Home Garden

The plot has been separated in my mind from HG (home garden). Recently though, I realised just how integrated they are. I use HG to grow food too; also used for family recreation it is easy to access. Just a walk out of the door and I’m straight in there. In HG I can spend 10 minutes gardening; then stop. To get to the plot it takes at least ten minutes. Walking or cycling it is ten minutes, driving is two minutes, but that doesn’t count the time loading the car with tools. I have enough hand tools kept in the shed at the plot to use my bike or walk. To get the power tools to the plot I use the car. That and carrying drinking water makes a visit to the plot more of an expedition.

Roll on the day when I can dispense with strimming!

Inevitably I do not get there as often as I would like. This week, with all the cold and wet weather, it became obvious that both gardens are integrated. In gaps between downpours I planted some bare root fruit bushes into pots, split some perennials and sowed some seeds. All this was done at HG, mostly for the plot. HG is effectively a nursery garden for the plot. The fruit bushes were to go straight into the ground but weather and time intervened.

In previous years I have kept a garden diary. It has had entries from both gardens. So far this blog has only had entries about the plot. In the interests of joined up thinking I have decided to add posts about HG too.

To start this off some pictures from HG.

The tulips are to remind me it really is spring, despite the temperature. They are Tulipa Triumph ‘Kees Nelis’. They are doing well. They were a present bought at Amsterdam Airport and planted out of season last year. They flowered later than usual and have reverted to normal seasonal pattern for 2012.

23rd April 2012

The wall basket was planted two days ago with alpine strawberries using an old wool jumper for the liner.

Below: some HG residents – they are in bad books this week as they have decided to keep making breakout attempts several times per day. New straw in their run and a change of location of their coop seems to have been the trigger.

Eggs from HG residents 24th April 2012

They do pay for their keep!      

More strimming



More strimming today. It fitted into a two hour slot when the sun was shining between heavy rain and hail.



Before the strim

After the strim



Before the strim

After the strim

There is blossom on the apple tree.

Joined again by a pair of robins; they were hard to capture on camera.

On the plum tree

On the wall



Silver Birch planted today with newspaper mulch

Hedge planted

First Step


Last Friday I planted 50, 2 year old (1+1) bare root hedge plants.

Step two

Visible progress!





Step three

There are 26 Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), 6 Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), 6 Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguine), 6 Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) and 6 Hazel (Corylus avellana).



Step four



 

 

 

 

 

Between the plants I pushed a few cuttings off the trees that were pruned and scattered Hawthorn and Holly berries collected last season amongst the base of the trees.

 

 

Planted

The biggest challenge they face in establishing is possible lack of rain. It has been a really dry spring, so I’m hoping for some more rain. The saving grace may be that they are planted out of direct sun at the hottest part of the day and at the bottom of a slight slope.

It took six hours to clear the line of the hedge and get the plants in. It was incredibly satisfying to get this done.

It is good to see the fruit tree buds opening and that the annuals have germinated. Spring was definitely in the air. A pair of blackbirds frolicked all around and I was watched by the ever present robin. There was a few bees around too when the sun was shining.

Peaches and Plums

Yesterday I spent time clearing and planting. I had help from a good friend M.


Some days it seems that despite lots of work done the progress is not as visible as I would like. I know that it is all necessary baby steps on the way to a whole that I hold as a picture in my head. Sometimes it would be good if the progress was a bit more dramatic.

We tried to burn some of the huge pile of sticks that have come off the trees – we didn’t get very far. I’m beginning to think I need to hire a chipper. I can’t make up my mind on that one. The heap does need to go from where it is.



Victoria Plum

The plot is taking shape. If the growth was any higher I think there would be lines through it that look like sheep tracks through the bracken on hill and mountain sides. As it is there are obviously natural routes through the garden. I seem to find myself walking them automatically even though there is no proper demarcation of the paths.

There is now a Victoria plum tree and a peach (v. Peregrine) planted against a fence. Against another fence are some bags of rubbish needing to be transported to the tip. There is still more to pick up along the way.

Peach Peregrine

I can’t bear to think of landfill sites so, finding a way to reuse things that are broken is something that I try to do whenever I can.

 Old shoes with irreparable soles make great plant pots!

Winter Work

It seems too long since I last added anything here. After a summer that was used just keeping weeds down I would like to have spent more of the winter pruning, and planting trees. A combination of poor health, work issues and unsuitable weather conditions have meant that I am not as far on with the plot as intended.

4th February 2012

The pictures are from time spent during the last month - when possible catching up to where I would like to be.

The overgrown hedge – now forest sized trees have been pruned back. Some of them have at least. I will let them re-grow into more manageable sized trees, which can be coppiced to produce sticks when necessary.

4th February 2012

5th February 2012

A neighbour is not very happy with the new look though, apparently she liked the trees as they were. It seems a strange thing to be said by someone whose own garden is a sterile monoculture, and who doesn’t like the leaves when they fall into her garden. The neighbour has concrete paths around square lawns! They also had a fence built along their side of the line of trees so that they didn’t have to spend money clearing around them. I listened to what they had to say and cut back anyway. More may have been cut back, but in the interests of world peace starting in my own plot, I compromised and left the two biggest trees standing; and, only half of the hazel was removed. The neighbour thought we were killing the trees by pruning but I like trees and would never have got rid of them completely. In fact I have always intended to plant more once the site is ready.

I now have a supply of logs for the fire in a couple of year’s time and a big pile of twigs to deal with.

4th February 2012

5th March 2012

5th March 2012

Planting has begun. There is now a Bramley apple tree and a couple more shrubs donated by a friend. The compost started last year from weeds is now in good condition and spread around the base of the apple tree. Between the shrubs, and beneath the apple, I sprinkled the seed of calendula, annual cornflowers, corn poppies and some poached egg plants; all annuals that I hope will self seed around the garden and attract and feed bees.

5th March 2012

Since all the strimming last summer forget-me-nots have begun to appear and the nettles, bramble and ground elder are much weaker. Though perennial buttercups and docks seem to be doing fine!