Monday 28 June 2010
Dwarf Beans becoming giants?
Hmmmn, I am not sure what is going on here. I planted a different variety of dwarf beans this year and planted Tender Beans, whatever that means. They have been planted out for a few weeks now and are growing well, but I have just noticed that some of them are growing very tall, at least 2ft and still growing. I was very careful to make sure I did runner beans in the bigger pots and the dwarf in the smaller pots so I don’t see how I can have got muddled up. (For those that know me they will be sighing now lol). I seem to remember last year that the beans wanted to be down and not up but this year they look very different, heading for the sky. I have just started adding some canes for them to be tied to as the are taller than the green sticks.I have netting above them to stop the pigeons landing on them so I am going to have to think of something soon if they don’t stop.
Updated fruit and veg.
I think now is the time to bring the grow up to date and then i can fill the gaps in for my garden project, which is looking good.
It has been so hot this last week, too hot to do anything in the garden but its great for everything growing. The weekend just gone reached 30 degrees! I have been taking a look at my shallots. Never grown them before and what a surprise. I didnt expect them to split into multiple bulbs. I thought something had gone wrong. Again i made up my own mind about how far apart to plant and got it wrong again. but they are looking fantastic now.
I used a brush and swept soil away from the bulbs so they can get all the sun. Nothing shades then at all. I dont know when they are ready but it cant be long now.
My red onions are lovely and healthy. It looks like my support system i made has worked. They nearly all stand up straight and nothing touches the ground. The same with the white onions though they are not as big and sturdy as the red. I have picked off loads of little flower heads but none have grown on the white onions. The shallots have had the odd one or two. I dont know why this is.
I earthed up the leeks at the weekend using the soil i swept from the onions.
I planted them in rows with mounds of earth behind and in front of them. I had the idea that I would use this earth to build up around the leek but watering has made the mounds flatten out so that didn’t work well. Last year I used really thick tubes of card, bit like loo rolls but the leeks started to get strangled as they expanded. I had a mare trying to get the tubes off the leeks but no harm done in the end. I pulled the last leek from that lot about 10 days ago!!
I have about 30 leeks.
This is how it all looks today.
The garlic and shallots are starting to get yellow tips so i assume these are going to be ready soon. I cant wait!
It has been so hot this last week, too hot to do anything in the garden but its great for everything growing. The weekend just gone reached 30 degrees! I have been taking a look at my shallots. Never grown them before and what a surprise. I didnt expect them to split into multiple bulbs. I thought something had gone wrong. Again i made up my own mind about how far apart to plant and got it wrong again. but they are looking fantastic now.
I used a brush and swept soil away from the bulbs so they can get all the sun. Nothing shades then at all. I dont know when they are ready but it cant be long now.
My red onions are lovely and healthy. It looks like my support system i made has worked. They nearly all stand up straight and nothing touches the ground. The same with the white onions though they are not as big and sturdy as the red. I have picked off loads of little flower heads but none have grown on the white onions. The shallots have had the odd one or two. I dont know why this is.
I earthed up the leeks at the weekend using the soil i swept from the onions.
I planted them in rows with mounds of earth behind and in front of them. I had the idea that I would use this earth to build up around the leek but watering has made the mounds flatten out so that didn’t work well. Last year I used really thick tubes of card, bit like loo rolls but the leeks started to get strangled as they expanded. I had a mare trying to get the tubes off the leeks but no harm done in the end. I pulled the last leek from that lot about 10 days ago!!
I have about 30 leeks.
This is how it all looks today.
The garlic and shallots are starting to get yellow tips so i assume these are going to be ready soon. I cant wait!
Yum Berries.
Redberrys and Blueberry are in with the goosberrys. I also had a cranberry but it hates tap water so that is withering away now.
