Dorset Garden Diary - Still Plenty To Do

Hi All,

Firstly, apologies for the late arrival of my blog. We went to Edinburgh for a few days last week (had a fantastic time), arrived back late Friday evening and then I had to work all weekend. Not even had chance to watch Friday's Gardeners' World yet. Definitely missed jobs for the weekend, it'll have to be jobs for the weekdays instead.

Amazingly, there is still a lot going on in the garden at the moment and so plenty to do. On Monday we both had a good day clearing and tidying up. Him indoors scooped all the fallen leaves from the pond (yes, more) and adjusted the pump output. He also topped up the water level as it has been steadily dropping during the recent dry spell. He then adjusted the back gate making it easier for me to open, took out three containers of composting material to the back bin and raked it through. He also raked through the small compost bin near the back shed. The compost in one side of the tumbler composter is now ready (really quick composting, does exactly what it says on the tin!). I was going to empty that out but when I read the instructions it said the composted material can be left in the chamber as it will help break down new material, so I just filled it up again.

We put grease bands around the trunks of the fruit trees to prevent insects crawling up and damaging the trees over the winter. I say we, I mean him indoors as it looked, and was, a bit of a messy job. It was my idea though and I did advise where on the trunk to put the bands! We then decided to give the pear tree a good prune as last year's new growth had gone a bit wild over the summer. It's looking trim and compact now. Him indoors then vacuumed up all the fallen leaves (with his leaf collecting contraption not our vacuum cleaner) and emptied them into the big composting bin. We then watered the front and back gardens and I also watered the greenhouse. The lemon and olive trees only get watered once a month now. Am thinking maybe I've moved the pots into the greenhouse too early as it's getting mild again but, it's done now. The weed killer has not affected the weeds yet, as you can see. I may have to pull them up after all.

I then started to run out of steam so my last job of the day was to sow the sweet peas I'd soaked overnight, three to a pot. I covered the pots with a plastic bag and put them on the kitchen windowsill. The packet says they will germinate between 7-21 days. This is five days later:

This week I'll have to re-pot them and they can overwinter in the greenhouse. I was going to tell you the name of them but I've torn it off the packet...oops! What is left advises that they have an intense fragrance and are a mixture of modern grandiflora varieties if that helps. I didn't get round to sowing the garlic, I'll hopefully do that this week. The amaryllis is also going from strength to strength (last year it grew to over 3 feet!):

Saturday - whilst I was away earning a crust, him indoors carried on with tidying the garden. We were only away four days and the pond surface was once again covered in leaves and so was the lawn. After clearing the pond and adjusting the pump again (I don't understand why the flow keeps changing. Fish...what are you up to?), he then cleared the leaves from the lawn, gave it a high cut, aerated and raked it. It may need doing again before winter if this mild weather keeps up.

The pineapple sage I moved into the conservatory last week is definitely happy in it's new position as flowers have started to appear already:

There are a few autumnal jobs that are on hold at the moment, one of them being the new dahlias. As I mentioned before, I am going to cut them back and leave in the ground covered in mulch this year. Last year I dug them up and they weren't successful this summer. Anyway, at the moment they are still in wonderful full flower, as are the echinacea, honeysuckle, begonias, geums and these hellebores, in full bloom for the second time this year.

 

The primulas are coming on nicely:

 



And newly flowering this week are this lovely fuchsia and what looks like a chrysanthemum:

Well, that's about it for this week. Him indoors did ask a couple of weeks ago what I was going to write about during the winter when there's not much going on in the garden. Has he learned nothing?? Us girls always have something to talk about!

The full moon this week is the last Super Moon of 2015, it looked amazing last night. Have a great week, mixture of sun and showers here in Dorset but looks like it's staying mild. Happy gardening.

Regards,

DD

Dorset Garden Diary - Aren't Gardens Wonderful!

