Hummingbird Hawk moth in February!

I was really excited to spot a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on my Mahonia today.   Unfortunately, one of my pair of resident robins also had his eye on it.   Reminding me how remarkable nature is, just as the robin attacked, the moth beat a hasty retreat and they both shot off around different sides of the hedge into my neighbours' garden so I didn't see the outcome.   Moments later, the robin re-appeared, apparently still hungry so here's hoping the moth got away!

Mahonia flowers, like tiny daffodils

No pictures on this encounter but here's a shout for Mahonia which attract so much attention from both birds (mainly blue tits) and bees from January onwards when there is so little in flower - and it smells so good!   I consider them a must-have for any garden - especially near a window where you can watch the activity.

In contrast the self-set crocuses are a a joy to behold, especially when they open in the sun.   I must have planted a few years back and they have multiplied and interbred to produce quite a diverse range of forms from pure mauve to some with almost white outer petals and pale mauve inner.

Crocuses self-set along a brick path

Delightful miniature lilac

This year the lilacs seems to have been particularly spectacular. Maybe because we've had more time to appreciate them. The little Syringa palibiniana I have had growing in a pot for well over 20 years has excelled its self. If you have a small garden or little space for the standard varieties (which can take over) I strongly recommend this gem. It needs little attention, has seldom been re-potted and seems happy with just a little top dressing and feeding. It smells divine!

Unexpected over-wintering climber!

So we are all confined to home, which suits some much better than others. I definitely count myself as amongst the lucky and plan to be making the most of the extra time in the garden - and sharing the pleasure! One of the things I love most about gardening is the unexpected surprises. This spring I have been amazed to discover that both the cobea scandens and eccremocarpus scaber - two half-hardly perennials that are usually tender in our climate - that I grew from seed last year have over-wintered in the area nearest the house, the eccremocarpus looking stronger than ever and flowering beautifully. I just need to go and pull it back from shooting up next-door's overgrown buddleia!

Early autumn and dahlias

After the incredibly dry summer it was amazing how things took off again once it finally began to rain. Tap water - however frequently and lovingly applied just doesn't have the same effect as rain water, resulting in the dahlias being very late to flower. As I write I am still waiting for the first buds to open on two of them - crossing everything we don't have any early frosts!
Here are a few images as a thank you for those of you who persevere with looking!
My veg have been a success this year, not least lots of different types of legumes in succession beginning with broad beans (the least successful in terms of space to crop ratio), dwarf yellow French beans, dwarf and purple-podded peas and lastly the amazing purple French beans which have only just come to an end. I would really recommend them as they are really easy to grow from seed and seem to crop prolifically although they do get pretty massive - more like a runner bean plant really. I even grew some in a pot with thunbergia this year. They made a pretty pair!

Alliums

The biggest, boldest and last of my alliums to flower - A. Christophii also happily self-seeds in my garden. Here a little group are partly supported by the flourishing stems of herbaceous clematis Wyevale which is trying to take over a whole area of the "herb garden" and seems to have choked my little rosa Warm Welcome to death! The flower pot is a an earwig trap left over from last year. I must refill it with straw soon before they start appearing in numbers. I've already seen off a few!

Legumes and soft fruit

Having replaced most of the wooden fence and a "patch up" job on the shed, for the first time I am quite proud of the fruit and veg patch behind the greenhouse. At the moment it seems the only area that is vaguely under control. I cut some of the raspberries right back last year but they seem to be doing just as well as the ones I only hard pruned - an interesting experiment. The redcurrant bush is weighed down with fruit again this year and the red gooseberry seems happy although I can no longer think of it as a standard in shape! The three new blackcurrant bushes look healthy enough but are not going to bear fruit this year. The new blackberry is taking its' time to get going though, having put on hardly any growth. In the veg line I planted shop-bought seedlings of broad beans, Tom Thumb peas, a purple-podded pea variety and some dwarf yellow french beans. The 4 courgettes seeds and 12 purple climbing french beans I planted ALL came up. I learned about courgette plants last year so have already given 2 away! The first little pea pods are already well-formed on Tom Thumb so hopefully everything won't all come at once. In the greenhouse are 4 tomatoes (Sarah Raven mix - one failed so they refunded me £ 1.64p!!!) and a couple of chili peppers. Thinking about planting a cucumber of two since my trip to Cyprus where it appeared at virtually every meal - and why not!

