Weeding Again

An hour long rain shower coupled with an icy wind certainly dampened our spirits first thing on Saturday morning and I didn't have my rain hat or waterproofs thanks to the BBC weather forecast. Still we pushed on with planting out the sweet-peas, barricading them in well with chicken wire to keep the pesky rabbits out, and a row of chrysanthemums. Walking around the garden earlier we noticed that the first early potatoes are showing, the broad beans are growing well and the beetroot seed has germinated, that's more than can be said for the parsnips which are resolutely sulking in this cold spell. Then because hoeing in this damp is out of the question we spent the remainder of the day on our hands and knees weeding, not much fun really but it does look good when you're finished!

"Even the richest soil if left uncultivated will produce the rankest weeds" Leonardo da Vinci

morels growing in the peony border, very exciting!

No Business Like Show Buisiness

A very appropriate display given the weather!

My sister Fran and I braved the elements for the flower show yesterday and despite the weather we had a grand day out. It probably couldn't have been any wetter if it tried and I recommend anyone going along to wear wellies and go on public transport if at all possible, as the car park is dreadful after only one day. It is a distinct possibility that the tractors on hand to pull out stranded vehicles will be much in demand. However peoples spirits were high and when the band struck up Singing in the Rain everyone smiled and a few brave souls even had a dance! I'm well pleased with my purchases of a pair of back door shoes decorated with tomatoes, crofters cradle plant supports and a reasonable pair of loppers for only £16, they must be worth a try when the Felco ones cost £90+ and I only need them for occasional use. So folks, don't let the weather put you off, go and support our horticulture industry and enjoy splashing in a few puddles whilst you're there!

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful" E E Cummings

Someone's spent hours polishing these toms.

Rain Again

Today I'm going to the wind lashed, rain sodden quagmire that is Harrogate Spring Flower Show 2012. It will be interesting to see if the poor folk exhibiting this year have been able to cope with a) the generally awful conditions and b) the really early hot spell in March which no doubt put paid to most of the bulbs and spring flowers, who'd be in horticulture! I will be suitably togged up in boots, waterproofs and a very unfashionable hat with a brim, it's hard to imagine that last years show took place during a heatwave. More on how I get on tomorrow, garden shopping awaits!


"For He maketh small the drops of water, they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof, which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly" Job 36:27

Life's Irritations

Today I'm going to have a rant about all those horribly irritating things that have built up to boiling point this week.
Point one, no-one else even thinks about doing any housework leaving me to wash the clothes, rake the fire out, pick up after the dog in the garden, clean the bathroom (I hate that one more than anything else!), etc etc.
Point two, certain people buy designer T-shirts and then just bung them in with the general washing and then kick up a stink when said item gets ruined.
Point three, the new next door neighbours have two cats that have presumed my carefully tended garden is for their convenience literally!
Point four, the local pigeons have also descended to demolish what's left after the cats have finished.
There, that's my gnashing of teeth over with and I have to say I feel much better than-you!
P.S the tulips at Harlow Carr are well worth a visit at the moment.

"Humour is the great thing. The minute it crops up all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes its place" Mark Twain

Weaving About

It was a day of general maintenance at NC on Monday, just the usual stuff, mowing and weeding in the constant battle to rule Mother Nature, so I'll bring you up to date on a few other things.
In the garden the apple trees are starting to blossom, all we need now are a few sunny days and it will look stunning.
Dogs v's rabbits count is now Shandy 5, Bisto 1.
Unfortunately the little duck didn't make it, but now we have a clutch of pheasant eggs in the vinery to worry about!
I had a busy afternoon in my garden on Sunday having a go at weaving a willow wigwam for my runner beans. On Friday I'd attended a course run by Phil Bradley, a master basket weaver, where he taught us how to construct what is basically a salmon trap turned upside down. I'm rather pleased with my efforts, the bigger of the two is the one I managed to make on my own, it may not have the finesse of the other but looks like it will manage the job nevertheless!

"Each person has his own safe place, running, painting,swimming, weaving, gardening. The activity itself is less important than the act of drawing on your own resources" Barbara Gordon

A Wander In The Wild Wood

Beautiful bluebells

Initially the weather was kind to us yesterday despite the forecast, the showers seemed to pass over the garden before falling as if they sensed we had too much work to do to be interrupted. By lunchtime we had prepared and planted a new asparagus bed, potted on two trays of Helichrysum and Cosmos and one of Calendula, and moved the dahlia tubers into the peach house where the extra warmth will bring them on a bit more. We also accomplished an hours worth of weeding in the main border before stopping, however just as we were finishing our meal the sky darkened and the rain and hail began to fall. Giles suggested that we take a walk down to the lake whilst we waited for the weather to clear, which was the perfect opportunity to gaze upon the bluebells, carpeting the woods like drifting smoke. It is important sometimes to stop work and appreciate natures beauty, as this is what should give us inspiration as gardeners.

"Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God"  George Washington Carver

Stormy skies

Raining Cats And Dogs

This weather might be good for the drought conditions but it's not much cop for gardening, I can't remember the last time it rained solidly for 36 hours. Aunty Fran, Paddy, Chumdog and I bit the bullet and went walking anyway, suitably togged up it wasn't so bad when we got going and we had the riverbank to ourselves which was nice, but there was no chance of seeing any otters as Paddy was having a terribly noisy day! Just to put a further dampener on proceedings Dave has been on a weather website which says not to expect much improvement before the end of April, I blame the authorities for calling an official drought, it was too much of a temptation for dear old Ma Nature to resist, maybe things will get better if we all start predicting a cold wet summer!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby" Langston Hughes

"When it's raining cats and dogs be sure not to step in the poodles"

                                                                                      Anon

Housebound

Events are conspiring against Diana and I at the moment, she has unfortunately come down with a heavy cold and the weather wasn't showing us any mercy either so no Spofforth again this week. I gratefully accepted a day at home and was even quite cheerful when doing the housework, it's the first time the place has looked decent in weeks! A productive study session later and I thankfully retired to the sofa for a duvet afternoon, slightly damp dog at my feet, and immersed myself in the joys of vegetable growing in comfort, days like that are increasingly infrequent! Lets hope all this rain is filling up the nations water butts, my garden plants certainly seem to be enjoying a good soaking after such a dry spring.

"Rain is grace, rain is the sky condescending to the earth, without rain there would be no life" John Updike

Growing Our Own

We didn't mind being back at college yesterday as the weather was so disgusting again, it was also a relief to be studying fruit and vegetables a subject everyone knows at least a little about, in fact it was astonishing just how much knowledge we could come up with between us, making for a lively lesson with contributions from everyone on different varieties and planting techniques. Lunchtime saw most of us visiting the bookshop with a particular run on buying copies of the Carol Klein RHS endorsed Grow Your Own Vegetables book which gives simple clear advice for novices like me, that's my bed-time reading sorted out for the next few nights, what an exciting existence Dave and I have between us, he works all the time and I live and breathe gardening, nice comfortable middle age!

"Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May, but at length the season of summer does come" Thomas Carlyle

The Adventures Of Little Duck

The mother duck that nests in the yew hedge at Norton Conyers every year decided to show off her latest brood yesterday, it was a lovely sight to see her parade her four ducklings up and down the main border, until Shandy got wind of possible easy pickings that is. Making a dash for them she succeeded in scattering them far and wide before Giles managed to restrain her, he then opened the bottom gate so they could escape the garden and once she had regained her equilibrium mother duck quickly exited with her brood in tow. Unfortunately in all the commotion one little chap got left behind, it was pitiful to listen to him peep, peep, peep for his mother, so Giles picked him up and strode across the estate searching under each likely tree looking for his lost family. Eventually though he had to admit defeat and brought the poor little thing back and popped him in the pond. That seemed like a good solution for a while as Shandy doesn't like water much, but inevitably the duckling strayed too close to the edge and quick as a flash was inside Shandy's mouth! Alison acted quickly and commanded her to drop it and to our amazement she obeyed, so Little Duck got scooped up again and is now residing in the peach house where it is warm and safe. That's quite a lot of adventures for such a small chap and we're not sure if he'll make it, but Giles has promised to bring him some food and if he does survive he could become quite a visitor attraction for the garden!

"Always behave like a duck, keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath"
                                                                                                                            Jacob Braude

A Fine Feast

Plant sales, come and buy!

The peach house 

Perishingly cold wind and an unexpected prolonged period of icy rain had us scurrying for cover on Saturday morning. Thus trapped indoors we made use of the time by weeding the pots of dahlia tubers and taking cuttings of those that were grown sufficiently, it just goes to show what a little heat can do as the couple I took home are enormous in comparison due to living in a nice warm kitchen. Meanwhile Shandy had caught another rabbit and made a big fuss of showing us her prize, (not for the faint-hearted this next bit), her elation didn't last long however as Giles made her share it with Bisto, he split it in two with a spade and each dog got half which they devoured with great gusto fur and teeth and all yum! Luckily they decided to dine out of earshot! Next the greenhouse got a good tidy out and we put the plants that are for sale back outside to tempt any passing visitors with, there is a really good selection of unusual hardy perennials that you wont find in the usual garden centres, so come and have a look! The weather did improve enough for us to prune the buddlejas and fushias in the afternoon but I was still grateful to get home for a nice hot shower, the recent hot spell has spoilt me and now I'm fed up with being cold all day, roll on summer.

"It is not the quantity of the meat, but the cheerfulness of the guests which makes the feast"
                                                                                                                        Edward Hyde

Unfortunate bunny number 2

Spring Pictures

As I've not been very active on the gardening front again this week I thought another slide show of the spring flowers I've been snapping would be appropriate. Due to the horrendous amount of running around I've still got to do before the children return to school on the 16th , dentist, optician etc this will be the only post I'll manage until then, unless something momentous happens of course! Next week is shaping up to be equally manic, but that's all gardening activities so plenty of material to waffle on about on the horizon you'll be pleased to hear!