Hi from a chilly, windy and occasionally dull Sunday here in Dorset. It's been chilly all week but at least the sun was shining; unfortunately I haven't been able to take full advantage as work got in the way. I did manage a few hours on Tuesday and, as usual, the first thing I did was feed the fish. Whilst waiting for the fish to surface I wondered when it's best to stop feeding them for the winter, so I read the instructions on the tub and it said don't feed if temperature below 12c as their digestive system slows down. Hmmm...it definitely felt colder than that and when I checked it was 4c...ooops! Thankfully they survived to see another day and, in my defence, they were hungry.

I skimmed all the fallen leaves off the pond's surface (how do they get through the netting?), pulled up the rest of the gherkin plants outside and in the greenhouse as no more growing, cut back the runner bean plants but left the roots in (thank you Carol Klein) then had a mooch round the garden. The salvia hot lips cuttings I took a few weeks ago have taken and are flowering,

 

the sedums are in bloom

I found this little darling peeking out from behind the leaves

and...last year this hydrangea was light pink and white, something must have changed in the soil, perhaps.

 

Aren't gardens wonderful!

 

Managed to watch Gardener's World before the weekend started (for a change) so yesterday I dead-headed the cosmos and dahlias (as advised by Monty), the latter brightening up the cottage garden and still flowering well.

 

 

I propagated some begonia leaf cuttings, planted some apple seeds - unfortunately I have no idea what type they are but they were very tasty. Skimmed more leaves off the pond and...finally...cleared out the greenhouse for cleaning. I picked the last large cucumber and the few remaining red tomatoes, pulled the plants and moved the chilli and pepper pots outside. I then scrubbed the benches, bamboo cane frames and the glass and frame with a mild Jeyes fluid solution. Was debating whether to pull up the weeds growing through the gravel or put weed killer on them; in the end I decided on weed killer. So here it is, my temporarily empty greenhouse (apart from the weeds).

 

 

Last October when I checked on the previous year's stored amaryllis bulb I found it had rotted, so I bought another one which flowered profusely through the winter. When it had finished flowering I stored it in the pottering shed, still in it's pot and on it's side (as advised, but I'm having a senior moment and can't remember where I heard or read that's what you have to do, but it works).To be honest I'd forgotten all about it until I came across it last week and, to my delight, I noticed a little bit of green deep inside the dried brown folds so I potted it up, put it on the kitchen window sill - look at it now:

 

Going back to the lily (?) I mentioned last week, thought you might like to see how it's come on. Gorgeous isn't it?

 



 

Today got off to a slow start as, previously mentioned, the day was chilly and windy, but it did brighten up a little. I didn't get round to aerating the lawn and raking up the leaves because I don't want to step on his indoors' toes (that's my excuse) as the lawn is his territory! Oh, and by the way, there are no ill effects or bald patches from the little incident with the weed killer a few weeks ago! I put the pepper and chilli plants back in the greenhouse and the following to over-winter:- Japanese maple (for some reason it doesn't like the garden very much and keeps shedding leaves even when it's not windy but absolutely loves being in the greenhouse), the olive and lemon trees, the young ginger plant (it's taken a while to grow so I don't want to lose it), salvia hot lips and the lantana miss huff (a precaution) and the lemon verbena. And talking of the lemon verbena, I took some cuttings a few weeks ago as an experiment and it looks like one of them has taken (happy) so I planted a few leaf cuttings today to see if they will take. I have also moved the pineapple sage into the conservatory where, according to the label, it will flower all winter. I was going to sow the sweet peas but they need soaking in warm water overnight (how does the water stay warm?) so I'll do those tomorrow and the garlic, but that's for next week.

 

Well, I think that's about it for this week. Autumn's trying to take a hold but Summer still hanging in there. Hope you have a good gardening week, look's like it's not going to be as cold as previously forecast.

 

Regards,

 

DD









Dorset Garden Diary - It's Been A Quiet Week Horticulturally Speaking

Hi everyone,

Hope you've all had a good week. A quiet one for me where the garden's concerned but busy in other areas of my life. Thankfully, there's fractionally less to do this time of year as I'm not planting any more bulbs and I have re-planted the perennials I wanted to move. So it's just tidying, cleaning, spiking the lawn, raking up the leaves and preparing to hunker down for the winter which I can do this coming week.

