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November

Sunday, October 31st, 2010
Dahlias before the frost

Dahlias before the frost

Well November is nearly upon us and really apart from two or three nights, no prolonged frost yet but I am sure we are due to have some bad weather soon. I had some spare time yesterday so I decided to sort out the nursery section of the garden to protect my baby plants and to over winter my Summer dispalys.  I like to try to keep as many of my Summer plants as possible, so I take cuttings from the parent plant and tuck them up nice and warm in the greenhouse.  I also bring in or re- pot( if I need the pot for winter dispalys  ) the parent plants.  I also went round and made sure that the watering trays I stand the young plants in through Summer did not have too much water in and refreshed the gravel inside them to keep the pots above any water that might collect there.

Next I turned my attention to the vegetable patch and decided to plant out my garlic.  This ment collecting  produce such as potatoes, carrots and beetroot that I roasted for supper and the last of the spring onions that had turned into proper little onions.  Job done I moved to the herb section and cut down the now soggy loveage.  I covered this with a cloche and hope that it might sprout some new growth while the weather is warm so I can use it to flavour soups.  My Tarragon had gone mad so I dug up and potted part of the plant and will keep it somewhere protected to use through the winter.  As I was clearing and weeding I found lots of baby plants Crocosmia, Aquilegias, forget-me-nots to name but a few that I have moved to my borders and as I write this they are getting a nice watering.

As I was drinking a well earned cup of tea I had a stroll around the rest of the garden. I am quite pleased to say that it all looks relatively tidy but for the Dahlias that have gone black now.  I cut these down and decided to leave them where they are, so I gave them a thick mulch  with some of my home made compost and made sure I stuck a label in the soil to remind me where they are.


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Garden Visits

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

I had the time over the weekend to visit a local garden.  It looks out over the sea and most of the land 18 acres was laid to woodland.  Even so there was a lovely vegetable plot with chickens clearing the old veg plants away and numerous gardens set out within the lye of beautiful old garden walls.  These walls gave protection to the perennial plants that were grown and also gave the climbing plants something to cling onto.  I was  enchanted by a dry garden I came across at the end of a woodland path.  It opened out from the woodland into many shingle paths edged with flower and herb borders, with a place to sit and contemplate life in a shady corner and one in a hot place to catch the September sun.  I have made a mental note to try to recreate this in my own garden at some time.

Not only do I like to look at other gardens for ideas but to buy the plants that have been nurtured from cuttings or seed.  This time I brought some Echiums  whose flowers grow to 6 foot tall!  They are only babies at the moment but fingers crossed they will be a talking point one day.


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September Walks

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Its great to be outdoors this month.  The weather can still be very warm and you have the added benefit of being able to pick free food from the hedgerow.  Last week it was blackberries which were made into a compot to eat  with breakfast with some wind fall apples.  This week I am thinking ahead to Christmas and picking sloes for Sloe Gin which makes  a great gift As this has to be left to brew  I needed to get on with it and as luck had it there was a huge supply on a cliff walk we took at the weekend.  I was also lucky to have many helpers as picking Sloes is a tricky business because the thorns are so sharp they become tangled in knit wear and prick fingers. With the picking done it was into the sink for a wash and straight into the freezer until I had time to put all the ingredients together.

Talking of Christams I have also decided to get on with looking for presents early this year again.  It turned out to be helpful last year as I was unable to drive from October onwards so this is now the new orgainised me.


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May at last

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

It was a hive of activity here in West Sussex at the weekend.  Three long days for whipping the garden into shape.  We have been getting on with projects but we were keen to get our breakfast eating area sorted out, the water feature installed and planted also move an old rickety wooden arbour to its new home in the vegetable patch.  We enlisted the help of our strong handy man Barry on the Friday to dig out the breakfast area and lay hard core then shingle.  He stripped the grass from the remaining area ( keeping it for around the new water feature ) then he dug over where the grass had been.  I should say he used a pick axe to pick over the area.  This garden is on chalk so we have roughly about a foot of soil then we hit the chalk layer.  So as you can imagine this hadn’t been touch in a long time so it took quite a lot of digging and removing of rubble to make it into a border ready for planting.  Once Barry had done all the hard work I dug in some well rotted organic matter and removed more of the chalk chunks.  Then I had the fun task of planting.  I had saved some Aquilegia and daffodils from where the water feature has been placed so these went in first.  Then I scooted up to our local nursery to choose some plants.  As the border already has a lovely mix of cottage garden plants I decided to continue with this theme.  I choose some ground cover roses, camassia, hardy geraniums, geums, heuchera,  alchemillia mollis and lychnis.  These were planted quite closely so that the ground will be covered and hopefully suppress any weeds in time.  By this time it was quite late ( these lighter evenings are great for gardening) and I was in need of a glass of wine so with a chilled white in hand I gave my new border a water and said goodnight to the garden.

