EARLY SUMMER IN MY GARDEN. 2008

After a very busy Spring of preparing the garden for planting. I've now planted all my summer bedding plants again. Quite a large operation really, as it took the whole Three days of the Bank holiday weekend to do it all. But of course it will all be worth the hard work, when it is all in full bloom. The photos above show the shrubs and Climbers that are currently in flower at the end of May 2008. I've altered my garden slightly this spring, by removing a large Ceanothus (Californian Lilac) which had got too large and blocked part the view from the patio.

One of the photos above now shows what it looks like, from the patio to the centre of the garden.

The clematis climbers are just starting to come out now and everything is growing well.

This year i've also done a few Tomato plants in my Greenhouse , together with Peppers and an Aubergine plant. So we will see how they go on. There are Three types of Tomato variety in there. Outside i've done some Runner beans and Dwarf Beans as well, with also some new Blueberry bushes and Gooseberry bushes. These are next to the new Apple tree i planted, to replace the Californian Lilac shrub. I will show more of these in my next set of photos, as the garden develops during the Summer.

MY GARDEN IN SUMMER 2007

Here are a few Photos I took In Summer 2007 of my Garden In Full Bloom.
Plenty of colour and things grew very well Indeed, due to the rainfall that summer, which went on throughout most of the summer months. April was probably the best month In 2007!.
Though we did enjoy an Indian Summer In September into October.
So the flowers lasted well as a result of the rain. I don't remember using my watering can too much, other for the Hanging baskets & containers.
The bottom photo shows my Circular patio with the containers on it , looking very good Indeed.
You can view the patio in construction on an earlier posting on here.
So all in all, the garden was quite a success In 2007.

Early Summer Views on my Garden.

Maytime is often one of the most colourful times of the Gardening season I think.

My garden is no exception and this year is full of colour . The Clematis are flowering well and varieties like "Henryi" and "The President" (Photos above) are proof of that. I have a few more that are due out soon and there are plenty of buds on those now.

The Ceanothus (Californian Lilac) shrub has also flowered very well this Spring with an abundance of its Blue flowers on each of the five bushes I have of that.

The Rockery (Photos above) is also doing very well with the Alpines having a good season this year. Maybe a result of the Warm & Sunny April we had here In England. All plants seem very forward as a result and some were quite early Indeed.

Currently there are a few Irisis In flower around my Ponds (Photo of the Blue ones above left), but its a shame they are relatively short lived. I have Yellow ones in my Larger pond too.

The Leafy Hostas are growing nicely with no signs of any Slug damage as yet. Though I do put a few Slug pellets down to deter them. Otherwise there would be a lot of eaten leaves.

One of my Hostas are pictured above on the right, with a pale yellow edging to the leaves.

Hostas prefer shade and moist ground. So around trees or in pots in shady areas, they grow best. Maybe a Mulch around the base they would enjoy , to conserve moisture. I use Bark Chippings or you can use gravel too. If Hostas become too large you can split them up, using a spade, then plant the smaller sections where best suited. This is preferably done In early Spring or Autumn. This year I'm also trying a few Strawberries in a Terracotta planter, positioned on a post. This is pictured above on the Left hand side. The Strawberry plants are In compost with some gravel at the base of the planter for drainage. Already there are a few Strawberries forming on the plants.

I have just completed all my Summer bedding, which looks well this year with a few welcome showers of rain to help. Much better to have wet ground to plant into, than dry soil.

Otherwise you have to water In each plant, which is a slow process Indeed.

So these will all look at their best In July & August I reckon.

Photos of these will be posted here later In Summer.

CIRCULAR PATIO PROJECT

I decided to build a Circular Paio, just before Spring arrived this year.

First I needed to remove an old lawned area and clear the whole area around it.

Then I dug out the existing shrubs and cleaned out the soil, by removing old roots and anything that should'nt be there. Then dug over the whole area and firmed it down again, to try to make it as level as possible, for the Patio to be laid there.

After making the soil firm, I decided on where the slabs were to be started, which was next to an existing pathway. I used a mixture of dry Cement & Building sand to lay the pavings onto.

This was also raked, to make it as level as I could, then firmed again.

Each one was checked with a spirit level, to make sure the patio would be level, which is Important. The same process was done with every patio slab, until all the Slabs were laid.

