Early April garden update

It's been a glorious week for gardening, in between ticking off the work on the 'to do' list in the studio, I've been working hard in the vegetable garden.

Ta-daaaaa! Just a teeny tiny corner to finish off and it's all spick and span. This has been achieved without any help from the under-gardeners – in fact, it looks so tidy because the hens have been banned from working in the vegetable garden. They couldn't resist scratching the soil back over the paths, I had to put my foot down with a firm hand!


Some of the beds are already planted with shallots ('Pikant' and 'Golden Gourmet'), tree-onions, garlic chives; but no large onions this year, they've been a struggle to grow successfully in the recent wet summers.

This bed is planted with 'Crimson Flowered' broad beans which were started off in the greenhouse. I saved seed from last year and planted only the pale green beans as these tend to have the best crimson flowers. At the other end of this bed is the strawberry patch.


In the heated propogator in the greenhouse the tomato seedlings are ready for pricking out. No sign of 'Lisa King', never mind. Lots of 'Liguria', these have a fantastic flavour when cooked; and this year's pick from the HSL catalogue 'Tiger Tom' is looking good too.


This year's strategy is to sow little and often and keep the crops coming right through the summer and continue into winter and plan for next spring (I've said this before, will I succed this year?). Here's a small batch of chard 'Bright Lights' ready to prick out.


It's not just veg – the salvias grown from RHS free seed are doing well. The hardier varieties are in the cold frame and the tender ones are still in the greenhouse benefiting from the heat of the propagator during the chilly nights. They are in their second year and I'm looking forward to creating a salvia border – it will be well protected with twiggy sticks to deflect the attention of the under-gardeners!

Jack Frost's sugar sprinkles

January 2009 – Garden report:

It's been a cold week; I wouldn't say extremely cold but temperatures have hovered around zero for over a week and the ground is permanently rock hard. Over the past few days we have been enveloped in a shroud of dense cold fog and magically this has resulted in some amazing frosting on the trees and plants.

The weeping silver birch has become a shimmering white curtain of frosted twigs . . .


holly leaves are artfully edged in white crystals . . .


archways, obelisks and bare twigs come into their own and make a winter theatre set to wander through . . .


which is great fun if you're wearing the right headgear!

Garden report - July

July in the garden – between the fresh growth and abundant blooms of June and the fruitfulness of late summer – here it's often a time of heavy rain. Abundant rain sodden foliage collapses and weeds grow rampantly. There are lots of distractions from gardening at this time of year and seemingly overnight the garden looks less than pretty. What a month to have visitors to my studio open days expecting to see a lovely English walled garden in full bloom. I've made a effort to grow some blowsy blooms to detract from the rampaging undergrowth, splashes of bright colour against the backdrop of green . . .

here's the July jamboree . . .

Green wigwams of beans tower over a jungle of vegetables. The peas are now finished; the cavolo nero goes on and on; there's a constant supply of courgettes; the vine has dozens of developing bunches of grapes; there are still artichokes to pick even though we've eaten more than ever before.


In the morning the cucurbit flowers open and attract the pollinating insects – so exotic like flowers from a tropical eden. This one is on a squash plant in the 'Three Sisters' mound – look at those frilled and textured petals and molten gold colour!


We're growing tomatoes in large pots this year, I planted nasturtiums in the edges of the pots and now they tumble and scramble around the edge of the courtyard, the blue green foliage dotted with orange and yellow flowers of complex beauty.


I've noticed cabbage white butterflies idling around the courtyard, a check under nibbled nasturtium leaves reveal their caterpillars. I thought the under-gardeners would find these an irresistible treat – but no! Maybe the caterpillars taste like the peppery leaves they've feasted on?


And finally here are some self-sown or half-forgotten plants that have come into their own this month with fiery flowers that catch the eye and say "this is summer!"

Hollyhocks – my mission to introduce the quintessential Suffolk village flower into the garden is paying off this year, the flowers are enormous dishes of shimmering colour in every shade from white and pale primrose, soft salmon pink, deep pinks and reds to the darkest burgundy.
Verbascum – once introduced they stay and plant themselves were they are happiest, then put up spires of golden flowers.
Dahlias – spiky blooms on a plant left in the garden over winter, a reminder to grow more next year.
Roses – so abundant this year, this beautiful relaxed apricot bloom reflects the sun between the storms.

