Showing posts with label slow gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slow gardening. Show all posts

14.6.19

The garden in June


As I write, we are coming to the end of what has been a solid week of rain. Thankfully the cottage is on a hill and we have escaped the flooding that has disrupted some parts of Shropshire. So as the garden is looking rather soggy and the summery flowers temporarily defeated, I am glad I took these photos when everything was happier and drier. 


A foxglove self seeded itself in an awkward corner and while my first instinct was to remove it, I spared it, to see how it would grow. I'm very glad I did, as it naturally shaped itself around the large lavender bush and has grown to be  roughly six feet tall.



Like the lavender, it is buffeted by westerly winds which push it into a curvaceous line and so they have combined to make a graceful composition that, had I planned it, could not have looked more beautiful. 


The front herb patch continues to grow - with very little money, I am slowly filling it out, leaving enough space for everything to spread. Cheap herbs, such as the common and trailing thymes will, over a couple of years, grow rather too well. I hard prune the common thyme back twice a year, when the bee friendly flowers are finished, but this year I am going to be more ruthless or it will take over. 

At the front of the patch where the shallow growing plants are, there are three types of oregano, four thymes, golden marjoram, trailing rosemary, a French tarragon which struggles, and a few other things including a random tub of parsley used as a space filler.





Common violas, which cost one UK pound a pot, seem to go on forever if they are deadheaded and add subtle splashes of colour. At the back of the trough, the hyssop and blackcurrant sage have tripled in size already. There is a large bare patch for more low growing alpines at some point.


Next to the violas grows dwarf comfrey - it was grown from six stubby roots I picked up cheaply on eBay and has flourished rather too well. However, this is fine, as it was planted for the leaves which I'll be harvesting soon, as they provide an intense, nourishing fertiliser when soaked in water. And when it flowers, it is another bee attraction.



To temporarily fill up spare space, I have pots of pretty summer annuals in front of taller herbs. Since this picture was taken, the herbs have shot up and I am slightly regretting putting (what were) three tiny lemon balm plants. Now shot up and spreading, they are providing the thick cover at the back, which is what I had planned, but will need some taming soon.  


One of my favourite finds this year has been 'black' petunias - like many annuals, they hate the rain and are looking bedraggled now, but when they are warm and dry, they look like dark velvet.


I have frequently complained - bitterly - about the amount of rubble and stones which have plagued my digging efforts in the vegetable patch. However, I have found a very good use for some of the more natural shapes; large ones can hold back a vigorous plant from over growing a smaller neighbour and when placed next to a dainty alpine, adds a rather Japanese element (I like to think).



Finally, a rather blurry shot of the 'very tall foxglove' at night, from my Instagram feed. Now is coming to the end of it's glory and I will miss it when it is over. 


30.7.17

Slow hedge cutting


The time came ten days ago when I finally felt up to tackling the front yard. As you can see, it is a little overgrown. It has been for a few years. If anything expresses my life as it has been, it is this messy jungle.  So I fetched my secateurs and got to work.

 

It was a mish mash of mostly  honeysuckle, wild geraniums and some kind of jasmine, with assorted weeds for good measure. As with the rest of the garden, it has just had random things put in it, here and there. And some rocks.


Cutting back a large hedge with small secateurs may seem like a thankless task, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I could have got the shears out, or even borrowed a small hedge cutter, but this way I got to see exactly what was what and to know where everything I wanted to keep was rooted.


After a few sessions, you could actually see the fence and Joe helped me get the weeds out of the cracks. We disturbed an ants nest and one managed to get in my vest. It got its revenge by biting me a couple of times; the bites were tiny but extraordinarily painful for such a small creature.


The (possible) jasmine in the far corner is a bit of a beast, but it does provide cover all year round.


Yesterday, I had an afternoon session and finally cleared it. I just need to get rid of the rotten wooden trough now.


It does look bare, however a lovely person sent me some seeds in the post and hopefully I will be able to plant it up next year. Some are from the Brown Envelope Seed company, and some from the lovely Bealtaine Cottage.

Blessed are the seed givers. I look forward to the time when I too can send someone lovely little packets of garden treasure.