bunn

The very bottom tiny lawn which I sowed with wildflower seed in November had already started to look pretty shaggy, so I decided to gamble that my seeds would have started to root, but not be tall enough yet to have the tops chopped off, and mowed it. With luck this should let some light in to the seedlings and not just hoover up all the seeds I planted. Hope this wasn't Too Much Management.

The sedum lawn that I laid optimistically directly onto concrete seems to be doing OK. I think, given how little soil it has, it actually appreciates the occasional watering it gets from the dogs, it needs the nutrients.


The larger-leaved sedums seem to have died right back making black patches this winter, but the centre of the plants are full of small shoots, so I'm hopeful they will come bouncing back in the spring.

The three bare root rowan trees that I bought as a late offer in April 2021, shoved roughly in pots for a year, then planted in (I think) 2022, seem to have settled in well in their large containers and I pruned them back and have trained them along the anti-Theo fencing. I would have sworn I bought those from Hedgesdirect, but I didn't, it was Beeches Nursery via ebay. Oh well.

The Chinese quinces, however, are not happy. I think the summer heat and sea-winds were too much for them. One of them that's in a rather more sheltered position is hanging on in there, but the other two have died.

Anyway, I've bought several more bare root rowans and also some sea buckthorn saplings from Hedgesdirect, which specialises in selling meters of hedge and is thus much less expensive per-plant than anywhere that sells individual trees. I think the rowans were something like 1.29 each. The sea buckthorn should endure the gales better than quinces, and they are already happily starting to unfurl leaves. I hope they might even fruit: I've had some delicious sea buckthorn flavoured desserts recently, so I thought I'd give them a try.

Saturday was Pp's birthday.  I had promised to make a cake and a meal, which I did, with some success in the most important department (taste) but less success in the visuals.  I intended to make a chocolate tower-cake, but my tower proved structurally unsound, and even the addition of a bamboo skewer did not entirely prevent listing and eventual crackage. 

We watched the Coronation (well, I went out and walked the hounds for part of it, but I got back in time to see the Drumming From a Horse, which was my personal highlight of the event.  That and the mounties, who against stiff competition, I think had the best horses. ) 

The forecast was for rain, but in fact the sun smiled all afternoon.  I mowed a lawn. I had intended to try for No Mow May, again (in which you don't mow till the start of June to allow time for the lawn to flower) but I think the wetter spring and dog pee combination had resulted in grass that was too lush to favor wildflowers.  So I've mowed all but the spots where I have camomile and yarrow growing, and I have done my best to mow around those.  I think I'll have to try to mow once in March next year, that might knock the grass back for long enough to let the wildflowers do their thing. 

I have a bunch of plants in pots that I really must plant out soon.  Still, a few more days won't hurt them. 

The local street party was a fairly laid-back beach party on Sunday (due to the forecast for Saturday being dismal) so we dropped by that briefly to admire the fire and chat with a few people. After that, we went out on the river in the boat, and journeyed upstream on the tide many miles, to the very fringes of Haverfordwest.  There was a fraught moment when we had to change the petrol tank and  couldn't work out why the engine wouldn't re-start afterwards, but it was resolved happily.  We do have an emergency paddle, but it would have been a long paddle home.



I've been oddly exhausted since Sunday and keep finding myself forced to stop and nap: unfortunate, since today I was dealing with a wrangle with the Oldies Club email that involved a teleconference with Google, and the Shop on the Borderlands had 28 orders to pack today, including a huge one to Australia. Still, we got it done, despite the minor niggle that the Royal Mail parcel-picking-up service is terribly glitchy and you never know when you'll have to just haul everything off to the sorting office. At least the sorting office has given us permission to ignore the 'no parking' signs when we come in with a car-load of post to send. We are allowed to park in one of the official van slots, as long as the vans are out delivering at the time. 

 There is not a lot of soil in this garden for trees, but there were a couple of spots where I really wanted to plant an apple tree - partly because apple trees are so nice to have with the blossom AND the fruit, but also to provide a bit of screening.  I have already planted a Cornish variety, and now I have planted a Bardsey Island apple.  I am hoping that this tree, coming from a windy small Welsh island, will be OK with the thin sandy soil and fierce winds here.  The mat thing is a coir mat, used instead of digging up the grass, it seems to work quite well to convert a grassy area to a well-mulched area of soil.  A bit dull at the moment with just basically a stick in it, so I've added the boots that I wore holes in and planted up with pansies, plus the little metal duck that belonged to Pp's Mum.


  ( Read more... )

I forgot to take photos of two of the Garden Features : the anchors.  These were discovered on the estuary floor by the previous owner of the house, who was a diving instructor.  I've taken those rather ugly plastic pots away and filled them with pelargoniums now. 

( Read more... )

Oh god, the garden.  The last few years my energy and optimism have been low, and I have pretty much entirely let the garden do its thing, with the expected jungly results.  But this year, I seem to be keeping it together better and am beginning to hope that at least a measure of order can be regained.
I was chatting to someone about pansies, and I thought, you know, I could grow pansies.  Pansies are simple and forgiving plants.   So I bought a box and they are doing pretty well in several baskets and pots now.
( Read more... )

I have just eaten two ripe figs off the tree.  They were sweet, too.  21st of October is, I think, the latest my fig tree has managed to fruit yet.

eta: ... LIES.  Apparently in 2006, I was picking ripe figs at the end of November!

Oddly tired at the moment.  Slept a lot this weekend, without really taking the edge off it.  Then tried to work, to catch up a bit on work not done last week, with not much success.  Meh again.  Let me try rummaging in my camera card, maybe that will be more successful.

Small triumph: the nasturtium tropoleum that I planted a few years ago still likes the garden, and has thrown up a string of brilliantly red flowers.  It has a reputation as a picky plant, so I'm pleased it likes it well enough to be fighting the rest of the garden successfully. ( Read more... )( Read more... )

Rosie Roo, expressing her surprise that the tulips which came from a bag labelled 'Yellow Tulips' have come up out a clear flame-red.