May exhuberance

While I was away walking in Cyprus in 30+ degrees of heat, the south of England was also having glorious weather. I could hardly believe how green it all looked from the window of the plane and the beautiful patches of white daisies growing on the verges right near Heathrow airport! My garden is also flourishing and for once last weekend's Bank Holiday weather permitted wall to wall gardening which I needed in order to catch up. I can't really single out anything that's of particular merit this year other than the roses which seem to be flourishing everywhere. I have never had so many buds on any of mine although I have sadly lost the little bright orange "Warm Welcome" which was sickly last year and just totally died this spring. Maybe it has been suffocated by the herbaceous clematis "Wyevale" which is a bit of a thug and needs serious thinning out. Not sure whether I should try another rose in the same place but it's hard to find anything which does quite the same job! One mark of the prolonged cold spring is how late the dahlias have been to get started - even in the greenhouse. I planted the tubers from Sarah Raven almost as soon as they arrived but a couple only began showing shoots last week. Ironically, in spite of some extremely cold snaps, I DID manage to overwinter some tubers from last year, packed in foam chips in a large cardboard box in the greenhouse. I have been brutal with digging up and chucking out the tulip bulbs now they are over and for once am left with a few patches of bare earth as the dahlias grow on sufficiently to be planted out. Not sure where I will find space for them all now!

Plants in black and white!

We have had a pretty foul winter which is part of my excuse for neglecting my blog. Apologies! Happy to say I have not neglected the garden. Just now I'm delighted with a smart new fence, a nice soft dark brown, quite unlike the rather raw-looking orangey hue they used to be when new. Getting rid of two vastly over-grown ivies which were helping tear it to pieces has given me a lot more room too. I am busy researching climbers and looking back to see what has succeeded in previous years. Today though I just wanted to share this close-up from my exhibition "Garden Enigmas" of 2005 which has just been nominated in this year's Black and White Spider Awards. Personally I think the poppy seed head was much more powerful but then I'm not judging!

Digging and planting

The delivery of a large package containing 3 blackcurrant bushes and a blackberry cane persuaded me it was worth the effort of wrapping up well and ignoring the gloomy weather today.
The small border at the very end of the garden, backing on to my neighbours' tall fence, has long been a bit of a disaster zone so earlier in the year I decided to cut back and kill the root of the rampant jasmine which was taking over and turn it over to soft fruit. I knew the earth was full of stones but didn't anticipate just how many bucket-fulls I would have to remove: it took the best part of three hours. There was also a surprise in store. At one end of the border about a foot deep I hit something hard but not totally solid which turned out to be the bottom of a large up-turned bucket evidently buried deliberately. As my imagination went into overdrive I decided to leave it where it is! Maybe in many years to come someone else can discover what is hidden underneath it. I found only a few worms so evidently the soil wasn't very healthy so I've dug in some manure and compost and popped my 3 "Wellington" Blackcurrants in a small row. It is a sunny spot so fingers crossed they will thrive so I can make blackcurrant jam next year!
The "Merton" thornless blackberry has gone in next to the loganberries which seem to thrive so hopefully the location will suit that too.
Having left my daahlia tubers to dry in the green house they looked so healthy I decided to attempt another means of over-wintering them by packing them in a box filled with polystyrene "Wotsits" that arrived as packing-material for some pots of growing narcissi. Again, we shall see what happens!

Looking back and planting tulips

The past summer has been one of the best growing seasons since I began my garden with a great balance of sun and rain. Since I did a massive cut-back of climbers, most particularly my Kiftsgate rose (which had become very badly mildewed with attendant black spot) the grass has even grown quite well.
I grew my first ever courgettes with comparative success, a massive crop of climbing French beans var.Cosse Violette planted both in and outside the greenhouse and a very passable crop of cherry tomatoes from just 2 plants in a growbag, also in the greenhouse - all of which ripened. I had forgotten how much better they taste than the shop-bought ones!
The dahlias also performed well providing flowers for the house beyond the end of October. I picked this bunch on October 21st! Those I had left in the ground did nearly as well as the greenhouse-raised plants although some were slower to get going. I was pleased with my colour selection this year but my attention to plant-positioning left room for improvement. I need labels with pictures!
I totally missed any gardening last sunny weekend but did manage a very soggy, muddy day's cutting back and tidying during the week, lifting most of the dahlias and replacing them with tulips from Parker's as per pictures attached. In a rush to beat the weather and catch the light they went in rather randomly so the results should be interesting again!

