All too fleeting

Life in the garden is a blur throughout June. Everything grows at a rate of knots and head down, you just keep on trucking.

When I have lifted my head I have seen all manner of plants in full flow. Foxgloves and Eremurus towering above the borders.

The Roses at Heale are the star right now, our Hybrid Musk border is fronted with Nepeta and looks stuffed full of colour.

We have lots of yellow rattle at Heale, naturalizing amongst the grasses. This is very evident right now and HG manages the cutting of the long grass accordingly to help the plant seed and return in bigger numbers next year.

We are having a particularly strange Summer with weather and on Friday I walked through the garden to see this - storm looming!

At my Tuesday garden today, I began dead heading Roses and Peonies. These plants were just coming into their own last Tuesday and by today some of them had gone. Just like that. They took a beating from the rain too.

On a walk home from school wth my youngest son yesterday, we stopped at gardens along the way and observed what was growing. I was telling him about the phrase 'Stop and smell the Roses' and that is exactly what we did. Blink and you miss it.

Piet Oudolf and his meadow planting

I have been considering my Blog lately, sorry for not keeping up quite as I used to.

I really want to share some of the wonderful sights I see in the gardens I visit and work in but it is time consuming and I want to still enjoy that process.

I have been very busy with work and have been enjoying getting the veg going at Heale. Also in my own allotment. At home we are growing Turk's Turban Squashes and my youngest is full of excitement every day when the plants have grown!

Heale was perfect last week and now some plants are just going over. The Laburnum pergola, mixed in with Wisteria is just glorious. Noisy with insects and moving in the breeze. The Roses are coming and we are cropping Single Cordon Sweet peas.

Planting up Gladioli in the cutting garden.

I visited Hauser and Wirth this week, their gallery in Somerset, a drive from my home. Aside from the beautiful gallery, cafe, art exhibitions and general vibe, you move through the building and discover Piet Oudolf's naturalistic meadow to the rear of the gallery.

I have visited before, last August, when the planting was in full swing. Swathes of one Species, planted in groups to give maximum effect. Bee friendly, natural planting, with movement in the breeze and a huge variety of texture and colour knitted into the planting plan.

When I visited yesterday, the garden was at a completely different stage and yet, remains a feast for the eyes. The promise is there of what these clumps of grasses will do in a few weeks, months, time. I loved the grandeur of the Phlomis fruticosa. Many varieties of Scabious and Allium, one a very dark head I hadn't seen before (Atropurpureum?). I just love the grasses and their crazy hair like appearance. The bright colour of Hakonechloa contrasting with Monarda, amongst others.

Something new I don't remember seeing ; Japanese Blood Grass; Imperata cylindrical. Wow, what a show off, stunning colour and short spiky textures, shooting up from the ground.

Well worth a visit if you are ever near the sleepy town of Bruton.

The month of May

What beautiful time of year May is?



I find it magical and enchanting, as the hedgerows expand and the lanes get narrower with Cow Parsley.

So much happens, things seem to grow overnight.

The gardens are hard to keep up with but if you have time to stop, wow, what there is to see. Wisteria, Peonies, trees such as Malus and Davidia beginning their journey into leaf for the year ahead. Poppies are out now, one at Heale which I find stunning to watch is 'Patty's Plum'. The petals are truly glorious, the sheer size and the beauty in the fine paper like, worn, bleached appearance.

The grasses are wild, long, wafting, willowy.

The fields lush and colourful.

We have been busy with veggie growing too. Much is now out and growing well, Courgette, Beans, Peas, Carrots, Beets, Salads, Kales, Celeriac, Asparagus. I like the time of year when things are in hand and you can see what is ahead. The early days of struggling to propagate and keep frost at bay are pretty much over.

So much happens this month, Chelsea, of course and many peeps talk of nothing else for the duration. I have enjoyed the TV coverage and do admire the work but am glad to be out in the wild rather than trying to cram it onto a stage.

This week at Heale, we had a special group of visitors in the name of All Horts. an online group of like minded individuals involved, in some way, in Horticulture. What a fantastic day, showing everyone the gardens at Heale and having the time to admire where we are lucky enough to work all year round. To see the gardens through fresh eyes and be able to reflect on the past and our time spent there, was a real reminder of why we are all outside, battling the elements, carrying on despite the set backs.

 Mother Nature.

It's here

Finally, this last week has brought warmth. The first time I have genuinely not felt cold without a coat in what seems like forever. We wait all Winter and then -BAM- everything seems to be happening all at once.

It is such a busy time and much to think about and hopefully nothing is missed, everything in its place and all will be smashing!

