Looking Back at the Year and the Malvern County Show

It has been over two months since my last update, and how has the time gone. It seems just yesterday that I was admiring the hot summer displays of Hemerocallis, Clematis and Dahlias. Now the weather seems to be gradually sliding towards winter, with heavy showers becoming increasingly more common. However, there is still plenty of warmth in the soil, and whilst there are no frosts, the Dahlias are continuing to flourish. This edition will look back at the year, and also include my trip to the Malvern County Show at the end of September.

In the time I have been gardening, the summer that we have had this year has been comfortably the best. Yes, we may have had hotter spells, but the general nature and consistency has meant that plants have grown  and grown, whilst fruit and vegetables have flourished. Earlier in the year, we had the show of spring bulbs including Daffodils, which had been painstakingly planted last autumn. As the weather improved, the bulbs were replaced by Lupins and Oriental Poppies, which were replaced by the English Roses, which themselves were replaced by the Dahlias, Sunflowers and Cosmos. However, possibly my favourite plant at this time of year is the Sedum. I love them because they perform no matter the weather, bring autumn beauty and provide rich sources of food for insects and bees. They are also extremely easy to divide with a spade in early spring, and I have managed to increase my stock from one plant given to me by a neighbour to eight in the space of two years. The pictures below show some of my favourite plants and how the garden has progressed from season to the next.

Spring Blossom is one of the greats of the gardening year. Whether it is from Apples, Pears, Plums or Hedgerows, it all helps to brighten up our landscapes coming out of winter.

As previously highlighted, one of my favourite summer plants has to be Hemerocallis, with the array of different colours meaning that there is one out there for everyone. I like the sharp contrasts that they provide from the sword-like leaves to the more expansive petals.

Sedums, for their colour and what they bring to the garden have to be in my top ten garden plants. In this picture alone are hoverflies and bumblebees, with plenty of butterflies also present in sunnier weather.








Malvern County Show

At the end of September, I had the pleasure of attending the Malvern Autumn County Show for the first time. Having not been before, I was unsure what would be there, but I was amazed as soon as I entered the first marquee. Some of the displays and entries in the fruit and vegetables competition were extraordinary as the pictures below hopefully show.

I will definitely be trying to get my carrots and parsnips this long next year, although I may have to adapt my growing techniques.










Although the produce is very impressive, I could not begin to imagine the amount of time and money that has been spent caring for them. Im not sure how I feel about it, but credit has to go to anybody who can produce such amazing fruit and veg.





I will leave it here this time and as always look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. In the next post, I will look at the various jams and chutneys that I have made this year, as well as how I will turn my apple harvest into something much more important, cider. Take care and happy cottage gardening.

CG

Incredible Weather, Empty Waterbutts and Lots of Flowers

In the time since my last post, the weather has got better and better and hotter and hotter. For the first time in a few years, the vegetable harvest is making it all seem worthwhile. From early crops such as Asparagus and Rhubarb, to later ones such as Strawberries and Raspberries, the combination of rain followed by hot sun has meant that quantities are the highest ever. In the last few weeks, I have harvested 1.5kg gooseberries, 2kg first early potatoes and 2kg of strawberries alone. This edition will include more about the allotment, my favourite flowers of the moment and future plans for wildflower meadows.

In my last post I discussed my two favourite plants at that time, Lupins and Oriental Poppies, chosen for their injections of colour in early borders dominated by lush green growth. However, my favourite time of the year has to be summer, when soft pastel colours are replaced by dominant reds, oranges and yellows. In the garden at the moment, I have lots of Hemerocallis growing in a variety of colours as highlighted by the pictures below. As well as these, the mid season Clematis are flowering, attracting lots of bees and hoverflies.


These are Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate', H. 'Pink Damask' and Monarda 'Fireball'.

Whilst I try to be as wildlife friendly as I can, one area where I know I can definitely improve is increasing diversity by introducing wildflower meadows. I have been visiting local gardens to get an idea of what other people are doing and looking at ways in which I can introduce areas into my garden. This is an area where I don't want to rush and make mistakes so will take some time. I will keep you updated over the coming months about how this progresses.

The Allotment
Since last time, the allotment has been baked by consistent temperatures that haven't been seen for at least a few years. This has meant that warm loving plants such as tomatoes and courgettes have grown incredibly well, whilst some of my lettuce has been quick to bolt. I have been harvesting the courgettes regularly, when the fruits are around 10cm long and cook them simply with green pesto (recipe below). As well as the courgettes, my beetroot has been going crazy and I have been struggling with what to do with them. One thing that I have made recently is Gooseberry jam and chutney, which although tasting good at the moment, should improve and mature over time. However, despite the positives, I have to admit failure with carrots this year. I have tried 4 seperate sowings and each time they have appeared only to be eaten by a combination of chickens
and slugs. I refuse to use pesticides and although disappointing, I have moved onto new crops such as Pak Choi and Kailaan Brocolli. The hot weather and lack of rain has led to regular waterings of my raised beds, which are free draining, meaning my water butts were emptied very quickly. I think that you can never have too many water butts and this is an area which I am looking to improve on.

