I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon Wine Tasting in London at the weekend, it was great fun and I came back with slightly exaggerated ideas of creating my own vineyard!!



I learnt that many modern grape vines live very happily in our mild British Climate and now is the perfect time to plant them, so I’ve decided I am going to give a vine a go and trail it over an arch I have going into my veggie patch. It’s against a wall, away from the wind and will get sun all day long…. so you never know next year I could be treading my own grapes!! 

Lin 
Our keen amateur gardener!

I’m sure everyone's grass is looking slightly worse for wear after the consistent rain we had earlier and if you were unlucky enough to be flooded as our lawn was, I expect there’s rather large patches that will not be growing back this year.
Firstly I’ve sprinkled over the top a layer of builders sand to try and break up the sodden ground and have carefully raked it over, trying not to damage the few strands of grass already there! I’ve then used Evergreen multi purpose grass seed which is on offer at the garden centre this month and put a generous amount on the barer patches. Fingers crossed in about 3 weeks, I might see some green again rather than a brown muddy patch!! 

Lin
Our keen amateur gardener!

Driving to work over the past week I’ve seen some fantastic displays of Camellias in front gardens, there are such stunning colours and after the bleak winter we’ve had it’s a joy to see, and a forerunner to the blossom which is just starting.  

I’ve never been able to grow a camellia in my garden as the soil is not acidic enough. So I’ve decided to pot two up in large containers in front of my porch and fill them with ericaceous potting compost which I must remember to add a good acidic fertilizer to every year! 

The porch is in the shade which is actually ideal for these woodland plants and once it has stopped flowering in Spring the dark shiny leaves will be a stunning contrast against the stonework. 

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Unbelievably the weather has turned! It makes such a difference the sun shining and a break in the rain! It’s the time to clean and repair your garden tools, and check garden furniture for any rot. Now it is finally warm enough to brave the elements, treat sheds, fences and trellis with wood preservative; brushes and rollers are fine for most things, however a sprayer is well worth buying for tricky projects such as woven panels!

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Please do remember to put out fresh supplies of food for the birds the prolonged periods of wet weather and flooding are a real threat to our feathered friends. Feed them with good quality high energy bird food and fat/suet balls and check that clean water is available. If you can’t find any bird food, scraps of bacon fat, mild cheese, fruit, breakfast cereal and uncooked oats are all fine. Moistened bread is only an empty filler, but better than nothing.

Lin
Our keen amateur gardener! 

If the rain ever stops, It’s time for doing a bit of pruning this week, firstly I’m hoping to tackle the Wisteria and will cut all stems coming off the main framework to 2 or 3 buds of the previous years’ growth. It’s growing over a wooden pagoda against our garage and if I don’t cut it back now it ends up covering the roof and the tendrils have been known to get under the tiles!

Next it’s onto my espaliered Apple & Pear trees, I have 2 of each going around my walled Veg Plot and I keep them pruned close to the main stem leaving three healthy buds.  Where it’s been so mild the buds are really developed and it won’t be long before I get some blossom! Aaah the first sights of spring!! Please rain stop!!!!

Lin

our keen amateur gardener!

On with the next project for this year. Last year we laid our square front garden to lawn and dug a 3ft border around three sides and used a layer of breeze-blocks as a wall, all year I’ve looked at the blocks hoping they would start to blend in but alas no!

Well I’ve taken a drastic decision and am going to paint the wall black with an outdoor masonry paint as soon as it’s a nice sunny day. There is method to my madness as I’m going to go for a Japanese theme.

I’ve already got a Fatsia (Castor Oil Plant) in one of the corners and Japanese maples, and I’ve been looking at some of the miniature black and variegated grasses and bamboos to plant hanging over the blocks. As a focal point I’m going to grow three box balls and try a bit of topiary! I’ve got two large red planters that I’ll fill with white azaleas.

Lin

our keen amateur gardener!

I love snowdrops and there’s no more beautiful and delicate flower at this time of year, I bought a plant from the Garden Centre a few years back and every year the plant comes back bigger and better. I had thought of dividing it once it stops flowering but whilst talking to one of the Garden Centre Managers he told me there were many varieties and all shapes and sizes which has got me thinking of creating a woodland corner in a partly shaded area, with 4 or 5 varieties, some ferns and anemones, primroses or hardy cyclamens and covering with leaf mold. I’ve two old logs that have started to rot and break down which would finish off the effect! 

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Finally it’s been mild enough for me to get out in my greenhouse! Even though it was raining I took myself off with a flask of coffee and spent a few hours pulling up all the dead plants and weeds in the beds, brushed down the shelving and threw out some of the old broken trays and plant pots and washed the ones I wanted to keep.

I’m sowing some sweet peas this week, last year I’d planted some in the autumn but to be honest they hadn’t done that well so I’ve left it till now to sow them into pots and will leave them on a high shelf in the greenhouse that gets plenty of light. 

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

I’m afraid I’ve been rather lazy since the Autumn and I really haven’t been caring for all my house plants, my cymbidium orchids prefer the cooler conditions of my conservatory and like to be moist, though not overwatered, but I haven’t watered them at all!!! So I’ve dunked them in a bowl of water until the pot felt heavy and allowed them to drain before putting them back on their tray of new gravel.

I also checked some of the pots outside and a couple sheltered by a wall are bone dry even after all this wet weather so it may be worth checking all your planters, if alternatively they are under water use a few bricks or Patio container feet to raise them up to avoid them sitting in the wet. I’ve also had a bit of a clean up of all my containers and cut back leaves and removed debris, I’ve spruced them up by covering them with gravel as I had some left over from the house plant trays!

Lin 

Our keen amateur gardener!