Monday - rain. Lots of rain. Play suspended. But it's good for the garden so I'll have to find something else to do today. I have plans for the front and back gardens so I could be getting on with that I suppose. I did notice over the weekend that the recent resurgence of summery weather has brought the honeysuckle back into flower.

The green manure is already coming through, that's quick (see pic below). Last week him indoors assembled the kinetic windmill that we bought a few weeks ago, one wheel turns one way and the other the opposite...being a country girl I have no idea how that happens but it does.

 

I belatedly watched Gardeners World and too late Carol advised to leave the roots of pea and runner bean plants in the ground as they feed the soil. Hmmm...wish I'd known that a couple of weeks ago. I'll do it with the last couple of runner bean plants though. Monty advised on some plants to extend the autumn flowering - giant hyssop and sedums - not sure I should be buying more plants at the moment! He also said wrap delicate pots in plastic for over-wintering but I will probably put them in the greenhouse when I've given it a good clean which will be when the cucumber, tomatoes and chillies have finished. Thankfully, it's warmed up a bit. Jobs for the weekend (missed it) were keepings cuttings well misted which I do anyway, raising pots off the ground so they don't get waterlogged, well they stand on gravel so...tick, and keep dried runner beans for next year...tick!

Tuesday - more rain although the day did start with some atmospheric low lying mist along the hedgerows in the fields. Unfortunately play suspended again.

Thursday - the skies are blue and the back garden is looking good:

In the front garden the snapdragons have come into flower and, very belatedly, one begonia has chosen to start flowering

Saturday - and at last, a chance to get out in the garden. I've been getting withdrawal symptoms! The fish appear to be getting used to the feeding times as they were on the surface waiting, both this morning and this afternoon, attacking the food as soon as it hit the surface, especially the voracious fishlings...maybe they're piranhas!. I pottered around, pruned the cucumber plant right back as it keeps flowering, taking energy away from the two remaining growing cucumbers. I picked a few more tomatoes, they will be finished soon but the chillies just keep coming...anyone got a book on 101 ways with chillies?? Definitely one of my success growings this year. I gave the garden a good watering as it hasn't rained since Tuesday and none forecast into early next week. It is due to get much colder though so I've shut the greenhouse door for the first time this autumn. The mystery plant has evolved over the week. I'm thinking it might be a type of lily?

I then picked fennel and leeks from the garden to go with some of the stored carrots, spuds and parsnips. I do like roasted vegetables, and pie, and yes, I know that was on the menu last weekend but I like it - and I do eat the salad harvest during the week...honest!

 

Well, that's me done for the week. Looking very gloomy outside today, and chilly. Have a good week, stay warm and catch up next week.

 

 

Regards,

 

DD

Dorset Garden Diary - A Perfect Week for Gardening

Good evening fellow gardeners,

Well, it's been the perfect week for gardening here in Dorset - windy, but the sun still has some strength. One of the things I will remember about this September is the seemingly never-ending stunning sunrises and sunsets; just when you think one can't be beaten along comes another stunner - I was running out of superlatives towards the end of the month. I haven't managed to upload pics from camera yet but I do have a pic the morning after the super moon from my phone. It doesn't do the view justice unfortunately, but I'll explain...the front of the house faces east and the sunrise was well under way whilst out  the back in the west the moon was still bathing everything in silver.

Monday - I finally ordered the plants I've been dithering over for a couple of weeks - Lily of the Valley, Echinacea purpurea White Swan, a selection of ground cover perennials and Viburnum Kilimanjaro (Chelsea plant of the year 2015)...really excited about the latter. Hopefully, these should arrive towards the end of the month. Yesterday, I pulled up all the carrots, parsnips and beetroot, cut the tops off and stored them in hessian bags in the shed, I'm hoping they'll last for a while and not go off. I left the leeks and fennel in the ground as they are more difficult to store and it will give me somewhere to plant the carrots next year as they don't like too rich a soil (possible senior moment here, I may be repeating myself). I sowed the green manure which will over-winter and when dug in will put some oomph back into the soil for next year. I covered the veg beds with netting and then erected string and ribbons to keep the birds off the seeds and stop them getting caught in the netting. The last job of the day was to get the surplus-to-requirements daffodil and tulip bulbs bagged up ready for their new owners. 