Recipe Idea
As mentioned above, one of my favourite summer recipes is sliced courgettes with green pesto. If using a jar of pesto, the whole meal takes around 10 minutes to make, and even less to eat and can be adapted to suit numbers. I start by peeling ribbons from the courgettes using a peeler, which creates pasta-like sheets. Whilst doing this, I have a pan on a medium heat with a little oil (rapeseed is my personal preference but use what you like). Once you have enough ribbons, add them to the pan and fry for around 5 minutes just to soften and colour the strips. Once this is done, drain the courgette onto kitchen paper and heat the pesto in the empty pan. Once warm, add the courgettes, season and enjoy. I would love to hear your own recipes for courgettes as soon enough I will have run out of ideas to deal with my glut.

I will leave it here this time and as always look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. Take care and happy cottage gardening.

CG

Big Projects, Good Weather and Signs of a Good Crop

It has been two months since my last update and how the weather has changed since then. Back in April my garden was struggling to get going after what seemed like rain storm after rain storm. Since then however, the weather has been much better and has allowed me to get on with some jobs that needed doing. In addition to this, a big project emerged from a discussion with family. As well as this project, this time I will be discussing my allotment area, and herbaceous/cottage garden border.

We have had a child's playhouse in the garden for over ten years, located at the back of the chicken run. However, having decided to get more chickens and possible some ducks, it was time for it to move. 

As the picture shows, the playhouse has now moved into the orchard, with the various assortment of fruit trees now being home to small children playing. Although a bit of a shock when first moved there, we have painted it a more natural colour, using Cuprinol Garden Shades Seagrass and Pale Jasmine paint and it is beginning to blend into its new home. As the fruit trees grow up around the house, I think it will look perfect, and may in fact become an office in future years.  Also, with the playhouse now near the allotment, the family will now be able to pick fresh fruit and veg to eat with friends.

Elsewhere in the garden, the combination of long days, warm weather and plenty of rain has meant that the plants in the herbaceous/cottage garden border have put on plenty of new growth. As the pictures below show, the plants seem to be thriving and are putting on a fantastic display of colour for us.

Although they only last for a short period of time, I find the show that both Oriental Poppies and Lupins put on, means that they fully deserve their places within the garden. These are Lupin 'Gallery Red' and Papaver Orientale 'Princess Victoria Louise' (right). Unfortunately I do not know the name of the Oriental Poppy pictured above, so if anyone can help me that would be appreciated.

The Allotment

Things have changing very quickly in the allotment, with the warmer weather allowing plenty of crops to be planted out. Things like onions, cauliflower and cabbage should have gone in much sooner, but with the changeable weather we had at the end of March/beginning of April, I did not want to risk losing plants. As a result, plants have probably been held back a month, although I do not mind having a smaller yield. In addition, I have planted out three types of Courgette 'Soleil', 'Black Beauty' and 'Tondo di Piacenza', Tomato 'Costoluto Fiorentino' and 'Gardener's Delight' and Sweetcorn 'Swift'.

As well as Courgettes, Tomatoes and Sweetcorn, I have also planted plenty of Potatoes including 'Red Duke of York', 'Rocket' and 'Rooster'. Rocket gets a bad press due to its (supposedly) poor taste, but in the three years I have been growing it, I have found it good. I tend to grow the same two varieties as the previous year, but experiment with the third. This way I find that my year is not wasted if I do not like the new variety. This year the new Potato was 'Rooster'. In addition to Potatoes, I have been harvesting my first spears from my Asparagus crowns ('Backlim' and 'Ginjlim') planted in Autumn 2010. I took the strongest spears from the plants, before stopping on the 1st June to allow the crowns to build strength for next year. In following years, I will be able to crop more and more, something I cannot wait for.

One final point from myself. For the first time this year, I have made use of the RHS National Garden Scheme, where over 3000 gardens are open for members of the public to visit. I have found this a brilliant way of getting inspiration and also talking to and learning from other gardeners about the plants that they grow and advice that they have. I would recommend it to anyone, and who knows, it may be your garden that we are visiting next time. I shall leave it there this time and hope that like me, you will be enjoying this good weather and getting gardening. As always I look forward to hearing your own experiences about gardening and any suggestions that you have. I would love to hear from you if you are starting your own gardening journey. Take care and happy cottage gardening.

CG