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

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Do we actually have four seasons?

Hello again and how the weather has changed from my last post, where I mentioned signs of spring and how the garden was starting to stir. That progress has well and truly been halted over the past two weeks as a combination of snow, rain and frost have all battered the garden. Although we have had a couple of days where the wind has dropped and it has been relatively warm, the garden is still waiting for some consistent weather before properly starting.

Present
I recently bought some new plants to add to the long border, which providing they get through the snow should help to fill the border and add seasonal interest across the early and late summer. I have  planted Papavaer Orientale 'Royal Wedding' and 'Princess Victoria Louise' and also Lupin 'Red Rum' in the white, pink and red part of the border along with the peonies planted last year. I had been meaning to plant more, but I am glad that I have not as im not sure they would have got through the prolonged winter. Now that there seems to be some more consistent weather on the horizon, it is an ideal time to plant perennials that you didn't get chance to last autumn as providing we get the weather, they should establish quickly.

In my last post I started to discuss the spring border and the types of plants that are there. I shall discuss my thinking behind the border including its location and why I want a border dedicated to spring colour and bulbs. The spring bulbs provide hope. Hope that the winter is drawing to an end and that summer is not far away. In addition, spring bulbs provide the first real colour of the year, whether snowdrops in January, daffodils in March or tulips in May. Although only six months old, it is starting to take shape and I intend to add Hellebores, mainly dark and white to contrast with the daffodils and crocus.

The following pictures show what the border looked like before and how it has changed and developed.












The border was expanded from behind the dogwoods, and the water pump added. I will plant a range of Hosta's around the base of it, which should compliment the spring bulbs. I would also like to plant a crabapple 'red sentinel' in the middle (where the chimney pot is), which will extend the seasonal interest in the autumn.


Recipe
I confess to not being a huge fan of growing brassicas, mainly due to the length of time that they occupy ground and their draw to pigeons, which we seem to have a lot of. However, I picked up a pack of red cabbage seed and decided to give them a go. Whilst the crop was not your typical oversized supermarket veg, I was happy with the outcome. I turned the cabbage into a spiced red cabbage chutney which is great with sandwiches, cheese boards or as a flavour enhancer to gravies.

1kg Red Cabbage (Shredded)
2 medium sized onions
2 apples
2 tsp mixed spice
50-100g brown sugar (depending on sweetness of apples)
3 tbsp cider vinegar
250 ml cider
25g butter

(recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood)