Spring Garden Work in Lockdown

Despite lockdown and isolation, garden work continues apace.  The big shrubs overwintering in the greenhouse are all now outside as are Agapanthus, Lemona, Pistachio and Brugmansia - fingers crossed: no late frosts!  The tomato bed is all prepared and their cane framework all erected.  Our tomato plant supplier: CF Genever Tomato Specialist Supplier has come up trumps with 8 different varieties so the race is on to see who picks the first fruit!!

At the other end of the garden, the compost bay is now empty and creosoted and borders are all mulched.  Potatoes in the vegetable patch are popping up as are radish, broad beans, carrots and peas.  Runner beans have been sown and lettuce plants all pricked out.  Owing to a lack of seed, parsley and basil plants from supermarkets have been acquired, divided up and repotted.  Needs must!

Up the Garden Path - The Greenhouse Virtual Tour.

In view of the lack of garden visitors this year, it's been suggested by the National Garden Scheme that we offer garden videos for people who had planned or hoped to make a visit.

With that in mind, I shall be doing virtual tours.  So that no one falls asleep, I'll keep them short and so we start of with the first one which takes up to and around half the greenhouse!

If you're still awake, here's a short tour of the other side of the greenhouse!

Garden Tool Envy!

Top Lawn Border.

Amelanchier La Paloma

Nearly empty compost heap.

This week the bulk of our time was spent weeding and edging the top lawn borders, A bit of a Herculean task normally - however, Chris has a new garden tool in the form of a 3 tined cultivator with the single tine at the 'front' NOT the back!  It's amazing and makes such light work of such jobs.  I'm VERY envious!!  he then barrowed up loads of compost from the compost heap and gave everything a really good mulch.  All very satisfying work and so very smug making!!   

We are relieved and pleased to see the little Amelanchier in full bloom.  We have already lost one in this border and this is the second specimen - so far doing well.  Not only lovely flowers in spring but fabulous leaf colour in autumn. Bonus!!  

STILL BUSY IN ISOLATION!

5 barrow loads of well rotted horse manure!

Head Gardener was indisposed this Saturday, and missed out on vegetable growing preparations.  She had made a start in tidying the Vegetable Patch but luckily for her, Chris was on hand to do the heavy work come to the rescue!  

Chris's Mantis cultivator

It's that once a year getting ready for the growing season that I hate to miss out on!  Chris had brought some horticultural gold dust in the form of super well rotted horse manure and worked it in with his mantis cultivator.  Whilst there were jokes about it looking a tad girlie, it actually proved totally and perfectly ideal for our small patch.  I now have a perfect tilth in which to sow and plant.

Not only did he leave it looking as neat, level and pristine as humanly possible but knowing how I hate to miss out on garden stuff,  he even took a few photos! Thanks Chris! As soon as this cold spell is over (later this week, we're told), I shall be out there sowing and planting.  Seed potatoes in the form of Arran Pilots are already chitted and whilst I know that many sow broad beans far earlier, it's much easier for us to clear the entire plot in a single session rather than till soil avoiding plants growing already. Hence, over wintering Brassicas and Chrysanthemums were all removed beforehand.

All finished with bean tunnel back in place!

 Isolating or not, there's always plenty to do in the garden!

Garden Lighting MOT

Dave at work.

Another one fixed!

Visitors or not, it was time for an MOT on the garden lighting system. Dave Melhuish of DSM Electrical Services - PTC's very own lighting consultant & electrical engineer par excellence popped over to work alone in the garden replacing broken lights and generally ensuring everything was in tip top order.  If we're to have the garden to ourselves this summer, it'll be nice to have everything working properly.  After all, it looks as if we might be here for the long haul.  Garden lighting was one one of the best additions.  In winter, uplit skeletal trees come to life and on long summer evenings, soft lighting bouncing off the leaf canopies is the height of horticultural romance!!

An example of Dave's work on the terrace.

