Cottage Garden Tasks

So much to do in so little time, and yet the ground is as wet as ever, unworkable in most areas which is frustrating. Bitterly cold the past few days which at least has slowed down growth after the mild winter. The cottage garden beneath the old ash trees would be the driest part of the entire garden which can be a problem in summer but we can at least work the beds no matter the weather.

A few pleasant days this month allowed us to complete a few tasks on our winter’s “to do” list. We removed the greenhouse in the cottage garden as, with the polytunnel, we don’t really need it – its removal will allow room for more plants – yippee!!

We have also removed the gravel paths in the herb garden to renew with better weed suppressing fabric underneath – the paths were rather uneven and full of weeds, very boring but necessary!

Back to the cottage garden, all beds have been cut back and weeded, the two large lupins have been lifted, divided and replanted. We have also lifted geranium Mrs Kendall Clarke who was accidentally planted at the front of the blue and white bed…now divided and replanted between the tall hybrid tea roses (to help hide their ugly legs!) and a few pieces have also been planted in front of the laid hawthorn hedge among the old roses.

The large golden daylily in the purple and gold bed was also lifted and divided (flowering had diminished last year) and another geranium wlassovianum added to make three in that bed – I love its neatness and foliage colours in spring and autumn.

Some 100 dutch iris have been planted together with some allium cowanii, we just need a decent mulch of composted bark and we can look forward to spring!

New Year, New Dreams

So excited about this year 2016…the first year that the garden will be open (from April to September) to the public and I can’t wait to share the garden with all sorts of folk from around the world. A few years ago, this would have seemed unbelievable but we are so lucky to have the opening of the Gobbins Cliff Path on our doorstep and since its opening last August, there have been 26 different nationalities stepping onto our lovely island.

I’m trying to forget about the fact that it has rained almost every day since Christmas (no kidding) and that we have had one storm after another – there is so much to do in the garden before we open again in April…here are just a few items on the “To Do” list:
Make a new sign for the top of the lane.
Build a new pond beside the sapling wood in the upper garden.
Make a fruit cage in the veg garden.
Build an arch between the orchard and herb garden (for some climbing roses).
Resurface the paths in the veg garden.
Clear, weed and mulch all borders.
Divide and replant congested perennials.
Prune, feed and mulch roses (all 120 of them!) and plant 15 new ones.

Need I say more? I think I need to get a move on!

The Year Gone By

As you do during the yuletide holidays (as well as drink, eat, eat, drink) I’ve been looking at my photos from the past year. Planning and dreaming of 2016, surely the weather has to be better. And I will be more organised, I will weed more often, I will label more plants. I will NOT procrastinate, an ugly word for an ugly habit.

Who am I kidding? Well it’s best to start in a positive mood…..no such thing as cannot etc etc.

Looking back, I suppose it’s been an exciting year – opening to the public, featuring on local and national BBC Radio and, next week, on the telly, I am chuffed and so excited about the year ahead.

Lots of work ahead but just for this week, I’ll keep eating the chocolate and flicking through my photos and seed catalogues. Surely the dreaming and planning is as much fun as the completion of the garden “to do” list.

Have a lovely rest folks and may your gardening in 2016 be merry and joyful!

As you do during the yuletide holidays (as well as drink, eat, eat, drink) I’ve been looking at my photos from the past year. Planning and dreaming of 2016, surely the weather has to be better. And I will be more organised, I will weed more often, I will label more plants. I will NOT procrastinate, an ugly word for an ugly habit.

Who am I kidding? Well it’s best to start in a positive mood…..no such thing as cannot etc etc.

Looking back, I suppose it’s been an exciting year – opening to the public, featuring on local and national BBC Radio and, next week, on the telly, I am chuffed and so excited about the year ahead.

Lots of work ahead but just for this week, I’ll keep eating the chocolate and flicking through my photos and seed catalogues. Surely the dreaming and planning is as much fun as the completion of the garden “to do” list.

Have a lovely rest folks and may your gardening in 2016 be merry and joyful!

Summer's Swansong

What a beautiful autumn...the sun just keeps on shining and there's hardly been a breath of wind for what feels like forever. We haven't had such a lovely spell of weather since April.

Garden wise, we are having a ball.....working in T shirts, carelessly leaving tools out overnight, having our break times outdoors.....no hats or thermals, it's just lovely but I suppose our autumns, on average, are more pleasant than our springs, and the soil is certainly warmer at this time of year.

