In the greenhouse

 I adore my new stand for my 'bonsai' plants, hubby cut and put it together from some spare wood. My oak at the back has done well, I'm hopeful I can grow this and keep it small. The front sapling is new this year, so 🤞 I can take this forward. 

This small shelf unit looks lovely with my small plants on, one pot still has loads of flowers, I can see this display from inside the house. 

This corner is looking good, most of these plants say inside all year round, there is plenty of space in front for my tender plants, which soon will be coming in here. 

Just a couple of my many Succulents, I popped 2 of the lithops from smaller pots in the onion pot, my gravy pot is looking healthy, I always worry when a new plant flowers. 

I've had a trio of plants in this planter for years, I did replace the Venus flytrap this summer, they earn their place keeping flies down in greenhouse. I need to pull out my plastic trays from the staging and give them a wash, before they are full again. 

These pansies and violas are spare plants and will soon fill gaps in garden, this tray will be then fill of tender plants. I still have some cuttings on the go, a honeysuckle at the back, more hotlips and a chocolate cosmos, which have all rooted, I love new plants for free. 

I have not opened this box, there is plenty of moisture inside, the plants are looking good, I am hoping for loads of new small plants. If this works it will be my new method for cuttings, I have 9 pots in here, so it uses much less space. 

My maidenhead fern has been in loads of different rooms in the house, it was not a happy plant, so I cut all of the top growth off and popped it in a shady spot, lovely new growth, I really hope I can bring this plant back to its former glory. 

The greenhouse gives me so much pleasure all through the year, I often say things have to earn their place in my small garden, and my greenhouse ticks all boxes, it's productive, it looks good and through the winter months it protects all of my tender plants. On cooler or wet days, I love being inside, I can always find something to do for an hour. 

Yesterday was another quiet day at home, I worked again on my 2019 blog book and did some knitting. Chelsea flower show is on this week, it's going to be very different this year, all the autumnal flowers and their colours, plus the balcony section, I watch the build up show on TV last night, followed by Gardeners World recorded from Friday.  

This morning was cool, which is a sign for me to start moving things into my greenhouse, it's a clear sky, so hopefully no rain, enough time for me to move around pots. Not everything goes into the greenhouse this early, if I move 2 begonia pots in there now they will flower much longer, giving colour at the very bottom of the garden.

Ongoing

 Not everything can be sorted in one go, this crochet blanket for Molly is half way done, and now we have cooler weather, I can get on with it, it won't take long to finish, I am loving the bright shades. I will have some of the cotton yarn left over. 

This tiny oak, was an acorn popped into a small pot last year, once there was good growth, I popped it into this Bonsai dish, squashing its roots, earlier this summer it had 3 huge leaves, which fell off and was replaced by these smaller leaves. I am not feeding this plant, it gets only water, the trunk has not grown much, which is hopeful. I have no knowledge of how to care for and keep these trees small, I am learning as I go. I would love to grow a dish with 5 or 6 silver birch trees, I should look into purchasing some seeds, I do have another dish, but first I will see how well this oak does. I have killed a Acer, a couple of years ago, it never thrived after I got it home. 

Whilst I finished my cross stitch cushion front, as yet I have not made it with 2 other finished cross stitched designs, into cushions, I have the filling and everything else I need, just lazy. I did get my sewing machine out last week, I made a hem for some sheer nets made from recycled plastics, they hang on the sunny side of the pergola, and makes the evening sun nice and dappled.

I feel everywhere is looking good, having a mid summer spring clean is very rewarding, our home was never cluttered, but I had huge amounts of stuff packed in drawers, it's truly rewarding to see tidy spaces. Both hubby and I are tidy, things have to be packed away, everything has its place. My mum used to have times when she needed to clean, sort and get rid of stuff, I grew up in a large family, where our home gave us only a small amount of personal space each. 

