My gardening DIARY

MONDAY

Because our garden is at the front of the house, we get a comprehensive view from the bedroom windows. At the moment, there’s a golden glow permeating the scene, from the soft yellow of the hazel, close to the house, to the distant crab apple, malus ‘Golden Hornet’ loaded with yellow fruit.

TUESDAY

We are going to treat Gladiolus murielae, which have flowered brilliantly for the second year running, the same way as we did last year, allowing them to die back and dry out under cover, then next spring turf them out of their pots, take off the uppermost corms then replant in fresh compost.

WEDNESDAY

When my mum used to visit at this time of year, she’d come back from her walks with sprays of spindle, Euonymus europaeus, its foliage tinged with pink and adorned with its pink berries. She’d arrange them with stems of hesperantha. I have just done the same.

THURSDAY

Just realising some of the gaps in my veg supply. Theoretically we should have something to eat from the garden, every day. Sometimes that would be fresh produce, sometimes frozen. Although there are roots, our brassicas aren’t ready. As far as leaves go, we have chard, and a supply of salad leaves.

FRIDAY

Last summer in one of our veg troughs, the biggest white foxglove you ever saw grew and flowered prolifically. The surface of the trough is now covered in baby foxgloves. Some have been lifted and pricked out into modules.

SATURDAY

Our native hedge has taken off and is now 4m high in some places. Because it has been trimmed like a normal hedge in the last few years, it has also become very bushy.

SUNDAY

Topping up veg troughs with excess soil from the big veg beds. Although these troughs were filled with all sorts of good stuff initially, much of it was compost and this additional soil will give them more substance.