Late frosts and rain at last

The old saying "Ne'er cast a clout 'till May be out" came to mind last week when we had a frost which actually caught some of my courgette plants. The origin and meaning are doubtful - particularly whether May refers to the month or may blossom (hawthorn) which is out now! See more at:http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/till-may-is-out.html Happily they have survived but are struggling by comparison with those in the greenhouse which are flourishing. The broad beans are much hardier - after all they germinated in freezing weather!
All of the dahlias I bought from Sarah Raven have started growing. Secret snail-visits have resulted in the paper labels being consumed (they must like the glue!) so I have found a good use for wooden coffee-stirrers. They make great labels!
It's been so dry I haven't had to cut the grass in over two weeks but, of course, the bank holiday has brought much-needed rain. Although everything has been flourishing in the sunshine the lack of rain was beginning to tell and I had started to water a few things. The up side of this is that everything has been very well-behaved and stayed quite neat and tidy with comparatively few slugs and snails. Now I am expecting a great rush of growth with associated propping and tying up - and judicious placing of slug pellets.
The cold weather seems to be keeping some of the bugs at bay too - famous last words! No lily beetles YET - so many buds this year look promising.
The tulips turned out fabulous again - in spite of the "Brown sugar" error. Interestingly, parrot tulips Princes Irene not in pots did not grow as tall as most of the other varieties but are still gorgeous. In another life I could spend a whole week just photographing them.
In terms of growing things from seed, the broad beans, courgettes and french beans are doing well and I am experimenting with mixed salad leaves and herbs in a wooden box which I can move about (currently in the greenhouse). My sweet pea seedlings have come up a bit spindly and I should have thought to plant Cobea scandens sooner as apparently they take about a month to germinate, although one seems to be struggling through after only two weeks. Apparently they are perennial in some climates - how good that would be....
Last but not least, I sometimes despair over the rampant growth of my one comfrey plant, but who can deny the beauty and elegance of its unfurling flowers.

Tulips up-date

Here is another view with the tulips a little more mature showing those mentioned in my last post - notice the size of "Brown Sugar"! - along with old favourites "Ronaldo" and "Ballerina" and "Blue Heron" which is pretty but rather delicate plus a few strays from last year.

Tulips in 2017

My trusted Sony camera has gone wrong! So I am limited for images of my tulips just now. But suffice it to say that this year I have learned to look at the height descriptions of tulips. "Brown sugar" is a lovely and long-lasting flower but it is massive in comparison with the rest of my collection, rather dwarfing them.
Successes have included "Black Hero" which I have been meaning to try for years and it is really living up to expectation; not so dark that it looses it's colour but a wonderful contrasting note, "Slawa" with a really rich contrast of deep purpley-plum and orange edging and "Shirley's Dream" which really does open pale cream with a hint of pink edging and then mature to a delicious soft mid-pink - great with "Black Hero".
The small red and white "Pinocchio" is also a real treasure which I've tried out in a new spot nearer the house.

Spring energy

Over the past couple of weeks, with the milder weather and sun, everything has begun bursting into life. The grass is responding to moss kill, weed and feed, the roses and clematis are sprouting and suddenly the tulips are coming out. The first one opened on Wednesday. Here it is.

In my newly instated vegetable patch the broad beans are coming along with varying degrees of success. Three look to be forming flowers already but two or three look very sad. I suspect the birds have been pecking at them and am intending to protect them with some plastic bottle surrounds. The greenhouse is tidier although with still much work to be done but I am excited that my first home-grown courgette seedlings have emerged and the climbing french beans are also well on their way. Planted another potful yesterday in addition to 13 dahlia tubers, all from Sarah Raven this year. Some looked a bit puny but we will see. (The ones I dug up and tried to overwinter in the shed were a soggy mess again, fit only for the bin.)

Greenhouse home to wood mice

The greenhouse has long been overdue a massive clear-out and renovation (the former being easier than the latter due to lack of enthusiasm by various tradespeople to do greenhouse repairs - offers welcome!) so I began a couple of weekends ago. How does one accumulate so many old flowerpots and chairs? I appear to have seven garden chairs, yet seldom use more than one!
I am thinking to get some proper staging installed after years of making do with old planks etc.. In removing some of these to clean I noticed a pile of rubbish which, in my clean-up mode, I failed to question. Why would there be a pile of rubbish UNDER a plank of wood. A little prodding later I realised it must be a wood mouse nest. There have been plenty around and I soon identified runs tunneled through the soft earth. Perhaps this also explains some of the bits of concrete which seem to have come away from the footings. I am still happy to welcome the little fellows though. I don't think they alone will demolish a greenhouse.

