My gardening
MONDAY
We’ve two old terraco a strawberry pots that we must make use of. They’re a beautiful shape and far too special to be neglected. I don’t want to grow strawberries in them, but I have a module tray with 30 or 40 baby plants of Erigeron karvinskianus which should be ideal.
TUESDAY
We were very late planting our garlic this year and consequently the bulbs were far too small. We’re pu ing some cloves of a hardneck variety ‘Rossa di Sulmona’ into modules, one per compartment, to plant out when they’ve started to sprout and make root.
WEDNESDAY
We raided our cornus ‘Norman Hadden’ for branches, full of fruit, for Alice’s wedding. All the branches we cut were overhanging the track but we now need to even up the tree by cu ing off a few branches on the other side.
THURSDAY
Two trays of hesperis that missed the boat earlier on seem to have rallied. Since they’re one of the few perennials that’ll grow under trees, they’ll be ideal in the shady part of the garden. They’ll come into flower as daylight lengthens in May, so we’ll be able to enjoy their evening perfume.
FRIDAY
Tidying up the chard plants. It’s green and white ‘Costa Bianca’ – probably the best tasting. Even though it’s been in the ground for a few months, it’ll continue to give us plenty of leaves through the winter if we clear out the old leaves.
SATURDAY
Ashamed to say there are a few peonies in pots that have waiting to be planted for months. They still seem fine so they’re going in with a dollop of compost each. They must be planted with their resting buds visible.
SUNDAY
Taking all the flowers off salvia ‘Amistad’ as I want it to make sideshoots that’ll be ideal for cu ings. The plants are in the tunnel and they’ll stay green over winter so we should be able to take cu ings for several weeks.