Tuesday - out early to feed the fish on a very chilly morning, pleased to see the heron scarer is still in place. I waited for the fish to surface and this morning they took their time, they obviously don't like the cold weather.  I re-potted the perennials that I bought from Hampton Court Flower Show in July. They are in 'holding pots' until I can get them in the garden. The alpines will be planted out in the Spring as part of my next couple of projects (more on this at a later date).

Wednesday - came home from work and the garden was wallowing in late blooms. The cucumbers are visibly longer, over half the remaining tomatoes had ripened and the chillies are turning bright red

 

(check out the bad boys above, they'll keep you warm on a cold winter's day!). There were also a few runner beans to pick. The aster and pineapple mint I rescued a few weeks ago are both looking healthy and have been re-potted.

 

The rose is in flower again, the hot lips salvia is putting on a valiant show and the violas are looking colourful and posing for the camera...say cheese!

Thursday - a very busy day in the garden - still warm, sunny and windy. Him indoors and myself started the day sitting in the conservatory eating crumpets and honey for breakfast. There was quite a bit of bird activity in the garden, which reminded me we need to be thinking about cleaning out the bird boxes, when something caught my eye in the clematis above the blue tit box. 'Is that one of the blue tits?' I asked. Him indoors said that's what he thought, too. Something moved again and it was a blue tit. It then went inside the box for about a minute, came out and flew away. I wonder if it was looking to see if we'd cleaned it yet, or maybe checking for squatters! It appears the cleaning of the bird boxes is on hold for a while now. Him indoors adjusted the back gate so that I can release the bolts easier; I need to get out to the large compost bin as the bins in the garden are now full. He then smashed up some unwanted crockery that I can use as drainage in the bottom of the pots. We now have the sundial in the garden (bought a couple of weeks ago) and yes, we checked it's showing the right time! It's not in it's final resting place yet, that will be next year.

Unusual, isn't it!

Him indoors then went out the front and dug out another of the hydrangeas that we'd inherited. I know I've said this before but I really don't like them. It will be replaced with the Viburnum Kilimanjaro when it arrives...yesssss!!

I came across this, something else that's just appeared - any ideas? That's what I love about this garden, you never know what you're going to find.

I planted some Arctic Verbascum in the cottage garden, it's coming along nicely. I made a small herb pot with dwarf marjoram, menthe requiem, chives and thyme and also put another menthe requiem along with more thyme in the garden. These also are 'on hold' until next year (big plans!). I re-potted the salvia and rose into their new pots (looking good) and also the lemon verbena. I have taken cuttings of the verbena and the rose to see if they'll take. The salvia cuttings I propagated a few weeks ago are coming along nicely and...when I planted the azaleas early this year a small branch broke off so I potted it up to see what would happen and it's growing - although I have no idea which azalea it is yet (no surprise there then). Also, when I planted the dwarf buddleia a small twig broke off  (I'm not always this careless with plants, honest|!) so that was potted up and guess what? It's only gone and got a tiny flower on it!

Yes, I know it's small but there is definitely a small flower growing at the end of the stalk. And a walk up the top of the garden revealed flowers on the goji berry. It's all happening.

We were both out in the garden for over 6 hours - time certainly does fly when you're enjoying yourself!

Today - I just pottered about for a few hours tidying up, picking more ripe tomatoes and runner beans and re-potting the iris bulbs. I used some of the surplus tomatoes for soup and tonight's dinner of potatoes, carrots and parsnips roasted with rosemary was all from the garden...the chicken pie was not!

