Broad beans and more

Hello! I hope you've all been keeping well. I don't know about you but the weather has been quite erratic lately. We've experienced rain, hail, warm days, winds. Luckily no frosts! 

Despite feeling tired, I feel like I haven't achieved much lately. I've had to work this weekend so there's not been much time for the garden. Having said that, the veg patch is coming along quite nicely. Not as much as I'd hoped by now as time feels it's running away but anything's better than nothing. There's lots of fledgling birds and the blue tit chicks will fledge soon.

The Veg Patch:

I've got one more soft fruit bush to put in! I now have jostaberries, blackberries, currants and gooseberries there. Upon inspection this afternoon, it looks like the wood pigeons have been tucking in to the soft fruit before it gets a chance to ripen. Our pair of woodies has two fledglings, who take refuge in the big tree at the bottom of the garden. I do feed them to try and distract them from my fruit but it's not worked. It's a bit annoying but I can't blame them - everyone needs to eat!

The broad beans are flowering. The best part of this is that the pollen contains a lot of protein, which is great for bumblebees. The flowers are mildly scented and very pretty (check out the photo below). Underground, the roots also fix nitrogen, thanks to the symbiotic relationship with bacteria. This year I've planted the broad beans next to my potatoes, as I've been told that they are great companions. What I will also do differently this year is cut the broad bean plants when they're done, instead of pulling them out. This was a suggestion in a book I read last year, so I'll see if this benefits the soil for next year. 

The pretty flowers of the broad bean

The Polytunnel:

All my tomatoes are in now, along with two courgette plants. I'll be placing physalis plants in pots on the shelving soon, as they need potting on now. I'm aiming to try and keep the plants for next year. Usually they get treated as annuals but I'm hoping that with the right protection over winter and against pests or diseases, I can keep them growing. 

The physalis - a popular fruit in my household. I've several of these this year, which I hope will keep for next year too.

The Greenhouses:

I've treated myself to new blueberry plants, so they are taking up residence in one greenhouse. The new strawberries are still in pots there too. The plan is to create a wall of strawberry plants but I've not been feeling creative enough recently to design this! Maybe I'll get some inspiration this week or at a garden trip I have planned for this month. There's also some young watermelon plants that germinated. I've grown these in the past but haven't been particularly successful so fingers crossed.

Wildlife:

The bird activity in the garden is busy! Although it's hard to tell on my old camera, I think that six blue tit chicks have survived so far. They are almost ready to fledge and I'm hoping to witness this as I have managed to do so almost every year. There are lots of young starlings pestering their parents and, of course, the wood pigeons with their two fledglings. I haven't seen much of the hedgehog - just a few sightings at the ground level bird bath but I'm pleased that we still have hedgehogs visiting our garden. 

Jobs in the garden:

• Keep water topped up (remember to clean bird baths etc) for birds and other wildlife
• Harden off any seedlings that will be moved outdoors eventually, but keep an eye out for frosts just in case
• Enjoy propagating but bored of sowing seeds? Now is a good time for softwood cuttings, or take some cuttings or tender perennials to maximise on your plants for free. 
• Prune any spring flowering shrubs

There's plenty more jobs but give yourself time to enjoy your outdoor space too! Until next time x

 

May Time

Well, today I've come away from working in the garden feeling tired with a sore back but also with a sense of accomplishment. It's safe to say that I am finally catching up with garden chores, although there is still lots to do.

So, what have I done? As it was a bank holiday here in the UK, we had a three day weekend and I wasted no time in getting stuck in. The weather may not have been the most cheery but it certainly gave me some advantages.

The Front Garden:

Firstly, I got some work done in the front garden. My ambition is to create a very full floral, English cottage style garden. The idea is to make sure that wildlife always has plenty of food resources there. When we moved to our current location the front garden just had very woody lavender and grass, with a weigela in one corner that was never pruned. I now regularly prune that weigela and every year it comes back bigger and better with a huge abundance of flowers. The lawn came out, as did the old lavender, and now there are younger lavenders and plenty of different plants but there's still plenty of room. This weekend I planted a Euphorbia Miners Merlot and a Ceanothus Italian Skies, along with some Crocosmia Harlequin bulbs. 

I also tended to most of the containers, adding some white antirrhinums among others. I don't know about you but when I was a child I was fascinated by the bumblebees climbing inside the antirrhinums. I could sit and watch for hours! Also, as my husband was clearing one of our sheds, he found an old hanging basket made to look like a hedgehog, so I filled that with a Calibrachoa. Another basket was added with Ameranthus in the hope that they will dangle down over the front door. You remember me saying that the weather gave me some advantages? Well, with the front garden after planting it rained over night, which should help the new plants get established.

Lots of plants but still more room! In the foreground are some tulips next to a cineraria. My new euphorbia is in the background.

To be honest I'm surprised that this basket has even survived. It may not look much but there's a young calibrachoa, which should grow and trail down.

All these flowers from just one shrub! There were quite a few bumblebees and honey bees on this. 

The Polytunnel:

This is where I did most of the heavy work and my back is paying for it now! I removed the old top soil from the raised beds as it was looking to be lacking in nutrients. I used it in the garden in areas I'd already composted this year. I then added some well rotted horse manure and fresh compost from one of my heaps. Raking it over carefully to level it up set the raised beds up for planting my tomatoes that were aching to stretch their roots and keep growing. I've got three varieties in now: Rosella, Cour de Bou and Marmande. I have two more varieties to plant next weekend. 

I also stung them up. I don't use canes for my indeterminate tomatoes, instead opting to use string. That way I can just create a string frame and carefully wind the plants around their support strings, a method I learnt to use when I worked for a commercial grower.

As you can see here, each tomato plant has its own string which can be wound round the plant as it grows taller, giving it support. 

Wildlife:

It's been a busy last couple of weeks for the birds. The blue tit eggs have hatched. It's hard to see how many eggs successfully hatched but the hard work for the parents starts now. Both mum and dad have been busy finding small caterpillars in the garden for their chicks. From the camera I have which, by the way is very old and only makes black and white film, I can see seven chicks so far. 

Elsewhere, I have spotted dunnock and robin fledglings. I keep the bird bath cleaned and topped up everyday, especially following the warm, dry weather recently. The swifts are now turning up, which is always delightful to hear as they sound excited to arrive when they call. 

I've also spotted lots of butterflies, including holly blues, which seem to be having a great year so far.

A holly blue settled on clematis. 

Jobs for May:

• Sow sweetcorn and beans (French or Runner)
• Keep bird baths clean and topped up
• Plant out summer bedding
• Watch out for any possible frosts still - I have put out my dahlias but in sheltered positions for the time being as an example.

I hope that you have all had a lovely bank holiday weekend. Till next time.