Each of the three gardens I work in (in addition to the allotment) has veggies which need attention as well as numerous borders and lawns. It is a mind game, remembering which seeds need sowing when, which seedlings need transplanting, which don't. Which plants need to have heat, which need to be hardened off. Which need staking, which need cropping soon.

We have some fantastic Salads at Heale and this Rocket, having just been watered, looked far too good to just walk on by.

The Prop at Heale, is THE place where everything can rest happily, not too cold, not too hot. The benches are now groaning with pots and HG is constantly playing Plant Jenga, moving pots this way and that to make sure all are happy.

I have been up to all sorts this week. We have planted more Broad Bean seeds and Peas. We needed to stake and net the Peas. HG uses a metal pole which is hollow, allowing you to put a bamboo cane in each end to lengthen/shorten the pole for your requirements. Then you use a large tack to hold the cane in place on the posts. A nifty trick.

I have been feeding various animals too. We now have Pigs, Geese, Chickens, Cats and Lambs on our roster. The gardens have sprung into life.

Of course with all of this life, comes unwanted growth. Namely, Bittercress, Fat Hen, Nettles and Thistles to name but a few. Hand weeding is the best option or a good hoe and a rake seems to help too. Many areas at Heale have been given The Garden Bird treatment and are in their place - for now.

Watering has quickly become a requirement and is constantly on our minds. We use sprinklers, once we have prepared the area but in some cases only a gentle watering with a can will do. Especially with seedlings.

We are gradually filling up the ground space in the veg garden. HG has the Celeriac in, looking mighty fine, upright, glossy green, erect growth. The Potatoes are showing themselves, Asparagus is being cropped and we will soon be planting out Courgettes and Cucumbers along with Tomatoes outdoors. We also mix it up in a Potager style, so we will be flowering it up with Sun flowers, Zinnias and Cosmos as well as climbing plants such as Cobea and Ipomoea.

The wider garden is coming into its own now. Blossom is plentiful, we have Camassia over on the river bank starting to flower. Peonies in their lollipop form, almost flowering. The trees have their first leaf emergence. Of course, some of it is so fleeting. I took this pic of Magnolia 'Butterflies' a week or two ago and now it will be year to wait before we see her again. Prunus 'Shirotae' blossom has all but gone already!

Scilla 'Peruviana' are up in the Triangle, wild area and they are stunning things. Very complex in their form. Lots

to look at. 

On my allotment, my youngest has grown Brussel Sprouts from seed and we managed to get these going for him, hopefully in time for Christmas. A labour of love for sure. We have Wild Garlic at the plot, under the shade of Plum trees and an impressive Aesculus hippocastanum, the great Conker tree. It has such beautiful white flowers right now and I tell my boys of all the promise to come as every flower spike will bring those amazing shiny brown nuggets - the conker!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum#/media/File:Illustration_Aesculus_hippocastanum0_clean.jpg

Prunus

At Heale and around and about this week it has been impossible to ignore the Prunus genus.

Heale have some crackers which are in bloom right now and are also beginning to cover the ground beneath them with a delicate flurry of petals. Soooooo beautiful. Magical really. Like the first dusting of snow.

My favourite in the gardens at Heale is the Prunus 'Shirotae' for many reasons. For its positioning in the garden, as you enter into the veg garden, there she is arching over either side of a bench, shining at you. It is known as 'Mount Fuji'. Of course, it is obvious, the pure white blooms, the flat crown spreading horizontally. I am lucky enough to have seen Mount Fuji and this tree makes me think of that time whenever I see it covered in blossom. Even before the blossom, its buds come, they cover the branches and all that promise awaits.

Also in the veg garden is Prunus 'Tai-haku', which is also known as the Great White Cherry. Heale has a fine specimen filling the top corner of the veg garden. As the blossom comes out so does a delightfully coloured foliage, bronze and red, unfurling into Spring.

Heale also has a delicate beauty flowering now in the Japanese garden rather appropriately: Prunus incisa 'Kojo-no-mai'. It is quite small and compact and has gorgeous little pink blossom which shines out at you from across the river.

I didn't stop to think that the Prunus genus includes Almond, Apricot, Peach and Plum. All with either pink or white blossoms. I think we always just think of the Cherry tree. 

(Of course it makes sense now)

The humble pink Cherry tree is one of my first memories of a tree and probably one of my fondest. The only tree in my Nanna's small back garden to her bungalow. She was a great Gardener and in truth has probably informed me in many ways whilst I was small and beyond. That tree managed to survive 3 children (my Father and siblings) and 9 Grand children (me included). It had a swing on it, we climbed it, we bashed it for cherries, we picked blossom, we snapped branches, we jumped on it's roots! I still remember collecting Cherry stones in a tub, endless hours grubbing about in the grass.

I have yet to own a Cherry tree but if I could, I would, and that blossom would be more than worth the wait.