I planted the redberry last year and this is the first time it has fruited. I didnt realise it had bit i was looking for a ball and found the tiny green berrys hanging all delicately under the leaves, hidden. I bet the birds know they are there. :)
The blueberry is fruiting for the 2nd year this year. The plant needs to be bushier but i did have loads of blueberrys until i had a bit of an accident lol. I laid some netting over the bush to see how much i needed and when i lifted it off loads of berrys went through the net holes and got ripped off when i pulled the netting off. :(
I planted the redberry last year and this is the first time it has fruited. I didnt realise it had bit i was looking for a ball and found the tiny green berrys hanging all delicately under the leaves, hidden. I bet the birds know they are there. :)
The blueberry is fruiting for the 2nd year this year. The plant needs to be bushier but i did have loads of blueberrys until i had a bit of an accident lol. I laid some netting over the bush to see how much i needed and when i lifted it off loads of berrys went through the net holes and got ripped off when i pulled the netting off. :(
Feel like a Goosberry?
I have 2 bushes growing, one red and one green. They are both fruiting for the 2nd time. The red bush is definitely better than the other one. It has more fruits and they are bigger than its poor relation.
I have sort of worked out that RED is better than green when it comes to growing fruit or veg. My ed onions, red grape and red gooseberry have all gone better than the green variety's. Maybe someone can explain this to me. :0
The red ones are not red yet but they are huge. They are definitely bigger than a big grape.
Pic taken in May
I had caterpillars eating all my leaves a while ago and had to spray the plant to get it sorted. Its ok now. The plants are in an area behind my greenhouse which is too small so i am going to have to move them at some stage.
Hindsight is great if you have it.
I have sort of worked out that RED is better than green when it comes to growing fruit or veg. My ed onions, red grape and red gooseberry have all gone better than the green variety's. Maybe someone can explain this to me. :0
The red ones are not red yet but they are huge. They are definitely bigger than a big grape.
Pic taken in May
I had caterpillars eating all my leaves a while ago and had to spray the plant to get it sorted. Its ok now. The plants are in an area behind my greenhouse which is too small so i am going to have to move them at some stage.
Hindsight is great if you have it.
Fruity All The Way.
Where do i start?
I have 2 grapevines, one black/red the other white/green. The red one is a Boskop Glory, it can be used for wine and desert. Last year was the first time the red one produced grapes and it was planted the year before. The white one was planted the same time but it didn't have grapes last year, it has now.
I managed to train the red into 4 canes/cordons across the top of my pergola last year and i got grapes on the vertical sections. They were edible! I pruned back the 4 stems to about 30 bud points on each stem. This spring when it all came back to life the 4 canes have all got grapes growing from every lateral, even across the top.
Month old pic
I have found it extremely confusing trying to find what to do next. I have pinched out the top of each lateral 5 leaves about the bunches of grapes so as not to waste too much energy and divert it to the grapes but it looks like the laterals will shoot off all over the place, HEEELP, what do i do now?
The white grape has been more like a naughty kid. I didnt manage to get 4 canes growing last year and so i am all muddled up with it. It has grapes forming this year for the first time. I am going to let this one do what it wants. Plenty of people do and they get loads of grapes.
I have a vine at either end of my pergola. Hopefully this will give me some much needed shade too. I have planted a Montana Clematis in the middle of the pergola on some wires. I only bought it last year so this year its really growing. I have one on the front of my house which was planted a year earlier so i know its going to look great when it does its job.
I have 2 grapevines, one black/red the other white/green. The red one is a Boskop Glory, it can be used for wine and desert. Last year was the first time the red one produced grapes and it was planted the year before. The white one was planted the same time but it didn't have grapes last year, it has now.
I managed to train the red into 4 canes/cordons across the top of my pergola last year and i got grapes on the vertical sections. They were edible! I pruned back the 4 stems to about 30 bud points on each stem. This spring when it all came back to life the 4 canes have all got grapes growing from every lateral, even across the top.
Month old pic
I have found it extremely confusing trying to find what to do next. I have pinched out the top of each lateral 5 leaves about the bunches of grapes so as not to waste too much energy and divert it to the grapes but it looks like the laterals will shoot off all over the place, HEEELP, what do i do now?