The quickest things I purchase has always been clothes, craft and garden, I manage my clothes spend, preferring to wear what I already own, I've slowed right down on crafting spending, once my card stock is gone I won't purchase anymore, having said that, I have supplies to last a few years. My biggest stash is fabric and cross stitch, my yarn stash is not too bad, I have other bits I will use, everything is earning it place in this house. 

I have most of what I need in the garden, I have very little space left, hubby and I did decide to get another fuchsia for the raised bed by the backdoor, they survive the winter in that bed and will stop the need to get bedding plants. My shed is a tidy space, well organised, it's not very big, but I do love to be able to get at everything. 

My dish from the last post has been given a reprise, its on the dining room table, just can't bring myself to fill it with plants. 

Back to nature

My outside table is still giving so much colour, the tulips were a birthday gift last year, how wonderful to enjoy the gift more than once. My begonia which is in a big blue pot is has started shooting, so I'm looking forward to seeing beautiful flowers here all summer. 

My tulips all around the garden have bloomed earlier than expected, I always grow them in pots, the bulbs rot in our heavy clay soil. The bulbs in my last photo here, were again a birthday gift and they have bloomed here for a couple of years, the hyacinth's have bloomed the best this year. 

My Peonies are both growing well, the smaller photo, is mum's plant and my prized thing in the garden. The 2nd was planted last year, it's 'bowl of beauty'. I am super pleased with this corner, I did loads of work here last year and finally things are growing, before it was just a bare corner. My latest Peony, is in a pot in the greenhouse, once the daffs have been allowed to die back, I will plant it in my side garden, all three colours are shades of pink and should look good together. 

I thought my trio of acers, were just 2 plants, but now all the leaves are formed, I do in fact have all 3 in one pot. My much older Acer is about to bust into colour.

This is my acorn, collected and planted with Will, I am hoping I can bonsai it, if it grows too big, I will have to find someone with a huge garden to take it on.  

Greenhouse is looking good, most of these were dug out of the garden last year, soon they will be planted back outside. 

The top level are the plants I purchased, all potted on, in a few weeks they will be huge and strong enough to be in the ground. Lower level I have again planted cornflower and poppy seed, I do want them in my back raised bed. 

Hubby went looking for a new BBQ yesterday, ours's is just too big, once we have our new one, we will pass the old one on, it has a few years useful life. Well, we were in a garden center, and I love the look of this plant, I have wanted one for ages, it's Albuca spiralis, Frizzle Sizzle,  I have read how to keep it looking good, for now it's in my office, but not on my desk. 

Betty is doing well, as is Proff, best name for a plant which looks like a brain, my new succulents also like their pot and place in the warm sun. They all sit well on my desk. 

My thoughts are now on one spot in the garden, the new BBQ will be stored in the garage, so I have an area along the neighbours fence with the low wall. This area has a concrete base, so I can't easily extend the side garden, but I do have a plan to add more flowers and colours, hubby listened to my suggestions, which include a small task for him, it is close to our gates, so I can't go too big, it a case of watch this space. 

The past week has been sunny very cold days, we did have rain overnight Sunday/Monday, which topped up the water butts, I have been watering some of my pots, the dry spell has started early this year, so much for April showers. Loads of laundry dried on the line, plenty of warm time in the greenhouse. It did rain again yesterday, most of the afternoon, so I'm happy with the promise of a couple dry weeks and warmer days. 

Our hairdresser popped in Monday morning, cut my hair and hubbies, his barbers are fully booked, she also does our neighbour across the road, we are all feeling much better. Coffee morning on Tuesday was fun, we walked to the café in village, they had their tables outside, wrapped up warm it was great to catch up with everyone, later a trip to Lidl's, top up shop, life is feeling a bit better this week. Wednesday we had George as the swimming lessons for Will have again started, both boys stayed with us whilst mummy drive daddy to an eye check up, so it was a toy, fun and laughter day. I have been reading, I got a lovely book from our charity shop on Tuesday, an I'm enjoying reading again.

Hubby has his 2nd jab on Saturday, mine is booked for next Wednesday, mine is Astra Zeneca which I'm happy to have, soon we are both sorted, still no plans to go shopping away from our village or the pub, just staying safe at home. 

