It’s late January

After several cold, damp and dull days yesterday was sunny so I took a look round the plot after lunch to get some much needed exercise and fresh air. Not surprising it was very soggy but I was pleased to see very little standing water, unlike some of the other plots.  I added some kitchen waste to the composter, checked the water in the ponds then came home having decided that there was nothing else I could do.

I occasionally mention the white rose Iceberg I have growing outside the living room windows but don’t think I’ve mentioned that there are also two smaller roses nearby in a sheltered, sunny location.  One has red flowers, the other yellow but I don’t know the varieties.  The yellow one still has leaves and has three buds showing including this one.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

Plotting this month

I went to the plot last Monday, Tuesday and yesterday and despite the still claggy ground conditions even manged to do some plotting.

I cut the dead flowerheads and stems off the sedum/iceplant and can now see that when I dig it up to replant I’ll get three good size clumps.  I’m still undecided whether to replant them together or seperately.

Apart from that I mostly hoed and weeded several areas including the comfrey and raspberry patch, and the areas where I’ll be growing carrots, first early potatoes and the tomatoes.

This picture was taken yesterday.

A few crocuses white Snow Bunting  and one yellow Romance are just starting to appear which are a welcome sight.

There’s more heavy rain and high winds due this morning, and the week ahead looks like continuing to be unsettled so even if I go to the plot I doubt if I’ll be doing any further plotting this month.

Have a good week, and take care!

Checking and counting

Some years ago I bought some seeds from a major supplier which included two packets where the seed count was considerably less than stated and one other packet where the seed quality was really poor.  I then had further problems getting a refund rather than replacements.

Since then I generally check and count most seeds I buy, and I’m happy to say that with very few exceptions they’ve all been okay. I tend to buy from smaller suppliers or occasionally use Ebay if I only want a single packet and look for free postage, as that can cost more than the seeds nowadays.

A couple of months ago I bought a packet of carrot seeds which on opening I immediately guessed contained a lot less than the stated quantity.  I was right as there were less than 700 rather than 1500.  In contrast I’ve just bought two packets of seeds of a particular flower elsewhere which each contained well over 250 rather than 200.

I’ve now bought all the seeds I need for this year so, thankfully, I won’t have to do any further checking and counting for a while.

Today’s archive picture is from July 2018 and shows a common blue butterfly on a white Candytuft Fairy mix flower.

Have a good weekend, take care and keep warm!

Cold and gloomy

I only went to the plot a couple of times last week but didn’t do any plotting as the grass paths were slippery and the ground still claggy.

To go with the sunflowers Holiday I mentioned in this recent post I’ve also bought some seeds of the variety Music Box which I grow most years.  I’ve done this as virtually all the sunflowers I grew last year just had yellow flowers, whereas this variety’s flowers include cream and mahogany, as well as bicolours.  It’s multi-headed and only grows to around 30 in/70 cm. The ones shown here are from July 2016.

This weekend is cold and gloomy so I’ve stayed indoors mostly armchair gardening or sofa flying.  Yesterday I came across this little hardback book hidden away on my bookshelves.  It’s only 3 in/7.5 cm square with 100 pages containing quotations and artwork. I like this Chinese proverb…He who plants a garden, plants happiness.

Have a good week, take care and keep warm!

Flighty’s Favourites

Pot marigolds (Calendula offinicalis) are my favourite flowers so I’ve always grown lots of them on the plot.  I started with one packet of seeds, along with some I was given, and let them self-seed  as well as collecting seeds to sow the following year.

Some years I buy a packet if a particular variety catches my eye as Snow Princess, with it’s creamy-white flowers, did some years ago.

This year looking through the Chiltern Seeds catalogue the variety Orange Flash did, which despite the name has apricot-buff flowers with darker bronze shades on the reverse.

Most pot marigold varieties grow to around 2 feet/ 60 cm but Oopsy Daisy is a dwarf one only 8 in/20 cm and has bright orange and creamy yellow  bicoloured flowers.  I’ve grown these on the plot but didn’t have much success on the windowsill at home so I bought a packet to try again.

Have a good weekend, take care and keep warm!

Two robins

It was cold all last week with daytime temperatures barely reaching      0 C/32 F at best.  Some days were dull and gloomy, others bright and sunny.  I only went to the plot after lunch on two of the latter days for a brief look round and needed to clear the composter lid pond of ice then refill it.

Yesterday when I did that a robin appeared and had a drink.  Standing watching I didn’t think that it was the usual one for some reason I couldn’t quite figure out.  It flew off to perch in the dog rose and as I went to move away  another one flew into view and perched on the edge of the compost heap .  I realised then that this was the usual one being slighty bigger and rounder than the first one.

It’s almost impossible to tell female and male robins apart except that the male is generally bigger and the demarcation line between the brown and red is often more V shaped on the forehead of  females.

Seeing two, probably a pair, like that made me smile and definitely lifted my spirits. This picture showing a pair of plot robins is from February 2012.

Have a good week, take care and keep warm.

On the windowsill – Snapdragons

As the weather has been so miserable recently I’ve spent some of the time armchair gardening looking through the Chiltern Seeds 2025 catalogue for something I’ve not grown before which is suitable for pots on the windowsill.

Antirrhinum majus Kimosy Formula Mixed caught my eye as it’s a dwarf variety only growing to about 6 in/15 cm and the description says that it’s great in pots.  The familiar name for these plants is Snapdragons and the flowers come in a range of various colours including orange, rose, scarlet and white

I won’t sowing any seeds at home until mid-late March when it should be brighter and warmer.  I’ll be growing this plant in a 5 in/12.5 cm plastic pot which is a perfect fit in this nice china container.

I must mention that I have fond, but now faded, memories of mum growing Snapdragons in her garden.

Have a good weekend, take care and keep warm!

My first look…

round the plot this year was on Thursday when it was calm, dry and sunny, although bitterly cold so I certainly didn’t linger for long. I did the same on Friday when it even colder and there was thick ice on the composter lid pond.  I’d no sooner removed that and refilled it when the robin appeared for a drink.  Apart from those two days it’s been cold, damp and dull, and early this morning there was a sprinkling of snow which soon disappeared when it turned to rain.  The forecast for the coming week is much the same so I certainly won’t be doing any plotting for a while.

This picture was taken in February 2015.

Meanwhile I’m mostly armchair gardening dreaming of summer and a plot full of flowers, soft fruit and vegetables like this picture taken at the end of June 2017.

Have a good week, take care and keep warm!

I hope…

that everyone had a good Christmas and enjoyed themselves.  Mine was quiet as usual and mostly spent at home armchair gardening reading, drinking cups of tea and eating dark chocolate biscuits.

The weather last week was dull and murky so I only went to the plot a couple of times for a quick look round.  The week ahead is looking little better with some rain and gusty winds, then turning colder.

I’ll be eating the last couple of second early potatoes Charlotte on New Years Day. I’ll then switch to the maincrop Picasso ones which should last me at least another month or so. I’ll still got plenty of onions Sturon.

The picture shows four pot marigolds Flighty’s Favourites back in 2016.

Happy New Year, and take care!

(Please note my next post will be on Sunday 5th.)

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