1 November
We recently bought some bundles of wallflowers that really needed planting out along with some tulips that I received free with a recent order. These were destined for the plot to be planted in beds containing fruit trees and blueberry bushes. These two beds are just outside the shed and in front of the are where we sit and have a coffee when the weather allows it. In spring we like to enjoy a bit of colour and hopefully the wallflowers will also add perfume to the area which we can enjoy whilst sitting in the spring sunshine - a girl can dream can’t she? Before planting the beds needs a bit of tidying but this needed to be done with care as some of the annuals that grow in the pear bed had already seeded and germinated. I also wanted to leave any plants that were still producing flowers in place. The tulips are just a mixture of Darwin tulips which will also provide some cut flowers. To read more visit this post on my blog. If you are planting wallflowers be aware that they belong to the brassica family and so can transfer club root if planted in areas that will be used for growing any members of the brassica family. If you grow your own from seed this shouldn’t be a problem but crop rotation will need to be taken into consideration.
Whilst I was busy planting, Martyn removed the netting from the brassicas. This had been used as protection from pigeons when the brassicas were first planted and then doubled up to keep off the white butterflies that were looking for suitable egg laying sites. We remove this over winter as if any fairly heavy snow falls this can cause the plants to be damaged - to read more visit my blog post here.
Whilst we were at the plot a Red Apple - Baya Marissa. This is a plant that has been provided by Spalding Bulbs for me to review- the review is on my blog here.
2-5 November
The Baya Marissa apple has now been planted in a pot and placed in the cold greenhouse to give a bit of protection over winter. As for the other fruit trees, the pot has been wrapped in bubblewrap. More here.
I also planted some spring bulbs. A few small irises have been planted in the pebble garden and some small alliums have been planted in pots. After a soak in water some anemone blanda has been also planted in small pots. These will be planted out in a more permanent position later.
The indoor cyclamen are now flowering well indoors and a seed capsule that was left on one of the plants had ripened and burst so I removed the seeds and have sown these in a pot of compost which is being kept on a windowsill indoors. I’ve never collected seeds from cyclamen before so time will tell whether this results in any new plants or not. Read more here shortly.
In the garden greenhouse the first flower bud has appeared on the saffron crocuses planted in large tubs.
8 - 10 November
Winds on the plot managed to strip the felt from our shed roof. Luckily a plot neighbour noticed this and did a temporary fix involving old house bricks. A more permanent job was called for and so whilst Martyn dealt with this I continued clearing beds. We didn’t do as much clearing as we would have liked as we had a sudden localised cloudburst which left everywhere sodden.
The dahlias have now been well and truly frosted and so I need to sort out the ones that I had decided to try saving over winter.
25 November
The foul weather is leading to very little time being spent in the garden or on the plot. The ground is just far to soggy to even walk on let alone actually dig or weed. The compost in the tubs that are just outside of the window is covered in water which doesn’t seem to want to drain through. I’m not too hopeful that the bulbs planted in them will survive.
Martyn has gathered together some of the leaves that have fallen from the magnolia and popped them in an old compost sack. Read more here.The aim is to create some leaf mould compost but in spite of the top of the bag being fastened it is possible that in these conditions we could just end up with a soggy mess. The leaves that have fallen on the soil have been left to rot down naturally and meanwhile will provide a foraging area for wildlife. The bird feeders are being kept topped up with goldfinches being our most numerous visitor. They love sunflower hearts and will squabble with one another to maintain their position on the feeders.
I have mentioned that one of my orchids is very reluctant to flower again. The successful reflowering orchid is planted in a compost made up primarily of bark so I have repotted the problem orchid into similar compost and hope that this will spur it into producing a flower spike.
The only other thing of note is that the garlic planted in a tub in the cold greenhouse is shooting. What is happening on the plot is anyone’s guess!
28 November
Martyn made a visit to the plot to harvest some vegetables and also provide some protection for the carrots from the cold conditions being threatened. The carrots have been covered with a layer of straw as have the beetroot remaining in the ground.
The brassicas are still looking healthy, although we have had to replace the netting on the spring cabbage. Unusually in spite of them now having become fairly large plants the wood pigeons are still attacking them. They seem to be leaving the other brassicas alone.
The autumn planted onions are just beginning to shoot and the shoots seem to be finding their ways through the slits in the weed control fabric.