The white grape has been more like a naughty kid. I didnt manage to get 4 canes growing last year and so i am all muddled up with it. It has grapes forming this year for the first time. I am going to let this one do what it wants. Plenty of people do and they get loads of grapes.
I have a vine at either end of my pergola. Hopefully this will give me some much needed shade too. I have planted a Montana Clematis in the middle of the pergola on some wires. I only bought it last year so this year its really growing. I have one on the front of my house which was planted a year earlier so i know its going to look great when it does its job.
Dwarf Beans
I loved these last year but i didnt have enough. I am growing Tender Beans i think. They are in with the onions and stuff in the raised bed.I use sticks to keep them off the ground. I have also used the weed control cloth. I cut holes in it and planed the plugs i grew through the cloth. After a couple of days i noticed that the slugs were about to i used the blue pellets and the next morning i couldnt believe how many slug trails there were on the cloth!!! It looked like someone had scribbled all over it with a silver pen. Little shits, they thought they would eat my plants and make an invisible getaway. No way lol.
This was about a month ago i think. All growing great. Everything in this bed looks after itself really well.
This was about a month ago i think. All growing great. Everything in this bed looks after itself really well.
Runner Beans,
Bit of a disappointment for me this year. Normally i have no problem growing from seed but this time most of my bean seeds turned to mush and didnt germinate. I am thinking maybe the g/h was too hot, i dont know. I started off using seeds i harvested. Only a couple grew so i used a different variety i had. Blue Lake i think. I didnt have much luck with these either lol. So, this year i have an unfinished bean plot. I will germinate some more beans and do them in the house i think.
Me and my son constructed a solid structure this year as the wind wrecks the beans as they are not built for hurricane conditions. I drilled through the canes and threaded wire through and attached them to the fence. There is no way that the wind can do any damage this year. :o
I have planted a few more since this pic was taken
I dug over the roots from the last years beans as the roots store nitrogen so its good to keep them in the ground. I also added loads of farmyard manure, stinking chicken manure pellets and compost from the composter. I was planning to give them a really good start but i didn't grow enough to start with. That will be rectified soon with the second planting.
Me and my son constructed a solid structure this year as the wind wrecks the beans as they are not built for hurricane conditions. I drilled through the canes and threaded wire through and attached them to the fence. There is no way that the wind can do any damage this year. :o
I have planted a few more since this pic was taken
I dug over the roots from the last years beans as the roots store nitrogen so its good to keep them in the ground. I also added loads of farmyard manure, stinking chicken manure pellets and compost from the composter. I was planning to give them a really good start but i didn't grow enough to start with. That will be rectified soon with the second planting.
Shallots, and Oniony Things.
I thought i would squeeze them into one blog entry. They are all growing in my new super dooper raised veg area. I no longer have to bend down so my foofed back is happier. The only thing i dont like about the raised growing area is that it looks ugly, but i can work on that hopefully.
This picture was taken last month.
I used sticks and wires to keep all veg in place. I am trying really hard to keep everything off the ground away from the slugs.
The shallots are on the far right with the garlics. The red and white onions are in the middle and the leeks are at the far left end. I also have my dwarf beans and parsnips in here too.
This picture was taken last month.
I used sticks and wires to keep all veg in place. I am trying really hard to keep everything off the ground away from the slugs.
The shallots are on the far right with the garlics. The red and white onions are in the middle and the leeks are at the far left end. I also have my dwarf beans and parsnips in here too.
Carrots.
So far, always a success. I plant in troughs from Wilkinsons in rows of 4. I use permalite and vermiculite in the compost and firm it into the troughs. Then I water it completely till the water seeps out the bottom. By this time the level of compost has dropped so I add more and water it well again . Then I use a bamboo cane to make grooves in the compost to put the seeds, Early Nantes. I press the cane down until it leaves channels. I put the seeds in the channels, it keeps them really neat, then I sieve compost on top to cover the seeds and water with the mist setting so you don’t disturb the seeds, cover and wait! The first 2 troughs I did in the greenhouse but not at the same time. I feel driven to keep a good supply going. I think I am getting too much sun la la la. 
