As curry powder's getting expensive, I'm trying a new cat repellent made from peppermint and orange oils. Touch wood, it's poo-free for a third day.

---

As curry powder's getting expensive, I'm trying a new cat repellent made from peppermint and orange oils. Touch wood, it's poo-free for a third day.

A reasonably cheap way that has worked for me is to eat about 7/8ths of an orange or clementine, retain the peel and place where the cats like to go, and then drizzle the peel with the remainder of the fruit. Downside initially was my neighbours and friends kept pointing out with incredulous expressions that there was orange peel in the garden!

Have been putting more marginal plants in the pond this afternoon (in between showers).

Now have the following water plants - 

Pontaderia Cordata / 2 Irises / Caltha Palustris / Lobelia / Houttuynia Cordata / Hypericum Elodes .

Also have a Water Lily (in a bucket of water) as it`s too early to put it in the pond yet.

---

Newly planted hanging basket of Fuchsia has  gone into the shed for the night in case of frost. Some of my new fruit trees have blossom flowering.....

---

Mid- May before we dare put out a hanging basket here. Daffodils just beginning to flower though the tete a tete first flowered I early January.
Planting rosa rubrifolia hedge over the last week - also cell-grown hawthorn to fill gaps in other hedges.
Shelter is the key.

---

Sowed beetroot, carrot, spring onion and chard in a raised bed but nothing germinated yet (too cold...) Romanesque cauliflower germinated really well in the greenhouse and growing like the clappers. Some nice tomato plants from a car boot looking good too. Best surprise is a couple of the fuschias from last year have survived the winter in the unheated greenhouse and are sprouting (one from the base, one all over). Broad beans not up yet.

Cats are a pain - I have had to cover all three raised beds with netting frames to keep them off, and the big growing patch just seems to advertise 'cat toilet'... I feel I may end up covering or caging all the growing space...

Wild hedge (planted bare-root in Nov 2014) looking good - hoping it will really fill out this year.

Lots of good looking fruit bushes going well now (nicely established).

Good time of year  

Sowed beetroot, carrot, spring onion and chard in a raised bed but nothing germinated yet (too cold...) Romanesque cauliflower germinated really well in the greenhouse and growing like the clappers. Some nice tomato plants from a car boot looking good too. Best surprise is a couple of the fuschias from last year have survived the winter in the unheated greenhouse and are sprouting (one from the base, one all over). Broad beans not up yet.

Cats are a pain - I have had to cover all three raised beds with netting frames to keep them off, and the big growing patch just seems to advertise 'cat toilet'... I feel I may end up covering or caging all the growing space...

Wild hedge (planted bare-root in Nov 2014) looking good - hoping it will really fill out this year.

Lots of good looking fruit bushes going well now (nicely established).

Good time of year  

 

Cats?

Old chicken wire can be turned into cloches or tunnels.

 

Roger

---

Anemones are flowing well. Some daffodils are in bud. Smaller yellow Daffodils are flowering.  Strawberries in planter flowering well.  Newly bought wild strawberries have been trans planted. 6 recently purchase herbs have now been planted into a trough.  Chooks have been having a go at the herbs......

---

 I consider the following as worthy of some note: there exists a patch of daffodils- regular early bloomers- that in the autumn bloomed at their earliest ever by my reckoning, in mid November. Today, some five and a half months later, the same patch (given that they are different bulbs) is blooming well. I wonder if this is a contender for the longest daffodil season! If they manage a few weeks more, it will be half a year!

---

Anemone coming to an end now. Daffodils are doing well. Onward patio peas are coming out of growing room tomorrow and gong into a trough. Heuchera  is opening out now to show their salmon colours. Strawberries are still flowering with the fruit setting. Raspberry canes are in leaf. Herbs are now being used ' If not for cooking then the chooks are enjoying them...  The new fruit trees are in leaf but doubt if any fruit will appear until next year...... All this in pots, tubs, and troughs.  Patio is doing well.. Especially as chooks and new shed takes up room . Still got a bench there to   enjoy the weather...

---

Morning all.

We ate a couple of local crabs yesterday - plus some of the pickled rock samphire we bought in Scilly. We used to pickle it when we lived in Pembrokeshire and in my view it is one of the great flavours - up there with capers and asparagus. The lady who made it included peppercorns which I think took away from the natural taste a bit - but never mind. It was GREAT!

