Friday 31 May 2013

Going posh

Just trying out a new toy, it's a dehydrator, so we've put some sliced banana and apple to dry,I'm a bit apprehensive but we'll give it a go.

Thursday 30 May 2013

One little seedling

One little seedling on its own (well it isn't ,I only took 1 picture),this healthy seedling(at the moment it is) is one of our cuccumbers which I've decided to grow up our fence where it should get enough sun to grow well but until then it and its sisters have their own incubators

Rain has brought the Leeks

The last few days of showers have kick-started the leeks after it looked like nothing was going to happen, I get a bit of rust on the leaves (no not from all the rain) but that does not spoil the eating or the growing of the plants, worthwhile growing leeks you can get quite a few in a small area,these have a bit of growing to do before being transplanted.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Free Garlic

One of my favourite plants(though there isn't any I dislike) in flower at the moment is Ramsons commonly known here as wild garlic, the aroma is so powerful. The beautiful star shaped white flowers are lovely in salads, just grow it in semi-shade and the plant is easily propagated by dividing the smallish bulbs after flowering or waiting for the seeds to form and sowing them in Autumn/Spring.

Peaping through

As I expected the peas are now making an appearance in the hanging baskets, this is one of the few that we have dotted about the garden growing peas. The peas are folia fed with an organic seaweed feed every few days, but to get a crop with the roots only having a small depth might be a problem but we'll see

Tuesday 14 May 2013

A Plant I've only seen growing in our garden

This plant is a fantastic structural plant, it is known by many names, Elecampane,Wild sunflower,Horse heal and in Welsh it is known as Marchalan. I believe nowadays as a drug it is seldom used except in veterinary practice. Folklore says that its name botanically Inula helenium derives from Helen of Troy, it is said to have to have sprung up from where her tears fell.It is great to see in the summer all these 3-4" sun flower heads on 6-7ft stems and so easy to establish from seed if any one wants any get in touch in the autumn, anyway as a wilflower I've only seen it in flower in our garden.As you can see the plant is only just starting to  grow.

Monday 13 May 2013

A Herbal Groundcover

Sweet Woodruff(Galium odoratum) is plant to have if you want ground cover in a shady area. The agreeable odour of Sweet Woodruff is due to a crystalline chemical principle called Coumarin, which is used in perfumery not only on account of its own fragrance but for its properties of fixing other odours hence the use in pot pourii.

One terrific plant

What I want everyone to do right now after reading this, is to go out into your garden and make sure that you've got enough DANDELIONS, if not plant some roots as quickly as possible.What a plant not only does it contribute to a salad, it makes great coffee,and many numerous uses in our lives, I haven't got the space to mention them all here,oh alright I'll mention 2 more of my favourites,its roots make a plant tonic eqiualent to comfrey so if you don't want the roots for a coffee give it to your plants (potassium feed) and yes the plant flower is good for bees,moths,butterflies looking for early nectar. HELP THE WILDLIFE, HELP YOUSELF,GET THE DANDELION DUDES!!!!!

Sunday 12 May 2013

A helping hand from Nature

A season or two ago I planted at the bottom of the garden an apple tree, raspberry canes and a gooseberry bush and while I did not neglect them I could have given them more, anyway Nature comes along with her helping hand and says here are your plants time for you to look after them and healthier plants you would not find any where. The raspberries will fruit this year and the canes for next yeat are just showing through.

Radish Box

We used these window boxes no not on the window sill but on a patch of ground at the back of the garden, the radish seem happy again these need to be grown quickly plenty of feed/water they are covered at night at the moment with a cloche. In the second photo I have put nettles around them to protect from slugs and the nettle work in another way by rotting into the compost/soil adding nitrogen and humus, fantastic plant the nettle.

Bags of Spuds (we hope)

This is one of our potato bags and you can see the potato haulm just popping through so it's time to add more compost. I had success growing spuds using this growing method last year so try it again. Using this method you have to water the potatoes more than we would if they were in the ground but hey when you're short of ground you improvise and if you don't sow you will not reap.

Lady(black)bird

This is a female blackbird who has adopted us and doesn't stray too far from our front and back gardens, we have called her Ladybird, and at the moment she is recovering from an attack from either a cat or magpie or something else we know not what. Anyway her tail feathers are missing and she has lost a lot of back feathers,she can fly and she is eating,drinking and foraging in the garden and is getting stronger everyday. We are confident that all her feather will regrow and she will be as good as new.



Thursday 9 May 2013

IN OUR PLOT




These are just a few pictures of our plants growing in our topsy turvy climate, one shows the gooseberries growing under our orchard ( do you know if you have 5 fruit trees it is classified as an orchard). One shows strawberries  growing with blue berries and a sweet violet. An empty hanging basket I hear you say ? no  that's one way we use to grow our peas. And the last photo of a monkey puzzle tree growing with an acer and a tub of alpines CRAZY but they're happy, as we are Happy Gardening.

Back Again

It has been forced on me to try and go freelance in my work which is horticulture, which I eat, drink and breath. Where I am I coming from, well I can give talks/practical demonstrations to groups ranging from schools to not so young gardeners.Secondly I can give practical help in your garden,if your new to gardening or a veteran I can solve your problems.
     With schoools gardening is becoming more and more important I am here to help,maybe to start your first vegetable growing area.Remember this in, HORTICULTURE the HAIRYGARDENER'S done it(or knows how to)
      SO DON'T LET THE GRASS UNDER YOUR FEET GET IN TOUCH