My New Year

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Anemone coronaria, Devon, RHS Lindley Library, scented narcissi

Scented narcissi

I feel like I’m slowly emerging from hibernation. The weather isn’t perfect, in fact it’s raining again today but there has been a taste of spring over the last two weeks which has tempted me outdoors. It’s the last day of February today and technically the last day of winter but, as is quite typical for this time of year, the seasonal transition has brought some of the coldest weather so far. There’s a saying if March comes in like a lion then it’ll go out like a lamb and vice versa. Every year I mean to keep some sort of record of whether this has any real basis – I always forget. I hope the snow and frost predicted for this weekend count as March coming in like a lion and we’ll all be basking in spring sunshine by the end of the month.

The lengthening days and the warmth in the sun have given me enough of a spur to start tackling jobs in the garden. I had one of those days last week when I didn’t plan on doing anything in particular, just a bit of cold frame re-jigging, but before I knew it the patio was a sea of pots as both the cold frames and greenhouse were emptied entirely, staging was removed and there I was giving them a full-blown spring clean. I didn’t realise how dirty the greenhouse had got until I had finished and it was now sparkling in the late afternoon sunshine.

Seedlings

This sudden burst of enthusiasm had been prompted to a certain extent by some weekend seed sowing and the realisation that space was already a bit on the tight side. Reorganisation was needed. It’s already looking like another one of those years where my plans far outstrip the space I have to carry them out.

It’s always a pity when good weather is so limited to spend a glorious day inside when there’s so much I could be doing outside, but my trip to London and the RHS Lindley Library last week had been planned for a while. Still, if I was going to be indoors on a sunny day there can’t be many better places to be. It was my first visit and it was garden book bliss. I was there doing research and got through quite a few books in my limited time but I had only scratched the surface of what was on the shelves. I can’t wait to go back there again.

A few days by the sea in South Devon at the start of this week gave us a much needed break. It was a pity to hear from the owner of the bed and breakfast that people had cancelled their planned breaks because of the recent storms. There were places where there was visible storm damage, sand bags, trees uprooted and plants burnt to a crisp by salt-laden winds but, in general, it’s remarkable how unscathed most places were. For areas so dependent on tourism it’s incredibly important to support the local economy and the best way to do this is go there on holiday. I don’t know why I’m always surprised at how much milder it is in the south-west. In the sheltered little fishing villages and coves there were scented narcissi in full bloom already. I have the same bulbs on my cut flower patch and even though it has been a mild winter, with hardly any frost, it’ll be another month or so before mine flower.

A sea view

I picked the first posy of flowers from the allotment yesterday – a handful of Anemone coronaria, and there are primroses galore in the garden so I have a few small jars of those dotted about the house too. With seedlings appearing in trays on the windowsill and packages of seeds and bulbs arriving through the post it all feels quite exciting. For me this is the real start to the new year.

Hip Hip Hip Hooray!

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Anemone coronaria, sowing pea shoots

I swear if I’d woken up on Wednesday morning to find it was raining AGAIN I’d have crawled back under the duvet and stayed there until it stopped. Forget all the jobs I had to do, I would have stayed put. After two days and nights of non-stop torrential rain I was going stir-crazy. Fortunately Wednesday morning greeted me with blue skies and the sun had got his hat on and he was definitely out for the day. It might have been blowing a hooley outside but I was determined to get out into the fresh air. I’ve spent way too much time in front of a computer recently and needed to garden. Even if the garden had looked pristine and there wasn’t a single thing to do (is that ever the case?) I’d have had to find something to do, the urge was so strong.

Luckily the garden didn’t look pristine. In fact the weight of all the snow and then the subsequent thaw meant that the garden looked a bit sorry for itself so there was plenty to get stuck into. My neighbours’ cats have this annoying habit of sitting on my grasses and herbaceous plants, using them like a cat bed and in the process squishing them to a pancake. Well it appeared that the snow had had a similar effect. Grasses and their seed heads that had looked lovely pre-snow now just looked a mess and the brown foliage of the irises and the crocosmia had become big soggy piles. In amongst all this decaying plant matter though were the first new shoots tentatively appearing. Armed with secateurs I snipped and cleared. The snowdrops are in full flower, as are the hellebores and I can see buds swelling on the tete-a-tete daffodils.  I only have small feet, size four, but sometimes I think I’m possessed by an elephant as I clumsily step through the borders. I do try to be careful but it wouldn’t be spring if I didn’t accidentally step on something emerging from the ground. On Wednesday it was narcissi. Luckily though the flower stems survived intact even if the leaves are now growing horizontally rather vertically.

The best bit of the day though had to be my first afternoon spent in the greenhouse. We constructed it back in November and although it has been home to several plants over the winter I haven’t really had the need to do anything in there. It was disconcerting to be in there as the wind pummelled the sides; I’m so glad Wellyman screwed it into the patio.

I’ve never had any luck growing Anemone coronaria as the corms rot in the ground and, although at the time I didn’t realise the winter would be quite so wet I thought, fortuitously as it turns out, that I’d try them in pots and then plant them out in spring. Well instead of non appearing as has happened before they have all emerged but, they’ve all grown too well and it’s too wet to plant them out so I’ve to pot on into bigger pots. I’m not sure whether it will work as some plants don’t like root disturbance but I thought it was worth a try. If it doesn’t work I think I’ll have to accept defeat on the windflower front.

I’m resisting the temptation to sow most of my seeds but I did sow a few pots of winter salad leaves, some pea shoots, spinach and sorrel. It’s exciting to be able to start plants off this early but the best bit about the greenhouse is being able to sow standing up. I know it’s a pretty prosaic reason but after years of sowing whilst sat on a compost bag outside my shed it’s a real joy. My shed has always been too full to have a proper potting area and with no window it’s so dark I can’t see what I’m doing. Sitting on a compost bag was never particularly comfortable and chasing seed packets that had blown off or knocking over a pot I had just sown meant something I should have loved was quite a frustrating process. So it’s bliss to now have a dedicated place to stand, out of the wind and rain and still be able to get on with gardening jobs.

