So we try to move along

Outside the frost seems to have passed and the weathermen say it’s warmer. Note; warmer, not warm!
The rising temperature means the bulbs are pushing their tiny heads through the soil now and soon we will have clothes of gold all over our borders, pink blossoms coating the cherry trees and Viburnum and the fresh green leaves are starting to unfurl like tiny flags welcoming the sunshine. The rain has dampened the pavements but hardly penetrated the earth to any useful extent yet. We shall see how March begins before we’ll know what weather it will bring. The old saying of ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’ has proven itself many times recently. In previous years, If the first days of March were blowy and wet, then the beginning of April was heralded with balmy days and persistent sunshine, if the month began calm and mild, then woe betide anyone planning a holiday later.
This sort of rural folklore has always been held dear to the gardener, maybe because we see the effects of the weather more intimately in the garden. The abundant fruits that form on the autumnal trees and shrubs hint at a cold winter to follow, the birds will need the berries and nuts to survive the colder weather and mother nature provides.
As I hope the next few weeks will be mild enough to allow my crops to survive, I have started preparing more ground. The trench for my early potatoes, those beloved nuggets that spell hot summer and salads on the lawn, has been dug and lined with well rotted manure. The second sowing of peas has gone in and the shallots, all 20 of them, are nested in the soil beside the cauliflowers that have been over wintering.
Shallots, for those who don’t know, are one of the group of plants called Alliums. The onion family, containing such varieties as Spring onions, Leeks and Garlic as well as many ornamentals. Some, like the Chives, are grown for their leaves, others, such as garlic, for the bulb and some are almost completely devoured as in the case of the national favourite of Wales, the Leek. Unlike most onions, the Shallot is most commonly grown by division rather than from seed. The 20 bulbs I have planted, if they grow as I hope they will, should provide me with approximately 200-300 more bulbs in the autumn because they swell and divide into clones of themselves rather than just increasing in girth as kitchen onions do.
Like their cousins though, they make a great pickle for Christmas cold cuts!
As a side point, I must mention something about the manure. When I ordered a delivery through the guys at my site distribution hut, I merely expected horse or stable manure. I never realised I would be fortunate enough to benefit from a local industry that few of our national compatriots can hope to find. When the load arrived, I recognised the supplier from the familiar shapes I se on our beaches. Yes, just as in the TV commercials, this is not just manure, this is Weston donkey manure….
Good Gardening!

Crystals and Jewels

It had to come, we were enjoying what the journalists love to call Spring. It was mearly a lull in the stormy,rain lashed weather pattern we have been suffering for a month or more. Any sign of dry weather and that golden orb in the sky in early february will always be misconceived as an early Spring by the ever hopeful newsreaders. I understand their enthusiasm after a period of telling us about flooding and frozen stretches but it really wasn't Spring but a slight hesitation before the real sharp end of winter kicked in.

After seeing the first shoots of early peas and late broad beans popping thier vibrant green heads through the soil, I was concerned that the sudden and sharp frosts we had were going to knock the progress back again but I can happily report that all the new shoots are still hurrying along nicely despite the efforts of the Ice Queen.Whilst the grass on the surrounding paths may crunch under foot, the tiny leaves stand clear of the white coated soil very proudly and are showing evidence of growth too, not just survival.

In the garden, signs of life were showing everywhere . Snowdrops have had their best already and the Primroses are starting to take over, resplendent i

n blues, red and flame oranges but the real primrose yellows will come later. The early Irises are peaking through the long grass like stems and competing with the Schytzostylis flowers for the title of 'Most Cute Flower' this season, although in my own garden, the Kaffir Lily has not stopped flowering right through all the bad weather threw at us.

Warming up and smelling stunning.

