My gardening Diary

MONDAY Bi er-cress blitz! Conditions have been perfect for this,is, weed which seems to establish a new generation in a ma er of weeks. Since it’s a shallow-rooted annual, pulling it up is easy but it spreads so prolififically it’s diffifficult to keep up with it. It’s edible, but there’s only so much peppery salad you can eat!

TUESDAY Clumps of astrantia are being moved from nursery beds to their final positions in the long border to the south of the oak fence that separates the lower part of the garden from the top. Astrantias can cope with a bit of shade and it’s a south-facing bed, but the soil is quite rich and their new position should suit them. WEDNESDAY It’s a joy to move young plants and tray after tray of seedlings into the new tunnel. At first, it looks huge and you wonder why you’d made it so big, but before you know where you are, you’re thinking how small it is! THURSDAY Alyssum montanum is the answer for any gardener who wants a complete change from the purple of aubretia – or, perhaps, just wants to add a plant whose flowers are the opposite colour – citric yellow. We grew a batch from seed and it’s easy to push a few well-rooted plugs into cracks and crevices in our dry stone walls. FRIDAY Po ing on one batch of ‘Li le Gem’ le uce in the hope they’ll give us leaves extra quickly. The other plugs will go straight in the ground. The soil’s warming up so they should get away well. This is our favourite le uce, sweet crunchy leaves that never taste bi er and cook well!

SATURDAY A few of our Barnhaven auriculas are coming into flflower. Every day I dash out to see if I can tell what colour they’re going to be. These are garden auriculas rather than show or fancy varieties that need to spend their lives in pots. They’ll live on the raised bed.

SUNDAY Just in time for Easter and true to its name of pasque flflower, our pulsatilla is opening its delightful furry flflowers. You don’t know whether to just admire them or give them a stroke!