This cheerful primrose in our front garden has been planted by the previous owners of the house. I'm not much into yellow (nor orange) flowers, but even I have to admit that they help lift our spirits in this miserable post-winter/pre-spring season.
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Winter Blooms
Some of the early bulbs have recently shot up out of the ground (including pots), but no buds are yet visible. There are absolutely no flowers in the garden except for my namesake, witch hazel Jelena, which is already in bloom. If that is the right word for the weird, spider-like, burnt-orange flowers covering the twiggy branches:
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Entrance Plans, Please Help!
No, I haven't actually scanned my drawings of the front garden. But I can tell you all about it!
What we have in a small rectangular plot is a fairly well stocked side border: 3 red roses, a variegated shrub and some bulbs. I will be adding a rosemary shrub at the gate, and some sweet smelling white alyssum to soften the path edge.
Around the front door, we already have a hanging basket (still with the winter pansies, which are in flower again, see this post), and I want to put an attractive container on the other side. It will hold the olive tree sapling, surrounded by bee-beloved (see what I did there!;)) thyme and with orange nasturtiums tumbling over the edge. The nasturtium seeds are again from France, from my lovely Belle-Mère's Mediterranean balcony.
There is a narrow border alongside the street (low) wall fence, which only has weeds in it. I want to plant a lavender hedge, punctuated by tall globes of purple alliums. Similar to the third picture in this post, from the previous garden.
Finally, there is a small square bed near the dining room bay window, which used to have a spreading grey-leaved plant that was either senecio greyii or brachyglottis. Either way, I didn't like it, and it died last winter (no connection!). I want to plant a scented English rose there, and surround it with an evergreen herb - probably thyme again. The only problem is, I can't decide which rose to go for!
I think I want a pale pink or blush variety, like Wildeve, A Shropshire Lad or William Morris. But then, I see the brighter Strawberry Hill, which even won a Grand Prix for fragrance... Ah, I wish we had a huge garden with space for as many rose bushes as I could wish for!
So, this is where you, my faithful readers can help: which rose is the prettiest? Please let me know what you think, in comments or email!
What we have in a small rectangular plot is a fairly well stocked side border: 3 red roses, a variegated shrub and some bulbs. I will be adding a rosemary shrub at the gate, and some sweet smelling white alyssum to soften the path edge.
Around the front door, we already have a hanging basket (still with the winter pansies, which are in flower again, see this post), and I want to put an attractive container on the other side. It will hold the olive tree sapling, surrounded by bee-beloved (see what I did there!;)) thyme and with orange nasturtiums tumbling over the edge. The nasturtium seeds are again from France, from my lovely Belle-Mère's Mediterranean balcony.
There is a narrow border alongside the street (low) wall fence, which only has weeds in it. I want to plant a lavender hedge, punctuated by tall globes of purple alliums. Similar to the third picture in this post, from the previous garden.
Finally, there is a small square bed near the dining room bay window, which used to have a spreading grey-leaved plant that was either senecio greyii or brachyglottis. Either way, I didn't like it, and it died last winter (no connection!). I want to plant a scented English rose there, and surround it with an evergreen herb - probably thyme again. The only problem is, I can't decide which rose to go for!
I think I want a pale pink or blush variety, like Wildeve, A Shropshire Lad or William Morris. But then, I see the brighter Strawberry Hill, which even won a Grand Prix for fragrance... Ah, I wish we had a huge garden with space for as many rose bushes as I could wish for!
So, this is where you, my faithful readers can help: which rose is the prettiest? Please let me know what you think, in comments or email!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Winter Sowing
Since Christmas (and I mean the second, Orthodox Christmas which takes place 2 weeks after the Western one (yes, we celebrate both!)) I have been trying not to think about the garden. Because, what's the point of getting excited about the new growing season when we're still in the deepest of winters? My fingers itched to do something, so I kept drawing ever more intricate plans of the front garden remodelling (a new rose and a few evergreen shrubby herbs).
