GARDENING NEIGHBOURS

I went over to Leanne's in Colchester again today...her neighbour had given her some plants and as she still has a bad back I insisted on helping her put them in....LOL She has really got bitten by the gardening bug and has lots of plans.....when we win the lottery!

She was really interested in knowing how to look after the plants...with the little time I had I managed to clear an area in front of each fence panel and did some planting. In her lawn I had noticed some Strawberry Plants growing...one even had a strawberry on...so I've lifted these and put them under Mick's Bird Table. Mel will like this....she loves to find edible plants in our garden. Since I've been home Leanne has sent me the last two photos in the collage showing how she has finished the areas off and made them into nice half moon shapes....hmmmm, not on the Doctor's Orders list I think!

The plants her neighbours gave her were (2)Pieris, Blue Hydrangea, Virburnum Davidii, (2) Chrysanthemum, Phygelis, Syringa (Lilac) and (2) Carnations. What lovely neighbours to have....my neighbour (The Alternative Gardener)

gives me Dandelion seeds and Russian Vine!

The weird thing is....a couple of weeks ago I noticed that one of our own Pieris was looking very ill and yesterday it went to the great compost heap in the sky....as Leanne had been given two she has given me one as a replacement....it's as though it was "meant to be".

BLOGBIRTHDAY AND PICTURES

First of all a blog birthday wish to Sharon, CT Daily Photo ; 1 year old today! I've a few months to go before I reach that milestone.

I've been quite busy so it's just a photo and caption post today.

The latest type of daffodil that has come out
Well rooted Strawberry Spinach seedling.
Pricked out into a tray with a few in pots to pass on to family and friends.
The only thing worse than a Lily Beetle; TWO Lily Beetles mating!


This Begonia and Grass just happen to be next to each other in the shed; I like this colour combination.
The Variagated Pieris is starting to flower.
The Hellabores still looking good.
The Pulmanaria flowers now changing colour.
Muscari are flowering.
Realised I'd forgotten to show you The Alternative Gardener's front garden when I posted the overheads of ours the other day.

HAPPY GARDENING!

ON THE GROW ALL WEEKEND

You'd better settle down there's a whole weekend to catch up on.

Grab yourself a mug of tea while its nice and hot and here we go.

I'm sorry but I've been busy...no time for cooking cakes! I promise I'll make you some next time.......

Saturday was an abysmal day weather wise so it was time to do some kitchen gardening; as in gardening in the kitchen. Armed with my trusty dibber and mini trowel; these came free with a gardening magazine years ago; Mick had been over to buy his Saturday newspaper and came back with the mags for me; I'd been using a pencil and old fork up until then...we were such newbie gardeners we didn't even know there was such a thing as a dibber! It's nice that something so unexotic can hold such sweet memories.

So compost and pots at the ready and under the watchful eye of the head gardener I set to work.

The first thing I did was prick out and pot up the Butterfly Flowers (Schizanthus). Normally I would have pot them up singly but I know I won't have room for so many pots indoors if the weather turns really cold again; so I potted them up in clumps...it'll either mean they will end up looking like one massive plant or it will be a case of survival of the fittest!

I always water my potted up seedlings from the bottom; funnily enough Christine Walkden in her TV programme on Friday night says she does the same thing!

The pot of orange pip seedlings for The Great Pip Challenge have their true leaves now so I've potted them up too. I was pleased with the amount of root they had on them.

The Senetti had grown on really well; I want them to bush out and so I've potted them up into 4" pots now

I still had some compost left in the bag so I thought I'd check on the house plants in case anything needed a top dress; the Lucky Bamboo I've been weaning from water to soil looked ready for its final repot; this photo is from the "weaning" stage.

Of course, when your looking over your houseplants inevitably there may be the odd accident or breakage, never one to be able to risk a bit of propagation......I had to make a pot of "bits and pieces" cuttings up! Luckily these are all succulents so it's just a case of popping them in some damp soil and waiting for them to root. Not that I actually NEED any more houseplants....but I just gotta do it!

So endeth Saturday.
Sunday's weather was completely different..an (almost) mild and very sunny day so out in the garden we went.

These are self seeded from last year and already starting to flower.

I hope I won't regret leaving this caterpillar safe and sound...he just looked so snug..I didn't have the heart to remove him.
These particular tulips aren't in bud yet but the leaves are so pretty, especially with the dew on them.

Last Autumn I'd split a small clump of Ajuga into pieces to try and make an edging to the centre bed; it's taken off well!

