Six on Saturday - 28 August 2021

A few days of sunshine has revived this gardener and her garden.  The bees are buzzing and birds have returned.  I've found slugs and snails of course and a whole pot of coriander seedlings were munched overnight.  Some of the perennials such as geraniums which were prunned back hard a few weeks ago are giving out a second flush of fresh leaves and flowers, and the roses too are getting ready for another flush.

Can't believe the Prop who is our 'trainer' is running 45Km round Bristol this morning, the least we can do it join in with the pack of other gardeners and follow his example of talking about six things in our garden. I am definitely more plant like and would not be wanted to be weeded away from my Saturday morning slow breakfast prepared by my dearly beloved.

1.  This year the Teucrium hircanium has reached the stage that is probably too large for the space allocated.  I'll be searching out seedlings to plant elsewhere but this one may well be removed. 

 Already that area needs refreshing and this past week I have been doing some editing. Plants have been divided, or cuttings taken.  I sent a list of the plants I had to spare and a friend took them all to grow on for a sale next year.  

2.  The lollipop Bay Tree needed a trim: again my long pruners came out, and I managed not to snip any of the stems of the Clematis Clematis 'Purpurea Plena Elegans'.  This picture is before the trim, and I didn't need to stand on a ladder!

I had noticed the new growth on the top of the bay was a little raggedy, and when the prunnings were dexterously brought down thanks to the grabbers, the culprits were found.

3.  I realised that I ought to have two compost bins, but I only have room for one.  Last year it swallowed nearly all the garden waste, and I stopped adding to it some time ago.  I was on the verge of getting rid of it altogether, when due to the lack of HGV drivers our green bin collection has been suspended.  Therefore this week I 'drew down' the pile, sifting the material.  The coarser stuff was spread under the shrubs and the rest looks and smells so wonderful.  Some inevitably went back to the bottom of the pile, and the fine sifted compost is in covered pots to mix in and around choice plants.  What makes it smell so nice?  A job is not finished till the tools are washed, dried and ready to put away:

It was a very hard job and took me several hours.  I hope the slowworms which were in the heap will return to enjoy a warm and protected space.

4. The runner beans sown a little late, have now been 'overtaken' by the same variety that is on its third summer, growing from the tubers left in the ground and completely unprotected: the variety Moonlight. Each tuber sent up three or four shoots, where as the seedlings only one.

5. Cyclamen time again: 

The special hederifoliums  in pots are starting to flower as is the Cyclamen cilicium in the gravel. I even spied the tiny leaves of Cyclamen graecum which are in their second season grown from seed.  In the conservatory bed a few of the Cyclamen coums too are putting forth a tentative leaf or two

6. Plum Mirabelle de Nancy first harvest might not have had a given much this year, but it may just be spared for another year to see if matters improve. I've given it a bit of a prune removing crossing branches etc, and reducing long growths so it is also looking quite smart.

 

I shall make a mini bottled Mirabelle preserve to celebrate this harvest.