Exuberant Annuals

Not much of note to mention to you today which is probably just as well for me as I've got to have a couple of quiet days every now and again! Chumdog was being naughty so we didn't take a long walk, some days he is more interested in what he can find to eat, so I steered well clear of our usual haunts so he wouldn't be tempted to indulge his less pleasant habits. Poor mad Paddy Padster is at the vets having that operation so he will be out of action for a week or two, it will be very interesting to see if it will calm him down! In the end I just pottered around the garden for a bit, I've moved lots of pots at the front as I'm considering growing a climber up the wall there, but I've not decided what will suit yet. I've decided I should try for a more designed look on the front drive, but it probably wont happen as I just can't resist the exuberance of lots of colourful annuals, so it will probably end up looking like a five year- olds art lesson again, oh well I guess I'm just set in my ways now!

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream" C.S.Lewis

Hard Graft

Sunset apple

Diana and I were at Harlow Carr again yesterday attending the Northern Fruit Group apple tree grafting course, so I've been classroom bound two days running this week. In the morning we learnt how to make the tongue and groove cuts in the right places, we practised on twigs that didn't matter which was a good job as I found it quite difficult. The two pieces have to be of the same size and shape so the cork cambium layers rest against each other, easier said than done! Eventually Hillary let us loose on the real thing, working with MM106 root-stocks which are semi-dwarfing and should produce good sized healthy trees, I chose to graft one Discovery and one Sunset. Hopefully both will produce manageable little trees with sweet fruit which the children will enjoy, but to be honest it will be a miracle if the grafts take given how cack-handed I turned out to be! I'll keep you posted as the results should become apparent by mid May.

Discovery

"If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees" Hal Borland

Pesky Pests

Yet another parents evening to attend yesterday, although this one was for the teenager and was an entirely different kettle of fish, let me just say it was a glowing report and I'm very proud of her. Unlike the son who is predicted A*'s in x-box, scootering and messing about! So just a quick resume of college again, pests in the morning, ranging from big stuff like rabbits, I've plenty of experience there now, right down through birds and mice to insects and tiny little nematodes whose life-cycles would be more fitting in a Stephen King novel! All very straight forward really, a bit of light relief for a change. Ponds and water gardens followed in the afternoon which gave us all an excuse to wander around outside looking at various examples, very pleasant on a beautiful March day.

"Though snails are exceedingly slow,
There's one thing I would like to know,
If I out-run 'em round the yard,
How come they beat me to the chard?"
Alan Klein

Blossom

Thank goodness we were blessed with decent weather yesterday after what must have been the worst Sunday weather of the year so far. All our hard work emptying the pond on Saturday had to be done again, a surprising amount of water had collected due to the rain and sleet but at least it had the advantage of being clean this time! The sun soon helped to dry it out and we were able to coat the sides with a rubber based solution which should fill in the cracks and allow some flexibility, hopefully preventing any more leaks. We spent the rest of the day pruning the shrub and bush roses in various locations around the garden, a pleasant task in the warm spring sunshine that also gave us time to admire the early blossom bursting forth. If we were able to spare five minutes from our labours to sit and admire, it would have to be spent in the peach house where the temperature is balmy and the fragrance sweet.

"Merrily, merrily shall I live now, under the blossom that hangs on the bough" William Shakespeare.

An Ordinary Day At Norton Conyers!

Yet again gardening took a back seat to the occurrences at NC on Saturday. After an absence of nearly two weeks Shandy was a dog on a mission, with frenzied barking and much dashing about she flushed rabbit after rabbit out of various hiding places around the garden, so it was only a matter of time before she caught one. She did have a bit of help though, one poor bunny made the wrong decision and took refuge in the potting shed, so Giles barred the door whilst the dog finished it off. I've never seen a dog look so triumphant and woe betide anyone who got too near her prize! When calm had been restored Alison and I started on the pond restoration,it had developed a crack and lost a lot of water, so we used a hosepipe to slowly syphon out what water remained whilst we got on with cutting back the epimediums. By lunchtime enough had drained away for us begin rescuing the fish which we transferred to the pool in the peach house, along with a handful of frogs, some already getting on with the act of making the next generation! No sooner had we eaten lunch than there was another commotion as the air ambulance landed in the paddock, peeking out of the big gate we could see that the local hunt, which had been passing through the estate all morning, had lost a rider right by the small garden gate so not wanting to stare we beat a hasty retreat leaving the paramedics to their work, they didn't waste any time and were soon flying away with the patient. I've often mentioned that there's never a dull day at NC but even by normal standards Saturday was a varied one, especially when you throw in all four seasons of weather and a splendid rainbow too, phew!

A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days" Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The Potting Shed

It's official I am now the proud owner of a potting shed, which is the next best thing to a greenhouse. I've always had a shed of course but over the last couple of weeks its undergone a mini-makeover, cleaned, tidied, de-cobwebbed and mostly de-spidered (except for the box in the far corner which contained such enormous specimens I decided to leave it as a wildlife habitat!) I've even cleaned the windows but have stopped short of putting up net curtains, I'm not that sad! The major transformation occurred yesterday when Dave gave up a precious hour of his working day in order to construct a potting bench for me, I've coveted one for years after having had to make do with the dustbin lid or kitchen table. So now I'm all set for the spring seed sowing frenzy, no more back ache for me! All the shed needs now is another coat of preservative and it will look very smart, just like the picture of my garden in full bloom that I've got in my minds eye, there's nothing like a healthy dose of optimism!


"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence"
Helen Keller

Rhubarb Rhubarb

Back at Spofforth after a three week absence I was pleased to note that not much had changed, just as Diana had said the frost pocket in her garden keeps everything late so I hadn't missed much. I think Diana herself had been glad of the break as her hips have been a bit cranky of late, therefore I was glad to turn over the compost heaps and mulch the squash beds for her. I think the trouble is she tries to keep up with me, which was fine in the beginning when I was a bit porky but I'm quite a lot fitter now! We also did a bit of apple tree pruning as we passed through the orchard, little and often seems to suit Di better rather than going at it hammer and tongs to finish the job all at once. As we made our way back to the house for lunch we noticed that the rhubarb buds were showing fat and pink above the crown, so we went and retrieved the old dustbin that is used as a forcer and placed it over the top, we should have delicate flavoured stems ready to pick in about four weeks. Weird stuff rhubarb, more alien invader than plant, they say you can hear it growing in the forcing sheds of the north, pushing its way skyward murmuring and rustling in the candle-light!

"Ah March! We know thou art kind-hearted, in spite of ugly looks and threats. And out of sight art nursing Aprils violets" Helen Hunt