Here are a selection of flowers from around my garden. I have been trying to spend a little more time in it this year. It is a little more rewarding than the plot as it doesn’t require so much weeding. Also, it is more colourful at the moment.
I have had to do a few jobs around the house recently, and popping out into the garden to potter in between has kept me sane.
I also picked some runner beans this weekend, you can see them here with the sweet peas and corn.
Notice also the courgette. One plant has grown significantly, though only has this small fruit on it. The other plant has flowers, but is stunted for some reason?
A quick tour round the plot this weekend - when it was sunny, well, sort of for a while.
There are a selection of pics of the courgette and pumpkin and squash. I’m hoping that some of them will last this year. I have grown them on in pots this year and though it is a little late to plant the last of them out, I didn’t want to put all my plant in at once in case the rain destroyed them like last year.
The first few are of the beans, sweatpea and corn mix that I put together this year as I hoped they would help each other out in our increasingly wacky weather.
This last one is of the onions I planted earlier in the year. They have come along nicely and I may lift a few next week, but they are fine in the soil for the present and wont be harmed by being left there.
(Originally Posted 19 April)
Here are my Limnanthes Douglasii. I've put these in as pest control this year. Last year I was too late to put them in and the rain did for them.
They are loved by butterflies, hoverflies and bees and attract aphid eaters! I want my beans to be clear this year, so hopefully this will work.
They give off bright green foliage and yellow-and-white flowers. They are a hardy annual that grows to about 15cm (6")
I have about four of the plants and they should flower July-September.
They have started to flower now (May).
They have got even bigger now (19 May). Note the 'bald' patch in the middle:
I checked on them this weekend - 26/05/08 - and they were blowing in the wind.
My crocuses are out. Not yet at their best, but getting there.
Well, I have been out in the garden this weekend as the weather has been better - a little windy, but dry.
I have been checking on all my new growth and came across this hellebor in the back garden. The wind was keeping the head down, but you can still see that it will be beautiful when fully grown.
I do so love hellebors as they seem so delicate, but are actually quite hardy.
For those of you interested in hellebors, I have included the following from the home of hellebores website.
The Genus
The genus Helleborus covers a group of perennial plants from Europe and Asia.Virtually all are garden worthy, though the acaulescent (stemless) hybrids have become the most popular forms found in gardens.
Helleborus is a small genus in the family Ranunculaceae, a wonderful collectionof plants including many well-known garden plants. Hellebores are perhapsclosest in relation to Caltha and Trollius, and the lesser known Megaleranthis. Eranthis has long been considered a close relative based on morphological similarities, but cytological evidence suggests that they are not so close at the molecular level. It is believed (based on research in China) that Eranthis may be closer allied to members of the tribe containing Cimicifuga and Actaea et al.
Members of Ranunculaceae are mostly herbaceous with divided or lobed leaves. Leaves are generally basal or alternate on the stem. The color on the flowers mostly comes from the calyx, and most have five sepals. In Ranunculus, leaves may be undivided, and flowers have ‘true’ petals. In Clematis, sepals usually number four, and plants have opposite leaves and woody tissue.
Hellebores generally have five sepals that persist in fruit around bisexual flower parts. The follicles may be separate or joined at the base. Within each carpel is more than one ovule. Leaves are divided into (sometimes many) leaflets which can be further subdivided into very fine segments, even less than one quarter of an inch in the case of Helleborus hercegovinus. Hellebores often produce large, leaf-like bracts and ‘cauline’ leaves along the flower stalks. Most have developed rhizomes and very short stems. Some have longer aerial stems and less developed rhizomes.
In Cultivation
Hellebores have a long history in cultivation, particularly in Europe. For centuries they have been used for various medical purposes, and all contain alkaloids and other chemicals that could lead to poisoning if ingested in large quantities. Hellebores are even mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature, but we can not be certain if the references are to the same plants that now carry the epithet associated with this genus. They have also been cultivated in western Europe and can be found naturalized around ruins of old monasteries and other structures. It is thus sometimes challenging to determine the native range and those colonies that may be escapes from old gardens. Extracts from hellebores
have been used in homeopathy and traditional medicines in several countries. As a garden plant for active hybridizing, the older history is probably less certain, but much of the activity has occurred since around the middle of the twentieth century.
In North America, hellebore popularity has grown markedly during the past decade, and now it is possible to find a variety of species and hybrids in nurseries and garden centers throughout North America. In fact, Helleborus x hybridus has been named the 2005 ‘Perennial Plant of the Year’ by the Perennial Plant Association. Most hellebores are highly adaptable and will grow easily in many different environments.
Sometimes referred to as ‘Christmas Rose’ or ‘Lenten Rose’, hellebores are the stars of the late winter/early spring garden. Plants generally bloom between December and March in cultivation, though some begin earlier, and others continue into April and May, particularly in gardens with colder spring climates. Nearly every garden has a spot for hellebores, and the plants will thrive in many different environments. Still, they remain unknown to many gardeners despite their toughness, beauty, hardiness, and wonderful habit of blooming in winter when most other plants remain dormant.
