Moving Forwards

Monday 11th July 2011

Well I'm fast approaching the end of my course, only half a chapter to go before I must submit the end of module assessment, to that end I have given myself another week off to concentrate on getting it finished. On the whole I've found it very stimulating, if a little taxing at times, I just hope I've absorbed all I could have, because in the end the message the OU and Kew , who helped devise the course, feel that "each of us can and should make a difference". So by planning to expand my growing scheme and further my plant knowledge, I hope that in a small way I am indeed doing just that. Craven college release their new prospectus on the 28th July, so as one path ends another appears to lead me off in a slightly different direction. The summer holidays draw near, a chance for all of us to recharge our batteries, but I'm already excited about starting college in September, if only I had known what I wanted to do when I was still a schoolgirl, how much more time I would have had!

Photos, dwarf sunflowers in the valley gardens and home grown beans doing well,

"Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Biopiracy

Friday 8th July 2011

The definition of biopiracy is the appropriation of plant genetic material without permission from the owner. Not that I'm guilty of that of course, believe me I've been working at three different gardens for over three months without the thought entering my head! However Southlands is so stuffed full of the most beautiful plants that it was inevitable that I would eventually consider it. I broached the subject with Ruth, who was of the opinion that every great gardener was a thief at heart and that the plant wanted to procreate anyway! I did of course ask permission from Val if I might take the odd bit here and there, and she generously told me to help myself. What great riches await! To start me off I took two small seedlings of mullein (verbascum olympicum), they will eventually look like the magnificent spires in the picture. The next target will be the inula, but I shall have to wait for it to set seed and try to germinate that. Who knows what else will appear as the seasons progress........

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared"

Buddha

In And Out Of The Greenhouse

Thursday 7th July 2011

Diana's garden is very long, at least six times the length of mine, but fortunately for us there is a greenhouse half way down, and boy did we need it on Wednesday. Although well equipped with stout boots and a mac I wasn't really expecting the torrential downpours that frequently started out of nowhere, it was like someone was turning the tap on full every five minutes. Now I don't mind gardening in the rain, but even I considered it prudent not to get drenched, so Diana and I would run for the shelter of the greenhouse when necessary. There surrounded by figs we could discuss the gardening world in moist security! Nevertheless we did manage to complete a few jobs, we de-frocked the beans now that the risk of strong winds has reduced and gave the veg a really good weeding; whilst I was covered in mud it seemed like a good idea to plant the last few cabbages, another twelve, that makes a round 100 brassicas in two weeks! A final tweak to the fruit cage net to let a sparrow out and we were done, rain or no rain it doesn't stop the workers!

"Weather means more if you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans"

Marcelene cox

Midweek Meanderings

Wednesday 6th July 2011

Well we've had it nice and hot for a few days, but yesterday afternoon you could almost smell a change on the way, and not before time as everything is so dry. Despite a thorough watering the evening before the beans were bone dry again by mid afternoon, but as soon as they set flowers they turn into thirsty monsters, so it's worth sparing them some extra rations if you want a good crop. With rain forecast,it seemed like a good time to practise some good garden hygiene, nothing more strenuous than dead heading and removing dead and dying foliage, but once thoroughly wet that is just what can harbour diseases and mould spores, which will quickly infect your more vulnerable crops like strawberries and marrows. Worth a few moments of your time to avert disaster.

No specific photos to show you today, so I'll leave you with a general garden gallery.

"Tell me how many beads there are in a silver chain of evening rain, unravelled from the tumbling main"

Thomas Lovell Beddoes

Next Years Flowers!

Tuesday 5th July 2011

Phew! Another hot one yesterday, however there is no Tate house for a couple of weeks so I was able to spend a little time in my own garden. Firstly I earthed up the sweetcorn, which is looking remarkably good considering it's growing in pots, I think it will double in size before the cobs form(hopefully!) Then my mind turned to next year, seriously!, I sowed wallflowers, sweet williams and foxgloves, they are all biennial and will not flower until 2012. The foxgloves I sowed last year have been spectacular, the only problem being, I gave away more than I should and I've got gaps in my border, I will not make the same mistake again just sow even more!

My other revelation has been the night scented stock, it's not much to look at during the day, a bit weedy and shrivelled, but by night time the flowers have plumped up and they smell divine, again I will double the quantities for next summer.

I took this picture of a meadow salsify clock because it is such a feat of natural engineering and so often overlooked.

"Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains"

Diane Ackerman

A Plethora Of Pots

Monday 4th July 2011

It was the RNIB summer fair at Tate house on Saturday, a good opportunity to hear feedback from the residents and their families about our gardening efforts. Everything is still very new looking and it will be a while before the beds look full, but at least the sun was shining and the garden was looking at it's best. We had many nice compliments and helpful suggestions to keep us focused. Of course these little summer fairs are perfect opportunities to go planter hunting, what other people see as junk I often see as a quirky garden ornament. I confess to being guilty of planting old trainers and chimney pots so you can guess what I was looking for. I struck gold with these empty Betty's tea caddies for 50p each and this rather nice blue and white tureen for £2, so wasted no time in getting them planted. I might have to kerb my enthusiasm soon as I appear to be running out of space!

"Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of colour before me, who could ask for more"

Bev Adams

Biodiversity

Friday 1st July 2011

Much as I may curse the goosegrass and nettles at Southlands, there is a lot to be said for letting your garden go a little bit wild. With the Harrogate in bloom judging imminent, thoughts inevitably turn to images of pristine lawns and military tidiness , I'm glad to say that Southlands isn't a bit like that. Tucked away behind a hedge screen is the wildlife garden, a mass of jungley plants doing what they do best, going wild in their own competitive race for the most light, water and food. Because they are left to their own devices, they have created a small ecosystem that is unique to the nursing home. As I walked around admiring the beautiful plants, a red kite wheeled high overhead, and I smiled to recall the rush of proud residents who wanted to tell me of the nightly visits of two hedgehogs. The garden deserves to win an award for the great joy it brings to all those who are privileged enough to use it, not because it is weeded regularly!

Harvested yesterday, sweetpeas of course, baby carrots and garden peas eaten straight from the pod. Into the gaps I sowed carrot autumn king, butterhead lettuce and bulb fennel. I had to take a picture of this beautiful plant, inula hookeri, I must have one !

"Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life"

Charles Darwin