'This week I have been mainly.........'

.......trying to keep warm in the garden!!  This has to be one of the coldest, windiest and wettest May for many a year.  The wind has been particularly damaging to trees and shrubs with their canopies of new and soft growth.  The thrashing gusts have torn off many leaves and the heavy rain and hail has just sliced through them.  There have been days when the leaf fall has looked more like autumn.  Potatoes have needed frost protection in the form of upturned flower pots.  Even egg production has been down in the cold wet weather!  We put down a few more tons of wood chip so that their run is a mud free zone.

As it's coming round to the 'Shed of the Year Competition' time, I've been glad to work out of the cold and give The Studio its annual spring clean.  Voting starts on 20th May - that's this month and we need all the votes we can get.

Gardening advice for May 2012 is: never have the house exterior painted!  The Wisteria is trying so hard to bloom and the decorators have had to unfetter it and/or paint around it.  As if the sparrows eating all the flower buds wasn't bad enough!  Thank goodness neither sparrows nor decorators have interfered with the Wisterias on the Tool Shed or the Studio.

Following the death of a dear friend, I have inherited some garden seating and a metal arbour.  Sunday afternoon was spent painting a wooden swing seat a rather classy shade of Old English Green which has totally transformed it.  There were those (who shall remain nameless) who took some persuading as they firmly believed that I was bringing home a load of old tat and that it should have been carted down to the bonfire!  Well, OK it did look tatty and neglected but that's cos it was.  It just need some imagination and some TLC - in this case; Tender Love & Cuprinol!  It came with a canopy and cushions so, if summer ever comes, it might even see some use!

From this....

...to this in a single afternoon.

PTC garden gets a clothes line

As the chief blogger around here has been laid low with some vicious bug and isn't fit for more pressing outside tasks, the blog gets a bit of a spring make-over instead.

It may not sound much followers of this blog but, for the first time in 7 years, I am the proud owner of a proper clothes line!  Not one of those that whizzes round all the time and it may not be the longest in the world but, after all this time and, as they say up north, 'Owt's better than nowt!'  Building a barn meant that there was, at last, something to which the other end could be anchored and as this is a Canadian clothes line, I can stand in one place and hang the washing out, rotating it was required!  It was only fitting that its first outing should support all the gardening togs!

Malvern Spring Garden Show 2012

May wouldn't be quite the same without a trip to the Spring Garden Show at Malvern.  Wardrobe was never in question as it was SO wet.  Wellies it had to be.  Our big mistake was not to have travelled in them.  We parked in a sea of mud and the wellies were in the boot.  In order to put them on, we would have had to paddle through the ankle deep mud and open the rear tailgate to even reach them.  That being the case, we decided that, as were were already wearing boots of  differing styles, we tip toe following the ruts and would risk not putting on our wellies.  As it was the first day of the show, we hoped that it wouldn't be too busy and therefore not too muddy.  WRONG on both counts.  It was hugely busy and the committee staff were very slow in organising and distributing wood chip around the outside stands meaning that there was deep mud.  One had to feel sorry for the exhibitors whose stands were too muddy for visitors to brave a visit.  We managed to dodge most of the showers and stay warm-ish but the little wheels on our shopping cart just kept jamming and clogging up with the mud.  Not that we were deterred from filling it!  Plants purchased included Sempervivums, Chrysanthemum plugs, Dodecatheon Dentatatums, Streptocarpus etc etc. As usual, there were many nurseries selling the same plants and when it came to Hostas, the pricing was suspiciously close on every stand.

It was good to see that Owen's of Bevere won gold and I personally thought Grange Farm were also worthy but they weren't far behind.

Gardening 1000 miles south of PTC

Xabia Police Station!

Jasminum Officinale

Just waiting to be picked

Bonsai specimens on parade

And these were the smaller specimens!

After all the garden projects at PTC; the Head and Under Gardeners sneaked off to sunny Spain for a few days warmth and a look round a couple of garden centres near Xabia.  It seems that horticulture is pretty popular - so much so; even the local nick had window boxes full  of brightly coloured geraniums.  Citrus abounded everywhere and the air was heavy with the scent of orange blossom and Jasmine.  We saw olives growing in large numbers and the locals swear their olive oil is far superior to any the Italians can produce.

Olive groves

Bonsai is obviously popular in this area Spain as the garden centres displayed row upon row of specimens.  Large collections of  succulents and cacti were all on sale but not for indoor planting!  There were huge mature palms and a Manitou on hand for the lifting.  All this and then back home to plummeting temperatures, high winds,  fallen trees, driving rain and yes - floods!

More photos at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/100788191989823327785/BullsBotanyBonsaiBonanza?authkey=Gv1sRgCJiv6qeF3ZTWHw

CARPENTRY in the GARDEN

Despite the typical cold weather over Easter, potatoes and onion sets were planted and peas sown.  Some brassicas have also been planted out as was a row of lettuces under cloches.

The finished gate

This has left time for more carpentry instruction at The Genever Academy of Master Carpentry and the results have been a nearly finished garden seat and a pretty side gate.  Having drawn my design, Chris cut the angled tops on the palings first and then they were closed up together and the curves cut with a hole saw before alternating the different heights.  An extra 15 minutes work really has made the difference between a very ordinary gate and something quite pretty.  Chris even hand cut a finial on the slamming post in just a few minutes.  We found an old Suffolk latch and with such expert hanging, it closes perfectly!  As the designer/apprentice; as well as holding and passing, I was allowed to insert and tighten screws and stain the finished product with a preservative! Why is practical creativity so enjoyable?

The detail on the tops

Mobile Tree Surgery

Tree surgery with a difference AND right outside our gate!  Luckily Chris Genever is also pretty handy with a chainsaw and an hour or so later, we had a drive full of oak lengths ready for logging when Chris Pugh comes next!

Welding Wheels Within Wheels

Salvage Art

Chris (looking after his ears!)

One filthy snowy/sleety/rainy/freeeeezing cold day earlier this week, we turned the cart shed into a welding shop with the help of Chris's trestles and builders'planks!  

Very tricky photographing a subject I can't look at!

We (yes - I did some too!) welded some lovely old cast iron wheels and some rusty old horse shoes together to make a pair of matching panels to go either side of the Herb Garden gate.

The finished panels

Although I say so myself; I think the finished results are not half bad and quite in keeping with our rustic preferences!  A creation made with materials some might even have scrapped!!