It’s starting to warm up a little, not so much that we may get complacent and start sowing and planting in a fever, but a pleasant enough reminder that better weather and longer days are coming.
I used to earn my keep as a gardener at a very old private garden near Weston that had some well established lawns with long beds across the front of them. We used to empty the beds and borders every autumn to replenish them with a healthy dose of rotted manure and leaf mould from the estate woodland. The established shrubs would be either lifted and split or could be left in place and worked around. Some of my favourite plants in those ancient strips of hungry soil were the least showy, the least flamboyant shrubs you could ask for yet they were the most valuable to me. They were the heralds of early spring, the winter scented shrubs.
I know a lot of people look forward to the dainty heads of Snowdrops (Galanthus) or the bright yellow bonnets of Daffodils (Narcissus) and I can see the attraction, but I’m a bit of a lofty fellow and my nose could find those shrubs long before I could see them , the heady scent of Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena') and the magnificently demure Viburnam (Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'), both shy flowering but highly fragrant. Winter Sweet was an odd but delicious plant. Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox) has tiny little nodding flower heads with warm orange centres that give off a , appropriately enough, warm cinnamon and spice fragrance. A taste bud enticing scent that normally precedes Easter and the hot cross buns that smell so similar.

If I ever reach a grand age and my senses start to fail me, as long as I can still recall turning the corner from the gravel drive and being bowled over by the wall of intense almost out of season perfume, then I will see my dotage through with a smile.
Meanwhile, I advise anyone with a spade and a wallet to find a supplier ,the RHS has a very good website for that purpose, and plant one or more of these shrubs as soon as they can.
You may just miss the best of the scent for this year but the wait for next spring will be worthwhile.
While you wait, consider your lawns. Is it time to tidy up, maybe even replace?
Do you fancy introducing a lawn into your garden?
If so, now is the time to get started.
Seed beds for lawns can be prepared this month and next and turf lawns can be laid from now on until the summer heat is a problem.
If your existing lawn is showing signs of wear, get a sharp edged spade out this weekend and turn the worn edges in. The secret is to cut a rectangle around the worn edge, lift the turf and rotate it 180 degrees so the healthy straight edge is on the outer edge and the damage is tucked inside. Then, after lightly forking the bare soil, you can reseed the bare patch and let it grow while you continue to trim and mow the repaired edge.
It’s not too late to move established deciduous trees or shrubs that have outgrown their place or if you just fancy a change.
Down at the plot, my early peas are starting to emerge, as are the late broad beans. The seed potatoes have arrived at the allotment store and so I’ve set my Earlies, Rocket, in trays for chitting. The lates, a variety called Desiree, won’t be chitted but will go straight into the ground at a later date.
Chitting, for those new to it, means standing the tubers in a tray and encouraging small shoots to start forming on the potatoes. This is believed to increase the size of your crop and can help early varieties but really doesn’t make much of a difference on the generally heavier cropping main or Late varieties.
Next week, I hope to grab some bags of Onion Sets, Shallots and Red Onion Sets from the Store.
In a future blog, I will return to the container/small garden with a plan for a productive fruit and vegetable plot in a large tub for the patio.
If any readers have ideas or suggestions for articles, please register and post your replies as shown on the blog site as I’d love to know what you think and what you would like to see.

Almost spring already

It will soon be warm enough to start sowing some seeds outdoors. The packets may say march/april but realistically, the temperature varies across the country and from season to season. Although it might seem as though we have had a horrendous winter, much of that has been due to the comparatively warm weather so we could be starting early this year.
I myself am a production gardener. If it doesn't taste good, smell gorgeous or serve a practical purpose, I really don't waste too much time on it. I do, however, have my favourite flowers, but even then they tend to be unfussy or grown from bulbs or corms.

Vegetables vary in how much skill and time they need to thrive. Different vegetables also vary in how much space they require and the size of harvest they produce. Easy crops to grow include beans (such as French and runners), root crops (like beetroot, parsnip and potatoes) as well as salad crops (like courgettes, lettuce and radish), so these are often recommended. However, some of these, notably French beans, beetroot, leeks and potatoes are either space hungry or don't produce big crops, so are less satisfactory. On the other hand, a few crops - such as spring onions and outdoor tomatoes -offer such great rewards they are worth even a beginner having a go. Children love growing vegetables too, so start them off with fun crops such as radish and lettuce that are quick and easy, or courgettes and runner beans that grow into monster plants. Try making the plants individual to appeal to the competitive nature of children. maybe see who can grow the largest marrow,pumpkin or runner bean. If you instil the basic requirements of plant growth-sun,water and food-you will soon find your child prodigy will be spending as much time treating their plants as they do watching tv. Remember the golden rule: It's no use growing something they won't want to eat. If they are responsible for bringing something to the table for everyone to try, they will feel successful regardless of the size of the specimen.
I have a tendency to try the odd exotic or more expensive new veg or fruit from the greengrocers(If I can find a real one) or supermarket before trying to grow it. If I don't like the taste, then I give it a miss in the garden. I'm not sure my wife cares too much for my methods though as she is often the one who has to find a recipe for it!
I make a space on my plot for sweet peas ,gladioli or dahlias when I can rather than in the garden as they take up a fair amount of space and can be lifted or composted after they have served their purpose, not left filling a space in the flower borders. My daughter's nursery room was filled heavenly scented sweet pea blooms in a number of vases the day my wife brought her home from the maternity ward and she has loved them ever since. Gladioli are such showy blooms needing very little effort so they score well with me as a cut flower and dahlias are a traditional allotment crop, alongside the more northern favourite of chrysanthemums. Dahlias are easier to spell too!


