Pruning Curtains

I purposely allow the Wisteria and Albertine clamber around the windows at this time of year.  They make perfect exterior curtains and I love to see the filtered, cool green light in the house.  It also helps to reduce fabric and furniture fading in the strong summer sunlight.  These exterior curtains also keep the rooms much cooler. When the sun moves round, it will be the perfect time to cut back the whippy tendrils of the Wisteria.  They won't get their next pruning until February when the side shoots will be cut back again to 3 - 5 buds.  I expect the sparrows will then steal all the juicy fat flower buds as they always do - sigh!  In the dark days of winter, the windows are freed from their green fetters and the weak winter sunlight allowed to flood back in.  My photos don't do justice to my system!

'Ground Cover' -V- 'Under Planting.'

Indecent exposure?

Words mean what they say! 

A tongue in cheek look at 'ground cover' versus 'under planting.' 

Do we always need to cover every inch of soil?  Is there anything wrong with the appearance of freshly tilled earth?  Modern garden designers and T.V. celeb gardeners are always bandying the words ground cover as if there was some sort of horticultural law against the indecent appearance of naked earth.

My Daddy always hated the dreaded words: 'ground cover' and I must say, I never use those words either.  Many of his ways have rubbed off and saying 'under planting' is one of them! He was a man of the soil as his living depended on it.  Neither he nor I are or were offended by bare earth.  For me, 'ground cover' suggests something creeping, sinister or invasive.  'Under planting' sounds altogether lighter. 

Is it so offensive to have a neat lawn edging a small area of freshly turned and weed free soil?  Yes I know!  Bare soil invites weeds but how long does it take to pop over it with a hoe until adjacent Bergenias (or whatever) fill the gap?  Less time than it takes to drag out, plug in a hoover, vacuum the carpet and then put it all away again!  I suppose, in the end, it's all just playing with words!

......................................................................or is it??????

Roses for Noses!

Port Sunlight

Port Sunlight in the foreground

This has been such a good year for roses, I thought I'd post a few photos.  The Paul's Himalayan Musk is not the only one with high ideas.  Rambling Rector is at least 35 feet high and cascading down the old pear tree.  Soon the lawn will be covered in its white petals.  The shrub roses have bloomed well and no excessive rain to spoil them.  With roses on both sides of the lawn now, we have certainly noticed their heady perfume when just waking across the lawn.  We underplanted the shrub roses with Golden Marjoram.  Since the photo was taken the beech hedge behind the roses has been trimmed and the Golden Marjoram cut down to maintain its dense mounds.  In a few weeks, we will be able to enjoy its dense mounds once again.  It too has a delicious scent when the mower just brushes past.  At open gardens, there were more questions about the Golden Marjoram than any other plant!

Rambling Rector

Albertine

The old Albertine over the sitting room window is a real old faithful. Every year it's a mass of bloom for about 5 minutes and for that brief time is a real show.  Every year it's guaranteed to get a good dose of mildew regardless of the weather!!  Every year after blooming and with a good dose of mildew, it looks really shabby!  

Rambling Rector behind the kiosk

......with a cherry on top!

Head Gardener and Chief Blogger is unable to work in the garden for an entire week due to a temporary incapacitation. Luckily it's Wimbledon fortnight and Murray won again!

Following the purchase of our Cherry Aid sleeves Chris was able to pick our little crop of perfectly ripe cherries from our young tree.  Last year, the blackbirds literary ate every single cherry and there's nothing nicer than eating freshly picked cherries then having a cherry stone spitting competition to see who could get one in the bird bath from a seated position.  Modesty forbids me from divulging the winner's name!

The ones that missed the bird bath!!

BREAKING NEWS

We have learnt today that Pear Tree Cottage Garden has won the silver medal in Britain's Best Gardeners' Garden!!  We understand that we have won £300,00 worth of Cobra garden products. Somehow, I think we'll choose a new lawn mower - on the grounds we deserve one!

Ladder of Roses!

Chris's Paul Himalayan Musk is romping away up its ladder towards the oak flowering merrily as it goes. Some years ago,we rescued the oak tree from the Leylandii conifers which had invaded and overtaken it. Back then, many of its branches bore few leaves and it was ad to see an oak struggling.  Now it's a picture of health and vitality.  The old wooden ladders belonged to Chris and are now no longer safe to use.  In time, the idea is to have a waterful of fragrant roses cascading down the old wooden ladder.

 

Eggstraordinary Development - Hens Laying Abroad!

No 2 shelter

Can't think what's got into the girls! They have suddenly decided to lay anywhere and everywhere!! Eggs are being found all over the place - on the floor of No 2 House (their day shelter), in the House for Hens nestbox, on the floor in the Henclosure, in the Hennery House nestbox and also on the Hennery floor!  I found and old drawer, placed some hay inside it and positioned it in their shelter for their and our convenience in the hopes that they might be dissuaded from laying on the floor. I even resorted to placing a couple of pavers in the corner where we found eggs as discouragement! Maybe it was all the attention they had at Open Gardens but, somehow I don't think so.  Given their extensive property portfolio, they are making the best of every inch of their luxurious surroundings!

They are laying really well - note 6 eggs from 5 hens yesterday! The figures for this year are:

• Jan 69
• Feb 86
• Mar 114
• Apr 108
• May 115 

and so far this month - 95!

We are careful to check on and keep their fresh water supply topped up. At this time of year, they drink far more and with the longer hours of sunlight, their drinkers soon become green with algae.  I have a second smaller drinker in the Hennery which I also keep topped up with clean fresh drinking water.  As a treat, they have a box full of fresh grass clippings to scratch around in when I mow the orchard.  They continue to have layers mash for breakfast as well as a hopper full of layers pellets.  Mealworms are a firm favourite as well as vegetable tops and peelings.  We believe that a varied diet is important and output certainly proves it!

See  It's a hen's life at Pear Tree Cottage!