Violet's Garden Diary

First red(ish) strawberry eaten! (a slug did get to one first…)

Plant out most of the rudbeckias into the main border, and pot up the last couple of small ones. Plant out Cucumber Crystal Apple by the patio fence. Sow carrots in little pockets between the tomatoes. Clear out and sow the last veg bed, with a few more florence fennel, a spattering of radishes, and a long row of mixed salad leaf with an extra dashing of mustard.

Rockery is pretty smashing atm, although the golden garlic really is too beafy for it, leaf-wise. Waiting for the rain…

Summer pruning of red currant, and start taking out the runners from strawberries.

Despite the dry weather, some parts are still in workable condition. Managed to plant out the rest of the seed-raised dahlias, 7 around the cherry, a couple more in the main flower bed, and the last 3 in a pot. Also potted up all the monardas and aquilegias. Made two large containers with mixed plantings: large dahlia, salpiglossis and nemesia, and the other with a yellowish hosta, some bunny-tails, a couple more nemesias for luck, and lots of gazanias at the front. The gazanias really need to go out now, but the rockery is currently rock hard (ha-ha). Removed excess escholzia seedlings from it, but even that was hard work. Still have the rudbeckia to deal with, they are bursting out the cells too.

On the veg front: sown basil in the grow bag where the first lot of mustard has now finished (was getting leggy and starting to flower). The next lot is ready now, so that’s pretty good succession. The dwarf French beans are coming up very well, so it’s probably time to sow the climbing ones, but the space isn’t ready, still full of lettuce – we better eat it quick.

Pruned the frost-damaged shoots from the fig, which is still being very slow into leaf. Some of the strawberries are beginning to look a bit pink!

Planted out some of the seed-raised dahlias in the gaps out the front. Weeded lots out there, and cut back the geraniums quite hard in places, so that everything else gets a fighting chance. Sneaked in some tall purple poppies along the front path, will see how that works out. It’s a slug graveyard out there, I’d been so generous with the pellets. The aquilegias are lovely, the new little one by the path turned out yellow, too.

The chocolate vine keeps trying to wind its way through the crack in the upstairs window. And the lily beetles are on the move (but I am on the look-out ). There is black-fly on some of the broad beans, but I am just jetting it off for the minute, waiting for the cavalry to arrive. The honeysuckle out by the garage has started doing its yellow-leaves-dropping-off thing again, still don’t really know why, as it had been doing quite well this year until now.

Started the chop on the ceanothus, to give the currant some light, but it hasn’t quite finished flowering yet. What am I going to do with the great fat sticks??

Planted out all tomatoes, one yellow pepper from the shop, and the other morning glory.

Lost a raspberry cane, all yellow and shriveled, probably to wireworm.

Mmm, I am not keeping up with this writing lark…

Didn’t do much gardening yesterday, but we did mend the water-butt in the morning, which included Harry climbing into it. Not dripping any more, although still hard to believe it. Did all the liquid feeding in the evening.

Re-sowed the peas (mangetout and sugar-snaps only) on Thursday, and also did the dwarf French beans over the top of the failed peas. Mulched around the broad beans, which are doing well so far. Propagator: 2 pots of basil, 1 of kohlrabi, 10 cells of lettuce, mixed up cos and iceberg. Topped up the empty sweetcorn cells (out on windowsill).

Radishes are starting to swell up. Red currants looking quite plump already. Loads of little strawberries, too.

No time to do anything! But, somehow, the grass got cut today, including the bulby lawn, and boy did it need it. Slug fight has gone into over-drive, with the purchase of two new remedies at the weekend: the less toxic ferrous phosphate pellets, and some new-fangled gel, which I am somewhat dubious about. The entire veg patch is covered in pellets now.  White camellia got its ericaceous mulch at last, and the blueberry topped up to stop water running off.

Yesterday Annabelle helped me to put some netting up to stop the broad beans falling over when they get too high. We also tried to eat the last of the broccoli, but it had gone woody. We ripped it all out, to make room for the tomatoes, that are ready to go rather earlier than I had planned. They are also rather leggy, I guess the window-sill is not quite bright enough.

We found a flower on Maurice’s red camellia, just in time for his birthday. The irises are all finished, but the yellow welsh poppies are out in plenty, and the aquilegias have shot up their spikes. Everything is growing like crazy! The fig is last to come out in leaf, but even it is breaking bud now.

Peas have failed. All of them. No doubts. Bummer. Will re-sow sugar-snaps and mangetout, but not the normal ones, for lack of space.

Annabelle helped to plant out the honesty (along the front door path). Took the zinnia and marigolds out of the propagator, as they were starting to get leggy. Sweetcorn is coming up. Sown another pot of basil, and some cells of parsley; the coriander packet turned out to be empty, which was rather a disappointment. Split the two peppers out into separate pots, a bit worried about the root disturbance.