My gardening Diary

MONDAY Sowing extra courge e seeds; I’ve discovered seeds of one we especially want to try. It’s ‘Zucchino Alberello Di Sarzana’ from Franchi Seeds, with smooth skin and white flesh, which starts producing its fruit early. TUESDAY When we filmed

Life in a Co age Garden several years ago, Neil and I planted a very young tree of amelanchier ‘Paloma’ on the shady side of the garden. We didn’t stake it at the time, and it’s leaning slightly after the gale-force winds that devastated our silver leaf pear. A short, strong stake is the answer on the west side.

WEDNESDAY Planting out peas. Adding a further row of ‘Hurst Green Shaft’ grown in modules to transplant. There are two short rows and we’ll add to them later. Sown directly, they are often eaten by rodents so pu ing them out as sturdy li le plants is a be er idea. With pea sticks in place, they can be left to their own devices. THURSDAY Last year we po ed up some Phlox paniculata into 10 litre pots, and will use them now to fififill in a few of the spaces to give masses of colour in late summer. Some stems can be given the ‘Chelsea Chop’ to persuade them to flower even later.

FRIDAY Because we have no lawn, we don’t have cut grass to include when building our compost heaps. Green material is an important constituent so we’re cu ing some of the ne les to include. We only take a limited amount so there are plenty left for the caterpillars. Comfrey leaves are an additional source of nitrogen. SATURDAY Out in our new fifield are masses of Cardamine pratensis, the mayflflflower. Orangetip bu erflflies love it and we’ve seen several en route to feast on the nectar.

SUNDAY The brightest blue in the garden at the moment is provided by

Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’. It can be increased from li le basal cu ings, stripped of their lower leaves and plunged around the edge of a clay pot of gri y compost.