The majority of hellebores are deep rooted, stout plants. Acaulescent hybrids (many, but not all, involving Helleborus orientalis) are well-known for their thick, shiny green foliage. The large leaves may persist through winter, but not all plants are wintergreen in all climates. Once established, most hellebores make drought-tolerant plants, particularly if given some dappled shade in areas of long, hot and/or dry summers. Yet, despite the fact hellebores are almost invariably sold as shade plants, in most garden conditions they will perform their best if given some sun. Many species grow wild in open meadows with only short grasses to shade the earth around them.
Caulescent/Acaulescent
Hellebores are separated into two main groups horticulturally. Simply put, the caulescent hellebores are those with (above-ground) stems and the acaulescent plants are those without visible above ground stems. Generally speaking, it is easiest to hybridize caulescent with caulescent and acaulescent with acaulescent, though there are exceptions.
The Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) belongs in a category all its own. H.
thibetanus and (particularly) H. vesicarius also exhibit unique qualities (see species page). There are even some ‘acaulescent’ plants that produce short above ground stems. A representative spectrum where plants are viewed in terms of ‘caulescence’ might include H. foetidus as the most caulescent and H. vesicarius as the least. H. niger would be somewhere in the middle.
The caulescent/acaulescent model remains helpful and convenient for
horticultural purposes. In addition to reproductive and morphological differences, one of the siginificant cultural differences between the two groups is that caulescent plants generally can not easily be subjected to division as a means of propagation. Acaulescent plants divide fairly easily, and this can be done in late spring or early autumn, or during summer in cooler climates.
Caulescent plants generally are short lived. Often after three or four seasons the plants begin to fade in some gardens. However, they also mature much quicker on average, often blooming in their second spring. Older plants are easily replaced by younger seedlings.
From: http://www.hellebores.org/
This is how my leeks were last weekend. I know, it’s not that good to leave these weeds around something that’s growing. So I did have go and hoe those weeds away.
They now look much better.
I checked out the sprouts on Sunday. They are still growing, though I think they should be a little larger than they are:
I know we have been having cold weather and by rights not much will be growing this time of year, especially if it is outside, but my chillies are still doing the business and turning red
I am surprised that it is happening, but they are against a south facing wall. This means that I am still picking and drying them and then cooking with them.
It’s wonderful really, especially after all the ‘weather’ we have had this year.
It has been a topsy turvey year really for growing things.
This was my Delphinium this week
This is the third time it has flowered this year. I am worried they wont have enough energy for next year. I said that last year when they flowered twice, so I guess I shouldn’t worry that much.
Anyone else have strange stories to tell?
Well, it’s the end of the season now and most things I had been growing have finally given up for the year.
These runner beans for instance were the last of their kind. I let them grow so I could collect the beans for next years plants.
As you can see there were not many left on the plant. Runner beans are good nitrogenators of the soil. So they will put back more than they use. Next year I will move them to another patch so they can add to the soil there.
I took these picture a little while ago as I let them grow on a bit.
The rest of my day at the plot was spent getting rid of weeds and clearing some of the ground by using weed killer on it. It shouldn’t do any harm to the crops next year.
I noticed that some of my fellow plot holders had bought in piles of manure. One had a huge pile that could have covered the whole plot an inch deep! I thought that was a bit over the top as you really only need to dig in some manure closer the the season. I will get mine from a friend and of course I have the spent hops from the brewery as well. These I will be variously holding on to or digging in as and when I plant. Some vegetables cant be planted with manure as it burns them, so that does need to be dug in ahead of time, but mostly they love a good bit of horse dung to start them off.
I didn’t see anyone at the plot yesterday, so I guess they have all been during the week - lucky them to have the time really. Some of us still have to work 9 to 5.
The winter sprouts are doing well, buds have formed and should be good at Christmas and beyond. Also the parsnips and swede are doing well.
I finally took down my tomatoes and put the last few on the windowsill to ripen. We have had a bumper crop this year and I have frozen quite a bit for later use. I have also been using them for my lunches in the week and in any cooking I do. You cant beat home grown tomatoes for flavour, especially when used with home grown chiilies. Although I didn’t get a bumper crop of those - for obvious reasons - there are still a good few and of course, last years dried crop have lasted as well.
I went to check on the plot today as it was on the way to work and I haven’t been since the weekend and wanted to check on my handiwork.
I noticed that the strawberries were doing rather well. They have put their runners out everywhere and although I have plotted some of them up, I have left some of the rest to just root where they fell.
This shouldn’t be much of a problem and will thicken out the bushes, while still allowing for easy access.
I did have to pull a few up that had found their way into the plot next door.
We had a large crop this year, but I’m expecting a bumper crop next year.
