Seed Sowings in March

I am going for 95%+ use of module planting this year. About 75% of seeds in the greenhouse were planted this way last year and I still managed to not get seedlings sown in trays pricked out on time. So have invested in a few more modular planting trays

.... and then sowed:

21st March in the greenhouse

Vegetables

• Perpetual Spinach - last year sown direct but ended up with no spinach due to slugs so starting off in greenhouse this year.


• Flat leaved parsley


• Lettuce various


• Kale 'Scarlet' (T&M) needs protecting this year from Cabbage White butterfly


• Purple Sprouting (Suttons) - ditto re Cabbage White butterfly

Flowers all new (ie haven't tried these before) annuals/half hardy flowers all of which are for planting out after last frosts:

• Cerinthe major purpurascens - a hardy annual with blue-green foliage and bracts that, in theory (haven't grown them before) appear through the summer. Height is 12-18inches and they need to be planted out 12 inches apart. 10 seeds in the packet (from T&M) so ideal for my module planting only resolution!


• Canary Creeper (Trpaeolum peregrinum) - yellow flowered annual climber. My plan is to cover the trellis around the oil tank with yellow flowers (promised summer - autumn). Long germination time for these seeds of 21-30 days. Plant out 12inches apart.


• Chrysanthemum 'Summer Festival' - mix of colours and double/semi-double/single flowers. Good as, and my reason for growing, a cut flower. Gap between plants 6 inches min. Meant to be sown in situ, but sown in modules in greenhouse as slugs would adore the seedlings.


• Cosmos All Sorts Mixed - half hardy annual that will grow to over 1m (40 inches) tall. Germination 7-14 days. Plant out 12-18 inches apart. Plan is for these to grow in the bed at the base of the Leylandii hedge.

31st March in the vegetable patch

Parsnip F1 Albion. Germination is long (10-28 days) and seedlings should be thinned to 6 inches between plants. In practice I sow thinly and thin out plants so gaining some baby parsnips.

In between the parsnip rows - from the RHS:

one full row of Radish Cherry Belle. I will thin seedlings as the thinnings are good added to salads. Thin to 1-2 inches between plants.

Two half rows of Rocket. Thin to 8 inches between plants. Needs watering frequently

'Bottoms Up'

Spring bursting out all over - in pink and white

Dwarf Prunus

Cyclamen Hederifolium - has been flowering profusely under Viburnum Davidii for the last month+


Helebore Orientalis under the silver birch

Bellis perennis

Hmm - thought these were a perennial. Well their cousin the common daisy are..

Will enjoy these for as long as they are around for (split from one plant my m-in-law bought me)

Moving and dividing

The forecast for last night was for a heavy frost. Thankfully this didn't happen in this part of Wiltshire. The neighbour's Magnolia flower buds are safe for a bit longer! After strong bitter northerly wind yesterday, today was brilliant sunshine and a light breeze.

Tulip 'Fur Elise' - small early tulip in the main bed

The yellow stemmed dogwood finally moved to where the Mahonia Japonica 'Charity' used to be. (starting and final location will be easier to understand later on, if you happen to be following this blog).

As with all such moves it sparked off a chain move reaction. Geranium pheum, Knautia and Rudebkia needed to be lifted prior to the dogwood being dug up. These then needing splitting and moving to.... oh that bit of ground needs to be dug over first ...and that plant moved etc etc

Headline movers/dividers:

Stipa Gigantea ('feather grass' or 'quaking' grass) failed to plume last year: now split into 4 and put into pots of general compost in the greenhouse for each, hopefully, new plant to establish. It is joined by Japanese Painted fern (on a partial move) and Hecheura Purple Plum (pieces from parent plants that are 4+ years old.

Spring bursting out all over - in purple

Last weekend was the most glorious weather. I had my mother in law staying (it being mothering Sunday) so not as much actual gardening done as could have been, but a very happy couple of hours spent going round and discussing every plant. It is from her that I have learnt the Latin plant names over the years.

Spring bursting out in purple:

Periwinkle (Vinca Major) growing under the yew tree

Must get some of the less rampant Vinca Minor so I can enjoy the flowers elsewhere in the garden!

Labrador Violet (Viola labradorica 'Pururea') growing under the Hellebore at the corner of the pond

The leaves of this shade loving violet age to a deep purple/green. It self seeds happily, some would say a bit too happily but I have not found it a problem. It's not as if it is difficult to pull up if I discover it has jumped a flower bed or two. Did spot it being sold in a pot at a garden centre a year or so back - felt like leaving a note telling whoever was tempted to buy it come and get some plantlets from me!

Crocus 'Ruby Giant' in the bed at base of trellis around tank.

Cheating slightly - this photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. Although one of the last crocus' in bloom it is now over.

Hellebore Orientalis in bloom

The same clump that was featured in an earlier post!

Rosemary

It always takes me slightly by surprise when rosemary blooms in spring. Use the flowers as an edible decoration for rhubarb fool.

Clean dog and greenhouse

The weather yesterday turned out to be as promised and then some. If I hadn't been tackling pruning of the rose 'The fairy' I would have been in shorts! Made the most of the warmth and washed the dog and also the greenhouse - using different washing solutions for each of course! The dog now smells neutral and the greenhouse is ready for seed sowing to commence.

Frog and the first set of spawn (excuse the glare from the water)

Going to have to think quickly about how to protect the frog spawn from the fish (see Saturdays post). At the start of the day the first clump of frog spawn had been produced - see photo above. By the end of the day it had been significantly added to. My work on the border along the back wall of the house, which was my main gardening activity yesterday, was accompanied by a frog chorus and then some. They are still going today, and probably will do so for at least another week.