New water feature

New water tank

water feature

water tank in place

Day two.  Up early and after breakfast we enlisted the help of the family to lift the heavy lead tank to its new home.  The hard work had been completed again by my husband and Barry.  The circle of hard core was laid and pounded then this was covered by a layer of type 1 to make it smooth.  The tank was man handled into position with a sigh of relief and then filled with water.  Our electrician had made up an outdoor cable for us to connect into an outhouse so we could connect the pump and now we have the sweet background sound of splashy water.  On my trip to the nursery I brought some water plants to disguise the pump and give the whole pool a softer effect.

Day three started slowly with us all nursing aching muscles over with a long lazy breakfast.  Then we went out for a walk before starting on the garden projects for the day.  I decided to tackle a half dead rosemary bush that had suffered in the very cold winter.  I had left it to recover hoping that it would perk up but unfortunately some of it did not so secateurs in hand my daughter and I set to work.  We had chosen this side of the house because it was out of the very cold wind.  Once cut back we were pleased with our renovation.   As you can see a gravel mulch tidied it all up and will help to suppress any weeds and the cysistus will knit together and hopefully will flower all summer attracting insects.

sickly Rosemary bush

sickly Rosemary bush

After cutting back

After cutting back

After planting

After planting

A good job done and now for moving the arbour.

We took the roof off and managed to put it onto the wheel barrow.  Then we moved the main bulk over to the vegetable garden.  As the time had moved on we decided to stop for the day.  So watch this space as we reassemble the arbour in its new home.  I think that we will have to make a few modifications as it seems much bigger than in the original place.


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Dead heading Daffodils and vine weevel

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Have you noticed how quickly the Daffodil flowers are fading this year.  I put it down to the recent spell of dry warm weather.  Yesterday was just like a summer day here in West Sussex anyway. I spent an enjoyable few hours pulling off the dead heads.  By the removing the dead head the plant can die down storing all its energy into the bulb for next year.   As I was pottering around the garden I decided to sort out a few of my many pots.  One had a sad  looking Cordyline with some pretty little pansies around the base.  I dug out the pansies and put them into other pots.

Vine weevle grubs

Vine weevle grubs

Then to my horror as I was pulling out the Cordyline I noticed a little white grub.  On further inspection there were loads of them.  I went back to the pansies and found a few in the soil around their roots.  My favorite way of disposing with these nasties is to put them onto the bird table or squish them between my gloved fingers.  I learnt from Helen Yemms column in the Saturday Telegraph that Vine Weevil eggs are the colour of earth so undetectable.  One way to deter the adult beetle is to mulch the top of pots with a gravel type mulch.   I use my Eco Charlie Slug and Snail deterrent which not only looks attractive but stops water loss and deters any slug and snails that maybe looking for a snack.  My next job now is to  look in other pots.


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April is here and so is a new hedge

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Well April is here and the planting season has started.  I enjoy growing my plants from cuttings or seed but my husband has very different ideas.  He likes buy big and make an instant impact.  So on Thursday our new hedge arrived,twenty 9 foot tall laurels!  To make a hedge on another boundary.  This meant that another digger turned up to dig the trench and help the laurels out of the lorry then it was down to us and the digger to plant the monsters.  Luckily my daughter and son were around to help also my mother in law Paddy.  We all pushed and pulled and by day two the plants were safely in their new home and we were exhausted.  All that was left was to give them a good water and job done.  Tomorrow we will buy a leak hose so that we can get water right down by the root ball and then we will feed and mulch around the base to smother any weeds.  They have been planted with a good  mix of organic matter added to the existing soil so hopefully they will enjoy their new home.

New Hedge

New Hedge

I have managed to get on with digging the vegetable patch and I am itching to get planting.  I planted out the broad beans seeds ( a bit late really) also spinach, carrot, beetroot and in a large pot I put some rocket.   After a trip to the garden centre ( for the leak hose ) I cheated and brought some pea plants and some garlic so that I could have something green in the vegetable patch.  I also  moved some rhubarb to the  patch that I found growing in another part of the garden.

The weather was so warm and sunny here over the Easter weekend that I took the opportunity to sit in the sun and sow some seeds in module trays. I prefer these mainly because it saves time pricking out.   I planted  white Cosmos, Sweet peas ( another late sowing and seed saved from last year so not sure what variety it will be) some parsley and chives.  I will leave these in the potting shed to germinate.

While working in the garden I noticed a lovely patch of wild primroses hidden away behind an old gazebo.  They are one of my favorite spring flowers and when they have finished flowering I must remember to split and move them to where they will be noticed next year.

Wild primroses

Wild primroses

Our grass has started to grow really quickly now so cutting is going to be weekly  which means I will be  spending lots more time in the garden weather permitting. Yippee.


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Job for today

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

A job I felt I must get out and do today was to cut down the dogwoods in the garden.  These plants give such vibrant winter colour and if they are cut down around now bright fresh new growth will be assured for next year.  I also popped a few of the prunings into an out of the way place in the garden to let them take root and make new plants.  As I was walking around the garden I noticed how dry the pots were so I spent a very happy half an hour watering  pots and dead heading the  early spring flowers. I am pleased at the way the water spikes are working in the green house and I haven’t had to do much other than fill them up occasionally. While wandering around the garden I also found a big hole coming under our fence and realised that the badger has found a new way into the garden.  This could be a problem in the future when the vegetable garden gets going because  he has started to dig some of the borders. Although thankfully there is not too much damage, he has actually helped a bit by unearthing the ground elder roots and making it easier for me to weed them out.  I know this weed is prevalent in this garden and I am going to have to keep on top of it if I don’t want it to take over any more than it has already.  I think that I heard you could eat it, so any recipes would be gratefully received.

