Weekend 6 May
On the plot
- Broad beans are growing well in spite of the frilly leaves courtesy of the bean and pea weevils. They are in flower now – some purple flowered and some white.
- Saw more swallows swooping around
- Weeded round the parsnip and carrot seedlings both of which seem to be growing well
- Planted out sprouts - United, broccoli - Long Season Mixed and red cabbage- Kalibos, that had been sown in the greenhouse
- We had previously dug up a rampant bamboo from a border in the garden and have now planted it on the plot where we can keep it in check - it grows decent canes and may also provide a bit of a wind baffle - eventually.
- Planted out Sweet peas
In the garden
- Our tree fern has survived! It is throwing up a new frond – what a relief!
- The banana plants are pushing leaves out of their straw duvet!
- In the green house
- Took some chrysanthemum cuttings from the plants dug up from the allotment
- Sowed seeds for sweet corn - Early Sweet.
- Sowed a variety of beetroot seeds, - Choggia,(when it is sliced it is supposed to reveal red and white alternate circles!) Detroit, Blankoma White and Burpee Golden
Out and About
- May is well and truly out – hawthorn bushes are covered in May blossom and looking lovely. The saying really refers to the blossom and not to the month!
- The horse chestnut trees are in full flower
- This week I noticed red campion growing in the hedgerow on the way to work.
- Cow Parsley is also flowering in the hedgerows.
- Dog Daisies are coming into flower on the motorway embankments and roundabouts
- Birds seem really interested in my window at work. They sit on the windowsill cocking their head and looking for spiders. One was a pied wagtail but another flew off before I had a chance to identify it.
- The azaleas and rhododendrons are coming into flower (I’m sure this is earlier than usual). The gorse is starting to flower too.
- The trees are leafing up quickly – noticed that I now drive to work in dappled shade and not full sunshine
- Lots of shrubs and trees are blooming.
- The cherry blossom is now falling and creating a confetti carpet of pink.
- I first noticed new lambs in the fields on the way to work - maybe there have been some born earlier but these are the first that I have seen.
- No rain for about 6 weeks now! I am sure last year at this time we couldn't get down on the plot due to too much rain.
Weekend 13 May
On the plot
We were actually rained off this Sunday - a mixed blessing - we do need some rain but why does it have to come at the weekend. Some hardy souls were out tending their plots though.
- Earthed up all the potatoes.
- Planted out sprouts - Wellington, red cabbage - Red Jewel, cabbage - Hispi, autumn cabbage - Picador and turnip - Aramis (wonder if it smells nice?)
- Picked first radishes of the season
In the garden
- Our tree fern has more than survived, cutting off the dead fronds revealed 12 new ones unfurling!
- The banana plants wished they hadn't bothered asd the wind has shredded their leaves!
- Fish are getting greedy and some even a little bit frisky
- We actually tried the stuff that looks like watercress growing in our pond. Consensus is that it IS watercress well at least it can't be anything poisonous unless it has a very delayed action!
- Maybe I have been judging the slugs too harshly. the other day when it was raining there were dozens of SNAILS about, so they could be the culprits who are munching my hostas. We are finding quite a few empty shells so maybe our resident frogs are winkling them out of their shells and munching them. Do nematodes work on snails too? Advice on Gardeners' World was to buy blue hostas as they are less likely to be eaten but I buy hostas because of the lovely coloured leaves!! Why would I just want to buy blue ones?
In the green house
- Pricked out tomatoes - Roma (a plum variety), Legend and Red Alert
- Sowed Florence fennel
- Sweet corn is just starting to germinate - some plotters have already planted theirs but I am confident that ours will still catch up. We are still eating sweetcorn from the freezer that we grew last year. I know it's best freshh but we did have a lot!
- Sowed lots, courgettes - Golden Rush, Clarita and Zucchini, runner beans - Lady Di, (red flowers) White Lady (white flowers) and Sunset (pink flowers), squashes - Butternut Sprinter and Sweet Dumpling, outdoor cucumber - MarketMore and gherkin - BimboStar
- The greenhouse is getting a bit full!!
