Our Kanzan cherry trees are creating pink lawns and drive way here, so pretty and now the beautiful Shimadzu sakura low spreading pale pink flowering prunus are in full bloom. These are truly beautiful and deserve a spot in every garden big enough to cope with them. Lilac and lily of the valley are blooming here, both with their old fashioned perfume that evoke Childhood memories in me.
" The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air like wisp's of the past and hints of the future" Margaret Millar.
Removing weeds, lawn seed sowing and mowing has been keeping us pretty busy out here, warmer ground and weeds grow before your eyes, still time to pull out or hoe. From one smallish patch of garden I managed to fill a wheelbarrow with convolulous roots! previous years I have just pulled it out when spotted so I felt it was time to address the problem at the root level and found it was like the London underground all growing strong with the compost I had spread over the years. Convolulous is one weed that should not go into the compost until it has been left in the sun to completely dry out and become straw like.
Roses are doing well now that the nights are milder, keep the food and deep root watering up to them as they bud up, foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertiliser which ensures they are feed with each water. healthy well fed roses are less likely to become diseased.
Cut back Erica's, callunas that have flowered during winter, and aubrietia the purple rockery plant will give you another flowering if you do.
Cut back Erica's, callunas that have flowered during winter, and aubrietia the purple rockery plant will give you another flowering if you do.
Cut spent flowers from hellebore's before they drop seed then get the full effect of their wonderful leaves
Polanthus have been wonderful over late Winter and early spring but now it's time to cut them back and shift to a shady spot. They can be planted in a sunny spot again early next Winter.
PLANT, PLANT, PLANT flower plants and seeds, fill gardens leaving no room for weeds.
Lawns: Feed lawns when rain is about, with all the rain we have had over past months nutrients will have washed out. Powdered fertilisers need to be watered well in to stop burning during the heat of the day.
Vegetables:
Pumpkin and squash plants are almost ready to plant, prepared area for them to ramble with a lot of compost and old stable manure dug in. The leaves will always let you know when they need water as they grow.
If you have a glass or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they grow high so when their stems are strong enough bang in a stake and attach a string from the stake to the roof to support them as they grow up.
Fruit: Raspberry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. Berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden.
Vegetables:
Pumpkin and squash plants are almost ready to plant, prepared area for them to ramble with a lot of compost and old stable manure dug in. The leaves will always let you know when they need water as they grow.
If you have a glass or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, they grow high so when their stems are strong enough bang in a stake and attach a string from the stake to the roof to support them as they grow up.
Fruit: Raspberry Kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. Berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden.
Coddling moth traps now need to be in place in apple trees, some trees never attract the moth that will lay the eggs of the small grubs that eat through apples, but if a tree does you can be sure others will be chosen close by.
Rhubarb: Keep manure enriched compost up, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy.
Herbs: are growing well now pick a few batches while fresh and to stop them going to seed, Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper or bunch and hang in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars to use in the months when they are not available.
Cheers, Linda.
Eradication of codling moth, quarter fill a plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree to attract male grubs, the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone which will attract the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds.
Rhubarb: Keep manure enriched compost up, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy.
Herbs: are growing well now pick a few batches while fresh and to stop them going to seed, Drying herbs :Pick in the full heat of the day, lay out on news paper or bunch and hang in a dry airy place until crisp, (all moisture must be gone). Then rub together into sprinkle sized bits and store in brown paper bags or glass jars to use in the months when they are not available.
Cheers, Linda.
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