View Slideshow (Opens in a new window, then hit refresh if slideshow doesn't start automatically).

"That God once loved a garden we learn in holy writ
 And seeing gardens in the spring I well can credit it"
Winifred Mary Letts

Supporting Role

plant supports at Norton Conyers........

We had an altogether easier day at NC on Saturday I'm pleased to say as I was a little under the weather with a slight cold. Thankfully there was no more gravel to shift but the more pleasurable task of making plant supports for the main border, I was also allowed to take some willow home for the same purpose in my own small plot, I think they look much more effective than anything man made as well as being a lot cheaper and will of course soon be covered over with fresh growth and invisible anyway. We still had a fair bit of hoeing to get on with but it really does look good when you've finished, the only thing is you stand back and congratulate yourself on a job well done and then when you next pass by there is always at least one enormous weed in full flower that you just can't imagine how you missed it! We also carried on sowing the vegetable plot putting in parsnip White Spear and beetroot Boltardy in between the new strawberry beds, they should germinate in 2 or 3 weeks if the weather is kind and the mice don't get them. Speaking of mice, my very own Mr Jingles is getting tamer and quite tubby feeding off the riches of my compost heap, he can barely be bothered to move when I lift the cover off, I just hope he will be a little more cautious with the neighbourhood moggies!

Used to good effect at home

"Who has learned to garden who did not at the same time learn to be patient" H L V Fletcher

Easter Wishes

Well it's certainly been a mixed week weather wise, yesterday we froze walking around York dodging the snow showers, whilst the week before I was working up a sweat in the heat! I call that the school holiday effect, it's one of life's great certainties that as soon as the kids break up the weather will deteriorate. Never mind though at least we all get a few days off, which is what I'm going to do also folks, so have a happy gardening Easter if the weather allows and I'll be back all bright and perky on Tuesday 10th.



"I think of the garden after rain, and hope to my heart comes singing, at morn the cherry-blooms will be white, and the Easter bells be ringing" Edna Dean Proctor

A Helping Hand

I wasn't going to blog today as yesterday was taken up with domestic chores, and The Teenager and I are going shopping first thing this morning, then I remembered that something quite remarkable happened on Sunday so I'll tell you about that. Dave and I returned from walking Chumdog and visiting The Kettles (my parents!) and I was eager to get started in the garden when I noticed that for the second day running The Teenager hadn't got dressed and was skulking in her bedroom again. Thoroughly expecting a curt rebuff I suggested that she might like to help me outside and to my amazement she said yes! There followed a most harmonious couple of hours as we sowed seeds and re-potted things, watered and weeded, she even had a go with the strimmer. When we came back inside I asked her what she thought to this gardening lark and she replied that it was calming and made one forget life's irritations and troubles, which is exactly why I enjoy it so much. I think my daughter is morphing back into a human being again thank goodness!

"The difference between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is a twist of the wrist"
                                                                                                    Laurence Leamer

Hoeing And Mowing And Shovelling and Raking!

5 tonnes of gravel

I've had some pretty tough days up at NC over the last six months, but yesterday came close to beating most of them into a cocked hat! Hoeing to start with in the round border which was covered with forget-me-not seedlings, all of which had managed to grow in amongst the other plants which meant hand weeding them out, a somewhat laborious process. Then two hours of mowing followed, this time I was using the petrol mower, much harder to manoeuvre than the tractor and you have to mow around all the apple trees which is awkward, so I've ended up with a pair of matching blisters on my thumbs from holding the power bar down. After a much needed lunch break the four of us then had to shovel and rake five tonnes of gravel around the courtyard and under the new hornbeam hedge-phew! I have only one complaint about all this physical toil, my legs,arms and bottom are firm and toned but no amount of exercise seems to make an impact upon my middle aged tummy!

"The highest reward for a persons toil is not what they get for it , but what they become by it"
                                                                                                                                John Ruskin

The finished product

Its all right for some!

Filling In The Gaps

There was no time to waste at NC yesterday as the growing season has started with a vengeance, to begin I planted three rows of Gladiolus in the cut flower border and some watercress in the stone trough by the greenhouse where the Ranunculus are flowering their socks off.We then spent the next couple of hours weeding out the honesty seedlings from the south border where they take over if you leave them, basically some part of everyday will now be taken up with weed destruction just to keep on top of the situation. After lunch there was yet another evil item of machinery for me to get to grips with, the rotavator, now even Alyson confessed to disliking this particular piece of kit and after trundling it up and down the vegetable patch a few times I could see why, it's got a mind of its own and is very heavy on the arms, so I gratefully left Giles to finish things off, at least I can say I've had a go but I wont be sorry if I don't encounter it again! To end the afternoon we planted the spuds, two rows of earlies and three each of Desiree and King Edward, all those empty garden spaces are really filling up now.

"Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever" Charles Lamb