Speaking of asparagus - the season has started here and I am looking forward to my first feed. Cousins in Italy introduced us to wild asparagus - and we went on several expeditions with them, carrying our special long-handles pickers. It is a popular foraging activity there.

I think our first pick of rhubarb is about to take place.......


Roger

---

Need some sun for my early strawberries.  Raspberry canes doing well. Plenty of leaves. Herbs are loved by the chooks. Especially the fennel leaves. New fruit trees are not going to do much this year even though some blossom flowering.

---

Morning all.

We ate a couple of local crabs yesterday - plus some of the pickled rock samphire we bought in Scilly. We used to pickle it when we lived in Pembrokeshire and in my view it is one of the great flavours - up there with capers and asparagus. The lady who made it included peppercorns which I think took away from the natural taste a bit - but never mind. It was GREAT!

Speaking of asparagus - the season has started here and I am looking forward to my first feed. Cousins in Italy introduced us to wild asparagus - and we went on several expeditions with them, carrying our special long-handles pickers. It is a popular foraging activity there.

I think our first pick of rhubarb is about to take place.......


Roger

We have just three spears on our (one!) asparagus plant up and looking phallically healthy.

---

Garden Peas Onward in the trough had to be staked and wired up as got a bit weather beaten by the rain.  Strawberries' in the planter have now been netted as blackbird get on the front lawn.

---

Garden starting to look very green now. Happy that may early spuds are going well and brad beans starting to go ok. Big hopes for some romanesque cauliflower with suitable netting.

Sowed some seed at easter (carrot, beetroot, spring onion, chard) but really only the spring onion have gone well, so I am thinking of starting again now its much warmer.

The garden is in its May refrain :

A score of different greens rises to the rain

And warmth;

The early bulblets past

Lend streaky shadows to the shooting grass

Of the glowing lawn.

And the heavy heads of fruit- tree- promise

Place an arcing brow upon the dancing bonnets

Of aquilegia

And dancing bees

That epee with the teasing breeze

That, though not sewn with summer's breath

Is months away from winter's death

And waiting.

Drink deep of May

For after the reap of August hay

The dank slate grey

Of November

Is equal far away.

 

 

---

My gardens are a riot of colour; we've really planted up this year to avoid that late-spring droopy untidy look after the early bulbs & woodland flowers go. Masquerade & all the other roses doing great. Lillies starting to show heavy bright buds. Bee garden and wildflower garden doing well. Caulis, leeks, potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries, goosegogs and strawbs all doing well. Lawn looks a bit hairy but that can be sorted. The fruit trees, including the fig and walnut, setting hard little fruits and the grapevines looking better than they have for a few years in late May. The woodland bank is alive with campion, aquilegia and honesty and the bog garden and pond margins are shiny with milkmaid, ragged robin and water avens with meadowsweet, monkey flower, yellow iris and loosestrife looking well.

Herbs are going bonkers- I have a bed of dianthus covered by a rampant sage and the tarragon, thyme, oregano and rosemary are all looking great. Full speed ahead! Top of the happy list are the lavenders and soon the bees will be back on them, now that the ceanothus has bloomed its last!

---

3-4 days to go until the Montana (which we have HUGE numbers of in the garden) are at their peak.

---

A week of warmth has really accelerated things, including the first plump, red strawberries. Some mild nights and rain will keep it all growing and keep the blackfly off the broad beans. Good timing, weather.

---

You buy gardening products over the years, some new and convincingly-packaged; mostly they range between interestingly almost-useful and rather disappointing.

A discount store called 'Home Bargains' has sold me a simple spray-on anti-aphid sugar solution- no special precautions as not toxic. Gave it a try as the broad beans were, as in most years, doing well. Have never had broad beans by June aphid-free. Have tried the 'soapy water' folk tales etc but this stuff is truly amazing. Cost just over one pound and I've only sprayed twice. We've just had tapas with chorizo and garden broad beans and a few early small potatoes- our second crop of broad beans this year and there is, truly, not an aphid or farming ant in sight: they're flowering again unhindered. The spray bottle is binned but if anyone's interested I'll post the name when we get our next one.

 

Don't miss or reject this one!

---