A Little Gardening for the Soul

It has been a lovely day here in Peterborough today, too nice to be cooped up in the house and so I decided to do a bit more in the garden.  Did not get into the garden until after 1:00pm and then started to re-arrange things.  My mini grow houses were down the bottom of the garden.  I have brought them further up so that I don't have to go down the garden in the dark as there is no lighting.  Before then I had to move the patio table and clear a load of self-set weeds out of the pavement, and then sweep up the path.  The pavement is to get a sprinkle down the cracks where the weeds grow with some white vinegar to see if it will get rid of them.  Am not keen on using weed killers per se. 

I have four growing houses.  I put new covers on  three of them as the old ones were ripped.  The fourth one at the moment is used more like a cold frame or pot/tray store.  That took a little time but eventually got them all nicely sorted.  It feels good when you get something dealt with that has been bugging you for some time.  Equally I am getting a nice store of rubbish bags, mostly old broken trays or pots, with a few bags of pernicious weeds as well.  I am hoping that the tip opens soon so that we can deal with this and get it out of the way.  In the meantime everything is double wrapped and literally is just ready to go when the time comes.  I have also started placing some of my fruit trees which are in tubs on the cleared part of the pavement.

I had hoped to get my new rhubarb plants potted up today but that again will have to wait until tomorrow as I just did not get there.  They have started to sprout but I want to start them off in pots first to get a little growth on them before planting into their permanent bed.

We have had Chinese pork ribs for tea this evening, followed by a bowl of Strawberries and cream (English ones) which I bought from Waitrose on Saturday.  They were absolutely delicious.

After tea, I started doing some housekeeping on my trays, pots, cloches and covers. Quite a few have been scrubbed up in hot soapy water (something I do every year) but I have another load to deal with tomorrow weather permitting.  The clean ones can go into one of the growing houses for now.  I am going to have a sort out on the plant pot front in any event as I seem to have quite a few at the moment. Another job for the to do list.  It is nice and peaceful of an evening in the garden.  We have a long house (terrace) and the garden is reasonably long.  When we are in the back of the house, we cannot hear anybody at the front at all and if we are in the garden you have no hope.

I had to nip to the shop earlier on and whilst in there they had a few plants including some Strawberry plants so what they had came home with me (four).  I think that they will be going into hanging baskets which I also found down the garden.  They are supposed to be having another delivery of plants on Thursday so I shall go and have a nosey then to see if there is anything that will be useful including more Strawberries which are a firm favourite here.  I am also doing miniature tomatoes in hanging baskets as well as we have fencing down both sides of the garden which I can hanging baskets off the wooden posts (extra growing space).

The area of the garden which is going to be the permanent bed for the Rhubarb, currently has invasive ivy growing all over it and it also needs a good dig. Some of the ivy is designated for the planters that I wish to use as window boxes and also in some other hanging baskets I have. By the time I finish I should have six Rhubarb plants.  Rhubarb is very useful and I have plans for all sorts.  Probably will not get much this year, but there is always next.

What is referred to as the Herb garden currently has a sprout of growth with wild Strawberry plants which very much seem to like that bed, and which are starting to throw up tiny blossoms for the miniature fruit. I am going to encourage them and also put some of them into planters as well.  Fingers crossed I get to them. I think the herbs will have to go into planters and pots this year rather than in the bed, apart from the sage that is.  My two large planters are also in the herb garden filled with violets.  I am slowly expanding the stock as I have plans next year for those too.  I have another small planter which is to be planted up tomorrow with a couple of freelancing violets, so as I say I am doing my best to expand my stock.

My grape vine seems to have thrown up another plant so I now have two grape vines in the herb bed.   The vine I bought the other day is to go down on the patio area behind the shed.

Tomorrow I need to plant my gherkins - not really grown these before so I will see how I get on.  OH is rather partial to them unfortunately I do not share his persuasion.

My other plants which I rescued from the jungle and planted into individual pots are all doing extremely well and seem a lot happier.  My Hollyhock has really taken off as have the Clematis (three different ones) and the Honeysuckles and my trailing rose also seems a lot happier and is throwing up a lot of new growth.  Unfortunately I have lost the label so cannot tell you what colour the flower is or indeed the name of it.  I suspect it is a pink one!  One day I would love a rose garden.  I like all the old fashioned flowers especially the scented ones.

I also have to re-pot some of my fruit trees into larger pots which I already have, but until I can access quite a bit of compost they are going to have to make do for now.

It is my birthday this coming Sunday which will be celebrated quietly at home, if the weather is fine possibly pottering in the garden again.  Under normal circumstances I would be paying a visit to a garden centre!  Never mind, you can only do what you can do and at the end of the day we are all in this together  Reminds me of the Frog Song by Paul McCartney and on that note, I hope you have a lovely evening.

Catch up soon.

Pattypan

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