Seed-planting time

The other day I was reminded how remiss I've been about keeping up this Blog so here's to a better year this year! First of all, these are the seeds I'm about to plant.... Climbing bean Cosse Violette, salad mix Oriental Nice N Spicy and Courgette Black Beauty Dark Fog. After the success of the climbing beans last year I thought I'd have another go, from scratch. My courgette consumption has gone up considerably since the purchase of the wonderful Kiwi brand papaya grater (much better than any spiralising gadget!). I am excited about the progress of broad beans Aquadulce Claudia planted in the autumn, which germinated in the worst cold frosty weather. Some are doing better than others so I may plant a few more seeds just in case. Now must do some gardening!

Suddenly summer and thoughts on ants

Having spent much of my free time picking a bumper crop of fruit this year (as evidenced on my Instagram page - sueatkinsonphoto) has left me little time to post! The hot dry spell has also meant enough watering - especially the French beans in the greenhouse. It seems 6 plants in a gro-bag are a bit too many and those in pots are doing better. But then I was expecting them to be a dwarf variety which didn't need staking and hence wouldn't be so overcrowded. The climbing variety are doing better - lovely purple beans. Neither have done well in the garden - I'm blaming slugs and snails.
The garden has flourished this year and without too much attention. There have been plenty of birds - particularly great tits, blue tits, dunnocks, robins, blackbirds and I'm delighted by the number of sparrows. The swifts are still here in good numbers, I have managed to count about 14 at once but it's quite a challenge as they move so fast. There are also rooks, rather more red kites than I would really like to see and I spotted a flock of starlings along the street the other day but I've not seen them in the garden.
My Sarah Raven Lilium regale were spectacular but are now over as are the bulk of roses, geraniums and clematis although my very late spring cutting back of one of them was definitely a good move as it is still flowering, much later than usual. Two well-established phlox are doing really well. I am now eagerly awaiting the dahlias starting to bloom although they seem to be very slow so far....
On the radio they have talking about ants, claiming they do no damage. Hm. I'm not so sure. They have definitely been responsible for killing off several things here by excavating around plant roots. A splendid self-set white lychnis (left of top picture) upped and died suddenly last week and when I removed it there was virtually no root. Maybe or maybe not ants.... They are certainly farming black fly on the dahlias and that is not welcome.
One surprise observation I must note. The white perennial sweet pea (below) has been turning increasingly pink over the years and I assumed it was reverting. This year it is perfectly white again. Delight!

Russian ballet colours

Irrespective of the last two posts, I have to share this rose and clematis combination with you. What my late Aunties would have called Russian ballet colours....

Trying to grow Ipomoea lobata

I am always tempted by climbers. They are great for filling odd spaces and experimenting with the annual varieties is great fun! Seduced by the beautiful display of Ipomoea (Mina) lobata I saw last year in St James's park, London, I ordered some seedlings from Sarah Raven and 8 lovely little plants arrived this spring - April I think!.
After a week or so I decided it should be safe to plant them out. Cautious, I only planted out 3, gave one to a friend and kept 4 inside in pots. Alas, the ones I planted out very soon succumbed to the unexpected late frosts. Looking a little sad and straggly I put my remaining 4 outside to harden off in early May. One was attacked by snails and proved insufficiently strong to recover so I brought the other 3 back indoors. They did not flourish - the leaves became distorted and pale and the plants grew straggly. Reading about them it seems they do not like rich living so I transplanted into rather poorer garden soil than the compost I initially used. I popped 2 in the greenhouse and they began to flower almost immediately with hardly any leaf/stem growth. Another I put in a window box with some petunias.
I am watching and waiting eagerly. Here is a picture of the healthiest when first transplanted. I will report progress - hoping for the best. Any advice very welcome!

A most unattractive water-inhabiting visitor - rat-tailed maggots!

We have had so much rain recently that water accumulated in places it never had before. In a ceramic pot base, which is sealed at the bottom, some dead leaves had fallen and begun to decay. Among them I noticed a collection of mosquito larva but also some much larger really rather disgusting-looking white/transparent maggot-like creatures with long rat-like tails - commonly known as rat-tailed maggots!. It seems they are either Syrphid or Hover fly or Drone fly larvae. Either way, I'll be glad when they hatch out and fly off! Fascinating none-the-less....