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| Spring colour in the flower bed |
No doubt gardeners everywhere will be enjoying the flourishing of spring in their gardens at this stage - and we’re certainly no exception! It’s quite fascinating looking back just a few weeks to last months post and seeing how much things have come on in that short time - from crocuses then we now have daffodils, grape hyacinths and even some tulips on the brink of flowering too. My favourite Aquilegias have sprung into life and even have buds on, and to my delight the three Ranunculus that we paid £1 each for last summer have not only survived through the winter well swaddled in horticultural fleece, but also appear to be about to flower any time!
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| A satisfying row of peas… |
On the veg front the first things to go in were first early potatoes (“Rocket”) and a row of peas (“Kelvedon Wonder”) in the new strip of bed we dug last month - and indeed the peas have already popped their heads up. Those are being protected from the attentions of the local cats and the pigeons by means of a complicated arrangement of canes and garden twine, efforts to protect them from slugs might be slightly more challenging. Hopefully once the potatoes appear as well, that should deter the bigger pests freeing up the canes to make a slightly more traditional pea support! MrEH also sowed a bed with a mix of turnips and beetroot - the turnips being the small round ones we grew years ago on the allotment, and we’ve popped in a row of Kale “Scarlet” At the back of the main veg bed - this should both look attractive and help to fill the “hungry gap” from autumn into winter as well.
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| Gooseberry flower buds |
Mid month we decided that it was possible that the rhubarb was breaking through, and just a week later it was actually looking like rhubarb - my goodness when it grows it REALLY grows, doesn’t it! We won’t be able to take too much off it this year as it needs another season to get to full strength - we will be making a couple of small harvests though so that’s one to look forward to. Also on the fruit-front the gooseberries are covered in leaf and are even beginning to show their first flower buds, the blackcurrant also has plenty of leaf and while the redcurrant is lagging behind at the moment, it’s got plenty of buds. We’ve also gained several raspberry canes, a loganberry and a wineberry plus some strawberry plants - so if all that lot get going we will be well supplied with fruit through the summer and into autumn!
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| Rhubarb! |
Currently filling our front room windowsill under the propagator lids are an array of chillies - from my favoured “Hungarian Black” - those using saved seed from the single plant I managed to get to grow last year, to the distinctly more fiery “Bhut Jolokia” - MrEH uses those for concocting various mad versions of flavoured vodka, gin etc for post-rugby match shenanigans so being able to grow them would make life easier for him….however we’re not seeing any success with either of those so far sadly. More optimistic are the “Bishop’s Crown” variety - from a packet of seeds got free with our Kitchen Garden magazine - nearly all I sowed of those are now up and looking sturdy. Also on there are aubergines - with a couple of those having popped their heads up too - and some sweet peppers as well. Meanwhile in the garden the mini greenhouse is standing by ready for duty again - and already contains sowings of some soft herbs and flowers - notably mini sunflowers and calendulas, both of which will get used as companion planting if they germinate OK.
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| Coldframe with herbs |
Further acquisitions this month include some more cover for bringing on tender plants while there is still any risk of the temperature dropping in the form of two small cold frame/giant cloche arrangements, plus a larger polycarbonate style cold frame which now houses herbs and will work well for more hardy sowings of other plants and hardening off. Joining our metal arches are four narrow trellis frameworks - two of those are already in place against the fence to support a couple of Clematis - the one I bought last year has been joined by a new purchase - and currently we think the other two will be placed alongside the arches to increase the spread area for beans and squashes.
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| Strawberries settling into their troughs |
It still feels like SUCH a novelty to actually have the privilege of this space - even though we’ve been here over a year and a half now, I’m not sure that feeling will ever wear off!
Robyn
