Category Archives: Greenhouse

Today in the garden

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Flower garden, Fungi, Gardening, Greenhouse

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I have had a lovely morning in the garden. The weather is warmish and with hazy sun. The dew is prolific.

I was inspecting my beds in the usual fashion when I noticed this very pretty fungus

Stropharia aeruginosa

It took me a while to identify it using ‘Roger’s mushrooms’ website, which I can recommend for its useful search feature and the helpful pictures uploaded by members.

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

Interestingly one of the pictures uploaded was from Milton Keynes, quite close to us, and looking absolutely like mine so I am sure it is identified correctly.

I then spent some time trying to reduce the population of lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) in a border. This plant is so useful for spring colour and ground cover but sometimes it gets a little out of control and it was swamping everything else. The self-seeded hellebores and the High Sheriff roses now have space to grow.

Overgrown with lungwort

Following this I needed a less demanding job to finish the morning. I pulled the weeds out of two pots, near to the kitchen door and behind a herb area, which have some spring bulbs in them. I added Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ to one and Narcissus ‘W.L.Milner’ to the other, so I will have more February to March colour right outside the kitchen window. I already have a patch with the delightful and ubiquitous Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’, which is a bright yellow, so ‘W.P.Milner’ with its pale yellow flowers will be a good contrast.

Yesterday I had sown some Cerinthe seeds in the greenhouse and today when I went in I found that mice had eaten a hole in the packet. They had munched through quite a few packets, so all the seeds are now safely in the house. It is rather touching to think that the greenhouse is mine in the day and theirs at night, although it won’t be quite so interesting for them now.

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Jubilee plantings

07 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in Greenhouse, Vegetable gardening

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Pity it was so wet for the Diamond Jubilee this weekend. I feel sorry for all those holding outdoor activities. Just to brighten things up here is a picture of one of my jubilee pots (the blue isn’t out yet!)

Jubilee pot minus blue

Pigeons have already started their jubilee fest on my young cabbage plants. They will be netted after today.

Cabbage complete with brassica collar

My tomato plants are the sturdiest ever this year. I think it must be the seaweed feed I have been applying to all the herbs and vegetables. I hope they are as prolific with their fruit. I have been growing Alicante and Gardener’s Delight for the past few years with success, also the hanging basket variety Tumbler, which is marvellous. I keep meaning to try some different varieties but then I think I will play safe.

Tomato plants ready to pot on

November 22nd 2011

22 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Autumn plants, Greenhouse, Vegetable gardening

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What a damp, bedraggled looking garden, but still with a few flowers in bloom. Cornflowers and cosmos still flowering, as well as a climbing rose and various primula. The cotoneasters (C. franchettii) are looking bright and cheerful and the mahonia is a welcome source of scent for us and nectar for the bees. In this garden the viburnums are rather irregular in their habit and they are just in bud. They were attacked by viburnum beetle last spring but seem to have recovered remarkably well. They are some sort of Viburnum tinus, possibly ‘Gwenllian’. They are now large bushes and have really dark, glossy leaves.

In the vegetable garden

 This mild weather is giving my rather belatedly planted out leeks some good growing time. I have tried growing broccoli several times now and this year is as unsuccessful as the other times. I planted autumn broccoli and have tall, healthy looking plants but with no sign of any tender side shoots. They have been hosts to a large number of white fly but I am not sure that they have caused any damage. Broccoli will definitely be off the planting schedule from now onwards although I will leave these until spring to see what happens. Carrots, on the other hand, have been surprisingly successful. The second crop is now being harvested and they are very good. I have planted a small area with field beans as a green manure and they are looking very healthy.  Whether I will ever notice that they have enriched the soil in that area is another question.

The greenhouse

This is a cold greenhouse. The tomatoes and cucumber have finished and I must take them out and tidy the place up a bit. Some hardy annuals sown in the autumn have appeared and are looking strong – cerinthe and larkspur. I will be sowing sweet peas in the near future. Usually I have taken in the tarragon before now and must do it before the frosts arrive. I will also move the lemon verbena in case that can be saved for next year.

Next year

This is when I start planning for next year and for the first time we have no large changes to make to the garden. Getting the beds we already have up to a better standard is the plan. For the last couple of years I have had one small annuals bed (annuals planted onsite) and it has been interesting work but I think for next year I will make this a mixed bed and have more perennials.

Annuals bed July 2011

 My aim is to get as many herbs into the garden as possible but planted in a variety of locations including the rock bed and a number of perennial beds in different situations. More of herbs next time.