As I was saying, I am growing perfect straight healthy carrots and not a hint of a carrot fly, ever. This may be because I live fairly high up and I have at least 6ft fencing around my back garden.
Peppers.
Here are my peppers in the carport.
This is the best place for them as they stay in the heat and have no wind to damage them. I have a few varieties, Yolo, California Wonder, Hot red, mini sweet red and some orange ones. They were planted out about a month ago in the picture. I have thenraised up so that they are not in any shade.
I have 3 bags of spuds growing in the carport too. Every year the wind does terrible things to them and they always fall over and snap etc. I cant bear to see a plant suffering so this year i made a botched framework for them to grow within. So far its working.
This is the best place for them as they stay in the heat and have no wind to damage them. I have a few varieties, Yolo, California Wonder, Hot red, mini sweet red and some orange ones. They were planted out about a month ago in the picture. I have thenraised up so that they are not in any shade.
I have 3 bags of spuds growing in the carport too. Every year the wind does terrible things to them and they always fall over and snap etc. I cant bear to see a plant suffering so this year i made a botched framework for them to grow within. So far its working.
This May i seeded parsnips, carrots runners and dwarf beans, 4 tomato varieties, cucs, melons, red and white onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, peppers and so on. I started everything my greenhouse from seed. I use troughs to grow most of my stuff in. They are large enough for anything and they dont dry out too easily in the heat. I have water trays for them too.
I have used my greenhouse for the cucs and melons. Every year i get the powdery mildew on my Telegraph cucs and it gradually spreads but this year i have only used Marketmore cucs. So far not a sign of disease!!! Market more are a little bit slower but worth it. They are a bit shorter than the Tels. F1 Emir is the melons i have. Last year i had a result so i am sticking with it.
Last year I used canes to prop everything up and not very successfully. What started off looking ok didn’t really have the balls to do the job. There was also the danger of a cane poking me in numerous place and causing injury so the whole set up was flawed. Everything had to be constantly adjusted and fiddled with. I was also washing the leaves with soapy water to clear the mildew so I spent a lot of time in my greenhouse. As soon as I would get up I would be out there opening the g/h up to get the air in, searching for newly infested leaves and getting prickled to death by the cuc leaf hairs. But I had a fantastic harvest from all the plants until the Tels gave up the ghost and passed out. Unbelievably the Tel cucs were as big and bigger as the shops and the MM’s were bigger than average too. I now know that if you fight the mildew you can get a good result but you will rarely beat it, leave it and it will destroy everything and you will have nothing. I have no fight this year so I am making it easy.
I have drilled holes into the floor of the g/h and put canes into them then threaded horizontal wires through the canes at different heights. I have secured the wires to the framework of the g/h so they are very secure. It was guesswork for the horizontal wires but I can add string later on if I need to. My cucs and melons are in the troughs and there are 2 plants in each. It was so much more difficult with the horrible cane structure that was put up last year. I now have loads of room and no dangerous canes sticking out everywhere, result!
This picture was taken in May 2010. I am still constructing the support system.
Next are my toms. These are in my carport. I grow them up against the wall as its in the full sun all day. This picture is from the beginning of June. They are very small in this picture. You can also see melons here and my potatoes are growing in the bags.
If all goes well i will have Gardeners delight, Moneymaker, Plum and Gartenperle which are basket i think. The carport is great as i can keep everything out there when its really cold,its better than the g/h.
I have used my greenhouse for the cucs and melons. Every year i get the powdery mildew on my Telegraph cucs and it gradually spreads but this year i have only used Marketmore cucs. So far not a sign of disease!!! Market more are a little bit slower but worth it. They are a bit shorter than the Tels. F1 Emir is the melons i have. Last year i had a result so i am sticking with it.
