Early March 2009 - thinking about the summer

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The succession of winter bulbs is well under way – I still have a few snowdrops in the garden, the Crocuses are in full bloom, the first nodding heads of daffodils are about to break out, and, most gloriously, the tulips are preparing themselves for April. Last year’s planting of pulmonaria (lungwort) are looking good, too. To be honest, I’d forgotten about them and only reacquainted myself with their chalky-blue glory when I tackled a shady border next to my daughter’s playhouse.

Recent redundancy has been a blessing in disguise when it comes to looking after the garden – I managed to spend over five hours yesterday, just pottering and tidying up. Actually, that’s not entirely true – I did manage to plant a few things. Some Astilbe, Polygonatum (Solomon’s Seal) and Aquilega went in. Possibly a bit early, but I’m hopeful we won’t have too hard a frost in the next few weeks.

On the vegetable side, the purple spouting broccoli is looking good, and the late planting of garlic seems to be doing well – lots of sturdy spikes have pushed through. Last year’s crop was hit with rust. I hope that by re-siting to the front garden I can avoid a repeat. I’m also planning to put some chili seeds in pots this week. Last year was a bit of a disaster, as the cool, damp summer didn’t give the poor things enough sun to develop fully. In previous year’s I’ve had huge crops from plants put outside in mid-May. This year, I may keep them under cover until June, just to try to give them a head start.