Bud's

Last month I wrote about joining 'Loose and Leafy' quest of a Tree Follow.

If you haven't read my own little quest please find the tab at the top of the page called ' Grandmother's Tree'...

Not a lot as happen to grandmother's tree during mid March. . . . 

All the other tree's in the park came into blossom. The sight is a beautiful one to say the lease. The different shades of pinks. . .

Last of the flowering cherry blossom!

But grandmother's tree was just sat waiting!!  I know grandmothers tree is a little late flowering. So I don't mind as long as the tree comes into life at some point!


Until the last week of March when I noticed while walking past, there is buds forming!!!

Has you can see the tree is coming into life!!
Which I am very excited about, sad I know...

I would love to know what you think? Or if you know 
what my tree is? 

Bye bye March!

Can you believe tomorrow is the first of April? Nope either can I!

Today my new green house cover finally came, which mean I could finally get sowing! I spent part of the day outside sowing. The first part of the day I was sorting seeds out!

Here is the list of seeds I have sowed

Cosmos 

Coreopsis

Lavatura

Portulaca

Malva  (Grew this last year, Bee's love this plant)

Verbena

Cornflowers

Sunflower (Velvet Queen and Moonshine)

Nasturtium

Mesembryanthemum

Dahlia - Mignon Mixed. 

Golden Berry 

Kale

Carrots - Autumn King 2

Parsnips - Duchess F1

Pepper - Hot patio

Spring Onions

Lettuce

Brussels Sprouts

Cat Grass - for my cats

As you can imagine my little greenhouse is choco block with trays, tubs and pots! 

I haven't started on sowing

Tomato - Sweet Baby

Cucumber - Market more

Poppies

Cucamelons

Mattock Beans 

Peas

I'm sure I'll add to this list lol I normally do! 

I'm really hoping to grow everythink, I really do not want to buy any plants in... 

                         

Spring Is Here!!!

I do not normally do this, but I thought for a change I'll do a post with just pictures.. Okay not just pictures I'll end up writing stuff, I know what I'm like! Lol..

Pelargonium 

This little flower as been flowering on and off since I planted it last year.

Camellia Sinensis

I have had this little tea yep its a tea plant a few years now. Got him/her for my birthday one year! 

I'm yet to work out were to plant him.

Isn't it just beautiful when the daffodil's come out,

spring is here! 

Has you can in the front of the picture my hydrangea is coming back to life. With the Saint John's Wort, just behind.

I'm not sure if you can truly see but

 the Sea Pink is just coming out in flower.

I'm so glad my only surviving Rhodendron, is starting to bloom. 

Winter tidy up

Normally at the end of October I start sorting the garden out, just before winter kicks in! Well last year I just couldn't do that due to the fact EVERY was still flowering, I'm not complaining. It was due to the fact that I am so use to doing my thing at certain times of the year. So for the very first time everythink was still flowering and fruit was still being products!

So I just kepted to my other thing I do. To let the garden do what it wants, let nature taking its course kind of thing. Everythink was still flowering November, I was still get tomallios and cucamelons. Then December came and January everythink was still going. Apart from the Oca, tomallios and cucamelons which had long gone.

I was and friends of mine couldn't believe how all my flowers were still going, I think they were secretly jealous.

Anyway, if you have been following the UK weather just lately you will know how crazy its been, the last storm finally kick started the shut down mode for every think in the garden.

Finally on the 16th February was the first day in weeks I have had chance to get outdoors and the sun was finally out, it was more like an OMG the sun is out! 

Anyway I started with sorting out my famous black buckets and other pots. I have saved half of the soil I used from last year. The rest I had to bag up as it had some little things that looks a bit like some kind of larvae!

I'm not sure if I have wrote about the trouble I have had with one of my rhododendron.. The leaves had gone weird and they were being eaten.. So after having a long think I decided it had to go.

Waving Bye Bye To Old!

Every year I always grow the same 'old' fruit and vegetable's,  this year my plan was to go 100% Homegrown Revolution. Which I am yet to write about!  I think I am making you all wait lol... To be honest I'm still working on it! 

I kind knew I couldn't go 100% HGR due to some people of my family, wouldn't like the new and cool stuff. e.g my Brother. 

Anyway I knew I still wanted to grow tomato's, I only wanted to have TWO tomato plants. Keeping this in mind I sowed six seeds  of 'Allicante' tomato. Within seven days I had little seedling's appearing.  After a few weeks I potted the little plants up and put them into the greenhouse.  At first I was giving some away to family (plant swap)  But then no one wanted any - so I know this will sound very bad I then was secertly hoping a snail would munch it self few one or two, bad I know. 

