Gardening
Pondering the pond
Monday 19 May, 2008
Regular readers might recall that we had a pond put in a few months ago. It's a fixed liner, but quite a nice shape with different levels. After we had it put in, I began to have second thoughts, but it was too late. I spent a month or so just looking at it in a desperate kind of way, unable to make any sort of decision about it. Pathetic, really.
Anyway, about three weeks ago, we sorted the level (just about) filled it and bought some pond plants - marsh marigold, a water lily, a water iris, lobelia and some other bits (wish I'd kept the labels now). Having planted these, it looked a bit better.
Mr Toad
Sunday 20 April, 2008
We've sort of put in a pond - well, it's in but not filled or planted up yet (maybe this weekend!). That hasn't stopped Mr Toad moving in, though. We first saw him a couple of weeks ago - we thought he was dead but I think he was just cold. However, I caught him sunbathing the other day.
He's not handsome, but I rather like him. Just hope he manages to stay clear of the destructo-hens!
First tidy
Sunday 20 January, 2008
Dan offered himself to me for half an hour today! So I sent him to cut back the buddleia and prune the roses. Hey ho, we've been together a long time, now!
It's been rather nice here this weekend. Due to other commitments, I didn't get in the garden yesterday, but I was out for a couple of hours this afternoon. Mostly, I was pottering, cutting back some of the dead vegetation and sweeping up, but it all looked much better afterwards.
Dan came round with the secuteurs to do the buddleia but had to go back for the loppers. I didn't cut it back last year, so it was pretty tough. I'm hoping to move some plants around in the spring - I'm not the best picker of plants and I hate throwing anything out, so I end up with odd combinations. Some of the plants in the courtyard need more sun or are too big for where they are, so they will need moved too.
Nest box maintenance
Monday 3 December, 2007
One of my jobs over the weekend was to check and clean our three bird nest boxes. We've had one of them up a few years now, and the others only a year or two. Although there's plenty of hedgerow and woodland in the area it's nice to provide a place for them to nest, and gives us a great opportunity to observe them every day.
Mountains of poo
Monday 12 November, 2007
I'm trying realy hard to stick to my regime of cleaning the horse pasture. Four barrowloads on Saturday, same on Sunday and two today. I almost cried with relief when Chris said he'd be taking his three in at night soon. All bar two of the ten barrowloads went on to our garden - I know we'll have weeds but I hope that the hens will clear out at least some of the weed seeds. They certainly love the muck and do a brilliant job of breaking it down.
An article in the local rag this week gave me an idea, though. The article was about Tillicoultry Allotment Society getting planning permission to build a car park and fence in the allotments. It's been a real success story. The area used to be really run down but a new committee has transformed it - all 42 plots are taken and there is a waiting list of 19. Anyway, the article gave the Secretary's phone number so I gave him a call and he's coming down on Thursday with some others to get some horse dung for the allotments. The deal is they shovel it into the trailer and we deliver it. Sounds good to me!
Courtyard garden
Monday 11 June, 2007
The courtyard garden has been an ongoing project for a couple of years (see entries from March 2005 and May 2006, Dan). It's an area to the west of the house that was slabbed but got a bit overgrown. I decided to turn it into a secluded courtyard garden, with a green and white theme. I lifted three areas of slabs to create flower beds.
The breakfast patio
Monday 11 June, 2007
The fence round the breakfast patio is now complete. It's on the east side of the house and gets the morning sun, and is awfully nice to take breakfast on, hence the name.
Here, I keep my herbs, a lovely lilac bush and, for now at least, some pots of lavender (Hidcote). It's also home to tomatoes and cucumber, and has the "three sisters bed" to one side. The runner beans are off and running (pardon the pun) and the courgettes, marrows and sweetcorn all seem fine, although some of the sweetcorn will get a feed of comfrey tomorrow. I'm waiting for the last frost before I put out the squashes and pumpkins!
Busy gardening weekend
Sunday 3 June, 2007
We've had a busy weekend in the garden. Dan's done loads of grass cutting; thinned the swede; dug out the asparagus, since neither of us like it much; trimmed some rampant plants - hydrangea, ivy and comfrey. I've planted bedding plants, weeded endlessly; worried the brassicas (which need planted out or potted on but certainly need something.) It doesn't look like much written down, but seemed like loads when we were doing it!
We've also been working on the "three sisters" bed. Dan's dad is constructing a fence round the bed and the patio - hopefully, it will be finished tomorrow. Mainly, it's to keep the hens out. Not only do I get fed up scraping hen poo off the table and bench, it also allows us to use the patio for outdoor tomatoes, cucumber and herbs, without the hens feasting on them. The "three sisters" bed now has two courgettes, two marrows, runner beans and sweetcorn in. The squashes and pumpkins are in the greenhouse until the last frost is passed (how do you know?). We'll see how it goes - should look nice, anyway.
Peas and beans and other seeds
Tuesday 20 February, 2007
I sowed some more seeds this weekend - cucumber "Rocky F1", pepper "Marconi Rossa", pease "Greenshaft" and broad beans "Aquadulce Claudia" - plus some salad (which is already sprouting two days later).
I'm particularly pleased with the peas and beans. We lost a major part of the crop last year to pea and bean weevil so I'm starting under glass this year. I've sown into guttering, cut to the length of the raised bed, so the transplanting will be a case of sliding the seedlings straight into the bed, in the existing compost.
Black gold
Tuesday 20 February, 2007
We've finally managed to get hold of some manure. It's a bit last, but better that than never.
It's come from two sources - the farmer next door very kindly gave us a bucketload in return for some pork and some bacon. It's lovely manure - really black and rotted. Young Dougie, his younger son (who's an awfully nice lad), delivered it on Sunday. Now we have to get it on the garden.
We also managed to get two trailer loads from Jellyholm Farm. I saw the heap when walking the dogs, so asked the farmer if we could have some. He agreed for a small fee), so Dan's Dad and I dug out two trailer loads on Sunday, one for us, one for him. We're also "cleared" to get manure from a livery yard where a friend's daughter keeps her pony. If it's not so well rotted, we can lay it down for the autumn.
