Topic: Progress

[Tee Gee]

.........or should that be lack of progress :'(

As some of you will know I keep a pictorial diary of my garden and these are some I have taken for the month of May page.

Similarly some of you will know I am having a bit of bother with my seedlings let me show you graphically;


At the beginning of April I had over fifty trays of seedlings on the go and found that they were not developing.

I put this down to the compost I had used.

Since then I have pricked them out another twice into different compost and this is what they look like;







Barriedale put me on to another source of compost so I thought I would try it and bought some this morning.

On opening it I quite like what I see, but the proof will come later when I find out if  is if it is any good for my plants.

I have pricked out the best of what I have left and I am left with 13 trays full.

So since April I have lost over forty trays full (40x24=960)  :(

This is how they are now;





So its fingers crossed!

As I have mentioned I have decided to give my garden a complete makeover and get away from Spring bulbs and summer annuals.

This is how my garden looks today;





So all these will go and be replaced with these;





I am hoping the annuals I have pricked out today will fit in as a stop gap until these perennials are established.

I plan on just planting a few clumps of Daffs here and there but gone will be my 'host of golden daffodils'  :(

So I guess it is going to take a few years to get my garden the way I envisage it but as time is all I have I will just wait and see!



Regarding my allotments I am still not decided there!

I get depressed every time I go down now, I was down this morning and spent less than thirty minutes there.

I am finding the allotment a chore at the moment rather than the pleasure it has been for the past 25 years or more!

So I will decide later on this year, lets see what nature will do for me because I plan to only do what is necessary to keep my stuff alive!

I am not expecting a great deal as I have not 'mucked' the plot this year as I know there is weedkiller in the load of manure I bought in October.


This is the first year I will not have 'mucked' the plot since I took my plots over all those years ago so if we get a dry summer I guess I will have stuffed it!

I think some of you know I like to leave my watering to nature and I am not planning on altering the habits of a lifetime.

So its fingers crossed that we don't get too dry a summer.

A typical British summer will do for me  ;)

[1066]

So, a revamp of the garden eh, nothing like a new project! What perennials do you have planned?

Wishing you some good luck with the new compost and, if you insist, a typical British summer  ;)

[Tee Gee]

What perennials do you have planned?

Up to press I have bought;

Pieris, Stephandra,Abelia,Ajuga,Armeria,Antenaria,Heuchera,Gypsophyla,Sedum,Vinca,Lavandula,Aster alpinus,Bergenia,Leontopodium, Heathers, Primula added to which I will split various other things that exist now.

For example, Delphiniums, Stock, Lilies,Iris, Dicentra,Eunonymus, Hebe, Skimmia, Philadelphus and anything else I might find.

I will fill the gaps with some of the Spring bulbs I am about to dig up

I have sown some Echinacea & Lupins so hopefully in about a years time the change over will be completed, then it will be a case of sitting back and watch things develop!

[goodlife]

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I get depressed every time I go down now, I was down this morning and spent less than thirty minutes thereI had similar feelings about my allotment last year..but that's another story.
Just hang on..keep it going so it doesn't to go too wild. After 25 years you are allowed to have 'off' year..maybe you just need a break to think about it all.

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I am not expecting a great deal as I have not 'mucked' the plot this year as I know there is weedkiller in the load of manure I bought in October.How about starting to garden without horse manure? And still be able to keep the soil in good condition.
I've done that now several years and I'm perfectly happy with the results..manure started to be too much trouble for me...I always ended up with more weed seeds than I could cope with.
Every year I choose couple of beds where I'm growing a 'carbon' crop..for me its sweetcorn and in future wheat. End of the cropping all the growth is chopped small pieces and left on the soil to decompose in situ...and later on I add autumn leaves too. By spring majority of the stuff is 'eaten' and resulting soil is nice and becoming darker..I hope in future it would be like 'forest' floor.. ::) There is more to it..but if you are interested I can 'dig out' some info.. ;) Basically you just produce your own plant matter that will eventually provide the needed humus in soil.

[1066]

Sounds like a lovely mixture - some classics, some colour, some height! I'm adding oriental poppies into the mix in my garden this year, I blagged some seeds from a friend, of a lovely white one with a dark blue centre  :)

then it will be a case of sitting back and watch things develop!

Aahhhh, the best bit  :)

[shirlton]

We bought a lovely heuchera last year named coffee cream.It is a beauty