Time to plant out the trays of Impatiens ‘Blue Sky’™ Busy Lizzie. Actually Lindsey planted them out, whilst I attended to tomatoe plants.
Impatiens Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
Impatiens Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
Impatiens Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
Impatiens Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
All planted up, My elderly neighbour looked on whilst I gave Lindsey planting instructions. So I gave my neighbour a plant, to plant out.
Chilli plants
I’ve now planted out all my tomatoe plants, so the porch is empty except the chilli plants and butternut squash seeds I’ve just planted.
butternut squash seeds planted
Although my early tomatoe plants did very well this year in the porch early on, too much light has caused them to bolt, and become very thin and long, I’m not too sure If I’m going to have another disaster, last year, the cold in the green house was causing them issues, this year, the heat was right in the porch, but too much light, so next year I think I’m going to have to grow on early, and transfer them to the greenhouse under cover.
But the chilli plants love the heat and light in the porch, so maybe next year, I’ll just grow chillis!
Anyway I hoping I get some chillis off these plants for making chilli for Paul/Sally and David when he visits in his new Nissan GT-R!
eh, David pictures of the last but one car… (not the Fiat!). I preferred this one to the VW EOS, isn’t that a hairdressers car? (no offense intended to hairdressers!)
Subaru Impreza
Subaru Impreza under the bonnet
Tilly (Tilda) in the clover, lawn needs cutting again…
Tilda in the clover
We purchased a climbing rose from R.V.Roger Ltd Rose Nursery, Pickering last year, to add some colour to the magnolia tree in the summer, after the tree had long since flowered in the spring. The climber we purchased is called Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’, described as a huge and very vigorous climbing and scrambling rose; with creamy-white scented flowers. We’ve been regularly checking on it’s progress last winter, and early spring waiting for it to flower, within the last few weeks the plant suddenly started to put on massive growth, which comparing the growth with the rest of the plant, I suspect this was a sucker from the host plant, which has grown from beneath the graft.
Sucker below graft
close up of sucker below graft?
I debated long and hard, and on inspection I think it’s a sucker, so proceeded to cut it off.
sucker removed
It’s almost four feet in length.
after - sucker removed
So I removed it, and also pruned out some other black wood. I chopped the sucker up into small lengths, and potted up in the greenhouse, and we will see if they root! (well it’s worth a try!)
sucker planted out in greenhouse
When I was re-painting the generator shed a month ago, I noticed a Mason Bee going in and out of the shed. I was going to remove the roof to finish the painting, but I didn’t want to disturb the nest, that this bee had created, and because our solitary bees are in decline, I thought I would leave it, to boost the populations for next year. I’ve been trying to get a photograph of her, but no luck, as yet.
So here’s a picture of her nest
Mason Bee 'nest' larva on pollen/nectar provision mass (click image for high resolution version)
Mason bees are increasingly cultivated to improve pollination for early spring fruit flowers. They are used sometimes as an alternative, but more often as an augmentation for European honey bees.
Unlike honey bees (Apis), they are solitary; every female is fertile and makes her own nest, and there are no worker bees for these species. Solitary bees produce neither honey nor beeswax. They are immune from acarine and Varroa mites, but have their own unique parasites, pests and diseases.
Most mason bees live in holes and can be attracted by drilling short holes in a block of wood. They are excellent spring season pollinators and, since they have no honey to defend, will only sting if squeezed or stepped on. As such, they make excellent garden “pets”, since they both pollinate the plants and are safe for children and pets.
Due to, too much light, my tomatoe plants have “bolted”, and are very “leggy”. Anyway best plant them out, there not going to produce tomatoes in the porch!
before planting out
A stack of growpots, helps promote growth and saves water. This year I’m using two growbags to double-up the depth of compost. The growpots will also help as more compost is deposited in the collar.
tomatoe plants planted out
tomatoe plants next to greenhouse
The colour of these flowers are supposed to be deepest red-black, hence why they are called Nasturtium majus Black Velvet? I must be suffering deja vu, this happened last year, seeds sold to me as Nasturtium majus Black Velvet, didn’t come up with deepest red-black blooms.
Supposed to be Nasturtium Black Velvet?
This is what Nasturtium majus Black Velvet is supposed to look like:-
Nasturtium majus Black Velvet
Spot the difference?
Another email to Customer Services, I think…
Here’s a small video clip of the Goldfinches visiting the feeder in my garden.
I now get four Goldfinches regularly visiting the feeder everyday. The only problem is being a 2 port feeder, they squabble over which bird gets the food, as can be seen in the video clip. Video clip is taken about 30 feet from the feeder, they get spooked if I’m closer. Time for a larger feeder!
Potatoe Farm
I lost my footing this evening and fell over in the potatoes, and couldn’t get up! Lindsey had to help me up, so some of the potatoes plants are crushed because I fell on them!
I harvested two bags of potatoes this evening, as I needed 500grams of new potatoes for a salad recipe.
First Early Harvest
After Lindsey had seen what I had dug she commented “new potato salad off the menu then”!
The smaller micro-potatoes we boiled-up all the same, and they were very tasty. But what I failed to understand, is why the larger potatoes were very green, these were not near the top, so I don’t think light had caused them to go green, as I had earthed up the potatoes, I’m now wondering if I’ve left them in the ground too long, or harvested them too early.
So we didn’t eat the green potatoes, as I’ve read green potatoes can be poisonous!
Oh well, there’s always the second earlies, salad and main crop to try, and then Xmas Potatoes!
For the last couple of days I’ve been cutting the lawn. Whoever said that a lawned garden requires little maintenance. We’ve not been able to cut the lawn completely since the spring because of the Daffodils planted in the lawn, and I’ve read these should not be cut down before 1 June, to allow the bulbs to swell. So the grass has grown rather long in places!
I started cutting the grass yesterday, but had to higher the blade on my electric flymo, to cope with the long grass, and today, I’ve been cutting the grass and lowering the blade to it’s lowest setting to cut the lawn. So I’ve been up and down the lawn six times today at different blade heights. The yellow patches are where the long grass has been, but these will green up shortly with the next rainfall. The lawn measures approx. 70 feet x 35 feet, and it’s quite difficult cutting with an electric flymo, but that will have to do at present, until I decide to get a petrol lawnmower. Who said ‘it’s a lot less bother with a hover’, is welcome to come run to my house for free and cut my lawn with a hover mower.
Front Lawn No.1 (not cut!)
My trusty bright orange Eletrolux Flymo Compact 380 Hover lawn mower right of picture (I really should move those fish tanks into the fish house!)
Front Lawn No.2 (not cut!)
The hedge will need a cut next
Front Lawn No.3 (not cut!)
At the bottom of the garden under the aging Victoria Plum tree, the grass has been deliberately left long for the wild-life.
Front Lawn No.4 (cut!)
Yellow patches left by the long grass, because of the daffodils.
Front Lawn No.5 (cut!)
My bit for bio-diversity!
deliberately left long for the wild-life!
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