I'm still potting on seedlings of aquilegias and other perennials sown fresh from our own garden seed. We really need to start lifting and dividing early flowering perennials (geums, galiums, geranium macrorrhizums & phaeums, primula) but they are still growing so strongly and the ground is so dry that I will leave it for another week or so.

The bulb order is due to arrive this week so there will be lots of work ahead, but the weather's to remain pleasant which will certainly shorten the winter for us - hopefully we will not pay for it this winter, hopefully Mother Nature will not be saving the gales only to throw them all upon us in one fell swoop.

Some beautiful autumnal sunsets.

September Settled

Well a better month at last.... a lovely spell of settled weather on the whole and the garden seems to be enjoying it.

The crocosmia are enjoying the sunshine and the hydrangeas, rudbeckias, phlox and eupatoriums are all flowering later than usual. 

As is often the case in a mild autumn, the roses are putting on a second flush and many of the primula are showing a hint of what lies ahead for us, from late winter to spring.

The garden closes for winter next week and whilst I've enjoyed the varied visitors, including folk from all corners of the world, I'm looking forward to the work of cutting the meadows, planting more bulbs and wildflower plugs that we have grown from seed (yarrow, ox eye daisies, meadow cranesbill). I also want to start dividing some of the earlier flowering perennials such as the nepetas and geums. I will leave the plants that are still flowering (crocosmia, phlox and heleniums) until spring. 

Two other major tasks we hope to complete before Christmas are the new pond beside the sapling meadow and the "making" of a border along the rose / butterfly walk thin front of the laid hedge. This will of course be done by the "no dig" method (earlier blog post with our method can be found here ) and I think the roses will love it. But it also means that we will need lots of low growing perennials to plant at the feet of the roses.......my favourite "chore" - finding new plants! 

I hope you enjoy your garden this autumn wherever you are! 

The purple and gold bed in the cottage garden with geranium wlassovianum, inula hookeri and solidago.

Astilbe Mighty Pip

The prairie border with crocosmia Severn Sunrise, Carmin Brilliant & Solfatare and achillea Cloth of Gold.

The old autumn bed today with the pinks and purples still going strong - phlox and monarda among others.

Summer?

All I can say is that it was a good summer for the trees and shrubs - incessant rain, I mean non stop rain....more rain than we had in winter.

The poor old roses, they tried their best but I've spent many a day deadheading brown mush from our lovely albas and noisettes. On the plus side, it lets you see which roses are rainproof - American Pillar and Cerise Bouquet both stood up pretty well, as did Bonica.

Oh well, onwards and upwards....I'm already making a wish list of roses to add to the garden for next year. (Soupert et Notting, Henri Martin, banksiae lutea, Appleblossom.the list goes on!).

The trees, hedges and shrubs are growing like billyoh which is great but the poor bees and butterflies have been very thin on the ground. The forecast for the next fortnight suggests a dry spell, but with cold northerly winds....the hydrangeas, crocosmia, rudbeckias and eupatoriums are only beginning to flower so I'm wishing for a settled month ahead (the kids are back at school - or, in my case, school and university....I can't quite believe where the time has gone). The weather's always lovely when the kids go back to school!

Newly planted veronica spicata Red Fox

A mixed bunch from late summer (despite the rain)

The autumn bed at dusk, after the rain.

The cottage garden

The lovely Ispahan, trying her best in the rain.

LD Braithwaite flowering through Rambling Rosie.

Summer Catch Up

Where have the weeks gone...really, I cannot believe that we are in the middle of July - I have been so truly madly deeply busy.....excuses, excuses as always.

June was chocabloc with group tours which was lovely - we had a drought which was a pain but great for the visitors - not an umbrella in sight. Of course, it started to rain about two weeks ago and it hasn't stopped since, with wind galore. Strong gales forecast for Friday... :(

On the flowery front, we have the roses doing their thing, albeit later than usual but this may work in our favour for next week's open weekend (if they survive the gales!) Virginiana is just about to start flowering...happy days.

We have sowed our biennials since my last post, they always seem to grow so slowly compared to annuals but I suppose they have almost a year to grow to flowering size.

The annuals are painfully slow in the garden after the cold spring and dry weather but are finally starting to grow. 

A few highlights...........

Dianthus carthusianorum  - a pop of pink on wiry gale proof stems.

Perk of the job....a bucketful of leftovers.

Another garden favourite - hordeum jubatum, foxtail grass.

A cottage garden medley.

The cottage garden in late June heading towards the height of exuberance.