My new hellebores have flowered, I’m so pleased with them but the front garden bed is still looking very sparse. Just a mass of stony soil and a few fledgling weeds. It literally has 2 hellebore’s a viburnum and some new bulbs that are yet to flower. There are signs of my alliums and the tulips but this area still needs some serious work. Around the front of the house I have various daffodils almost in bloom and and a rose which has so much new growth already. There’s also these bushy shrubs in clumps which I’m still yet to work out what they are… (They’re the purple and green leaved things beneath the daffodil stalks) Any ideas?
In a dangerous move, I recently discovered our local market has a garden stall and it happens to be on when I am toddler free just before baby bounce at the library. I can see buying things there becoming a bit of a weekly treat. Last week I bought a lovely Spinach plant for £1.70 and 6 
Indoors there is gardening action too. I forgot to mention it was my birthday during half term (it went by in quite a blur), but I was very happy to receive a subscription to Gardeners World and a new gardening journal from my husband and a lovely seed kit from my sister. After one week on the kitchen windowsill the seeds had already sprouted and now at 2 weeks they are positively thriving. I think maybe I should thin them out… What do you think? Don’t ask me what they are, I threw away the packaging so I shall get a lovely surprise when they flower. The roses were a gift from my husband, I love the way the light of the window washes them with with subtle colour. And finally, I’ve been able to use my beautiful plant labels as I planted out my peas, they were a present from my husband at Christmas.
As I sit here in the warmth of my living room I can see the sun shine down on my slightly overlooked back garden and the wind blow through the long grass. I am itching to start spending more time … Continue reading
Sprouting seedlings
March 21, 2014 by Jenni Clutten | 14 Comments
We’ve been pottering about in the garden almost daily, peeking at the seeds to see if any have sprouted and keeping a check on the water levels. We’ve even had our first bbq, although we had to eat off a rickety old pasting table as we’ve not got a garden table at the moment. The above picture shows the progress I’ve made since Christmas on the front garden bed, the new trellace adds some much needed height and I must admit I’m pretty pleased with it.
The most exciting thing this week has been the sprouting seedlings. I planted aubergine, celeriac and pepper seeds several weeks ago and plonked them in the kitchen only for them to sit dormant for what seemed like forever. I also sprinkled some mixed lettuce leaves in the greenhouse and those have come on leaps and bounds the last few days. I was so excited to see the first pepper, it took me by surprise. I’m sure I’ll feel just the same every year. Isn’t it weird how they are all planted on the same day and yet they don’t all germinate together.
I’ve found myself with seeds that I won’t be able to use (no more space), and I don’t want to throw them away so I signed up to the Garden Swap Shop and I’ve already received some black russian tomato seeds as well as some mixed peppers. Swapping seeds for free is kind of addictive and I’ll be thinking of the swappers kindness as my plants develop.
The garden plans are taking shape, I admit I’ve been out spending at the garden center again, I’ve been umming and ahing about whether to buy cheap soft fruit bushes, but decided to buy some more expensive ones in the hope they’ll produce fruit this year. Strangely there were no raspberry bushes so I went for a healthy looking loganberry instead. There’s also 2 varieties of strawberry, a new rose (Malvern Hills) and an apple tree from Lidl.
And when I’m not admiring all the bulbs that are beginning to show signs of life I have planted my potatoes. First my Home Guard 1st earlys and then I gave into the temptation of the Maris Piper main crop. I had so many I’ve planted some straight into the bed and then put some into a grow bag. We shall see what happens! The beds themselves still look rather dead, in that there are no signs of life yet to emerge on the surface of the soil. I’m hoping to plant out the mixed leaves when they grow a bit bigger.
Aside from that, the bulbs continue to show promise but other than the mass of daffodils, the tulips keep themselves tightly shut and others spring up, their foliage unknown to me. (Oh how exciting, I’ve had a good google and my lilies are coming up in the purple pot.)
Is it just me that takes a nosy at my neighbours front gardens. Here it seems everyone is a gardener and it will take time to have the layers of plants that others have. This morning as I walked to play group I took great pleasure in admiring a front garden lush with grape hyacinths, their foliage so glossy and green with those dainty purple flowers on top. It had that beautiful wild and unkempt look that I think is probably like that ‘no makeup’ look that takes forever. I keep telling myself that the good thing about gardening is that its something that’s never finished, the beauty of it is its cycles and changes. Here’s to Spring!
As usual I’m joining in with Mammasaurus and How Does Your Garden Grow. I didn’t get a chance to join in last week but I really loved the spring feeling over at Weald. And this post I found this week reminded me of my own garden journey.
I spotted some beautiful sunshine on Tuesday afternoon and ran out while both children were sleeping. (Maybe it was a miracle!) The garden is still teasing me, showing me all the signs that there will soon be spring flowers everywhere but not yet showing any of the imminent colour. The lavender and foxglove seeds I planted are yet to sprout so I am hesitant to start planting anything else. I think I will see what more the weather has in store for us.
Hyacinth ‘Midnight Mystic’ - Hyacinthus orientalis
stinking hellebore - Helleborus foetidus
Sweet Williams – Dianthus barbatus
ECCREMOCARPUS scaber - Chilean glory flower
This week I thought I would share what we have been up to in the greenhouse courtesy of my camera phone, (sorry).
We also have a raised bed, two vegetable/fruit beds and a greenhouse. These were mainly cleared when we moved in but the previous owners did leave us their last harvest of tomatoes and lots and lots of giant runner beans. In the raised bed I have already planted up some garlic and onions. I planted two different varieties of each to see how they grow. I noticed yesterday that some of the onions had already started sprouting, I have no idea if they are meant to be doing this yet as I have never grown them before but I’m rather chuffed that I was organised enough to get them planted.
I’m now trying to be organised and make a list of all the things I’d like to grow next year. I ordered a seed catalog a few weeks ago which I have been flicking through, but there are so many things it’s difficult to concentrate on what we would actually use. Realistically the things that would be really useful to have would be, potatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, salad leaves, courgettes, raspberries and strawberries. Nye gets through apples like nobodies business so I’m also thinking about buying a tree to grow up the side wall. (No idea how feasible this is or just how many years it will take to get any fruit…) We already have lots of rosemary growing but we regularly use thyme, basil, oregano and coriander as well so I’d like to plant some of these when the time comes. I keep thinking there must be somewhere that sells a basic variety of seeds or even seedlings for a small home fruit and vegetable garden but I haven’t come across quite what I’m looking for just yet. If anyone has any tips on where they buy their seeds and/or plants and what they have had success with I would love to hear from you. I quite like the idea of growing butternut squash but I have no idea if that is even possible for a novice like myself.