Garden report - June

There has been an abundant growth of vegetation this year – when we walk along the local footpaths the grasses wave high above my head (and no, I am not a midget, just average British female height). In the garden it's the same, lush green leaves and towering stems. But as well as some classic English balmy sunny days we've been buffeted by strong winds, anything not anchored to a stout support with strong twine has keeled over like tipsy floral-frocked ladies who have consumed much too much Pimms . . .

here are some of the joys of June . . .

Around our wildlife pond we have allowed native plants to self seed, this summer we have a miniature English lea.


One day growth is just starting and summer seems a long way off, then one June morning you glance ouside and see that the garden has filled out and is in full swing. This is the view from my studio door.



Last night I wallked around the garden and took photos of my favourite June flowers.

Sweetpeas from home-saved seeds, at first I was disappointed that they are mostly white flowered, but seeing them in the evening light they were magical.


The crambe cordifolia may have collapsed onto the lawn but it fills the air with a honey scent. I planted a tall scabiosa next to it – the flowers merge, creamy suns in a starry crambe flower sky.


Either side of a garden seat which gets the evening sun, we have look-a-like lead containers planted with a dark leaved trailing sedum and allium christophii – a summer firework display.


For exotic flashes of colour you can't beat hemerocallis. This was probably a plant rescued from the leftovers of a garden fete plant stall – the petals are like rich red taffeta here today gone tomorrow.


The vegetable garden is now a maze of paths between towering greeness. Here are some of the heritage peas, 'Victorian Purple Podded' and the wonderfully eccentric 'Salmon Flowered'.


We're enjoying the fruits of our labour, this was the harvest for Sunday dinner a week ago:
Cavalo Nero (Tuscan Black Kale) has been a huge success – it looks wonderful, matures early and tastes great (and it's very very good for you!!!); purple podded peas – 'Victorian' firm long slim pods on elegant long stems, and my trusty PPPs; 'Bunyards Exhibition' broad beans harvested from two metre tall plants; and 'Cambridge Favourite' strawberries, as many as we can eat for week after week . Not bad at all!!! This is my contribution for a cornucopia of home harvests – Matron's Trugblog over on Down on the Allotment.

Garden report - April

Two weeks ago heavy icy showers were a regular occurance. Not until April 22nd was there any real sign of spring warmth, then overnight leaf, bud and shoot really started growing . . .

It's April – all systems go! . . .

The wall-trained greengages, red and black currants and gooseberries are all in flower. It's easy to look at the abundance of blossom and think of baskets laden with fruit. Never count your fruit before it's picked! We need sunny warm days for pollintation and netting to protect the crops from birds (blackbirds love unripe redcurrants!). Sadly the red gooseberry Whinhams Industry is just a twiggy skeleton – was last year too damp, was it the late frosts, or some sort of fungal attack?

Plants in the vegetable beds are growing fast. These are the Crimson Flowered broad beans, in the background are chicory and red mustard which overwintered outside and the large grey feathery artichoke leaves. You can see a detailed list of what has been planted in the vegetable garden and green house here.

The young tomato plants in the greenhouse have been potted up and will soon be ready to plant into large tubs for outside and growbags for the greenhouse.

Fresh green leaves and shoots are filling the borders with neat hummocks of foliage. Here are four favourites which are signs that spring is really on its way . . . thalictrum glaucum – a giant blue-green leaved, yellow flowered rue; my favourite herb - lovage; crambe cordifolia – which will become a real show stopper in a few months time; and beautiful fat shoots of Solomon's Seal, polygonatum biflorum.

Already there are some splashes of intense colour in the garden, both these plants remind me of where I bought them . . .

This Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry, ribes speciosum was from East Ruston Old Vicarage where you can see it growing in the Sunk Garden.

And this fabulous coloured spring pea, lathyrus vernum was from Hidcote.

Garden report - March

What a diverse month it's been - a premature spring, high winds, a deluge of rain and a snowy Easter!

Here is a round-up of garden highlights at the end of 'mercurial-March' . . .

In the greenhouse the rocket which was sown on 12 February, has been a huge success – it's been great to have home grown leaves in sandwiches and salads.


