House Plants

Two new additions to the household for Christmas...

Christmas

I know it is a few days late but better late than never....
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the readers of this blog.
I have had a brilliant Christmas with my parents visiting for a few days and really enjoyed eating the Brussel's Sprouts from the garden.  Didn't think to take a picture at the time they were served!

Courgettes

Courgettes, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

Still continuing to get courgettes. Don't think there will be many more as the plants are really yellow and slug eaten now!

Green Tomatoes

10092008382, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

I'm going away on Saturday and would hate to see all the effort I have put into the tomatoes go to waste so am wondering if I should pick them before I go and let them ripen off the plants. Anyone know or have any suggestions?

Aubergines

07092008378, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

I am really jealous of my Mum for getting these fabulous aubergines to grow this year!

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Lettuce

02082008354, originally uploaded by richiesoft.

You are probably thinking what is a picture of a salad doing on a gardening blog website! The lettuce was grown in my Garden!!

Courgette Flower

The first flower on the courgette plants. This means that there will be fruits soon and that means lovely courgettes to eat!

Water

Watered the vegetable patch last evening with the sprinkler which I use very sparingly to conserve water. But it has been so dry recently despite the forecast of rain that I wanted everything to have a good soaking. Low and behold though I wake up to pouring rain this morning!

Everything is coming on well. Already tucking into lettuce from the garden and it wont be long before I try some of the potatoes from the big sack. The greenery of the potatoes is now dying off and I wonder if this means they are ready to dig up?

The sunflower seeds that I sowed about ten days ago are little seedlings now and the herbs that I sowed to use up old seed are also getting going.

The butternut squash at the bottom of the garden don't seem to be thriving as well as the courgettes but I'm sure from previous years they grow at a slower pace and aren't really ready until the autumn anyway.

The grass is recovering now from the weed, feed and moss kill that I spread a couple of weeks ago. I think I spread it uneven and consequently it has developed quite a few dead looking patches. Of course I had to end up watering it too since the forecast rain never arrived. I'm not sure if this allowed it to sort of burn or something. Never mind - it will grow again!

Clematis Flower

The clematis has just flowered over the last couple of days. I love the colour of the petals. It contrast very well with the green fencing behind.

Chestnut Tree

Potted out this plant when it was a seedling a couple of years ago. It has done really well although I must confess to thinking it was dead over the winter!

Tomatoes

Here you can see the tomato plants that I planted out on Sunday. There are three varieties which I will look up soon and I planted two of each in the grow bags and then some more in pots. You can also see the green pots that I have sowed some parsley, basil and coriander in.

Herbs

Spent most of the morning in the garden again today. It has been a gorgeous day and really warm. I purchased two more grow bags this morning and planted two of each of the tomato varieties out in them (will have to look up what they are at a later date!) I also planted out five more plants since I hate any waste and I had loads of little plants that I simply didn't want to throw. What do people do with all their spare plants I wonder?

Sorted through my seed box (which is an old small tool box) and came across seeds from 2006 and 2007 which were past their expiry date. They were mainly herbs and so I decided to plant them all out, some I have sown in pots and others in the border at the bottom of the garden in the hope that they may out compete the bindweed! I can live in hope!

I also bought a bag of bark chippings which I have spread along the ground beyond the fence at the bottom of the garden in an attempt to suppress the weeds particularly that bindweed!

Foxglove

I've four foxglove plant growing wild again this year. The number of bees that it attracts is amazing.

Grow Bags

First picture shows the courgettes and the second the butternut squash.

Day in the Garden

Well what a lot I have done today!

Planted out courgettes into grow bags.
Planted butternut squash at bottom of garden.
Sowed some sunflowers.
Repotted the house plants.
Planted out cauliflowers in pots.
Mowed the lawn.
Raked the lawn.
Treated the lawn with a feed, weed and moss killer.

Phew!

Succulents

Acer

Well, the Acer is appearing to go from strength to strength. I has really done well this year with a lot of new growth. Who would have thought that the twig I planted a couple of years ago would look as it does today...

Click the link in the title to see previous posts about the acer.

Hosta: Touch of Class

Hosta: Fire and Ice

Mickfield Hostas

The above link will take you to the website of the producer of the Hostas I got over the weekend.

Hostas

Just returned from a visit to my parents in Suffolk. Had a wonderful time and returned with two new Hosta plants and another plant of which I am unsure of he name at present. Will have to ask Mum what it is called.

The Hostas were from a stall at a market in Bury St. Edmunds: Mickfield Hostas
I've two varieties: a lovely white and green one called Fire and Ice and a green and blue one called Touch of Class.

Sowing

You can just about see some of the lettuce growing in the vegetable patch. There is also some carrots growing and I think another variety of lettuce poking through the soil. I have planted the beetroot between the carrots and lettuce as I think there will be space. I wasn't going to try beetroot again after my disappointing crop last year when almost nothing grew larger than a seedling but I am hoping that in this location where they will get more sun and probably a little more attention from me they will thrive. We shall see.

I notice that the courgettes, butternut squash, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts are doing well in the green house. I will plant them out soon. I hope to grow the butternut squash and cauliflower in pots and the Brussels in the vegetable patch. Will attempt to grown the tomatoes and courgettes in a grow bag as I did last year. Anyone any experience of growing cauliflowers and butternut squash in pots? The potatoes seem to be doing well in a pot!

Potatoes

How fast have these potatoes grown!
Been out in the garden on and off all day today practically. Mowed the lawn and done some hoeing and planted out some more seeds. I have sowed some beetroot and spinach in the vegetable patch and some basil and parsley in the greenhouse to give them a warm start there.

Compost Worms

Have tried to use some of the compost today in the vegetable patch. What a load of worms there were!!

Raised bed

Pictures of the little raised bed so far...

Bricks

Have commenced a brick wall around the vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden. I have simply stood rows of bricks on their ends to form a rectangle which I hope will hold the soil just a couple of inches above ground level. I intend to sieve all the soil in it and fork in some of the compost from the compost bin.

I also purchased some seeds over the weekend to start sowing over the next week. Tomatoes, courgettes, butternut squash, carrots, lettuce, beetroot and Brussels sprouts. I have left it really late this year to start growing the veg but for some reason I just haven't felt like it was time until now. I think now the evenings are lighter and the weather a little warmer I shall make a start!

Snowdrop and Iris

Ilex meserveae "Blue Maid"

Potted this out today at last... information on the leaflet...
"This variety of holly is also known as blue holly due to the colour of its leaves. The shrub is full of red berries. If you want to obtain more berries in the holly we advise to place a male plant , for example Ilex meserveae "Blue Prince" nearby. Leaves have prickly edges. Dense compact growth. Also grown as standard. Ideal as solitaire in ornamental gardens, in large plant troughs and as an impenetrable hedge. If the tree is planted in spring, water it once every 14 days until the end of June."

Daffodils

Seeing Daffodils always makes me feel that warmer, drier days are on the way.