A Little Bit Of Gardening In The Winter Sunshine.
By sueb
19 comments
Hello,
I hope you are all fit and well and poised for another gardening year…although mine never really took off last year what with a new baby (granddaughter) and my sons wedding, and looking for a new house I didn’t quite get going. We have decided to stay where we are for now. So this year I am already off to a flying start! How long it will last is anybody’s guess.
Step 1. An abundance of seed catalogues ordered.
Now a girl (or boy I’m not sexist) can never have too many seed catalogues to brows through so much to plan and dream about.
Step 2. A trip to the Garden Centre shopping list in hand.
5 bags of stable manure.
1x Lupin Russell Mixed
1x Shasta Daisy Alaska
1x Sweet Pea Bouquet Mixed (Ok Jacquie I’m not giving up Just yet).
1x Bag of bird Seed.
I’m out of the car and trolley poised and ready and I’m greeted with a groan from himself “how much are you planning on getting thought you just wanted a couple of bits.” To which I retort come on it’s only a short list then you can get back to your tiling…we are (he is) re-doing the black hole …uh I mean the bathroom.
Shopping complete it’s back home and coffee in less than half an hour. If I was on my own this would have been a morning out but alas, it was not to be. Note to self leave Himself at home next time.
Step 3. The great outdoors fill those lungs with fresh crisp air and well rotted stable manure. An hour later an my veg beds now have a good 2 inch layer of manure on them now let the frost do it’s magic on them.
We had a good frost last night and the hopefully it will start to work in manure into the soil fingers crossed for a good veg crop this year.
Unfortunately, I only managed an hour clearing dead foliage from the borders today but it still felt good to be outside working in the garden. I lost quite a few large shrubs last year so I’m taking the plunge and changing the whole bed.
Most of the plants have been in the long border for over 20 years, are beginning to look straggly, and to big flowering is not as abundant as it once was. It’s time for a change. It will be a slow process due to lack of funds but here I plan to grow a lot from seed over the next couple of years. I am going from large shrubs to a cottage garden look.
Now I can hear some of you screaming Noooo! What are you doing you lunatic but my mind is made up. Some of the shrubs will be moved to another part of the garden and any large ones that I cannot use will be fostered out don’t worry a good home will be found for all of them.
This week I am planting my Sweet Peas and Penstemon and I have some strawberry’s to pot up. I am planting garlic in cells and onions in loo roll tubes. I must also go through my seed box and sort out the seeds I collected from last years Amature Gardening magazine.
All ready to go!
A good frost this morning.
9 Jan, 2011
5 likes
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Comments
looks very neat and raring to go! i agree with joanella ~ i know exactly what you mean.
some men are from mars ~ where there is no lingering round shops or coffee cups??
9 Jan, 2011
yes Stick but you go to B&Q or Wicks with them..my oh could spend a day in there lol..
9 Jan, 2011
Hi Sue ... good luck with your gardening in 2011 xxx
9 Jan, 2011
mine wouldnt ~ doesnt like the sight of tools!
i go by myself whenever possible. especially to get the christmas tree ~ im very fussy!!
9 Jan, 2011
I'm jealous, with a capital J, I've just done 2X12 hours shifts at work this weekend, would have much preferred the garden.
9 Jan, 2011
can you have tomorrow off Kfun?
9 Jan, 2011
Well you have certainly got your plans worked out Sue,lol, ......
10 Jan, 2011
If your garden is untidy Sue you would have a nervous breakdown in mine. I often think I should rejig the garden but I have spent the last thirty odd years getting it to the state it is in so will not push my luck. Your raised veggie beds look great. Good luck with it all and remember shrubs are less trouble to look after than herbaceous plants. Its a toss up if you will have time with growing grandchildren at their most interesting in competion with your desire to work in the garden.
10 Jan, 2011
Good luck for the coming year Sue ! :o)
Good idea to go on your own to the GC next time. We don't want to get bogged down with old miseries lol (I'm sure you love him really :/ ....)
I'm planing changes to my garden aswell. It's good to have a change sometimes.
10 Jan, 2011
Hi SueB
What an energetic person you are - up and ready to get going on your garden whilst I'm still shivering !
I see that you collect toilet rolls for planting as well as me. Where on earth do you store them ? I have already filled up one of the drawers under my bed and it's too damp outside in the garden shed.
10 Jan, 2011
Thanks for all your lovely comments. I spent most of yesterday morning in the greenhouse planting seeds and potting baby strawberries. How time flies when you’re doing those jobs! Mr. Grumpy is back doing his tiling and happy! What do you all think of Carol Klein's new program? Life In a Cottage Garden?
Marek Loo rolls live in a big box under my bed!
Sue :0)
13 Jan, 2011
I haven't seen it. We have to endure rugby in Wales every Friday night :o((
for hours :o(( so I never put it on. I was going to watch it on the iplayer.
13 Jan, 2011
Hi Hywel ~ It’s defiantly worth watching, I did enjoy it to see Carol up the top of a ladder at 67 with 2 false hips was amazing and such enthusiasm for every task even in the winter when we are all indoors she’s out their getting on with it. Plus great tips to. I know she is not everybody’s cup of tea but I would highly recommend watching. Let me know what you think.
Very wet here this morning so I’m making cake (well tea bread) first then off to the greenhouse after for a couple of hours. To wash pots Have a good day
Sue :0)
14 Jan, 2011
Hi Sue, I watched it while I had my morning coffee lol. It was good. I loved her shed in the night in the rain. I wish I had a place like that :o) I didn't know she had 2 false hips.
This iplayer is a good invention. I can watch the next eppisode when I feel like it.
14 Jan, 2011
Pleased you enjoyed it Hywel. I must say i player and the other channel "players" are good make life so much easier you can guarantee at 8pm one night a week there will be 3 things on you want so see all at once..... Now you can watch at leisure with coffee! Lol
14 Jan, 2011
I really like Carol. She's full of enthusiasm. But I'll tell you one thing about her that annoys me - her sleeves are always down over her hands and her cuffs get all full of mud and compost. Now I find that irritating lol Maybe I'm too fussy, but I don't like to see it. I keep wanting to tell her 'Roll your sleves up !' lol :o))
14 Jan, 2011
I can't garden with long sleeves... I don't like to see sleeves hooked over the thumb most irritating! What a pair of grumps we are LOl!
14 Jan, 2011
I think it may be because when I use my pottery wheel I have to be careful my sleeves don't catch in it and cause an accident :o(
But I think it's messy aswell lol so maybe we are a pair of grumps ;o)
14 Jan, 2011
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all ready and prepared then Sue,had to laugh about your comment about running round the GC & if on your own you would be there all day i think thats how most of us are..if i could only drive..ahh well, good luck with your garden.:o)
9 Jan, 2011