Dwarf daffodil in front of Spirea Goldflame which is beginning to show its colourful leaves

Love songs and haircuts

Weather has been wet on and off for most of the week. Today was a mixture of overcast and sun with quite a strong wind. Tomorrow promises to be sunny. Just half an hour in the garden today, but another half an hour in a garden centre buying some summer tubers and bulbs. Combining hobby and retail therapy - bliss!

Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince) coming into bloom on the front fence

Love songs: amorous croaks from the first frogs in the pond. If this year is anything like last year we will have pounds of frog and toad spawn - not that I weighed it I hasten to add! The big downside of having fish in the pond is that, between them and the newts, very few of the eggs get to be adult frogs/toads. Next door have a new pond with no fish so hopefully I can transfer at least some of the spawn there. Need as many slug eaters as possible! I am also thinking about using some fine mesh to segment part of the marginal shelf as a tadpole nursery. Needs more thought..


Haircuts - aka pruning:
- Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Worcester Gold' and 'Heavenly Blue' cut back by about a third today. The key requirement is to take it back to the main shape making sure the centre doesn't get overcrowded as well.
- Epimedium. An overdue haircut as I missed the key time last year. ALL of last years leaves off to show off the emerging flowers and new foliage. I have two forms Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' and another which I think is x warleyense (has a taller orange flower). Sulphureum flowers stems already coming through so quite proud that I only snipped off one by accident in the whole clump.
- Clematis - need to do tomorrow!

Hellebores

Glorious weather for most of the day. The rain hits tonight with potential for hail etc. Mr B gave the lawn the first cut of the year (the lawnmower started without too much coaxing!). I started the shifting of the recycled compost - which arrived during the week - to the beds I have completed removal of the aforementioned buttercup. As this compost is very dark in colour it provides a great foil to the emerging foliage. The way that it is produced means that it is quite sterile - great as a soil structure improver or mulch - so I have added a pelleted chicken manure to the beds prior to applying the mulch.



I have a number of Hellebores in the garden:

- 2 clumps of a purple flowering type of Hellebore Orientalis (although I do like the naming of this type to Hellebore Hybridus as given here) shown in bud in an earlier post. One clump by the pond and the other under the Silver Birch at the front of the house.

- White flowering Hellebore Orientalis which grows under the Silver Birch as well. The common name for this type of Hellebore is 'Lenten Rose' so, as you would expect from the name, they are both just coming into flower. Both the purple and the white variants had their old leaves cut back at the start of February. This, in theory, stops black spot but, more importantly, also shows off the buds and emerging stems.

- Hellebore foetidus. The photo above was taken a couple of weeks ago so the purple edging to the flowers haden't formed. It grows under the Silver Birch. Before you think that I only have Hellebores under the Silver Birch, they are surrounded by Spurge and Daffodils in the spring followed by hardy geraniums and ferns for the rest of the year. Hellebore foetidus self seeds with abandon, but amidst the tree roots this is somewhat tempered. No cutting back of leaves for this variety - just keeping the seedlings in check.

- Hellebore Sternii (above) which loves full sun, unlike most other Hellebores. I thought I had purchased a H. x sternii 'Blackthorn Group' but ended up with the taller variety. It is on the other side of the pond from the purple Hellebore Orientalis and is over 2 feet in height. The aim of the small planting pocket it is in was to have H. x sternii 'Blackthorn Group' with an underplanting of a winter flowering heather. 'Underplanting' has taken on the full meaning of the word as the Erica carnea 'Ann Sparkes' (tolerates my neutral-alkaline soil) is dwarfed by the H. Sternii but still complements the pink-purple stems of the Hellebore whilst glowing in its own right.

Erica carnea 'Ann Sparkes'

Whatever variant of H Sternii my speciman is, it makes a bold statement. Cutting back the stems that have flowered reveals the pink-purple new stems and leaves. I have been sorely tempted to move it and find a true Blackthorn Group variety to put in its place but have never quite worked out the ideal spot for it and have also just found out that they do not like being disturbed. Not that this has bothered me before but....

Digging companions, worms and sprinting buttercup

The good weather lasted over the weekend - overcast on Saturday but glorious sunshine back again yesterday. Saturday was spent moving compost made over last year onto the fruit and vegetable areas, including the area for the new raised bed, and sorting through plastic pots and plant trays so I can take all excess and broken ones to the recycling bin at the garden centre later this week. Resited the wormery by the shed, which itself is next to the compost bins, to see if it is more successful there.

Sunday saw many more bucket loads of creeping buttercup being shifted concentrating mainly on the area alongside the back hedge. The theory being that the chickens, who have their run under the hedge, scratch up the weeds between the field and the garden and the strip I was clearing will act as a secondary 'weed break' .

Why has it been such a good winter for the buttercup to spread? It feels as if it has been sprinting rather than creeping! Maybe I have left a few main roots behind even though I feel as if I have been thorough.

The weed break is where I managed to get this photo of one of the companions I have whenever I am digging.

I know the garden is split between at least two Robins. The one who proclaims his territory from the Rowan tree at the side of the house has lost his tail feathers somehow, whilst this chap ('chap' being gender neutral here as both male and female have the same colouring) has a full set of tail feathers and is possibly the one who sings from the walnut tree at the back of the house. Both seeing and hearing a Robin sing reminds me of the film of The Secret Garden. Delightful!

I did, however, rescue as many of the worms as I could during the compost moving process to put into the wormery prior to the Robin(s) guzzling them all.