SoS 2/5/20
Before I start, happy birthday to SoS and congrats to Mr.Propagator for starting the whole thing three years ago. It’s been such a bonus for me, watching and learning about different shrubs and plants and meeting gardenaholics. So thank you, Jonathan!
My pics today are from earlier in the week when it was springlike and sunny. Today, on my end of the globe, it’s wet, windy and chilly with frequent little cold cells drifting across the radar and preventing any outdoors activity at all – something I don’t take kindly to.
The first image is the western perennial border. I had planned not to plant any tulips this year but after seeing Monty Don’s and the Mindful Gardener’s and all the SoS’ers, I was drawn into Tulip Mania again and so have planted out tubs and the garden with a small selection (both in the main garden and the Matchbox). I chose black, white and orange colours and ordered a couple of white super parrots as well. I also planted out more white grape hyacinths. I don’t know why as I hate the rampant leaf growth closer to spring. But I do love the flowers, so quirky. I cast freesias everywhere, some cream exotics and some bog-ordinary, and also planted more Jeanne d’Arc white crocuses in tubs. I have also finally located some purple alliums. It was almost impossible to buy them on the island and illegal to import most varieties from the mainland because of quarantine. We have a thriving onion industry here and I suspect the diseases are similar and so the Powers That Be are protecting the farmers.
I spent time this week oiling the garden furniture and also tarted up my little cold frame. Husband built a firm pad for it and I have already placed 2 Euphorbia Diamond Frosts in there (they hate frosts) and a little budding white climbing rose cutting that I’ve cossetted from mid winter last year.
This is the flower of a Cape Gooseberry. Ugly plant and only bought it for those vibrant unusual seedheads. But I suspect the plant may be lifted – it’s got such an ugly shape and doesn’t suit my tastes at all.
The flowers and foliage of the bronze fennel are a favourite. I love the delicacy and I also love the flavour of the fennel leaves in cooking. Win-win.
The view from behind the quince looks down the orchard to the veggies and berries. We have said quince, 2 apples, three pears, a cherry plum, a green gage, 3 olives, 3 almonds, an apricot and a nectarine (Husband made nectarine jam from the freezer this week. It’s yummy!). I have an unrealistic image of the orchard as a pretend arboretum and have also planted a Chinese Elm and have plans for a walnut and a silver birch which are already acclimatised to this microclimate. I’d love to plant more exotics as well but the reality is that we have achingly dry summers and it’s a struggle. The orchard is surrounded on two sides by Pittosporum James Sterling which is loosely hedged and on the third side by a whomping great weeping willow which was planted fifty years ago when winters were notoriously wet and cold (verging on floods every winter).
And finally the berry house which I look at in trepidation. The strawberries in the raised bed must be lifted, the soil replenished and then the stock replanted. Then all other berries in the house must be pruned and tied back into manageable shapes. It’s an unenviable job and despite gloves I always manage to bleed like a stuck pig.
Pop over to Mr.P for the usual wander and I look forward to catching up.
Cheers.
As always, very interesting seeing different seasons from ours. How I would love an orchard! When I was young, my parents had quite a good sized one with apples, plums and pears. None of your exotic nectarines etc! Interesting Six-on-Saturday.
Thank you, Granny. When we first bought the property, there were 28 Heritage apples and pears in the orchard but as climate change exerted itself, the fruit trees suffered and died. We’ve managed to keep only 5 of the original 28 which is very sad. But we have introduced automatic watering and new trees that are more suited to our current climate. We share the nut-trees and olives with the native birds in summer, and amazingly the possums don’t touch anything. It’s puring outside at the minute and blowing a gale! Rain is so precious that we don’t mind at all.
Hi Prue – I can see it’s beginning to look autumnal there. You won’t regret all that bulb planting come spring and those choices sound delightful. Good luck with the fruit pruning. Have you got gooseberries? They’re the worst!
Morning Katharine. I hope the tulips reward me. We’ve had some fraught times with tulips over the years. Primarily wind – our spring gales are terrible. It’s so sad to see plants that one has nurtured snapped off every spring. Anyway – nothing ventured nothing gained.
No to the gooseberries. I adore them as a fruit but have never grown them. Should I? And just buy chainmail armour? 😉
Gooseberries can be a bit vicious, but useful for jam and chutney making. Your garden looking great. Our treason the orchard area are coming along nicely, although I think we may lose greengage trees Jeff spotted a split in the trunk yesterday when cutting the grass. As we leave spring behind and head into summer the garden is greening up and the weeds are thriving.
planting tulips! i’ve just started making my list for next year. I have several large planters I plan to fill with good, carefully planned, colour combinations. yeah right! i’ll be like a kid in a sweet shop, as usual.
Have a look through Monty Don’s Instagram account. His ability to ‘paint’ with tulip colour is formidable. And he has such lovely species tulips that i’ve never heard of. I’ve been trying to locate the shorter stemmed bulbs for my tubs in an effort to withstand wind, but so far no luck.