ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
We went midweek to visit Wildside garden at Buckland Monochorum. This garden, created by Keith Wiley with a great deal of inspiration from his late wife Ros, is as close as any garden I know to my idea of a perfect garden. It is packed full of good plants, all planted in a naturalistic way…
Our first NGS opening is on the 23rd but we had something of a dry run with a group from Liskeard on wednesday afternoon. It all went well, which was a relief. Having spent weeks coaxing things along and primping and preening it all, it's hard not to feel a bit flat afterwards. There's plenty…
Nearly the end of May and we've yet to have a spell of really good growing weather this year. The forecasts have often suggested that things might be getting better only for it not to materialise, so I'm trying to attenuate my hopes for the coming week. Gales are particularly unwelcome and all you can…
Weird it is. For a good part of yesterday the sky to the south of us was black with rain coming down in sheets. There were several claps of thunder though I didn't notice any lightning flashes. We had about five drops of rain, the rest missed us. Normally that would have been a good…
The greenhouse extension is done, all that remains is to sort out shelving and staging. It won't last but at the moment it actually feels spacious. Building has meant that apart from watering, all other gardening has been neglected, so I'm keen to wrap it up and get back to weeding, planting, pricking off, potting…
Most mornings this week there has just been a touch of ground frost and in desperation to get some space, a few risks have been taken. I planted tomatoes in my tunnel and have been putting things out by day then back in at night, or not if I'm feeling lucky. Planted a Begonia out…
Yesterday wasn't much of a day for scurrying out between showers to see if anything was happening. Not a lot if truth be told, so I've had to be a bit creative. It's a lot easier for me than many I know and I'm always impressed that so many people find something going on even…
On thursday I was sowing cyclamen seeds, then yesterday I planted up some of the bare space in the front garden. It felt way too early to be sowing seeds and way too late to be planting. I have Cyclamen and Japanese anemones flowering. It seems like the chronological signposts have been removed. At least…
31°C Thursday, 19°C Friday, 17°C the forecast for today. It's raining too. You have to admire the way most plants cope; they can't put on a sun hat or don coat and gloves, they just have to put up with it. We've had more rain overnight, I don't know how much until I check the…
Looks like we may be back to more familiar weather for a while, frontal systems coming in off the Atlantic, an hour or two of rain then back to dry. The garden seems to be in transition, I've done nearly all the planting I have planned and am waiting for things to start flowering. In…
garden ruminations 