Until a friend showed me this: Winter Sowing
Brilliant! I knew that hardy plants could be sown in the autumn, straight into the ground, and that the more common sowing season starts in early spring. But sowing seeds in the middle of winter, that I had never heard of! But when you think about it, it seems intuitively OK... The seeds are still dormant and will continue to be such until the weather and light conditions are optimal. And anyway, what's the worst that could happen? I lose some seeds! Well, it's not as if there's not plenty more where these came from...
Here is one of 3 seed trays that I filled with mostly hardy annual, herb and some perennial seeds. I also used several small plastic pots, and covered everything with a long plastic cloche I had bought, but not used, last year. The cloche has vents on the sides, and it's been wedged down with a couple of bricks. It can be rather blustery around here sometimes, so better safe than sorry!
Until a friend showed me this: Winter Sowing
Brilliant! I knew that hardy plants could be sown in the autumn, straight into the ground, and that the more common sowing season starts in early spring. But sowing seeds in the middle of winter, that I had never heard of! But when you think about it, it seems intuitively OK... The seeds are still dormant and will continue to be such until the weather and light conditions are optimal. And anyway, what's the worst that could happen? I lose some seeds! Well, it's not as if there's not plenty more where these came from...
Here is one of 3 seed trays that I filled with mostly hardy annual, herb and some perennial seeds. I also used several small plastic pots, and covered everything with a long plastic cloche I had bought, but not used, last year. The cloche has vents on the sides, and it's been wedged down with a couple of bricks. It can be rather blustery around here sometimes, so better safe than sorry!
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Snow!
This winter has been early and cold for the British Isles. We've already had snow several times since mid-November, but today's 5 inches deserved an emergency extreme weather warning for London and the Home Counties. Still, it looks so beautiful!
Monday, 25 October 2010
Third harvest
A bit earlier than the traditional Samhain (or Halloween) third harvest, I gathered the last produce from the garden for this season.
Jerusalem artichokes (one tub's worth - 2 tubers planted) and the last butternut squash. I had one fruit each on the 2 butternut squash vines, so I'm not sure growing them is really worth the garden space - especially compared to the long-seasoned courgettes which are from the same family. Having said that, at least the butternuts can make a full meal... The single patty-pan squash plant produced a few fruits, but as they're so tiny I could only add them to stews with other vegetables.
Here's a recipe for a yummy butternut squash and apple soup. Don't be afraid, the apple tartness adds to the flavour and lifts this soup from the realm of ordinary autumn fare to the sublime!
Fry a few slices of streaky bacon or pancetta in a pot. When crispy, remove the bacon and add about a pint of boiling water to the grease in the pot, chunks of butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed), a peeled and cored cooking apple (acidic, rather than sweet, but any old apple will do, really), and salt and pepper. When the squash has softened, remove from heat and blend smooth. Check for seasoning, and serve with crumbled crispy bacon on top. Yum!
Oh, on the subject of (f)artichokes (very tasty parboiled then roasted with a pork loin) - my lips are sealed. ;)
Jerusalem artichokes (one tub's worth - 2 tubers planted) and the last butternut squash. I had one fruit each on the 2 butternut squash vines, so I'm not sure growing them is really worth the garden space - especially compared to the long-seasoned courgettes which are from the same family. Having said that, at least the butternuts can make a full meal... The single patty-pan squash plant produced a few fruits, but as they're so tiny I could only add them to stews with other vegetables.
Here's a recipe for a yummy butternut squash and apple soup. Don't be afraid, the apple tartness adds to the flavour and lifts this soup from the realm of ordinary autumn fare to the sublime!
Fry a few slices of streaky bacon or pancetta in a pot. When crispy, remove the bacon and add about a pint of boiling water to the grease in the pot, chunks of butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed), a peeled and cored cooking apple (acidic, rather than sweet, but any old apple will do, really), and salt and pepper. When the squash has softened, remove from heat and blend smooth. Check for seasoning, and serve with crumbled crispy bacon on top. Yum!
Oh, on the subject of (f)artichokes (very tasty parboiled then roasted with a pork loin) - my lips are sealed. ;)
Winter basket
The petunias in the summer basket died even before the first frost, which appeared quite early this year. Here is the winter basket, containing pansies "Purple and White" (yes, that is the name of this variety. Profound.), ivy and a small photinia cutting.
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