We had a bit of a respite in our weather. I can’t quite go as far as to say we haven’t had any rain, but we have had some whole precipitation-free days.
On one of our walks at Nostell, the puddles that had turned the pathways into obstacle courses had almost dried up. This was only a temporary phenomenon, as by Saturday the puddles were back.
On Sunday, we managed a visit to the allotment. The welcome lull in the relentless rain meant the grass paths had dried out enough for us to walk about without leaving our mark. Our aim was simply to tidy and restore a little order.
I trimmed back the lavenders and dug out several clumps of grass that had quietly infiltrated the bed.
Martyn tackled the black elders, which, given half a chance, would grow to enormous proportions. It’s hard to believe that when we first saw them at a gardening show they were being used as neat edging plants. We bought one and soon realised it was destined to outgrow the space allocated to it. The two now growing at the allotment are just two of many cuttings taken from that original purchase.
Once the elders were cut back, the bed was generously mulched with well-rotted manure. The roses, in particular, will benefit from this, as a good mulch not only feeds them but helps reduce the risk of black spot later in the season.
Before heading home, we lifted a batch of leeks for preparing and freezing. We’ll need to gather more on our next visit; left too long in the ground, they’ll begin to run to flower and spoil.
Back in the garden, I managed to prune most of the roses, though one climbing rose still awaits my attention. I made a start, but believe it or not, had to abandon the effort — bright sunshine streaming into my eyes meant I simply couldn’t see what I was doing.
The greenhouse has been tidied, and seed potatoes have been set out in trays to chit.
Dahlia tubers have been checked over and tidied, and we hope most have survived.
The strawberry runners that were potted up last year didn’t look very promising, but once the dead leaves were removed many appear to be producing new shoots, so fingers are crossed.
As we are not out of the woods yet as far as frost is concerned, everything is being protected under fleece.
In the garden, bulbs are beginning to put on a show. Some varieties of crocuses followed on from the snowdrops. The mini irises are next, closely followed by miniature daffodils. We prefer the smaller daffodils in the garden, although we have larger ones for cutting at the allotment. Hyacinths are also opening.
We have a large area that has gradually been taken over by hellebores. Most are self-sown and many need digging out. I’ve been meaning to do this for a few years but still haven’t got around to it.
At this time of year we raise seeds under a grow light in the house, and our first lot have already germinated.
Walks last week were all local. When arriving at the local park we were greeted by a large carpet of crocuses. The verge between the park and the road was edged with clumps of yellow crocuses. Yellow crocuses growing in our garden always seem to be decimated by birds, but for some reason these remain untouched each year.
The snowdrops are also hanging on this year. They have obviously enjoyed the weather conditions more than we have.
We visited Nostell a couple of times and noticed that the winter lakes are now shrinking. A huge flock of gulls had congregated beside one of them. Just after I had taken some photos they took off en masse, wheeled around for a while and then landed again. It was a spectacular sight, which I thought I had managed to film — but I mustn’t have tapped the record button.
Finally, if you read my previous post, you will know that after achieving twelve stamps on her Pooch Passport, Ruby was denied the prize of a tag for her collar as they had none left. Dunham Massey have since emailed to say that they are obtaining more and will post one out to us when they arrive.
That’s all for this week so as always, stay safe, stay well, stay warm and stay dry
Oh ! Isn’t it heart warming to see all the lovely flowers Sue ! 💐 I would love to have a bed full of Strawberries , but I just can’t seem to keep them going . I just have one with pink flowers growing in an old chimneypot .. the birds always get to the fruit before me ! luv Debbie in Cornwall x
We’ve ordered even more strawberries Debbie
The flowers are lovely. We have daffodils coming up but no blooms yet. It’s cold and rainy here today.
Cold and rainy here today too Dave
I’m pleased to hear that Ruby will be getting her reward. It’s a busy time of year now for gardeners with preparations in full swing, we’ve only got a small garden now so not much to do here but I do still like to see what the garden centres have to offer, I can still squeeze extra plants into pots and containers.
We now just need the soil to dry out a bit, Jo