I’ve been pottering

As forecast it’s been a glorious, sunny and warm, weekend with the temperature reaching well over 20 C/70 F so I’ve been pottering rather than plotting.

At the horticultural society trading shed this morning it was nice to see Stanley, who I’ve not seen for a long time.

He’s thirteen so not quite as active, or vocal, as he used to be but still enjoys a couple of biscuits.

The past few days have seen dandelions flowering everywhere, especially on the wide grass verges I walk alongside on my way to and from the plot.

Looked at closely they really are wonderful flowers.  It’s a shame that many people consider them to be just an annoying weed.

It looks like being cooler midweek onwards, and there may be a few showers .

Have a good week!

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It’s been much better…

better weather this week and has now got a lot warmer. There was also a few hours of quite heavy rain on Tuesday afternoon which was welcome.  Looking round the plot it’s a case of so far so good with everything, despite the frosty nights last week.

All the perennials are doing well and it won’t be long before the perennial cornflower (centaurea montana) starts flowering.  The sedums won’t be flowering until the autumn but they have already formed this impressive looking mound.

I was surprised to see a few flowers on one of the strawberry plants but a closer look showed that they’ve been frosted as indicated by the blackened centres.
It looks like it’s going to be a sunny and warm Easter for a change so I’ll be making the most of it sowing flower seeds and generally pottering.

Have a good weekend!

Home and plot

Monday and Tuesday were damp and dull days so I stayed at home.  I sowed some more seeds in pots including cosmos, sunflowers and tomatoes. The windowsill is now full, and  as usual germination has been variable with the best being the sunflowers.  Here are three each Autumn Time (top) and Musicbox.  The cosmos Sonata White are rather leggy so as I’ve plenty of seeds I’ll probably discard them and sow some more.

Later in the week when I was plotting I rough cut the grass paths and edges all round.  Sadly the red tulips Toronto are now finished and already shed their petals, but the daffodils are still doing okay especially the white Thalia.  The foliage on the two very small first early potatoes Lady Christl planted in large pots has started to appear, and I’ve picked the first few rhubarb stems.

 

Next week I’ll be sowing some annual flower seeds starting with the California poppies (eschscholzia californica).  I’ll be sowing them among and around these ones which overwintered and  are showing new growth.  Hopefully this will give me plenty of colourful flowers over a long period.

There’s been overnight frost the past couple of days.  Yesterday morning it was cold on the plot and it even tried to hail a couple of times, so I came home early for a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits.  Thankfully it looks like being much warmer next week reaching 20 C/68C by Friday.

Have a good week!

Tree following, April 2019

Liz…I’m amazed that the witch hazel in my garden here in Kentucky still has some blossom hanging on from last November.  The light buttery yellow has given way to a deeper yellow then brown.

 

 

The tree provides further interest with peeling bark and litchen.

Mike…It’s good to see the apple tree is now showing new leaf growth and buds.

I didn’t realise that they both appear almost together like this, rather than one following the other as with many other trees.  Clearly it won’t be long before the blossom appears.

Our usual thanks to Pat, The Squirrelbasket, for hosting Tree following. If you want to see what it’s all about, and perhaps follow a tree, then please click on the link shown over on the right-hand side.

Have a good weekend!

Daffodils again

These white daffodils Thalia are triple headed as seen in this back view of the two stems.

 

I forgot to mention that the yellow daffodils Sweetness are a heritage variety dating from the 1930’s and that it has the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Can you spot the ladybird that I found nestling in one of them on Thursday.

 

 

 

The tall, large flowering bi-coloured daffodils (variety unknown) have lasted well in a big container.

During the week I dead-headed the dwarf Tete-a-tetes which had provided a carpet of yellow through last month.

 

I’ve been really pleased with the daffodils this year, and as I’ve got space for some more I’m looking forward to browsing the the autumn bulb catalogues where I’ll hopefully find a bi-coloured variety I like.

Have a good week!

It’s been a chilly start…

to April, and there’s been plenty of rain the past couple of days as well.  I paid a quick visit to the plot this morning, just to look round, as I’d not been there since Monday.

The white daffodils Thalia are flowering providing a nice contrast to the yellow varieties.

Liz over in Lexington, Kentucky also grows them in her garden and sent me this picture.

I think that they show up well against the green leaves, and it’s not surprising that it’s such a popular variety.

 

Looking round on Monday I spotted this poached egg plant flower.

Despite a couple of frosty mornings everything is looking okay, and hopefully the weather looks set to improve over the next few days.

Have a good weekend!

A busy week

Last week when I arrived at the plot the tulips Toronto were closed but within an hour or two they’d fully opened to give a wonderful colourful display.

I mostly planted the rest of the potatoes but I was distracted a couple of times when I had to stop and walk over to a nearby plot to say hello to my lovely new mop-head friend Kate.

Last Sunday it was noticeably busy at the horticultural society trading shed with a steady flow of members throughout the morning, so it’s not surprising that we took nearly £300 in sales.  It was good to see Marley the staffie, who’s now a grand old boy of around fifteen,  enjoying a couple of biscuits as a couple of weeks again he wasn’t too good and didn’t want any.   Like me he’s slowed down a bit compared to six years ago when I took this picture of him.

I was back there again early on Tuesday morning to help with the bulk delivery, twelve pallets, of various bagged composts and fertilisers.  Thankfully it was dry, plenty of people gave a hand and it all went smoothly but I’m glad that it’s only a once a year job.  I was also there during Thursday morning, this time helping with a much smaller delivery of various assorted items including bundles of bamboo canes.  The trading shed is now full ready for what is generally the busiest time of year over  the next month or so.

On my way home on Friday it was nice to see, and say hello to, Harley the chocolate labrador who always greets me with a woof and a wagging tail.  He’s another senior, but definitely still young at heart.

Next week looks like being cooler, with overnight temperatures dipping close to zero on a  couple of nights, and maybe a few welcome showers.

Have a good week!