A bunch of Dogwood stems

A bunch of Dogwood stems


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A new project

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

We planted a new hedge on the boundary this weekend to cover an ugly fence.  The area also used to have three compost bins in it which have been moved to a more hidden area. Once  cleared this area of the garden that was unloved and redundant makes a perfect spot for a vegetable patch.  So while we had our hired digger which was used to dig the trench to plant the hedge and to move the compost heaps we used it to dig over the soil.  We found a lot of old glass bottles, broken tiles  paving stones and old tree roots.  After pulling out all this rubbish we raked the soil level and retired inside to draw a plan over a cup of tea.  So watch this space and see the vegetable patch take shape.

Our trusty digger

Our trusty digger

Another job I have been enjoying is sorting out and weeding the flower borders. Unfortunately, I have  found that  I have the dreaded ground elder and bind weed to contend with here although  I find it strangely satisfying digging out the roots and destroying them.  I am trying to knock  the borders  into shape before the warmer weather comes along and gets everything growing also I wanted to show off all the bulbs that are pushing through.  I have also been busy chopping down an out of shape privet hedge and finishing  the last of the rose pruning.  Many of the roses in the garden have been neglected and there was a lot of dead wood that needed to be cut or sawn out of them.  I noticed that most of the roses have had black spot so I made sure I cleared up as many of the fallen rose leaves and burnt them on the bonfire.  Picking up the diseased leaves helps to prevent the fungus taking hold but it won’t eradicate it completely.  I will need to keep an eye on the roses, feed and water them regularly and hand pick of any leaves that grow with black spot and burn them.


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New Garden Arch

Monday, February 8th, 2010

February

Well it is certainly a pleasure getting out into my garden again after all the cold and frozen weather.  I had a few projects that I was itching to do.  Firstly the snow had broken the support to a very old Clematis Montana, which had in turn squashed the shrubs in the rest of the border. The Clematis was in dire need of a haircut as it had become a rather unsightly tangle.  I had also been given a lovely arch  for Christmas made from galvanised steel which I wanted to use to replace a slightly rickety black plastic arch already in the garden.  So this was the perfect opportunity to change everything round.

Old arch relocated in garden

Old arch relocated in garden

I enlisted the help of my husband and by the end of a tiring but satisfying day we had dismantled the old broken arch, constructed the new arch and taken down and re-erected the black plastic arch tying in the now much smaller Clematis as we went. I now need to buy some more climbers for my new arch.   I had thought to use  Climbing Roses and Honeysuckles but then I thought about using it for vegetables instead I can’t seem to make my mind up at the moment so I think a wander round RHS Wisley  or West Dean Gardens near Chichester will give me some inspiration and a lovely thing to do on a bright day.

My new garden arch

The second job I wanted to tackle was to cut the bank to the side of my house. This was because I had noticed masses of Snowdrops pushing their delicate little heads through the soggy leaves and tangles of brambles and old grass. Now I know that they are there I will strim this area in the Autumn but as we had moved here in December it was a job that required my trusty shears and the upmost patience so as not to spoil them. As I cleared the bank I also noticed that there were also daffodils ready to take over when the snowdrops fade. With these tasks completed I can now turn my attention to the rest of the garden.

I must get to grips with where I want to sight my Vegetable garden I may use a border that runs through part of the garden by my new arch this year as there are many plans afoot to change certain areas of the garden.  So watch this space.  I think that this should work for a while, it may be small but the soil is well dug and nicely worked so not too much digging for me as it had already been cleared. There were some very, very old and mainly dead lavender bushes in it and it was a joy to have them removed. I can sow some Broad Beans this week and plant some onions and garlic as well alittle late as I like to plant  them normally before Christmas but the soil was too frozen.


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New House – New EcoCharlie Garden!

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

Well the Christmas decorations have been taken down and we are frozen into our new house.  We must have moved in the coldest weather ever. Our removal men did so well to get us here to West Sussex.  All my garden paraphernalia survived even if I did bring along some of the frozen soil from the old garden.  I now have the pleasurable job of placing all my pots and arranging the new potting shed although given the conditions this will have to wait for the warmer weather.   As it is so cold all I have managed to do is to make sure the birds are feed and watered.

The country house where the new EcoCharlie Garden is being set up

New house where the EcoCharlie garde nis being set up

I have found that by melting some lard and adding bird seed and any scraps left over from toast etc then putting the whole mixture into a bowl I can take out the food in the morning and then bring in the old bowl to replenish in the evening.  I have also ventured out to knock the snow from the conifers before the snow breaks any branches.  As the sun is shining today I am off to take some pictures of my beautiful area.


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