After a while I re-planted all six of the tomato's into the famous black pot's and then placed them outside!  In the end I only had four plant's that product tomato's, the other two plant's that didn't have a single tomato on so I decided to get rid of them two. . . .

The four became three as my wish became true - via a snail.  In the end I only got a hand full of tomato's.  So next year I will not be growing any tomatoes at all, due to poor growth this year!

So out with the old and in with the Homegrown Revolution!

Yep I have joined the HomeGrown Revolution....

It all started last year when I told you all about my new adventure with the Oca (Nz Yams).....
The only thing is I have not told you all how I got on. . . .

Where should I start.... Ah yes growning the Oca (yams) went really well I had heaps of leaves... 

Tubes for this year (2013)

As you can see how well the five yam plant's grew!  I even got flower's - which where white.  I later found out that the flowers are suppose to be yellow! 

In mid August I learnt that botanist James Wong was coming down to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens to do one of his HGR ( Homegrown Revolution ) talks and book signing in late September...  

The day of the talk and book signing arrive I went with my aunt and mum to the talk - I wont go into too much detail about it, I'll most likely end up boring you all about it! 

Anyhow, I got my book(s) signed - yes I was a tad cheeky and took my copys of 'grow your own drugs' with me too!  Also I was given some advice about what to do next, while at the HGR talk by the man himself James...

Once I got home, I did as I was told. . . . . LOL!!

Some think I have mention before about is the very bad weather we had.   Anyhow I waited as long as I could with letting the yams to grow!  I was hoping and praying all the wet weather hadn't effected their growth to much! 

Crunch day came. . . . . . . . . 

Once I had cleared the dead leaf's off and collected the lil tubes for next year (for this year) I started to lifted the soil.  I got to the bottom of the sack, to my shock horror there was not one to be had!!!

I was completely un happy - what had gone wrong? Did I do Some think wrong? Once I had spoked and emailed Thompson & Morgan, plus asked some one else.  We all decided it was due to the weather.. :( 

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2013 Last attempt at growing the yams! 

I was on two mind's of trying this year and thought no wait why should I give up.. So I decided to not follow the Homegrown Revolution book ( Sorry James, if you read this) on growing them this year and do it my way... 

I got my little brown paper bag out that I had kepted them in and found out two tubs to plant them in. Tub one was of my collected tubers and T&M send me some more to try so they went in tub two... Dont laugh I used two twiglet tins to plant them.. 

A few weeks later I planted the yams out side in a potato sack. 

I was so worry that the weather would effect them again I even got them.  Their own pop-up greenhouse..   One thing I learnt was with them was to treat 'em mean and they will cope with you.. Which was and is a good thing for me at time's, due to work and stuff!

Dont worry I did water them well, I took the little greenhouse of them and let the rain do it for me.. ( oh god - dont I say bad) 

To cut it short everythink went well, I got stems/ leaves. I didn't see or maybe I didn't noticed the flowers and look what I got! :-) 

I have to say I have still not tryed them, instead I have sorted them out and kept the good ones. I think I will bee growing these little ones again in 2014.. 

Fingers cross I will finally get to try them then...

Please let me know what you think via Facebook or Twitter or leave a little comment at the bottom of the page.. 

August Update!!!

Fuchsia Heaven

Last year I wrote about how I sorted out the Green tub.  That once had rose's in - the rose's that was in the tub had die!  Also last year told I you about my new adventure with the Oca (which I'll tell you all about how I got on in my Homegrown updates!) I also got Fuchsia's too.

A little remind of what I did last year (2012).   I sorted the soil out and top it up with new.  Then I planted the tub up with Cosmos's and Lavatera that my uncle had grown and gave to me.  I put some of the fuchsia's in the tub, but most of them went into pots on the walls. I had some petunia's and lobelia's left from planting the other pot up...

Then the winter came so out I went to move the fuchsia's into the greenhouse.

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Back to the green tub. . . . 

Came late spring (2013) I had planter every think up, apart from the green tub. I decided to plant all my nine fuchsia's in the centre of the tub along with two Lavatera ( that I saved from work)  I also went to B&Q to see what I could find or maybe save! I came back with a lovely Cosmos.

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The French one with a Italian side!

I remember when I was little in our old garden, one plant that we had stays stuck in my mind was/is the Lavender!  Then we moved and in my teens I learnt I was allergy to the plant I loved so much as a child. 

At the time I was sadden to learn I could not use any of my Lavender stuff any more... Then I later found out my mum is also allergy to lavender... 