Out and About
The dappled shade on the lanes that I drive along to work has now become full shade.
The bluebells in the roadside nature reserve are still surviving - I wonder how much longer the mystery mower can resist before he (or she), cuts them down!
I think the oil-seed rape is going over - Hurray!!!!!
Petals are dropping from the horse chestnut trees - the windy weather this week hasn't helped.
Weekend 20 May
On the plot
- Planted some cosmos, zinnia, cornflowers and annual chrysanthemums for cut flowers.
- The foxgloves are looking good.
- A heron flew over the plot – hope that it wasn’t heading to our garden pond.
- Planted out some lettuce, kale - Toscano de Nero, and broccoli
- Sowed some more radishes and spring onions to keep the salads supplied.
- Planted some horseradish plants - we could do to put litle signs next to then saying "These are not dock plants!" as they really do look alike. I am sure people must think we have lost it and have decided to cultivate docks!
In the garden
- Found a hedgehog in our drive in late afternoon so I was a bit worried about him.
- Anyway fed him with Spikes Dinner (oops advertising and they haven't sponsored us!) – a sort of hedgehog biscuit and popped him in a border. He seems OK and keeps coming back for his biscuits so maybe he is just a daytime hog!
- Cut back a choisya that was venturing too far across the lawn – it looks a bit sad so I hope that it will regrow and thicken up.
- The tree fern is growing quickly and so I took off its sacking nightgown
- Lots of young fish in the pond.
- In the green house
- Moved lots of things out to harden off and give us some room to plant more things!!
- Sowed some coriander.
- Took cuttings off the choisya
- Potted up cuttings from the Black Lace elder.
Out and about
Trees are really in full leaf now and are looking lovely – some beautiful colours especially some of the brown leaved tree.
Azaleas and rhododendrons in the garden at work are looking lovely.
Weekend 27 May
On the plot
- More digging of unplanted beds.
- Lots of grass cutting and weeding too!
- Picked the first strawberries of the season and they were delicious. They were quickly turning red before we had time to cover them with netting and the birds did beat us to one or two!
- The red currants are just starting to turn - surely this is a bit early. I bet the blackbirds have noticed this and are keeping an eye on them.
- The shrub roses that we planted last year are beginning to flower.
- The foxgloves - Excelsior hybrids are looking good - we must remember to plant some more seeds now so that we get a good display next year too.
- Sweet Williams are just coming into flower.
- The variegated Weigela is looking good and much visited by bees. We have lots of shrubs on the plot. This has come about due to me having taken too many cuttings for the garden, or even other people's gardens. It looks as though we will be planting Black Lace elder soon!
- The dahlias are pushing up through their straw eiderdown - most of it will be left in place as a mulch.
- Our very first greengages have set!
In the garden
- The birds are really keep us busy filling feeders. Parent sparrows are also being kept busy as there now seems to be hoards of fledgling sparrows flapping their wings demanding to be fed.
- There are a few young starlings too.
- Some lovely foxgloves here too.
- The tree fern is growing well as are all our other ferns.
In the greenhouse
Had to plant more tomato and marigold seeds as the wet weather brought out the slugs and snails in force. They must have been really famished as they munched their way through the seedlings like a swarm of locusts.
Potted up some lavender plugs.
The gladioli and acidanthera are growing well in pots. They soon will need planting out, gladioli on the plot for cut flowers and the acidanthera in the garden. We usually plant gladioli bulbs straight into the ground but we saw this method used on a TV programme and thought that we would give it a try.
Out and About
Well – it had to happen - just as in the last two years someone has mowed the roadside nature reserve and chopped down all the bluebells before they had chance to finish flowering and set seed. Why is it called a roadside nature reserve?
The fields are taking on a yellowish tinge not the 'in your face' vulgarity of oil-seed rape this time, but the more subtle colour of buttercups. Common daisies are also growing among them.
Motorway embankments have white drifts of the taller ox-eye daisies and cow parsley.
The field poppies are starting to make an appearance and dog roses are beginning to bloom in the hedgerows.
The trees seem to be losing that fresh green look of early spring - it's a pity really that that phase doesn't last for very long.
