Thursday 15 May 2014

My Fledgling Garden

Pops and I are off to the allotment this morning to plant out runner beans and mange tout. I will update you with an occasional post on plot number 10, if you like. Suffice to say that there isn't much going on up there at the moment. Just lots of plastic covering much of the plot, in order to help kill off the couch grass and get the worms to do their thing. We have dug over a small area, and will go for it later in the year.

 

The two photographs above illustrate my garden nicely right now.

There is a constant flurry of activity on my part. And lots of stuff about to break out and party. Seeds that I have sown are potted on or put out into the garden. I sit on the decking, and am endlessly transplanting seedlings into bigger pots. Forty five Cosmos plants, for example. Many have now been planted in the garden. It's going to be very busy out there this summer. I have given some to Olly's nursery. My garden just isn't big enough.

The Tulips have all but finished, but the Anemones are still going. They are popping up in the planters to say hello. There are doubles and variegated colours to add to the usual red, white and mauve this year. The Clematis and Honeysuckle are in bloom. A cascade of colour draped over the fences. My dream of covering that once bare expanse is very nearly complete. Just a few bare patches, but they should have disappeared by next year.

I have succumbed and bought a couple of packs of bedding plants. Mainly Snapdragons. I saw a tall white variety on sale in my local diy store. They were on offer. Resistance was futile. I adore them. They remind me of childhood. Sadly the Hollyhocks haven't returned. I had hoped for self seeding loveliness, like the beauties in the garden up the road from me. I may have to buy a couple of packs from the garden centre. I still have my birthday voucher from my Mum.

The Delphiniums are still little seedlings in the greenhouse. I'm worried that they took too long to germinate, so won't be ready for the garden. But then I remind myself that it is only May, and they may just be a little later this year. As the garden warms up, it will accommodate them I'm sure. It's all part of my vision for a cottage garden. My favourite kind. Haphazard, blousy, full of the sounds of pollinators.

This morning I have hung some bunting. And I am thinking of some solar fairy lights to string through the shrubs and along the fence. The bunting looks a bit twee. I love it! The lights will be pretty twinkling in the warmer evenings to come, I think.

Off to open up the greenhouse. It is starting to smell of tomato plants in there. Heady and aromatic. Promising red fruit to go with the salad leaves. I can't wait.

Leanne xx




10 comments:

  1. I love the smell of tomato plants. I'm sorry to wash it off my hands after I've handled tomatoes on the vine. Your anemones are so beautiful in the planter, they just jump out at me in that picture. Very colorful and bright. You've probably already been and gone to the allotment, but I hope you and Mr Pops had a nice time there.

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  2. I used to have some solar fairy lights, they were magical. Snapdragons and that wonderful tomato smell remind me of my childhood too. I'd really love to hear about how everything is going at the allotment. I hope little Pops is enjoying it there. Hope you guys have a good weekend. CJ xx

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  3. I love hollyhocks and delphiniums , real cottage garden flowers. Sounds like your garden keeps you very busy!

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  4. wonderful! I think the smell of tomato plants being watered is one of my top 3 smells of all time! xxxx

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  5. So lovely to see what is coming along in your garden Leanne, it certainly looks as though you are very busy with all of those plants. Your allotment will come along I am sure, it just takes time. xx

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  6. Your garden looks and sounds lovely and each year it is maturing to your dream of how you want it to be. It will be so nice to sit out on a summer evening with the little dancing lights too, such a great idea. Enjoy your garden Leanne x

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  7. Your garden looks and sounds beautiful Leanne. I also succumbed to some bedding plants today. BigR and I sowed some cornflowers and asters at the start of May and they're already coming along nicely. Hoping for a good show later in the summer! Can't wait to see how your garden grows over the summer.

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  8. you can never have too much bunting in a garden. solar fairy lights -- ooh I want some of those. I love the smell of tomato plants too, my cats sleep in the greenhouse and when they come inside they smell like tomato plants!

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  9. I too love the smell of tomato plants in the greenhouse, it reminds me of my Grandpa. Some of the seeds you gave me need potting on. (Some are not doing anything at all - why, Leanne, why??? - I am a hopeless gardener and feel that I have somehow cursed your seeds!) You can't have too much bunting in a garden in my opinion and your anemones are looking stunning. x

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  10. I'm loving the photos of your garden - every flowerbed needs a windmill! Well, it certainly does in my garden. I planted snapdragons with the children at Nursery this week. They loved the name, it really made them laugh. Hopefully whenever they see the flowers as an adult it will bring back happy childhood memories! x

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