There’s been a lengthy debate taking place in my head for months about whether I should give dahlias a second chance. My 2023 dahlias were horribly disappointing. That failure could have been due to many factors, and I’m not sure it’s worth trying to analyse what went wrong. It happened, it’s over.
Before deciding to abandon them, I thought I’d look back over the past few years at dahlias that were more successful than recent efforts.
Continue reading “Dalia Decision Time”
A long time ago, when we first started working on this garden, I went to our local nursery to buy a conifer. They were all the rage back then. I found one that caught my eye, and the elderly gentleman next to me glanced at the plant in my hands and said, “That plant grows very, very, slowly.” He pointed to a few others that he thought would be a better purchase. He was trying to tell me to put it back and choose a faster-growing plant. I knew he was being kind, and his knowledge of plants had to be much greater than mine. I knew nothing. But I was drawn to this tiny plant, so I thanked him, went to the till, paid and returned home to plant it.
Continue reading “Time”
Last month I headed into the garden determined to bring my wayward rose bushes under control before winter arrived. Many were out of control with long, floppy stems, waving around in the wind like they had a mind of their own. I was late in getting started with this job, it should have been dealt with weeks before but they still had to be tamed as winter damage to the stems could result in damage to the whole plant.
It was a chilly, but sunny morning, and the sun was in my eyes. Mostly I was looking downwards and I didn’t notice, until I lifted my head, that I was cutting off stems with gorgeous big, fat, rose hips. Oh dear.
Continue reading “Rose Hips”
Friday 24th November was a still, sunny day and the overnight forecast of -3C had me thinking that we might wake up to a frosty Saturday morning. I wasn’t wrong. Saturday was glistening white in the garden and over the fields behind us.
The sun was rising as I ate my breakfast and looked for the warmest clothes I owned. By the time I finally got myself together, (I’ve been battling a nasty chest infection for five weeks, so I’m not exactly the fastest mover) the sunbeams were hitting the plants in the back of my garden. I knew it wouldn’t be long before those rays started thawing out the frosty leaves. Luckily, the paths were clear and dry, which was a relief because I’m always cautious around slippery surfaces. Eventually, I was ready to step outside to snap a few photos.
Continue reading “Strawberry Frost”
Monday was a day of gardening from morning until late afternoon with my husband doing all the heavy work (as usual) while I potted on seedlings in the greenhouse and supervised (not as easy as it sounds!) the removal or lifting and dividing of plants. In general, the borders were tidied up, weeds removed and the grass was cut and edged. Pots of summer bedding were emptied and made ready to receive winter and spring-flowering bulbs. That one productive day cheered me up and I felt we’d achieved a lot, though a quick glance at my list in the evening reminded me that there was so much more to deal with. But that’s gardening, isn’t it, it never ends.
I also managed to find time to take a few photographs and I’m glad I did because by Tuesday the rain was thundering down and it’s been wet every day since then, including today where we have an amber alert for rain.
Continue reading “One Productive Gardening Day”
Notes From My Garden 