PLAN B. Blooming brilliant out of Misery

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There was me thinking in March during the first heatwave, that summer was on it’s way and I would tackle the plottie in April. So I spent a couple of glorious weeks where my heart normally is, in the borders. In April, as promised, I sowed all sorts of veg seeds and put out the plants I’d grown. Then the weather changed. I’m not worried though. I have been sowing seeds regularly, but nowt has germinated. No beetroot, lettuce, Kohl or anything else. The Asparagus bed in its fifth year has rotted due to the amount of rain. I can’t do owt about the weather, nor the amount of rain. Except divert the rivers that appeared and empty the beds by opening the wooden sections. Plan B. Turn the plottie into more herbasceous borders, with veg thrown in any gaps.

The new plants are already doing well. better than the marrows I planted that faded away.

Here I have planted another foxglove tree that I will keep pruned so I get the huge leaves. The beans are still small, but flowering. And the sweetcorn shrank.

One more attempt at a marrow.

The homemade water gauge with 10" of rain. Most of it fell on the 8th June, then was topped up over the last couple of weeks.

But the good news all the crops are doing well under cover. That’s where it will be from now on.

The purple climbing beans are reaching the crop supporting wires, compared to the ones sown outside earlier, out of 20 beans sown, four are up, but have since been munched. The climbing peas haven’t gone above 2’ and the sweetpeas, well they haven’t grown above 6" for about 6wks.

i have even got fruits on a melon which now needs some tlc.

Another change of direction in the OM’s field :-)

A view from the woods. The conditions have stopped the Om from cutting any grass since April. Most of the field looks like this, so all his small plants are not seen. but atleast he has managed to keep his paths short.

but atleast the Garden is looking really good. So the visitors over the open weekend had sommat to look at. Numbers were down this year, the weather was bad sat, but the local rag didn’t include the article on open gardens last week.

Although the species foxgloves I grew from seed, look too much like the wild ones, which I find disappointing. they’ll be out before self seeding.

And a climbing rose I bought from £land, now in it’s 3rd year. It helps cover the hen run beyond the plottie. Although the rain effects the blooms, but it smells divine.

So although we’ve had lots of rain, not alot of sun, I’m still happy to be out there transplanting and splitting plants and turning the plottie into flower beds. An excuse to grow more plants from seed, although I will be using garden soil now rather than weed infested compost now available.

• 4 Jul, 2012
• 6 likes

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