My top three good do-ers in the garden, planting a hedge and a MASSIVE TENT!
Hello friends!
It's a fast and furious one this week as my life has been taken over by a party for my Rotter's 40th (I know...how'd he get to be so YOUNG???)
...but studiously ignoring the MASSIVE TENT, here's what I've been up to in the garden this week:
Monday
I sweep some leaves off my terrace, gather them together and put them in a bag. Not very much in and of itself, but a monumental thing when it is cold and gloomy and every fibre of your being is telling you to stay indoors.
Tuesday
My hedge has arrived! I ordered this a while back and have been waiting for the weather to turn cold enough for it to be delivered. Bare root trees and shrubs like this are much cheaper than those sold inside large heavy pots of soil. The vendor must wait until the plant hits dormancy before she digs it up and packs it into a box ready for sending. That's why I sowed field greens in the bed that my hedge was meant for. The idea was to add something to the soil (field greens are nitrogen-fixing things, and they also improve the structure of the soil with their roots. There was a third and more important reason though; preparing the beds for sowing meant that most of the 'work' of planting (digging etc) had already been done, and the earth was really easy to work today. I just chop up the field greens into the soil with my spade, dig a trench and stick the things in.
I am using a michorrhizal 'dip' called 'Root Grow' which claims to stimulate root growth. You just mix it into a paste and dip the roots into it before planting. I manage to get about five whips into the ground before the school run calls me away. Later, the marvellous James Todman (follow him for ALL the topiary porn) tells me off for not soaking the plants properly before planting. He's right. I put the rest of them into a bath overnight.
Wednesday
I plant the rest of my hedge. It looks totally wonderful, and it isn't even grown yet, and all the leaves are brown and crispy. I am so enamoured with it that I stand and stare at it for ages. I am astonished at how fabulous I feel, and more convinced than ever that something chemical happens to us when we are outside, working with plants. My apple tree is also given a haircut by my very wonderful man-with-chainsaw Keith.
Thursday
Men come over to my garden and erect an enormous tent for my Rotter's 40th birthday. I retreat indoors and by the time they've finished it is dark. I grab a dishcloth and clean the leaves of my fiddle leaf fig. It's extraordinary how dusty houseplants get. The dust tends to block the stomata and reduces their effectiveness, so cleaning them is a pretty good idea. I am reminded of a book I began reading a while back, called 'Primary Perception' by Cleve Backster. It presents the case for plants actually feeling real feelings, including pain. Ashamed to say that it freaked me out enough that I stopped reading, head in the sand, like an ostrich. Every time I prune a plant, I am reminded of this book, and not in a good way. But the flip side is that every time I stroke a plant (or in this case gently wipe its leaves) I am also reminded of this book.
Friday
I use the apple tree prunings from Wednesday to decorate the inside of the tent in the garden. It's a massive improvement. The paperwhites that I put into vases a few weeks ago have started to flower due to the incredibly hot October we had. I use these to decorate the tent, as they'll probably be over by Christmas and we might as well enjoy them. The'll come into the house afterwards and it'll be like Christmas has come early for me. As for my Christmas table, I'll have to improvise! The urge to get outside-help with making this tent spectacular is strong in me, but I let it pass and decide that what I've done is sufficient. Party is tonight and then I get my garden back....hurrah!
And now for a list of my top three amazing plants that have given me so much unexpected joy. The 'unexpected' part is key here...these beauties are still going strong after a wonderful summer...we are nearly in December...I call that good value - here they are:
N.B All three pics taken yesterday
1. Argyranthemum
I bought these crazy daisies as a mercy-purchase from the garden centre - they had been neglected and were on their last legs (and cheap too). As soon as I put them in a couple of containers they started to give me serious pay-back, and one container is still flowering now - that's six months later. The key is to dead-head often...whenever you pass by. And also to give them a total haircut some time in August. Within a couple of weeks they'll come back stronger than ever and with renewed vigour to give you another three months or so of loveliness. Put them on your list for next year, or order them now (Sarah Raven has some here...but of course shop around).
2. Alpine strawberries
I sowed loads of these back in February, without much optimism; I had never grown them from seed before and for some reason thought they wouldn't play ball for me. Nothing could have been further from the truth. This is hands-down the best ground-cover plant I have ever had - well-behaved, low-growing, pretty, evergreen AND with utterly delicious fruits...mine are still fruiting now! Ask for some seed for Christmas and get sowing with me early next year. I got mine from Otter farm here.
3. Nasturtium
My indoor-sown nasturtiums were a bit of a damp squib this year - slow to germinate with only about 50% actually appearing. All that care and attention and looking with LONGING did nothing to make them grow, so in a fit of pique I went outside and sowed some more, rather later...May I think. I pushed them in, watered and forgot about them. They ALL came up two of them are still flowering. The perfect, tumbling gap-filler, and edible too. MORAL: TREAT 'EM 'MEAN.
All the good things, always
x Laetitia