So it’s the 1st of February today. We’ve got through January and although I’m sure we’ve still got some of winter to come there’s a feeling that we’ve broken its back. The first seed sowing and the appearance of flowers in the garden has filled me with positivity. It’s a feeling I’d like to maintain. Best not look out the window then, that sounds distinctly like more rain.

A Diamond Jubilee Posy

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Anemone coronaria, Chelsea Pensioners, Diamond Jubilee, Diarmuid Gavin, forget-me-nots, Omphalodes liniflora, Orlaya grandiflora, Potentilla 'Gibson's Scarlet', Queen Elizabeth II, RHS Chelsea

Celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II will take place over this extended bank holiday weekend. My own nod to the Queen’s 60 year reign is with this posy of red, white and blue, picked from my allotment and garden.

It’s made from the white Orlaya grandiflora and Omphalodes linifolia, both are hardy annuals which I sowed last autumn to produce some early flowers.

The blue is provided simply with forget-me-nots and a few cornflowers. Forget-me-nots are a biennial and can be sown in July for flowering the following spring. Once growing in your garden they will happily self sow and pop up of their own accord every year. Some might say this is a nuisance but they are easy enough to remove if they appear somewhere they’re not wanted. The blue cornflowers are such an easy plant to grow and use as a cut flower. They are a hardy annual and can be sown in autumn to over winter and then flower in late spring and early summer. Further spring sowings can provide blooms right through to autumn. They are one of the best flowers for attracting bees and hoverflies into your garden or onto the allotment. Best picked just as the flower is starting to open, they will last a week in a vase.

Potentilla fruticosa ‘Gibson’s Scarlet’ growing in my garden

Finally, the red comes from a few stems of Potentilla fruticosa ‘Gibson’s Scarlet’. A clump forming perennial plant with strawberry like leaves, it is covered in shocking red flowers throughout the summer. The contrast of the red flowers and the green foliage makes me think of the Chelsea Pensioners, stood on Diarmuid Gavin’s garden tower, at this year’s RHS Chelsea Show. I don’t know where, or when, the saying ‘red and green should never be seen’ originated but I love the striking colour combination.

Diarmuid Gavin’s Chelsea 2012 Garden (image by Andy Paradise, courtesy of picselect)

The centrepiece flower is a red Anemone coronaria. These are grown from corms and can be planted in autumn for spring flowers or in spring for summer flowers. I have found them tricky to grow on my own wet soil, even with grit added for improved drainage, and only a few made it through last winter, but they are such beautiful flowers I will not be defeated by them and already have a cunning plan in place for success next year.

I fear the weather knows it’s a bank holiday, as this lovely warm spell looks set to end, with a return to more typical British weather. A wet bank holiday, what a surprise! But whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope you have a great time.

Bulb Planting Frenzy

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Abbey House Garden, Anemone coronaria, cutflowers, Gladiolus, Sarah Raven, Tulips

After a weekend off I knew there was a long list of jobs that needed tackling before the weather turns. So first thing Monday I went up to the plot and pulled out the cutflowers. The Zinnias, Rudbeckias and Calendulas all went on the compost heap and I lifted the dahlias to put in the shed to dry off. I’ve just left a couple of Asters because the bees are still enjoying them.

I sowed some more green manure. The packet said it was ok to sow up until November so hopefully they’ll germinate. Although the daylength is shortening and it looks like we might have a frost this week the ground is still warm so hopefully that will be enough for germination. The weeds are certainly still growing.

And then the bulb planting started. I know all the books say you shouldn’t plant your Tulips until November to prevent them getting viruses but by November the weather normally makes it difficult to work the soil. Either it’s too wet or too hard after a frost. I’m always intrigued by the idea that you should plant your shallots on the shortest day, December 21st. Firstly, who has time 4 days before Christmas to be planting shallots and secondly, and most importantly, when are the conditions right for this to happen. Personally, if I was a shallot I wouldn’t appreciate being shoved in some cold wet soil.

Also, Wellyman has had cold all week, so anticipating that I might catch it I just thought I’d make the most of a sunny day and get planting. No Narcissi this year, we have quite a lot already but there was Anemone coronaria, Gladiolus colvillei ‘The Bride’, Tulipa hageri ‘Little Beauty’, Tulipa ‘Odalisque’ and some free bulbs Tulipa ‘Ronaldo’.

I planted the Anemone at the allotment after soaking them overnight. With all the bulbs I added a small handful of grit to the planting hole. My soil isn’t particularly clayey but we do get very wet winters so I think they’ll benefit from that bit extra drainage. I also planted the Gladioli at the allotment. They are a hardy species variety which make a good cut flower apparently.

I decided to buy some of the smaller species Tulips this year. I saw a lot at Abbey House Gardens last year (a must see for Tulip lovers) and loved them. I also read that they are more perennial than the bigger Tulips and will slowly form a colony.

I do love the bigger Tulips and some do come back year after year but most, I find, start to dwindle in numbers. I know some people treat them as annuals but I can’t bring myself to spend a lot of money on them every year. So I thought I’d give the species one a try but as a bonus I got a free gift of 15 Tulipa ‘Ronaldo’ which is a deep carmine red. I don’t like bulb planting. The soil is hard work in some parts of my garden but we had some rain the previous night which made the ground more workable. But all the hard work will pay off next spring with, hopefully, a beautiful display.

I got my bulbs from Sarah Raven. She trials all her varieties and gives good informative advice in her catalogue and online.