Last year I used canes to prop everything up and not very successfully. What started off looking ok didn’t really have the balls to do the job. There was also the danger of a cane poking me in numerous place and causing injury so the whole set up was flawed. Everything had to be constantly adjusted and fiddled with. I was also washing the leaves with soapy water to clear the mildew so I spent a lot of time in my greenhouse. As soon as I would get up I would be out there opening the g/h up to get the air in, searching for newly infested leaves and getting prickled to death by the cuc leaf hairs. But I had a fantastic harvest from all the plants until the Tels gave up the ghost and passed out. Unbelievably the Tel cucs were as big and bigger as the shops and the MM’s were bigger than average too. I now know that if you fight the mildew you can get a good result but you will rarely beat it, leave it and it will destroy everything and you will have nothing. I have no fight this year so I am making it easy.
I have drilled holes into the floor of the g/h and put canes into them then threaded horizontal wires through the canes at different heights. I have secured the wires to the framework of the g/h so they are very secure. It was guesswork for the horizontal wires but I can add string later on if I need to. My cucs and melons are in the troughs and there are 2 plants in each. It was so much more difficult with the horrible cane structure that was put up last year. I now have loads of room and no dangerous canes sticking out everywhere, result!
This picture was taken in May 2010. I am still constructing the support system.
Next are my toms. These are in my carport. I grow them up against the wall as its in the full sun all day. This picture is from the beginning of June. They are very small in this picture. You can also see melons here and my potatoes are growing in the bags.
If all goes well i will have Gardeners delight, Moneymaker, Plum and Gartenperle which are basket i think. The carport is great as i can keep everything out there when its really cold,its better than the g/h.
The Here and Now.
I am going to start adding some more relevent pictures so i am more up to date. I have tried to improve on the way i did my grow last year. I am now single and have had to do everything completely on my own. Blood sweat and tears and broken fingernails but it was worth it.
This year i started very late growing from seed. From past experience when i have seeded very early i dont gain anything apart from frostbite. Plants dont really flower any earlier but the plant itself is bigger but not necessarily better. If anything the plants will be stretched from reaching for sun that doesn't exist, take up too much room and generally be a pain as it needs more support.
Most of my grow was started in May. Another reason for it being so late was because i was trying to construct a solid set of steps half way up the garden so i can get my nan up to there. I have had to stop now as its so hot but i will discuss that later.
I am going to forget last year for now.....
This year we had that really bad snow so i didnt go into the garden for a while. I knew the damage was there but there was nothing i could do about it. Also as i was on my own i didnt know where to start. Once the snow had gone i could see some damage but i knew the rest would become apparent when the spring arrived. The worst casualty for me was my beautiful palm. I showed it earlier looking so healthy. Here it is then and now. I am gutted and if anyone can help me get it back on its feet i will be eternally grateful. I do not know if it is dead or alive. I have had it for 10 years now and it has never lost any colour until now.
Is it dead or alive?
This year i started very late growing from seed. From past experience when i have seeded very early i dont gain anything apart from frostbite. Plants dont really flower any earlier but the plant itself is bigger but not necessarily better. If anything the plants will be stretched from reaching for sun that doesn't exist, take up too much room and generally be a pain as it needs more support.
Most of my grow was started in May. Another reason for it being so late was because i was trying to construct a solid set of steps half way up the garden so i can get my nan up to there. I have had to stop now as its so hot but i will discuss that later.
I am going to forget last year for now.....
This year we had that really bad snow so i didnt go into the garden for a while. I knew the damage was there but there was nothing i could do about it. Also as i was on my own i didnt know where to start. Once the snow had gone i could see some damage but i knew the rest would become apparent when the spring arrived. The worst casualty for me was my beautiful palm. I showed it earlier looking so healthy. Here it is then and now. I am gutted and if anyone can help me get it back on its feet i will be eternally grateful. I do not know if it is dead or alive. I have had it for 10 years now and it has never lost any colour until now.
Is it dead or alive?
Sunday 27 June 2010
This is last summer in the new carport. I went from pots to troughs. It was a roaring success and i still had toms on the plants in November. The cane system was a pain so this year its different.
I didnt have to worry about everything getting blown over either. Plus, when its raining its lovely and dry in there so there is always something i can do when the weather is pants.
