My gardening Diary
MONDAY
Sowing more carrots in pots. They can be lifted on to tables or benches – the theory being that carrot fly cannot attain heights of more than a couple of feet. I want to prepare a piece of ground and grow some carrots. I know they’ll need protection with mesh but I yearn to grow some.
TUESDAY
One module tray decided to erupt into growth a few weeks ago. It’s full of seedlings of Aquilegia chrysantha, a lovely pale yellow columbine with long spurs. They each have their own 9cm (3½in) pot now.
WEDNESDAY
Many evergreens shed some of their old leaves at this time of year. We’re picking up a thick layer underneath the box hedge that wends its way across our ‘hot beds’. When it’s done we can mulch with good compost, with a little organic fertiliser incorporated.
THURSDAY
Storm Doris devastated some of our hellebore flowers, including a few we’d already cross pollinated. We’ll choose some more but this time be as discriminating as possible.
FRIDAY
Large clumps of astrantia are being lifted from nursery beds outside the back door and transplanted into the two long beds that mark the edge of the area at the bottom of the garden where our raised beds are situated.
SATURDAY
Our big greenhouse has housed the overflow from our propagation, as well as tubers and bulbs of tender plants, dahlias, eucomis and gingers. We’re going through them now – they’re all on the dry side and once they’ve had old leaves cleaned off, we can take them outside and give them a good watering.
SUNDAY
A walk with the dogs and a chance to assess where primroses are up to. We’ll be making a film for Gardeners’ World about the primrose as part of a Plant of The Month series, where each month we’ll choose a plant that epitomises that time of year, delving into its evolution and history and investigating its scope, how to grow it and how to combine it with other plants.