The mixed Italian salad leaves (Lattughino da taglio misto) are also nearly big enough to use.


When the Easter snow had melted I moved the peas which were sown on 26 February, out of the frost free greenhouse into the new plastic cloche on one of the vegetable beds. Now they've had a few days to get used to cooler temperatures they are ready to be planted out. I noticed that the growth of the peas planted in the cardboard tubes wasn't as good as those in the pots – I heard Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners' Question Time mention that he no longer uses cardboard tubes as the fungicide in the cardboard inhibits seedling growth – interesting!


I left the cardboard tube seedlings in the cloche and planted out the ones in the pots – they had fantastic root systems and individual plants were easy to tease out from the clump.


Here are 'Purple Podded' peas (left) and 'Carouby de Mausanne' mange touts (right) planted round the base of rustic wigwams in the new vegetable bed along the garden wall. This area was previously a nursery bed for perennials but as this year I'm growing seven varieties of pea and at least as many climbing beans I needed to use this area which is opposite my greenhouse for productive crops!


The reason gardeners today can enjoy growing and eating beautiful vegetables, such as Purple Podded Peas, is the existence of the Heritage Seed Library and other similar schemes to protect the rich diversity of vegetables from being lost forever – because only registered seed can be sold the unusual, non-commercial, local varieties are only available via 'seed swaps'. So this news on Daughter of the Soil's blog made me splutter expletives! The Association Kokopelli has a catalogue of thousands of unique heirloom vegetables, and apparently this gives them and "unfair trading advantage" over a big commercial seed company like Baumaux, so Kokopelli have just been fined €35,000 .

Let's hope that the Association Kokopelli survives this latest crisis and continue to save and distribute the thousands of vegetable varieties in their collection. I'm looking forward to my copy of Dominique Guillet's book Seeds of Kokopelli dropping through the letter box – I know it's a drop in the ocean, but if you're interested why not treat yourself to a copy and give them your support.


Near the wildlife pond vivid bursts of yellow have pushed up through the mud – Coltsfoot (tussilago farfara) flowers. Now, I know someone's going to tell me I'm mad to allow this plant into the garden as it's underground roots will run amock! I have pulled out quite a few clumps that appeared too near to some choice plants but the flowers are so cheerful I just had to leave some to flower.


So, after that lunch time garden work-out, what does a gardener have for lunch? Carouby de Mausanne pea-shoots (I had a few spares) and hop shoots with scrambled fresh eggs and crumbled Wensleydale cheese served on toast!

Garden report - February

Over the past week the nights have been extremely cold (-5 and colder) but the days have been gloriously sunny. In our greenhouse which has a little frost-free fan heater, the max-min thermometer registers a range from +35C to +3, that's pretty challenging if you're a plant!

Here is a round-up of garden highlights during our 'extreme-February' . . .

'Bunyard's Exhibition' Broad Beans sown direct outdoors on 21st November last year, are now growing strongly.

These Tuscan Kale seedlings germintated in a large heated propogator, they are now on the greenhouse shelf where they get lots of light. I'll prick out some to grow on in the vegetable garden and use the rest as micro-greens.

I am recording all the vegetables I am growing this year and their progress here.


Last year's un-naturally wet summer resulted in the 'Timperly Early' rhubarb plant rotting away completely. So I have bought a new rhubarb, 'Victoria', and it's planted in a new corner bed next to the greenhouse door. The under-gardeners enjoyed helping to dig out the new rhubarb bed and mix in the well rotted compost. I'm looking forward to picking home-grown rhubarb again (maybe not until next year) and I'll definitely be trying some of the delicious rhubarb recipes tested by Freddie on the Great Big Vegetable Challenge.


And here are some of my favourite things . . .

A tiny red flower on the 'Kentish Cob' equals a promise of nuts in autumn.

Cornelian Cherry flowers (cornus mas), perfect spring sun-bursts.

A rosette of beautiful green and red finely cut leaves of geranium rubescens, this is a well behaved biennial geranium from Madiera. It's like a giant Herb Robert and self seeds in dry sheltered corners, the bright pink flowers held on giant branching red stems will mingle perfectly with other plants. I love this plant!

Wild-thing Chloe (studio and garden assistant) loves bouncing over and around the box hedging!