Good gardening!

Water Bored

Water, water everywhere…

We have discussed most of the elements of the soil but now we fall upon the most controversial of recent years. The water content. Clearly, too much or too little are both deadly to the plants we try to grow. Whereas some plants, aquatics, can grow, in fact need to grow, in a depth of water , none survive without any water. Air plants, epiphytes that cling to tree branches, rocks and even telegraph wires, seemingly living on just the air that surrounds them, actually take moisture from the air itself, rather than taking none at all.
Water is essential, we all know that, but why?
What purpose does it serve and how?
Plants do not have huge gaping jaws with which to take in food and nutrients. They have tiny pipe systems called roots which take up any food in a liquid form, heavily diluted.
In order to make the soil borne nutrients available, water is required to make a solution capable of being drawn into the plants system by capillary action. Without water, plants would die, starved to death surrounded by a banquet. Water also binds the other elements together making a firm holding base for the roots to take hold of and secure the plant.
Water fills out the cell structure of the plant because, as with humans, a greater percentage of the plant is just water, held in suspension in its millions of cells.
Take a close look at Celery, Cucumbers or Cacti and the other succulents.
In order to avoid simply burning up in the heat of the day, plants transpire moisture through their leaves, through tiny vent like holes called Stoma.
Water features so heavily in the structure of the plant, I will leave the fuller explanation for a later blog dedicated to water and it’s effect on the garden and the gardener.

Water plants.

While we are on the water, so to speak, let’s just take a moment to reflect on the other aspect of water in the garden as a whole. Water features have many roles in the general layout of any type of garden, productive or aesthetic . Wildlife gardens need water as a vital part, supplying water for animals as well as shelter and a source of food for the larger animals. Plants that grow in the water or it’s boggy edge provide cover for smaller animals and invertebrates. Insects breed on or above and near the water too.
For ornamental gardens, water features add a focal centre, a cooling atmosphere and a place for calm reflection. Alternatively, a fast moving waterfall or stream can add movement and life to a display.
For the productive gardener, water is essential to keep crops swelling and to provide a moist atmosphere around germinating seeds and rooting cuttings. Although some more adventurous plot holders may try using water to grow some crops directly into, most of us will have a trough or barrel just to hold water for the plants in the soil.

Watercress.

A little diversion if you like, but watercress is one of my favourite salad crops. Unlike true watercress, which is one of the plants you do need to grow directly in moving water, I grow American Land Cress because it is so much easier.
Land cress has the look and similar peppery taste of watercress but needs just a suitably damp soil, boggy even, to grow away happily. I have a clay based soil on my plot so it hold water well (more on that in the water blog) and, with the recent flood conditions, has flourished for me. It is much hardier than its other salad counterparts, standing right through the last winter with no protection on my expose land. Slugs seemed to be its only pest and I had what looked like 150% germination from seeds sown shallowly on dry soil mid summer. My thick line of glossy green, lobed leaved florets were trimmed in a cut and come again style of harvest for almost six months continually. There are still the remains of my last thorough harvest now after I chopped back, crew cut fashion, all my rows of cress so my wife could try a recipe for watercress soup for me.
As wonderful a cook as she undoubtedly is, I will be sticking to salads as the best way of eating mine!
The soup was described by my family as Shrek’s supper! A bowl of steaming watery green slime, it tasted peppery and spicy but chewing wet cud didn’t make for a pleasing meal.
Trial and error. It sometimes gives the wrong result but that’s part of the fun.
Next time:
Seeds are coming up!