Dorset Garden Diary - Probably the Mildest February for Over Forty Years

Hi everyone,

It's been an interesting couple of weeks in the garden. The temperature has been unseasonably warm and we had the highest recorded temperature for February in the UK. Here in Dorset it has been mild and on the morning of 26th Feb this was the temperature in the greenhouse with the windows open

The seeds sown have started to appear - these are tomatoes, leeks and lemongrass

coriander, dill and parsley

cucumbers passandra F1

and salad corn leaves

This morning I continued the production line sowing the next batch of seeds

the pots under cover are all flowers and the other tray is vegetables

You remember the incident with the rat and the bird feeder? Well, we had a think as to how we could to stop it happening again as we didn't want to pay a fortune for a purpose-built squirrel deterrent and we came up with this

it's a large plastic mixing bowl! So far it seems to have worked. The birds, however, have not been happy with their new slimline feeder and boycotted it for a few days, then they started to fly near it but didn't land on the perches but now they've got the hang of it and all is well again. The blue tits have been in and out of the nesting box all week.

The garden is gradually bursting into more colour. Daffs and aubretia bordering the cottage garden

the photinia (red robin) has grown about a foot in the last month

hellebore and ornamental grass

I think these are hyacinths and, if they are, I have no idea how them come to be growing in the garden because I didn't plant them

I'm having a senior moment trying to remember the name of these delicate flowers growing in the front garden

And indoors I think my orchid could finally be flowering. If so, this will be the first time in over five years!

Oh, nearly forgot. Whilst I was sorting out the pots to sow the seeds I came across a couple of wasps hibernating in the bottom of them. Now wasps aren't my favourite insects but they actually looked cute as they semi-woke and stretched...I put them in another pot and covered them up.

That's about it for this week. Just waiting to see if storm Freya arrives as forecast. I've made sure everything is battened down in case she does batter us.

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter - @daisydigga

Dorset Garden Diary - Frog Spawn and the Birds are Getting Fussy

Hi everyone,

Over the past couple of weeks we've had the coldest night so far and now we have unseasonably warm weather which makes gardening much more pleasant. The garden is springing to life. As is the wildlife. There is already frog spawn in the pond...

this is a month earlier than last year - it appeared just a few days before the beast from the east in March. The pair of blue tits are in and out of the nesting box and we have had visits from the heron and a woodpecker. The small birds, however, are getting fussy. We changed the bird feeder from this (the seed version)

 

to this

because last week we noticed it was at a strange angle and when him indoors went to investigate a rat had managed to squeeze inside the wire outer. Unfortunately, it's tail had got caught on the bird feeder stand and it had died. Not a pleasant task for him indoors to have to untangle the rats tail and remove the feeder. I don't like rats but I did feel sorry for the poor thing. Anyway, I decided revert back to the type of feeder we used to have. But the birds don't like it and they won't feed from it! Anyway, it's staying up...I'm sure they'll get used to it eventually.

Last week was the annual clearing out and tidying up of the pottering shed. Before

and after

Much better. Him indoors also cleaned a lot of the pots and we spent some time tidying the garden.

Today has been very pleasant and I finally got round to sowing seeds:- mustard and cress, dill, parsley, coriander, antohi Romanian pepper, tomato Alicante, razzmatazz chilli, cucumber passandra, lemongrass, organic corn salad, radish and some free trial seeds for leek stocky F1. I also planted a couple of avocado stones to see if they grow.

The hellebores are in flower

the iris reticulata are so cute - only about 6-8 inches high

alpine narcissus - also 6-8 inches high

tucked away behind some leaves a primrose

And indoors the amaryllis is amazing

Well that's it for this week, apart from a light shower tomorrow morning the week ahead looks mild and dry...good for getting out and tidying the garden.


DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga

Dorset Garden Diary - It's That Time of Year Again

Hi everyone,

Hope the snow didn't cause you too much inconvenience. I cancelled my travel plans on Thursday afternoon because the local radio was adamant the snow and ice was coming in at lunchtime and of course, it didn't arrive until the evening. We don't normally get much snow here by the sea but it did settle and hung around until the following afternoon.

There was a heavy frost last night but the sun has come out and is trying to warm things up a bit. I've put the seed potatoes into egg boxes to chit, this year I'm growing Pentland Javelin and Charlotte second early. I'm going to grow them in pots because they haven't done so well in the veg beds although the nitrogen has been brilliant for breaking down the soil. And talking of soil, last weekend we finally put the manure on the veg beds

I sorted through the seed packets today - I can't believe it's that time of the year already. I've put them in order of sowing...March is going to be a busy month! There were a few packets of flowers that were out of date so I've sprinkled them on the flower beds and we'll see if they grow.

I also decided to cut back the other Miscanthus in the cottage garden but I've left about two foot or so of stubble for small animals and insects to shelter in

As you can see there's already plenty of greenery around the cottage garden and the honeysuckle is coming into leaf on the arch.

The daffodils are coming up

and I've no idea what these are so that'll be a nice surprise

A tiny primrose is beginning to unfold

And the iris reticulata have suddenly sprung up, they're only about six inches high.

In the greenhouse the jasmine is close to flowering

the bird of paradise has settled in nicely

and there are more lemons!

That's it for this week. According to the  weather forecast there is a warm front coming in this week but bringing rain with it - think I prefer the frost!

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga

Dorset Garden Diary - Out With the Old and In With the New

Hi everyone,

I didn't think there would be much to write about this week, but the garden has decided otherwise. It's been a chilly week but today the temperature has risen and although it's windy, it's much milder and the sun is shining.

During the week a kind farmer friend of mine dropped off some manure for the veg beds

I had planned to dig it in this weekend but I've run out of time so that's on my to do list during the week.

The fish have been enjoying the milder weather and nibbled at food but weren't really enthusiastic

they just preferred floating around.

I spent a couple of hours tidying up the garden (but making sure there was still shelter for the small animals in case we get another cold snap). I swept up the leaves and yes, yet again I chose the windiest day to do it! I've pruned some of the shrubs, cut back the dead stalks on the plants and also cut back one of the grasses - I've left parts of the stalks because the new ones are forming

The other grass I will leave until the spring when the new growth is well under way.

I picked the lemon today, it's small and not edible but it's perfectly formed

Whilst clearing the garden I came across new growth. The hellebores have buds on them

a potentilla is in flower

one of the daffs is close to opening

 

there are catkins on the hazelnut tree



 the cornus I planted a couple of years ago is now settled and happy

one of the azaleas has small buds on

the viburnum I pictured last week has more flowers on it now

I have no idea what this is but it looks pretty

as does the photinia (red robin)

Spring is on it's way...

Whilst I was raking up the leaves I found some empty peanut shells - obviously the squirrels, no idea where they got them from unless someone has put them out on a bird table and I also found half a walnut so I've planted it in a pot and we'll see what happens.

Well that's it for now, the weather for the week looks calm, staying mild and dry.

Regards,

DD

Follow me on Twitter @daisydigga