April showers

It is all kicking off in the gardens right now. Really warm one minute and yet a frost last night. Raining all day and dry the next with blue sky. It always messes with my tiny brain! Is it Spring, are we out of Winter yet. Yes? No? hurry up!

I have been busy in my Tuesday garden getting the kitchen garden up to scratch for planting. A small scale, therefore we can be a bit more spontaneous than in a large garden. Things change, we can decide at the last minute where things go. If it doesn't work, we pull it out and plant something else. Weeds are now growing which is a sure sign that seeds will germinate, so it is safe to try direct sowing. I sowed some Carrot and Radish.

At Heale, a much larger scale, things need a little more planning. All our hard work digging through the Winter months, means we are ready to go when the weather turns. We have been sowing more Broad beans, red flowered, which comes from a green bean. I have never seen this colour bean before, beautiful.

We have planted all our Potatoes, a different variety each week, staggered. Salads and herbs are out, Radishes are almost ready, much more in production, seed stage, pricking out stage, potting on and hardening off.

It is a chaotic time and HG (@michaelmaltby30) is really measured in his process of ensuring everything runs smoothly. Every morning the greenhouse temperatures are monitored and as the day unfolds, we have to check they are not too hot/cold and that the seedlings haven't dried out if the sun has shown its face!

In the wider garden, beyond the confines of the veg garden, Spring has sprung. Blossom is bursting from its bud. Magnolias are out (Felix Jury pictured), Tulips, Amelanchiers are just about ready in the Japanese garden and Hostas are sending their thick spikes up through the soil (I always think they are rather like something form the Dinosaur times).

Clematis armandii (above) is showing off it's huge scented flowers and shiny large shiny leaves against the brick wall of the veg garden.

We planted out the Sweet peas last week, our single cordons, over 80 plants. I love Sweet pea planting day, my favourite plant. the promise of these sweet blooms is too much for me. They are such a fabulous flower. to know that I will spend an hour a week with these beauties, pinching out an picking, once they get going is such a joy.

The rains came one day and we had time out to sow, pot on, prick out and sort the prop. When the days are fine, being in the garden is all you have time for but when the rain comes you can actually get all those jobs done that pile up.

We divided some Hostas and potted them on into new soil with feed. HG showed me how you can wash off all the existing soil so you can really see what you are working with. Then you can decide how to divide and which part of the plant will make a good division. Hostas are tough as boots! We took the time to get some potted plants out into their positions in the garden. Lots of Hostas in pots surround the house front door and look glorious and lush when in full flow.

Escape to the city of Amsterdam

What a week it has been, overload for the senses. I managed to get away with my family for Easter and we chose Amsterdam, as a small easily navigated city. I have been before but not with children but what a great city and totally child friendly (avoiding red lights and drugs of course!).

We discovered the city on bikes and passed some fantastic looking allotments called Nemoland. Behind the big gates I could see little chalets with each plot, some with a hammock! An office type building at the entrance and a real sense of community. The allotments take up much of the Wetserpark, at the top of a very trendy road in the Jordaan. You cycle through busy tiny streets towards an industrial sight of a large chimney puffing out smoke/steam (?). The park used to house an old gas works and now those incredibly creative youths have gone and made it a really cool cultural site with art cinema, cafe's and fashion hubs.

We also made it to the Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest Botanical gardens in the world c.1600, built for doctors to grow medicinal herbs. My children enjoyed the glasshouses, especially with the cactuses and the butterfly house. It was interesting to see this small green space amongst a bustling city. Outside the gates, hop on a tram and you are in the centre of town in minutes.

Along the canals, the famous Singel in particular, the flower markets throng with tourists and those wanting to buy famous Dutch bulbs. My son liked the look of the enormous Buddha Palm Seeds for sale. A bit of a whopper for our tiny garden!

I didn't make it to Amstelveen to the Heem park and the weather wasn't good enough to invest time and money in Keukenhof with two boys but we crammed in an awful lot into 4 days.

Back to work at Heale and I missed Storm Katie and the damage she had caused over the weekend. One Malus has been damaged and lots of twigs around but not too bad. I had fine weather for my days at work and was able to begin planting out some veg, purple Potatoes (much better for you according to various sources) 

http://news.psu.edu/story/367072/2015/08/26/research/colorful-potatoes-may-pack-powerful-cancer-prevention-punch, Salads, Radish. Such a great start to the growing year. 

Now is the time to be sowing and pricking out and we sow all our veg AND flowers from seed, so that is a lot to be getting on with. I pricked out Zinnia, Lupin, Cosmos, Lettuce.

To end a very busy week, I got to my allotment with my family, planting our own veg and mucking about in the sun.

Just a joy to be out there, lots to come, full of promise.