This next picture is where i grew all my peppers on the other side of the carport and hanging toms. Plenty of sun for the peppers.
I didnt have to worry about everything getting blown over either. Plus, when its raining its lovely and dry in there so there is always something i can do when the weather is pants.
This next picture is where i grew all my peppers on the other side of the carport and hanging toms. Plenty of sun for the peppers.
I have come across some pictures of some veg i was growing last summer while everything else was going on in the garden. This isnt how it is this year, i am experimenting, again lol
This is the cucs. I had Telegraph and Marketmore. The Tels are on the right. They have bigger leaves. A bit like the African and Indian elephant with the ears haha :) They get bad powdery mildew and then it passes to the other cucs, the melons in my carport got it too.
Nothing wrong with the cucs at all, massive crop. You can just start to see the lower leaves getting affected. I spent all summer washing the leaves with soapy water.
I grew melons too. You can see behind them where i removed a window of the greenhouse. This is on the right side of the g/h. If you remember earlier when the trees were cut down it left a recess at the side of the g/h. It has a poly roof on and works as storage in the winter but in the summer i can put plants inside. Withe the panels from the g/h taken out it gives more ventilation.
This is the cucs. I had Telegraph and Marketmore. The Tels are on the right. They have bigger leaves. A bit like the African and Indian elephant with the ears haha :) They get bad powdery mildew and then it passes to the other cucs, the melons in my carport got it too.
Nothing wrong with the cucs at all, massive crop. You can just start to see the lower leaves getting affected. I spent all summer washing the leaves with soapy water.
I grew melons too. You can see behind them where i removed a window of the greenhouse. This is on the right side of the g/h. If you remember earlier when the trees were cut down it left a recess at the side of the g/h. It has a poly roof on and works as storage in the winter but in the summer i can put plants inside. Withe the panels from the g/h taken out it gives more ventilation.
Ok, so we are not quite out of the secret garden as i have a question to ask. Last year a plant came up in the border of the secret garden. I dont remember it from the previous year but it must have been there, odd. I want to know what it is. The stems are long and thin and very upright. There are lots of them, it is back again this year and is in flower now. Tiny white flowers in the spring, anyone? It is right of the purple acer.
Clearer picture of the flowers. Its bugging me that i cant find out what it is.
I am going to get to me edible grow very soon and get myself up to date. I hope so far i might have been able to give you some ideas and and give some of you hope. We did not use any machinery or had any real help. My ex also worked so it was a weekend thing and i would do the greenhouse planting during the week. Even when my back was at its worst i couldn't bear to be inside if the garden was being worked on.
Clearer picture of the flowers. Its bugging me that i cant find out what it is.
I am going to get to me edible grow very soon and get myself up to date. I hope so far i might have been able to give you some ideas and and give some of you hope. We did not use any machinery or had any real help. My ex also worked so it was a weekend thing and i would do the greenhouse planting during the week. Even when my back was at its worst i couldn't bear to be inside if the garden was being worked on.
This next picture shows a bit of the secret/woodland garden. It looks very pretty but in the winter it looked like a lot of dead sticks. I am going to have to plant a few more evergreen plants so i have something to look at in the winter. I need something to give it structure when not much else is going on.
this next view is of the secret garden from behind on the right. Everything had been planted just months earlier that year.
In the secret garden, sorry to go on and on but i cant decide what pics to post so i am posting loads. :)
It is lovely and peaceful sitting in there as it is so cool in the summer. I have a mirror and a wind chime so far, i have great plans, honest! :o
You can also see the beginnings of a flower bed and the new lawn is growing well.
I have planted a few hostas and ferns and various grasses. There are also a couple of spireas and a couple of different Pittasporums i think. Feck the spelling! lol. There is an abandoned Braeburn dwarf apple tree that has decide it likes it there and this year has one apple. It has my name on it, i love Braeburns.
We have been getting so much done and its great to see the garden grow.
This is the view from the flower bed near the patio on the right.
