Cosmos Purity and Indian Summer

-

 I had ordered some Miscanthus Indian Summer grass for one of the beds and they duly arrived this week from Thompson & Morgan. I already had two planted at the back of the bed which now holds four; don't look like much at the moment but hopefully the bronze stems and feathery seedheads will look stunning planted as they are behind some French Lavender bushes as the season progresses. In theory, it's the first time I have tried this planting scheme, the golden colours of the grass should sit beautifully behind the green foliage and blue flowers of the Lavender, in theory. Only time will tell I suppose but I am hopeful and look forward to seeing how the bed progresses over the summer. 

The Cosmos Purity seeds were sown on a rather dull evening here with no real plan as yet as to where the plants may go as and when they have grown to a suitable size. They are a lovely flower and can fill a border with their white flower, much loved by bees, butterflies hoverflies and alike. I will no doubt find somewhere to fit a few in and if I am left with a few extra plants there is always someone that can find a home for them. 

The Runner Beans and Tomato seedlings are coming along nicely in the conservatory and will be moved to the greenhouse at some point in the next week or so. I have moved the Sweet Pea seedlings from the greenhouse to the log store - I say log store it is more of a plant and pot store truth be told- which is south facing and pretty protected from any winds at the end of my garden and a great place to harden plants off. 

The lawn received it's first haircut of the year at the weekend, perhaps a bit early some might say, but it has been pretty dry and quite sunny at times here recently and for once I remembered to have the mower on a nice high setting! I have been guilty more than once of scalping the lawn early in the season. 

Daffodils and Narcissus are in full bloom throughout the garden in beds and in pots and it really does feel as if spring has sprung. Happy days. 

Cheers 🍺

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planning for the garden in 2024

-
Tis the season to be jolly and all that , and tis also the season to begin planning for the garden in 2024. I have been thumbing through the seed catalogues, a pastime almost as dangerous as Christmas shopping . I always s eem to find something that I had never heard of , but now knowing of its existence , simply now must have! Rarely does a year pass that I am not growing a vegetable or flower completely new to me; for me it is one of the great pleasures of gardening, there is always something new to grow.    I have been busy clearing the ve g beds removing the remnants of the Butternut Squash plants and Runner Beans to be composted and digging out the inevitable Dandelions , trying to get the entire tap root out as I do so. I will be adding quite a bit of compost and manure to the beds over the winter so having cleared and slightly dug over the bed where I grew outdoor Tomatoes this year, I have placed tarpaulin over this bed for now to keep weed seeds out . I will add the
Read more

Gardening through spring 2024 & the wind and rain

-
I have for one reason and another unable to update the blog as regularly as hoped so far this year, all being well usual service can now be resumed.  In my monthly column for the Romford Recorder I have spoken earlier in the year  about how with the somewhat wild weather we have experienced through late winter and early spring a lot of my time in the garden has been spent repairing wide damage to fences and the climbing rose trellis along with retrieving a compost bin lid that had flown two-doors down and collecting various flotsam and jetsam that had landed on my plot! Between the numerous rain bursts earlier in the year copious amounts of homemade compost, farmyard manure and blood, fish and bone were added and dug in across the veg patch beds and a sprinkling of chicken manure pellets was also added.  The soil in the Greenhouse was similarly refreshed again with some fresh compost, farmyard manure, blood, fish and bone, chicken manure pellets and in there potash as well all added an
Read more

Preparing the garden for winter and next year

-
Perhaps it is because I garden and as such become more attuned to the seasons, but I quite enjoy the onset of autumn. The shorter days, the s oftening light, the changes in the garden and the world around us as everything prepares for winter; there is a certain beauty to it. That said, there is plenty to be getting on with readying the garden for the weeks ahead and into next year.    The English Lavender has already been pruned back with the flowers now finished meaning the Miscanthus Indian Summer grasses are now the highlight of that bed. The plan for this bed was for the bronze stems and feathery seedheads of the grass to sit beautifully behind the green/silver foliage of the mounded Lavender plants and it is working I am happy to report and thus far the grasses are withstanding the battering they have received from all the recent wind and rain. It has to be said, though we haven't had it as bad as some parts of the country, the garden as a whole has withstood the storms pr
Read more