Not sure how much gardening will be done this week as rain coming in tonight, we'll see. Anyway, hope you all have a good week and catch up next Sunday.

Regards,

DD

Dorset Garden Diary - Summer Returns and Cheeky Handsome Heron

Evening fellow gardeners,

Well it appears that Summer has come back for a welcome visit. The past few days have been glorious - I even retrieved and donned my gardening shorts (no pic you'll be glad to hear). But don't be fooled, the night's have been cold. It's been a good week with plenty to do:

Monday - came home from work and the fish were waiting eagerly for food. I'm pleased the older goldfish are overcoming their fear of whatever it was that scared them a few months back. I arrived home with yet another carrier bag full of compostable material - the compost bins are nearly full now. Had a walk round to make sure all ok. A couple of cucumbers are steadily growing in the greenhouse yet others are dying after reaching and inch or so...strange. I'll be pleased  to hear from anyone who might know why this is.

Amazing sunset this evening. I took a few photos with my new camera which I will, hopefully, upload and show you soon.

Tuesday - and the fish waiting to be fed again this morning. The pond is healthy, the water crystal clear and it's lovely to see them splashing around for the food. I have a few days off this week so there is a long list of jobs to do. I was going to pickle more gherkins but they are growing slowly and not quite to the size him indoors prefers. All the pots and trays need cleaning but I couldn't get the safety lid off the Jeyes Fluid. Him indoors is away for a few days and it appears my neighbours have all disappeared! So I busied myself tidying up and picking ripe fruit and veg - the tomatoes are suddenly all starting to ripen.. I also collected more fallen leaves for composting then noticed that the apple tree leaves have white mildew on them. Unfortunately I can't compost them or the leaves they came into contact with in case of contamination. I picked all the ripe chillies and this evening made some chilli-infused oil. I think it's going to be hot as my eyes watered when I took the top off the processor. I heated the oil and chillies then left it to cool. Whilst I was sterilising the kilner bottles, one of them cracked which is surprising, I thought they were supposed to withstand heat. Once the oil had cooled I sieved it through muslin and bottled it...looks amazing and hoping it tastes it.

Wednesday - an out of the garden day today. This evening around 6pm I was driving to meet someone and the sky began to fill with v-shaped squadrons of geese travelling back to their night time roost; spectacular. Then, later in the evening I was driving through a local village and we saw a mother duck and four ducklings waddling down the road. I stopped an tried to take a pic but they were intent on their mission and weren't going to stop for anyone.

Thursday - noticed new growth on the rose bush and the cucumbers are growing well. And...I finally managed to get the Jeyes Fluid can opened so that is now a job for the weekend. It's been very windy here this week and this morning quite a few of the potted plants were wilting. I have watered them regularly but obviously the wind is drying them out and I nearly lost some coreopsis. I gave them a good soaking and fingers crossed they'll pull through. I have some plans for the front garden (I'll touch on that soon) so I've decided to try and grow a passion flower. I have some fruit from next door's which aren't ripening, so I've planted some of the seeds and see what happens. I'm also trying a stalk cutting dipped in rooting powder.

Friday - a case of if you don't ask you don't get. For weeks now I've been passing a house that has some rockery stones piled up by the gate leading to their back garden. I walked passed this morning and they were still there so I made the decision that, on the way back, I'd call in and ask if they were spare. Deep breath and rang the bell. I apologised for being cheeky but were the stones spare? The woman called her husband who said yes, they are spare. He was going to use them but doesn't need them now as they have decided to move. He said I would be doing them a favour if I took them, so I went back later this afternoon and although the car groaned under the weight, I am now the proud owner of a boot-full of rockery stones to add to my collection. This evening's Gardener's World was apt for me - I didn't know that scraping sweet pea seeds helps them germinate (glad I haven't already planted some) and also how to plant garlic (this year's crop failed due to leaf rust). Monty also said to trim lavender and roses...typical, just as the rose is sprouting new growth.

Saturday - a very productive day although it started with me bending the spade - obviously don't know my own strength! .