Remember earlier the picture in front of the greenhouse? Well, this is what we decided to do.
I wanted to use up the slate we had and used it to fill gaps in the paving. It seemed like a good idea at first but over the winter and this spring loads of stuff fell out of the conifers above that patio and it was impossible to sweep it away. It has since been changed. It does look really effective though lol
this next view is of the secret garden from behind on the right. Everything had been planted just months earlier that year.
In the secret garden, sorry to go on and on but i cant decide what pics to post so i am posting loads. :)
It is lovely and peaceful sitting in there as it is so cool in the summer. I have a mirror and a wind chime so far, i have great plans, honest! :o
You can also see the beginnings of a flower bed and the new lawn is growing well.
I have planted a few hostas and ferns and various grasses. There are also a couple of spireas and a couple of different Pittasporums i think. Feck the spelling! lol. There is an abandoned Braeburn dwarf apple tree that has decide it likes it there and this year has one apple. It has my name on it, i love Braeburns.
We have been getting so much done and its great to see the garden grow.
This is the view from the flower bed near the patio on the right.
Remember earlier the picture in front of the greenhouse? Well, this is what we decided to do.
I wanted to use up the slate we had and used it to fill gaps in the paving. It seemed like a good idea at first but over the winter and this spring loads of stuff fell out of the conifers above that patio and it was impossible to sweep it away. It has since been changed. It does look really effective though lol
In the early summer of last year, 09 everything that i had planted came to fruition. The garden was a mass of colour. Butterfly's everywhere and too many bees to mention. I couldnt not look at the plants, they were so beautiful. I was falling in love with my garden. ♥
Here i wanted to have vibrant oranges, reds and yellows so it was the first thing i see when i come through the conservatory.
Everything looked so fresh. And best of all i have it mostly all back this year! I did lose some dahlias but i expected to because it was so cold.
It was also my first time last year growing lillies and i discovered the Lilly Beetle. This year has been fun with all the babies they had, euuuwww, i squidged so many. :)
This is the flower bed next to the patio. It is still pretty much the same as i havnt done much at the lower end yet.
The fence has now nearly been painted and trellis has been made. The clematis haven't grown yet or not been planted behind the plants. With the trellis i can lose any houses and be nekid if i want lol.
Here i wanted to have vibrant oranges, reds and yellows so it was the first thing i see when i come through the conservatory.
Everything looked so fresh. And best of all i have it mostly all back this year! I did lose some dahlias but i expected to because it was so cold.
It was also my first time last year growing lillies and i discovered the Lilly Beetle. This year has been fun with all the babies they had, euuuwww, i squidged so many. :)
This is the flower bed next to the patio. It is still pretty much the same as i havnt done much at the lower end yet.
The fence has now nearly been painted and trellis has been made. The clematis haven't grown yet or not been planted behind the plants. With the trellis i can lose any houses and be nekid if i want lol.
As time progressed we built a chicken house next to the shed. The nest box opened from inside the shed. I had already had 2 chickens that were killed by a fox. I had only had them for 23 hours! They were in the coop with a run attached but it wasn't enough so this one was built.
It was great. I bought an automatic pop hole opener so i wouldn't have to do wet early mornings and evenings checking they were in or out. Well, that was the plan but i still checked them every evening just to make sure one didn't get left out on its own. Gadgets eh? At least i didnt have to get up early to let them out so it was worth it. The eggs were so nice. I had loads in the end and gave most away but it was nice to be able to do that as we have a lot of elderly neighbours nearby.
It was great. I bought an automatic pop hole opener so i wouldn't have to do wet early mornings and evenings checking they were in or out. Well, that was the plan but i still checked them every evening just to make sure one didn't get left out on its own. Gadgets eh? At least i didnt have to get up early to let them out so it was worth it. The eggs were so nice. I had loads in the end and gave most away but it was nice to be able to do that as we have a lot of elderly neighbours nearby.
At last the sun shone.
About the same time, maybe late spring early summer 09, after the pergola, carport, square veg garden and leveled top lawn were done this is what happened.
