Pace hots up in our garden

April has seen the pace move up a notch in our garden and greenhouse. The warmer weather has encouraged lawns, border plants and weeds into rapid growth. We were busy on several fronts last week when a trailer-load of weathered cow manure arrived from our friend Henry’s organic farm. The wheelbarrow was straight into action, taking it to mulch soft and top fruits. The remainder will be put aside for special plantings. Planting the vegetable beds has started with a few rows of first early potato ‘Foremost’. More will go in this weekend.

Peas and beans started in pots have made good progress. They’re ready for transfer from the cold greenhouse to the garden. Sweetcorn, runner beans, leeks, onions and others were started in similar fashion but need a little more growing time under cover.

We’ve been harvesting leeks, purple sprouting broccoli and spring cabbage in recent weeks, but the time has arrived to clear

the beds, apply organic fertiliser and introduce the next crop. A similar fate awaits the lettuce growing in the greenhouse border. It remains sweet thanks to constant watering but must make way for the tomato crop before long. Spring bulbs are performing well in the company of early herbaceous perennials and shrubs. Groups of dwarf narcissi, tulip, muscari and anemone are delightful.

In one special spot where we’ve planted out forced hyacinth over the years, after they’ve performed indoors, there’s a magnificent fragrance. Groups of trillium, Primula denticulata, marsh marigold and Brunnera macrophylla are giving us reason to smile, while forsythia and Osmanthus burkwoodii are reliably flowering bang on time.