patchwork crochet in cotton.

Springtime in the Garden

 Happy St. David's Day!

After a weekend of beautiful blue skies & warm temperatures the little daffodils in the garden have bloomed, a lovely sight after a dismal winter. I have spotted bumble bees, honey bees & a brimstone butterfly over the weekend, along with more garden birds making the most of the sunshine.

Spring means it's time to reach for the seed tin, check what seed is still viable from last year & work out sowing times. I use a moon phase planting calendar to help plan timings. For germination, especially if sowing directly outside, it seems to help. There is a full moon towards the end of March so will aim to sow outdoors by then, if no frosts are forecast. 

I have bought some new flower seed for this year, Helianthus annuus 'Sonja' for the bees, some Mexican Marigold for companion planting, Phlox drummondii 'Creme Brulee' to fill in the borders & Brachyscome multifida 'Blue & White Mix' to use in pots for the patio. I found a few self-seeded foxgloves growing well & a few strawberry runners which have survived my neglect & the fierce recent frosts, these welcome free plants are always a bonus. 

 

Go On, Grow a Tree!

After a tough summer of neglect for the garden, the last week has been a pleasure to get back to some Autumn maintenance. Some projects have been ongoing since we moved, the rejuventation and reduction of the trees and hedges, being one of these. Last week we tackled the remaining laurel hedge, deciding on taking it down by half in height and width, leaving it a 'Trisha-sized' scale for me to manage. There was also a lavetera for the chop, one of two I planted from cuttings taken from the garden. One cutting behaved impeccably, the other decided on world-domination and tried to crowd out the top flower bed, grapevine and nearby tree, not to mention the view... We'll have to dig out the stump or will have the same problem next year, I'm hoping the plants lost in its shade over the summer will survive.

I'm still working my way, very slowly, along the long flower bed by the new fence, clearing brambles, day lilies, overgrown clumps of kerria japonica and self seeding geraniums. I'll keep two of the kerrias, much reduced, so probably few flowers next year. New roses should arrive soon, climbers with scent and single flowers good for pollinators. The idea is to cool down a south-facing red brick wall, providing shade and cover.

Each year I try and grow a few trees, last year it was Monkey Puzzle trees, this year I couldn't resist a couple of lovely shiny conkers found on a walk, so two horse chesnuts, a pine cone and some cyprus seeds as well. Checking through my seed tin and there is still some Giant Redwood seeds so into the fridge with them for a few weeks. It will be interesting to see if any of these germinate. 

I was given a packet of Bird of Paradise seeds the other day, the packet is ancient (possibly 40 + yrs old!) and only contained two seeds but they look robust and so am giving those a go as well. I have also taken cuttings of hardy fuschia and an interesting geranium. Windowsills are always in short suppy over Winter!

Fir tree seeds

Avocado plant grown from fruit pip, fun for kids to try,

go on, grow a tree!

Twisted willows (Dragon's Claw) potted on

January Trees

The arrival of new seeds to plant is always a  treat, especially in January. This year it is a packet of six non-dormant Monkey Puzzle seeds (Araucaria araucana). I hope they will germinate and add to the collection of small trees growing away, including the Giant Sequoias. I have also taken cuttings of the Salix babylonica 'Tortuosa' (corkscrew, tortured or my fave, dragon's claw willow). I have found the easiest way with these is simply to push bare stems in a pot in winter and watch them grow away in Spring.
I have planted my lovely Christmas gift of a Glastonbury thorn in a pot for now, until a permanent site can be found in the garden. Growing trees in containers, whether Bonsai or just small trees, is a lovely way to find a life-long connection to nature if space is limited. If you make one gardening resolution to keep this New Year, make it to grow a tree.

January frosts

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Dragon's Claw willow and Californian lilac

More frosts...

Monkey Puzzle seeds

Spring in the Garden soon...

Last week I was almost fooled into thinking Spring was here. Mild temperatures, sunshine and all the birds in bright plumage meant working in the garden was a delight. Bumblebees buzzed me and bramblings, goldfinch and chaffinch cheerily encouraged me to keep filling the feeders. Luckily I refrained from planting out anything too tender as we are now in the grips of the much reported 'Beast from the East' a spell of Siberian winter. As I type, soft snowflakes are flurrying past the window, few and far between. The air is too dry at the moment for heavy snow but this will change by Wednesday.

So, I have bought in the geranium that has so far survived the winter outside and the Giant Sequoia saplings are back in as well. With no camelias to wrap up, everything else will have to make do. Spring bulbs are reasonably resilient and a blanket of snow will insulate them, worst case scenario for the garden is snow melting and refreezing, turning tender and soft stemmed plants to mush.

Despite the cold spell, plans are underway for the continuing garden revamp. New planters are being made for a mini allotment. Once the beastly weather has moved on, they will accommodate onions, carrots, french beans and strawberries. So, time to start following the moon phases to work out planting times for seeds and sets. I think at the moment it is waxing gibbous. The old shrubs, crowding out the flowerbeds and pushing out the walls have been cleared to make way for new fencing (soon...) and rebuilding and new plans for planting schemes are being earmarked in plant catalogues.

Removing plants and roots to rebuild walls...

Goldfinches in the garden

Starling flock on its way to roost.