I had been growing my baskets and plants in the greenhouse whilst the chaos of everything else was going on. I was determined that i could have colour and i did!
It was beautiful. I had dahlias on the lower right of the garden. First time for me and they were out of this world. The semi cactus variety were my favorite but everything was beautiful. It also hid everything that was not so good. :)
Its days like that when you know you are doing the right thing.
I had been growing my baskets and plants in the greenhouse whilst the chaos of everything else was going on. I was determined that i could have colour and i did!
It was beautiful. I had dahlias on the lower right of the garden. First time for me and they were out of this world. The semi cactus variety were my favorite but everything was beautiful. It also hid everything that was not so good. :)
Its days like that when you know you are doing the right thing.
I have just realised that i haven't mentioned the shed. Well its 10x8, green and is after the garage, opposite the greenhouse.
This is the only pic i can find with the garden at that stage. I was shocked when i just saw the state of the mess. That seems so long ago now. I think it went up late 08 or early 09.
This is the only pic i can find with the garden at that stage. I was shocked when i just saw the state of the mess. That seems so long ago now. I think it went up late 08 or early 09.
Here we go!
The hard work begins. This was getting prepared to level the bigger section of garden so it could be a lawn. The weather was miserable and what does wet and clay soil make? GLUE!!!
We couldnt work in the really wet weather, it was impossible in the end.
The pictures are from April 09.
We spent all out time sieving our own soil and mixed it with loads of compost. We didnt have a roller or anything. I loved doing it but it hurt.
Now i could see where it was all going at last. It was starting to look really nice. I got stuck in with painting the fence. Hopefully the grass would survive at the end now most of the trees were gone.
I couldn't wait for the summer now.
The hard work begins. This was getting prepared to level the bigger section of garden so it could be a lawn. The weather was miserable and what does wet and clay soil make? GLUE!!!
We couldnt work in the really wet weather, it was impossible in the end.
The pictures are from April 09.
We spent all out time sieving our own soil and mixed it with loads of compost. We didnt have a roller or anything. I loved doing it but it hurt.
Now i could see where it was all going at last. It was starting to look really nice. I got stuck in with painting the fence. Hopefully the grass would survive at the end now most of the trees were gone.
I couldn't wait for the summer now.
This next section shows the very unfinished in front of the greenhouse, the bit behind my once beautiful palm. At times i would get really down and couldnt see the end in sight. It was so frustrating! My back was killing me and i had sciatic pain down my right leg into my ankle. I was a miserable cow i can tell you lol.
I hated living in such a dirty mess all the time. If i had owned a whip i would have cracked it ha ha.
I hated living in such a dirty mess all the time. If i had owned a whip i would have cracked it ha ha.
Next is putting the fencing up on the right side of the garden. Its very high at the house end as tha garden is lower there and i get total privacy. We fenced round the shared conifers that are staying with the neighbours, it was easier. We have lots of birds nesting in them so they belong to the birds.
You can see the gap the conifers left past the greenhouse when they were cut down. They were hard work to keep low enough for the neighbours so they had to go. We did move the greenhouse back a bit but it left a recess behind it which is now an extension to the greenhouse.
I actually gained loads of room. I couldn't believe how big my garden had become! That only means one thing, more gardening. :o
You can see the gap the conifers left past the greenhouse when they were cut down. They were hard work to keep low enough for the neighbours so they had to go. We did move the greenhouse back a bit but it left a recess behind it which is now an extension to the greenhouse.
I actually gained loads of room. I couldn't believe how big my garden had become! That only means one thing, more gardening. :o
Ha ha, i have just found a pic that shows the very beginning of my secret woodland garden. It looks nicer now but it had to start somewhere.
The stuff in the back ground is still there lol.
This picture shows the sleepers at various points down the garden. This was so that they could be used to make the garden into sections at the right height. I had some help for this. :)
The stuff in the back ground is still there lol.
This picture shows the sleepers at various points down the garden. This was so that they could be used to make the garden into sections at the right height. I had some help for this. :)
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