Garden in Isolation

Those walkers taking their daily exercise can still donate to the caring charities in this great time of need!  Even though garden visiting isn't allowed, walkers can peep over the hedge or take a virtual tour here: 

Virtual Garden Tour

Donations can be left here.

Public footpath running along the garden hedge.

GARDENS IN ISOLATION

PEAR TREE COTTAGE GARDEN NEEDS YOU!

Here's an opportunity for all those who planned to support us in our fund raising for The National Garden Scheme but, alas can no longer do so in person.  By making a donation, you will be supporting the caring charities - those who care for US.

NEVER HAVE WE NEEDED THEM MORE!

Follow the link:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/PearTreeCottageNGSGardenWithoutVisitors

Pear Tree Cottage Garden needs you!

Arboreal Chameleons!

Acer palmatum Sango-kaku

Acer palmatum dissectum last Autumn & now in the ground!

It definitely wasn't on the official jobs list but, when I mentioned to Chris that a pot growing Acer palmatum Sango-kaku was desperately in need of a little more elbow room, he came up with the perfect idea!  I'd been thinking and THINKING - where on earth could it be planted?  He immediately suggested the Aspen Grove. Genius!! Why hadn't I thought of that??  Since we removed all the Aspens and replanted with multi stemmed birch, it's not even an Aspen grove any more!  For obvious reasons, the Sango-kaku is also known as the Coral barked maple.

We spent the usual time trying it in various positions before planting and there was a choice of 2 ideal spots.  As soon as it was in the ground, I was off to look for another to steal away and pop in the other spot.  I found a small terribly one sided Acer dissectum which was also too big for its pot and so Chris very cleverly planted it on the lean!  Now we can't wait for all those leaf buds to break open!

Centre: yellow leaved Acer palmatum Sango-kaku
 

We're more than a tad partial to Acers in this garden and have about a dozen in the garden and 6 or 7 in pots.  They're the chameleons of the tree world!

Nectarine Rescue!

Prunus persica var. Nucipersica

A fine warm Saturday and lots to do.  Unusually we began with a bonfire!  The men mowed both lawn and orchard each with their own lawn mowers (I'm STILL not allowed to do this yet - sigh)!  

Loving the colour of these buds!

As the first job, Chris and I potted up a rescued Nectarine from Janine.  My task is to keep it alive!  It's a bit of a challenge as it was looking a tad poorly and displaying a lot of die back & dead wood and had been planted in clay soil in a sodden garden.  It's now enjoying some more suitable conditions with a proper mix of potting medium.  It's a self fertile dwarf variety - Prunus persica var. Nucipersica with lovely deep pink flowers.  It's max height at 10 years is only about 5 feet so I'll keep it in a pot and try plenty of TLC keeping a sharp lookout for the dreaded Peach Leaf Curl.

Beating the Elements

Chainsaw Queen!!

The real expert.

Wild and freezing winds, sodden ground but at least sunshine! Trigs around the lawn were full of water and the top lawn was positively marshy!

 Before garden work began  we logged up an unwanted apple tree (courtesy of Chris) and lugged and stacked the logs for seasoning. Under Chris's watchful eye, I was allowed a mini chain sawing session!  The wind was so strong, there was sawdust EVERYWHERE!  Afterwards, we trimmed a Eucalyptus and then tidied the Verbena Bonariensis in the Top Lawn Border, removed a diseased Viburnum (badly affeced by Viburnum beetle) and lightly pruned a couple of Acers.  I pruned a couple of Clematis and Chris planted 2 Laurels either side of Kay's arbor.  The idea is to make it more secretive and half hidden in a big Laurel arch.

After that, Chris made a start on emptying the compost heap and mulching the Lower Border whilst I potted up a Crinum, some Dahlias and some Heuchera cuttings.

Now, will some one please tell me why a freshly mulched border looks so immaculate?!

Mulched Lower Border

One apple tree!