But not all is losted... I asked my mum about which lavender we had in the garden when I was small, at first she could not remember. Then when we were visited Mapperton Gardens.  We discovered that there was English and French Lavender there... We also learnt that it was the French Lavender that we were okay with..... Bingo! :-) 

That was years ago.... About 7 years!  Since then I have put the quest on the back burn, until now!

In June this year (2013) I started the search again, I knew were I was going to put the lavender if I could get one.   So the search was on, I tryed every where. I even contacted a Lavender specialise, who reply with bad news of they had sold out....  

So I was back to square one again,  until July when I was looking for plant to buy. Or should I say save, anyway - I found what I was looking for! :-) 

Once I got him home and gave a good drink I planted him up.  I have put the Lavender in the pot on the wall by my little greenhouse.

As you can see the lavender is loving his new home and so far I have had two lots of flowers...
Ah yes the Italian side well.  To my surprise the lavender was grown in Italy, I really thought it would be grown in France or England, How wrong was I? 

Heat wave Update!

Sorry everyone - who read's this. I am a shamed to say I have had writers block! I think it is also the reason why my post's have not been so good, well maybe it's just me..  Also my internet is not so brillant at the moment!

So while it is the hottest part of the day outdoor's. I am indoors hopefully updating
every think. From twitter to this my blog's and now I have a facebook page too! 

Okay here goes. . . . . . . 



Bee Heaven

Do not worry it is not as bad as it sound's. Back in May I told you about the trouble I had the year before on finding local honey (the mission of a local bee) and how I learnt how bad of a decline there was/is on the honey bee. (please's note all bee's in general) 

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So I planned to grow as much Bee and Butterfly friendly plants/flowers. I also knew I would end up buying some plant's in to replaces the ones that didn't do well.  I normally buy some plant's anyway - I think we all do! 

Anyway I started off okay. . .

I sowed heap's of seed's I got free from Amateur Gardening Magazine! Well when I say heap's that's what it felt like to my family.  I normally only place my seed tray's in my room on the window sill, but this time I took over other places in the house.....  After about seven to fourteen day's I had little seedling's appearing, then they slowed right down on growing! 

In late June I ended up putting them out in the greenhouse. Which by then I started to hope and pray the little plants would decided to grow more. . . .   

So once again I end up buying in plant's, Well I say buying in I should say saving plant's. 

I can not get over how place's (not garden centre or nurseries) how other places that sell plants do not look after them... Anyway I ended up at one of those places a warehouse place out of town a little.  So I grabbed a load, payed and went home.  Once I got home I gave them all a good soaking and then planted them up.....

The bee's and butterfly's are busy coming and going.  There is so many little bumble bee's white bum ones and red.. But no honey bee's :( 

It is now mid July and the plants in the greenhouse are starting to buck up their ideas. . . I think time will tell.. Watch this space!!!

Summer Workout

The next day after sorting the NZ Flax Phormium out.  I wanted to move the barbecue up and move the plants round. 

Up the top end of the garden I moved the rhododendron,  hydrangea, and Saint John's Wort out into the center of the garden.  Then I got the garden brush to start sweeping, also I moved the barbecue out slightly, so I could get in behind and clear. 

Once I had done the sweeping, I moved the rhododendron back and moved the barbecue up next to it.  I then moved the hydrangea and the black box that it sits on to the other side of the barbecue, with the Saint John. 

After doing that it was time for a cuppa, then back to the fun outside again..........

This time I wanted to sorted out the water feature, that looks like an old water plump.. It use to have running water but the plump that was in the bucket part broke years ago. So I have been just filling it up with water as and when it is needed.  But now and then (you guess right) the water would go green, which is not good  because our cats love drinking from there.  So I needed to do some think about that.  

I tip the water out and cleaned out all the green stuff from the bottom.. (I shouldn't confess but I do like doing this job)  

While I was finishing cleaning out the water feature before I filled it up again, I decided I wanted to place a plant in the corner and then the water feature... While I was filling up the feature I decided to put the Astilbe in the corner.

The Rose


Next to the water feature,  I have a trelis/planter with black round pots placed inside.  Planted up with Passion Flower (which I'm not sure what's happen as I have never had a single flower yet! ). A long with the passion flower there is Morning Glory and Beeisum name just a few.


Last year I bought  my mum for Mother's day a rose called Patricia .  Which is my mom's name... Since then I have been trying to find a prefect pot for it....  Until I had a re-think and decided to take a un-used black and re-pot the Rosa Patricia up, in that for now. 

Once I had potted up the rose I wanted to put some think around the plant..  Lucky enough I had bought some black glass stones a few weeks before... So I popped them around the rose!  

Its not a very good picture but you can see the flower! 

Please let me know what you think?