SoS – 27/4/19

I haven’t uploaded for awhile, what with having my first cataract operated on and Easter etc, and I’m being very naughty and shoving a couple of extra images on board.

It’s incredibly dry here – no truly meaningful rain since last year. As I sit, I listen to a rabid west wind and the swishing of the sprinklers on the borders, desperately trying to moisten ground that hasn’t been touched by the gardener for over 14 days.

I’ve been raking leaves which is great exercise in lieu of doing anything in the garden beds but wind makes me cranky and gives me running eyes, so I finished up and came inside for a hot chocolate topped with marshmellows, and decided to write one post for SoS and one for my writing life.

So what’s actually growing out there?

Two weeks into their planting and all my bulbs are up and running.

Garlic (a variety called Tassie Purple) You can see how dry the soil is…

Potted Sea daffs and naturalised hooped petticoats

Saffron crocus. Can’t wait to harvest my very own threads for dropping into soups and curries.

I love the shade of amber that is one of our Japanese maples. The trunk colour too – a mellow chartreuse. Although it was sold to me as one of the delicious red-trunked ones. But I don’t mind this. Fantastic combination of leaf and trunk.

Nerines (white only in my garden) provide something to indicate the gardener’s colour preferences.

Love the shade of coral that is the Guelder Rose’s leaves, also showing the white nemesia still going strong and the prolific leaf growth of freesias in a tub.

Don’t laugh at my little coldframe. I don’t have a green house so this must suffice. Inside, the delicate euphorbia Diamond Frost is protected from cold nights, I’m striking white salvia, white English lavender, white pulmonaria, white sweetpeas and masses of multi-coloured sweetpeas. Amazingly, with a little bed of lucerne hay and an automatic spray for when we aren’t around, and with the lid left ajar for air, everything is growing really well.

And finally, I picked the last of the eggplants. Fabulous for curries courtesy of River Cottage. Masses of carrots and parsnips yet to pull for creamy, spicy soups. Also courtesy of River Cottage.

That’s it from me. Hopefully as the next cataract is operated on, on Monday, so we have rain and things can really grow! Thanks all for putting up with more than 6 and make sure you all pootle over to The Propagator for this week’s offerings.