And posing in my new shoes:

The cucumbers appear to have grown overnight and something has been eating my cottage garden plan on the pin board in the pottering shed. I planted 100 allium bulbs plus some unknown bulbs that I came across whilst tidying the pottering shed. They are unlabelled because I obviously thought I'd remember what they are...well obviously not, at my age! I also, finally, got round to washing and cleaning all the pots and seed trays. Think I have enough now:

Sunday - an expected spurt of energy this morning. Sauntered downstairs for a coffee and happened to glance out the conservatory windows in time to see a large heron striding across the lawn towards the pond. You've never seen me move so fast and it's amazing how quickly a heron can take off from a standing start, Harrier Jump Jet eat your heart out!. So another item on my list for today - heron scarer. I fed the fish but the adult fish wouldn't come to the surface, although the fishlings hungry as ever. I hope they haven't been spooked again as it's taken months for them to venture out after the dipped net incident. The heron was beautiful and so graceful but sorry...you're not having my fish! I dug over the veg patch (more on that next week) whilst thinking what to do and I have now cordoned off the pond with string and hung shreds of an old bed sheet on it that I found in him indoors' workshop (for once I'm pleased he's such a hoarder!)

Not aesthetically pleasing, I admit, but hopefully the heron will back off and the fish will be protected. I fed the fish this afternoon and a couple of the oldies appeared so hopefully no lasting damage. Forgot to mention, this weekend the garden has been a-buzz with huge bumble bees, butterflies and dragonflies.

I think that's probably enough excitement for this week. All that's left to do is give everything a good watering after dinner. And if you happen to suffer from insomnia then look out for the total eclipse of the super moon tonight, it's going to turn blood red apparently.

Looks like a great week ahead for gardening!

Regards,

DD

Dorset Garden Diary - Chutney, Cake and How Much Can a Potting Shed Hold?

The week has started well. It was supposed to rain most of the day but apart from a shower this morning it stayed dry. Extremely windy though, some of the larger pots were blown over. And, of course, I would choose the windiest day for months to take down the runner bean pyramid. There were no more flowers growing and the plants have started to die off, so down it came. Not sure I will plant that variety next year as they haven't cropped as well as I thought; the runner beans grown from last year's beans, however, have been much more fruitful and are still in flower. Not only has the strong wind blown over pots, it's provided some windfall pears which are now wrapped in newspaper and stored in the pottering shed. Him indoors had a couple from last week's windfall and said they are very tasty. I picked the cucumber to have with my salad (fresh from the garden) and not only did it actually taste of cucumber but it smelt amazing - such a difference from mass produced. Rotated both both sides of the composter.

In last week's blog I mentioned that I had planted a rudbeckia in the cottage garden. I lied. I thought I had, but when I was taking down the runner bean pyramid I noticed that it was in position, but still in the pot. I'm beginning to think I should make this a senior moments blog! Anyway, rudbeckia triloba prairie glow now planted in the cottage garden. I picked all the kale and put it on the compost heap as the few remaining leaves were covered in caterpillars. I also picked leeks, parsnips and carrots (some of which I took next door as they always take in parcels for me), and some of the smaller beetroots which I've boiled and pickled. And...I found two pea pods.

Back to my signature carrots!!



With the sun being lower in the sky there is less dazzle on the pond's surface and the fishlings are now visible against the lighter stones on the bottom. They have grown well during the summer, progressing from half the size of my little finger to bigger than my thumb - not surprised with the amount they are eating.

Tuesday - and I finally got round to watching last Friday's Gardener's World. Monty mentioned that the hellebores are flowering out of season and mine have also been in flower for a few weeks (normally Spring). He also mentioned it's time to plant frutillaria bulbs which I shall do this week, and to plant them on their sides and in grit (didn't know that). Actually, I need to plant all the bulbs as this morning my 100 allium bulbs arrived courtesy of Thompson and Morgan through Gardener's World magazine. I also learnt that clematis will grow anywhere as long as the roots are in the shade. Handy to know as I have a north facing fence that needs something to liven it up. And, one more thing I didn't know, carrots don't like rich soil and they will split while growing although still edible. As I'm going to be sowing green manure once the veg have been lifted (Monty said last weekend but missed that deadline) I'll have to rethink where I grow them next year. He also said to take rose cuttings but not sure I can wait two years for them to take!

