ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
It has mostly been a dry spring and this has slowed the progress of several of my ferns. As with most plants that do most of their growing in a short burst in spring, they expect to have abundant water available to them and can be hard hit if it is not. Athyrium nipponicum 'Red…
Getting pictures yesterday for todays post wasn't a runner, it rained pretty relentlessly all day. My water tank is full, to look on the bright side. So I went out early(ish) this morning with my camera. Not a good time of day for taking pictures here, too many areas in shadow and the light rather…
Another full on week down here, I'm exhausted. Next week will be worse, the scrappy hedge between us and one of our neighbours is going, to be replaced by a fence. It all has to go through our garden because they have no front to back access other than through their house. A couple of tons…
It's that time of year when the chaos seems to build week on week. Everything is growing like mad which means seeds are sown, pricked off, potted up, potted on; pot plants get potted on, cuttings potted up, glasshouses emptied out, more plants bought, potted. It's not like there was any spare space to start…
I lay awake on Wednesday evening listening to two hedgehogs mating just outside. Yes, I'm happy to have hedgehogs and very glad they are breeding. I wish I knew where she was going to have her babies so I could keep well clear. They were at it for at least 45 minutes. Shameless. One. Primula…
Here are six more ferns from my garden. I thought I could go through most of them in a few weeks in spring but it is only when you set out on such a task that you realise how quickly some emerge and how slowly others. That's a good thing; it extends the period over…
On Wednesday we had a decent drop of rain, the first useful amount for a while, and when I pulled the curtains in the morning it was as if the windows had been cleaned for the first time in years. I stood there for a while, taking it in, and started noticing things. Come Saturday, said I,…
With a bit of luck the short return of winter forecast for this weekend will spare the far southwest; frost at this stage of the great unfurling can do untold damage. Just now it's raining, but just a passing shower methinks. One large oak tree at the southwest corner and a few overgrown shrubs are what…
I just did a count of the ferns I grow and found I had 23 forms growing in the ground plus another 10 in pots. There are a couple of wild native ferns around, nearly-weeds being allowed to masquerade as garden plants. That’s too many for one blog and besides, they don’t all look their…
I'm off to another show at RHS Rosemoor today, the RCM Group Main Rhododendron and SW Branch Competitions. As usual, my main focus is the Camellias, which a month or so ago seemed likely to be all over by now. However, when I did my volunteer day at Mt Edgcumbe on Tuesday I was pleasantly…
garden ruminations 