It's good to see the ladybirds didn't suffer from the cold snap
but neither did the flies!
I love the blue of this Hyacinthand the Violas have really perked up
The "un-named 25p Clematis has really grown well, it was only a stick when we bought it and now has buds on it. At least although it is nameless I will now know when to prune it, it obviously flowers on the new years growth..I wonder what colour the flower will be.The Skimmia is starting to flower; to think this started off from a berry Mick brought home one day, from a bush at a house he was painting.This is my favourite piece of stone round the pond,
it has it's own mini garden of lichen and moss.

While we were sitting in the garden we heard a lot of banging from our neighbour, the alternative gardener; I could resist a peek from the bathroom window to see what exciting new project he was working on

Tried to work out what was different.......I think he was working on this area....erm...I hope that gas canister is empty!!!!

I thought I'd take an overhead view shot of our garden too...it'll be nice to look back and see the difference at the height of the season

The back

The (left) front

The penultimate photo......it won't be long before the sun starts to shine on the pergola and FINALLY the sun has moved round enough so that I can capture a sunset from the BACK garden!

NOTHING DOING !

No lovely sunrise photo today; it's been really dreary weather and during the day the rain has melted the last vestiges of snow.

To be honest except for snapping this picture of one of our garden helpers at first light; before the rain dissolved her white hat and wings; I've not been outside at all. Despite that, it's been a lovely day...................Lynn arrived at about 6.45am and Leanne has stayed the night so I have plenty of good company.I did spot from our bathroom window that our neighbour has made an interesting addition to his garden features int he shape of two large pieces of wood...........click HERE if you missed my post about his alternative garden design.
The sweet peas I sowed the other day are on the move; considering the seed was a good 3 or 4 years old I'm relieved to see some signs of germination.

I've a really lazy day today.............not even any cooking to do as we are having Chinese Take Away tonight...........................isn't it funny how the less you do the tireder you feel...something to do with the lack of adrenalin I suppose. It is nice to have a "Nothing doing" day sometimes........so I'm off now to do NOTHING!

WHAT IS A GARDEN?

Since starting my blog I've been lucky enough to receive many nice comments about our garden. It's been a joy to be able share it with so many of you. Mick and I knew nothing about gardening when we first met; but once we started we got well and truly hooked. Year by year another piece of the once fully concreted garden was dug up. Much sweat, many brandies and cokes, a lot of love, heapsful of manure, countless hours of watching Geoff Hamilton, loads of failures, a multitude of successes and here we are today! I remember the first time we grew geraniums from seed; we put them in the airing cupboard so that they would have the warmth to germinate...we left them in there for ages; they germinated ok and we were so proud of the spindly, yellow 6 inch seedlings we had grown......of course now we realise that they needed more light and that a short sturdy seedling is going to make a far better plant in the long run. The first time I pricked out seedlings I was almost in tears, so worried that I would kill the poor things. It took me hours to do them....now I just pluck 'em out and plop 'em in. We've come a long way since those early days and are still learning all the time.

Of course our style of garden isn't for everyone. Some prefer the neat and tidy regimented garden, some the Japanese look, others just go for containers....there are too many variants to mention. Mick and I are just plantaholics...if we can find a gap we probably have 5 plants that could fill it. We are running out of space now; we have had to start going upwards and even have window troughs outside the upstairs windows. The one thing I do regret is that we don't have more space for vegetables. We have over the years grown many different types; squeezing them in between the flowers, growing them in pots and hanging baskets..........our favourite are runner beans due to the fact that we get such a good yield with just a few plants. Some of my blogvisitors/friends have wonderful allotments..........imagine all that lovely fresh veg!!!!!!!!!

As I have said; all gardens are different. Take our neighbour for instance; his garden is really of quite a different style to ours.

Notice the clever use of every day objects to create a colourful atmosphere. Unfortunately I couldn't manage to zoom in enough to get a clear shot of the old fish tank which he strategically placed a few years ago; it is a haven for the mosquitoes that breed in its stagnant water. At this time of year you will not appreciate how high the grass can grow; dotted with dandelions which blow their seeds gently over the fence to nestle and grow between our own plants.

The pile of shingle is much loved by the local feline population who decorate it with abandon, leaving behind their deposits; on a warm summers day the delicate odour wafts across competing with the heavy musky perfume of our lillies.

A wonderful collection of containers too; unlike ours which are usually full of flowers that cascade down and obscure the container itself....his are left empty to show their natural beauty.

Note too the tyres; recycling at its best....I think he may have got the idea from Bob Flowerdew. Bob stacks his up though and fills them with soil to grow vegetables in....but I'm sure his looked like this once.

Last, but definitely not least, on our communal fence he has a wonderful specimen of Russian Vine; aptly nicknamed the mile-a-minute plant. Most people would only think to use this in a large garden, perhaps to cover an unsightly outbuilding but he has cleverly designed his side of the fence so that the vine can flow over and wrap itself around any plant in our garden that it can reach.

"No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden."

~Hugh Johnson