I went to a garden centre this morning (just for a change!), bought some Jeyes Fluid for cleaning the greenhouse, pots and seed trays and rescued some carrot seedlings that were in the reduced section. Back home I watered and planted them with care into troughs, hopefully they'll take. I then moved the white anemone that has sprung up in the gravel and pot garden to the cottage garden, picked up another windfall of pears (still very windy here). As you can see, not all gone pear-shaped:

And I still have a dis-assembled pagoda in the kitchen. Parts of it are heavy so I am waiting until I work out exactly where it's going then I only have to move it once. This evening I made some mango and ginger chutney (with plenty of garlic and chillies) it smelt divine. I was going to show you a pic of it cooking but probably better not to...it certainly tastes better than it looked whilst cooking!

Wednesday - this morning I decided that I need to reclaim my kitchen and put the pagoda in the garden. So, I had a working breakfast sat in the conservatory, looking out at the garden for the best position. I decided it's going in the gravel and pot section. I went out and moved some of the pots out of the way as I needed a clear run, so to speak, and piece by piece I carried it out and built it up. I have to say it looks grand:

 

I then thinned out the cucumber leaves and flowers, there's nine cucumbers growing at the moment so not complaining, then the tomatoes had a number one cut and here they are, bald:

Took some blackcurrant sage cuttings and re-potted the pineapple sage for putting in the conservatory over winter as it's not hardy. Then the rain started, great heavy splattering drops of it and continued for the rest of the day. That was the end of the day's gardening.

Friday - home from work and straight out to check the garden and feed the fish. They were just below the surface and pounced as I threw the food in - and here's me thinking it was me they were pleased to see! In the greenhouse the cucumbers are growing well and most of the tomatoes are reddening.

Saturday - started with a perfect sunrise over the mist-covered fields and turned into a gorgeous day, very hot in the back garden, almost like summer again. I fed the fish then went out again with my new camera to practice some shots. The fish dived for cover and I wasn't even that close to the pond. How did they know I had a camera? When I didn't have it with me they were on the surface and as soon as I went in to get it...gone! Even the squirrel, who is impressed with our new fence and travels frequently across it, was camera shy.

Anyway, today is the day I finally decided that I must sort out the pottering shed:

See what I mean??? I made an early start and it took over 4 hours. I moved everything out apart from the heavy bags of tree bark and compost. Amazing how much was in there:

And mustn't forget the onions:



And this is how it looked when I'd finished (although I still have to put the trays and pots in but they need cleaning first):

Much better.

Also today - white feathers were scattered across the lawn and garden, some of the leaves are beginning to turn autumnal. And spiders... well don't talk to me about spiders. At the moment, if something hasn't moved or been moved in ten seconds it has a web on it...including me the cheeky things!  Do you remember the Indiana Jones film where the woman in the jungle screams every time she turns round because of the creatures? Well that was me today with the pesky spiders. Picked more gherkins and pickled them, also picked the remaining beetroot from one of the flower beds and planted green manure to over-winter and covered it with sacking to stop the cats digging up the soil. Cooked the beetroot and froze it. During the week I made a beetroot and chocolate. Unfortunately, I left it a bit too long  and it burnt slightly but I scraped the burnt bits off and covered it in icing. It didn't look aesthetically pleasing but, even though I say so myself, it was nice and moist and delicious.

The lionheart lilies are growing fast:

I then fed the plants in the greenhouse, watered the outside pots then picked veg for dinner. The parsnips are now copying the carrots:

 



Well that's about it for this week. Rain forecast here for tomorrow but then the week looks friendly for us gardeners.  Have a good one and catch up next weekend.

 

Regards,

 

DD