My gardening DIARY
MONDAY The tall clematis ‘Huldine’ that climbs high into our crab apple tree is totally out of control. It belongs to the viticella group, which should be cut hard back to about 45cm (1½ft) from the ground on February 14. We’re doing it early because it’s shooting.
TUESDAY Planting up a trough, one of three standing on the front terrace. We’re using some iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ and, over the top of them, a
‘Georgia Blue’, a low-growing speedwell with deep blue flowers.
WEDNESDAY Discovered several pots of penstemon cu ings outside in a shady corner. We’re severing the top few inches and using them as fresh cu ings.
THURSDAY French tarragon’s taste is most difficult to describe.
‘Sativa’ can be on the tender side, so when it was lifted a few weeks ago, all its top growth had died back but underground it had made lots of new shoots. We’ve pulled it apart and made several potsful.
FRIDAY Our only successful carrots were a few that came up by accident in some deep modules alongside root cu ings. Despite adding sand to their site outside and their germinating well, they were eaten before they could grow.
SATURDAY It’s late to sow biennials but we’ve found in previous years that hesperis, foxgloves and even sweet Williams sown very late under cover, then pricked out and po ed on promptly, will often catch up.
SUNDAY There are signs of new life. Pulmonarias have expanding, silvery-blotched leaves and some well-established plants are burgeoning.
The winter aconites are growing and snowdrops are beginning to burst through everywhere.
Big smiles all round.
It seems more important than ever, after all that happened in 2020, to grow as much of our own produce as we can, so I’ve been getting on with weeding the vegetable beds, topping them up with garden compost and covering empty beds with weed-suppressing fabric. The garlic I planted a few weeks ago is growing well, along with shallots, which I’ve never tried before. I’ve also planted onion sets, and these are also doing well. I’ve planned the vegetables I want to grow this year and made my seed order. We’ve also set aside a larger area than usual for potatoes.
Mahonia always looks good
An old chicken run, which proved not to be fox proof, has been turned into a soft fruit cage. Strawberry plants have been moved into their new home and are growing. Two blackcurrants and a redcurrant bush have been dug up and also re-homed into the cage. I pruned the currants prior to moving them and was pleased to discover that some stems had rooted where they’d touched the soil! These new plants have been potted up to grow on. Collecting fallen leaves is an ongoing task. I take the view that even a barrowload or two collected each day is a step in the right direction. I’ve been entrusted with the tractor and trailer a couple of times, too, which meant I could spend more time raking
Tiny blooms on the osmanthus