Quite easy to see how the pattern goes, as you lay them. Firming them down as you lay each piece to see they are not loose. If so, just add more Cement/sand under each slab or corner of a slab, so the level is reached. When all Slabs are laid, use a Patio Grout to fill in the gaps and joints of the Slabs. Brush it in with a handbrush, compacting it in the cracks as you do this.

Any excess grout can be brushed off later after it has set. It usually takes a few days to harden fully, as it contains an adhesive in the mixture, which is brushed in dry.

2007 New Season on my Garden

Welcome to another Gardening season on my garden! Already been very busy on it and I've created a new feature on my back garden, which is a Circular Patio area, which replaced a lawned area, that had got very tired looking, with an overgrown bush on the fencing, that was killing off the existing lawn anyway, with it's roots.

So I decided to get rid of that and make something less labour Intensive.

The New Patio is 3meters In diameter and allows you to add containers to make it look more attractive. I've gone for a "Lavender" coloured theme with it too.

Lavender coloured pots, with lavender plants around the edge of the boardings.

So it should look attractive In summertime. When the other plants are all in bloom too.

On the soil I've added Chipped Bark, which you buy in large bags. This conserves water in the soil, acting as a "Mulch". Important as our climate gets warmer , with less rain around.

Also the added bonus of less weeding to do!....as it stops so much light getting to them.

Autumn time

After a long Summer and a very mild start to the Autumn in England, It's time to put the Garden to bed for the year again. Most of my Shrubs are now trimmed back and the Summer bedding flowers have been removed, to be replaced by the Spring Primroses & Winter Pansies now. I lifted the Dahlias last week and cut off the stalks, just leaving the bare tubers.
These are now drying off in my Greenhouse, on the staging. In a week or so i'll be putting them into a large box , covered with compost or peat. To protect them from Winter frosts.
So the garden is looking very bare now after a riot of colour this Summer.
I have also cut back my Climbers on the fencing and mown the lawns for the last time this year.
Frosts are now expected in the mornings, so not ideal to be walking on the grass after those.
It resulted in a few visites to the local re-cycling plant, with all my Cuttings and dead plants again. All that I have to do now is prune my "Robinia" Tree, though at present it still has nice golden coloured leaves on that. I might even have problems reaching the higher branches!
Though I have an Extendable pruner, which takes out the stretching Involved.
Also the Greenhouse needs cleaning now and a disinfectant is recommended , to kill off any bugs lurking in the staging or framework. Always best to start in Spring with a very clean Greenhouse and also clean trays too. Another task to be done.
It all stops any problems with Germination and pests that can Infest your Greenhouse.
Ponds also need the fallen leaves taking out, otherwise the water gets polluted with rotten leaves. The Frogs will be hibernating too, in a cosy place in the compost heap or under slabs.
So best not to disturb them Compost heap till after March, when they begin appearing in the Ponds again. Still time to plant the Tulip & Daffodil bulbs for Spring flowers.
Finally....clean all your garden tools and under petrol mowers as well.
Hopefully Spring won't seem to far away, to begin sowing seeds once more!!
I'm off to Hibernate till March now! Happy Gardening! Tim.

My Summer Garden Photos

These are a few photos of how my Garden is looking right now, in July 2006. Just about at it's best for the season I think. The recent heatwave brought everything on quicker than usual, so maybe a few things will be over by August, unless a few showers of rain revive the plants. Anyway, it's looking very colourful at the moment.
It's a constant task of "deadheading" plants, to make sure they keep producing new flowers.
Otherwise the seed heads take all the strength out of the plants, instead of putting their energies into new flowers. A regular feed with either Tomato fertilizer, or another Container/Hanging basket feed, diluted according to the Instructions...will also prolong the flowering season too.
Roses will benefit from a granular Rose Fertilizer at this time of year too, to help make another batch of flowers, after the first ones have ended. Always remove the Dead rose heads too, by cutting them off about 3 Inches from the flower buds.
There is a lot of Greenfly (Aphids) around at this time of year, so spray these with a mixture of Water & Washing up liquid. They seem to hate soapy water!....and its a more Organic and safer way to kill these Insects. Insecticides can be harmful to the skin and eyes, so if you did get it on you, always wash well with water afterwards.
Now is the time to sow Primula seeds for plants for the Autumn.
So these can be sowed in a tray and kept in a cool place but with plenty of light.
Primroses/Polyanthus are Ideal for planting together with Daffodil and Tulip bulbs for Spring Flowers. Wallflowers can also be sown now too.