The race is on!!

Julia and I have planted our Sunflower seeds for this years tallest Sunflower growing race this evening. Who's will be the biggest this year? Nobody knows but if you have any tips for growing super tall Sunflowers then please leave me a comment. I want to win!!

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Garden report

The weather's still been a bit grotty of late ad that's stopping me getting out and doing as much as I'd like to in the garden. Reading the paper in the warm or going out in the rain is a tough choice.

I did get out for a while this afternoon and potted up some of my seedlings in the greenhouse. Everything is starting to come along nicely now and it's getting quite full in there. I also planted out fifty or so Gladioli bulbs that I've had sitting around for a while but that's about it.

More weird weather

What a weekend of weather! I woke up on Saturday morning to thick snow covering the garden again throwing all my plans out the window. By lunchtime however, it was all gone! The sun was shining and although crisp the weather was actually quite warm. So I laid a new path connecting the outhouse to the rest of the garden. Julia and I used all the old slabs and bricks we had lying around the garden to make what in all honesty is a bit of a hotch potch of a path but it looks really nice. We've put some bedding pansies in between some of the gaps and later when this weird weather is out the way I'll fill the rest of the gaps in the path with some bedding plants. I also want to line each side of the path with the lavender plants that I am currently growing from seed although since they germinated a couple of weeks ago they seem to be struggling. I also took time to plant out a Clematis that's been over wintering in the green house and trained it to grow up the end of one of the hedges that's looking a bit shabby.

We have Germination!

My first seeds of the year are starting to Germinate, I've planted a load of different tomato varieties, some peas for an early crop and also a load of flower seeds with packing out my sparse borders in mind. The veggie seeds have pretty much all germinated but I've had varying results with the flower ones. For example I sowed a whole packet of Lavender seeds and none of them have as of yet made an appearance. I also planted a few older packets that I've received free over the last couple of years. As they're a bit old it hasn't been too much of a surprise that they haven't come on but I'm disappointed about the Lavender. I'll leave them in the window for a few more weeks yet before I give up though.

Artificially age terra-cotta pots

I just came across a tip about how to artificially age new terra-cotta pots. To get the effect you water down some live organic yoghurt and paint it onto the pots. You then leave them outside for a couple of days and bingo - aged pots. I'm yet to try it but will be giving it a go next weekend.

Salix Caprea 'Kilmarnock'

I braved the weather last weekend to plant out a new weeping willow in the garden. We chose the Kilmarnock Salix because of it's wonderful catkins and it's tolerance of full sun. There's a spot at the far end of the garden that's been in a bit of a state since we took over the space from the previous owners and I have been trying to renovate it. They used to have bonfires down there and also used it as a dumping ground for their grass clippings and other garden waste. My wife and I have been working on the area and turned the big burnt circle of death into a new circular bed into which we've decided to plant a new willow and a load of cottage garden bulbs (Lupins et).

As with all new plantings there's not much of a visible change at the moment but come summer it should look super!

White Easter

Well the weird weather here in the UK continues. I awoke this Easter morning to find the garden covered in a sprinkling of the white stuff. In the last few days we've seen heavy showers, glorious spring sunshine, frosts, above average temperatures and now SNOW! I wouldn't be surprised if the plants in the garden didn't know if they were coming or going. I know I don't. My gardening plans have been thrown out the window thanks to the swinging shifts in the weather.

Fortunately I haven't put any bedding plants out yet and most of the bulbs that have already gone in shouldn't mind a bit of cold. I'm hoping that all this wether will mean the yucky stuff will all be out of the way soon leaving us with a gloriously hot long summer.