Growing and picking

Will's sunflower seeds have grown, so he brought them to our house for the next stage, he planted them 2 weeks ago seen here, he has 4 and I kept this one. The other seeds in his greenhouse have grown and been potted on, mummy is hoping she gets the flowers to grow, the basil is in a nice pot on her kitchen window sill. I will plant this in the garden when it gets a bit bigger. 

This is my first cucumber, I did have a few I cut off near the bottom of the plant, they never grow straight and often touch the soil, so I prefer to wait just a bit. The plant is full of flowers, once they start to form I will remove some, it looks as if the plant will be really fertile this year. 

Tomatoes are starting to turn red, this plant is outside the greenhouse, it gets sun most of the day. I have 3 plants this year, a plum tomato is outside next to this plant and has fruit. The 3rd plant is in my greenhouse, I grew this plant from a seed taken from a supermarket tomato, I want to see if using the same seed grown at home if they taste better, because the tomatoes often don't taste of much from the supermarkets. 

My Oak sapling is in it's small pot, the crock is there to hold it upright, the dish is shallow and the roots had to be folded to go in, time will tell if I can keep this small to be a bonsai, I have no idea is this is correct way, but I'm have fun, it sits in the shade on the floor of my greenhouse. I have seen that wire is used to shape the trunk, but at this stage I just want it to grow (stay small). 

With all the success from cuttings off my Salvia hotlips, I decided I would try another Salvia, we both liked this flower, so I am keeping it in the pot for a bit longer, there are loads of tender shoots on the plant, once they get bigger I will take three and try and root them. Saving money and only bringing in one plastic pot instead of four. 

I purchased a pack of crinkly lettuce, which was lovely and fresh, I am now soaking the roots in water ready to plant up, I should get a second cutting from this plant. I have another pack in the fridge to use for now, the lettuce stays fresher with the roots attached. 

We have had loads more rain, which I'm happy about, good for the garden and saves me from having to water my pots, I did spend an afternoon in the greenhouse, I have potted my lavender into 4 separate pots, I planted cutting from the blue salvia taken from the above plant. 

I have cut back some more of the eucalyptus by the front door, I don't want these to be tree's, so I need to keep them trimmed and bushy, these cutting I have popped into water and 1 stem into the perlite, I don't think the stems in soil have taken, but I still have left them just in case the are growing roots I can't see. 

My summer raspberries are now finishing, I am pleased with the crop this year, the later summer canes are looking very good. I am harvesting blueberries and blackcurrants, both bushes have done well, the later fruiting blueberry is full of green berries. I am still picking a couple of strawberries twice a week, which is pleasing as the plants are new this year. My blackberry canes are full of fruits ripen for later in the summer. It does feel good to be able to produce any harvest. 

How can it be July already, half the year gone, if you ask me how I am doing, I would say the days pass slowly, and yet the months fly by.

Saving money in the garden.

This is another lovely plant, I took a cutting from a plant in my raised bed by the back door, I was worried it might die in the winter months, the parent plant survived and is now showing loads of new growth. So this cost me just time.

I purchased this plant in July 2016, it cost 99p and was tiny, I was making a garden in a broken pot, it grew and grew, I cut it back last year after watching Monty on TV, and the 3 stems all grew and the stem of the old plant grew again. So this year I cut back the 3 newer stems and potted them all in this pot, they all look healthy. 

I have loads of soft wood cuttings, both the Lavender and Salvia hotlips have rooted and are growing. I have another 3 cutting of hotlips on the go. I have eucalyptus which don't look too well, but they can stay for longer, I am hoping one might root. I have passion flower and clematis cuttings, in hope I can create new plants. 

I watched Monty on TV Friday night he did hydrangea cuttings in Purlite, no soil, so hubby wanted us to have a go, so here are 2 hydrangea, 1 clematis, 1 rose which we did on Saturday, all looking good. In the second pot I have 2 acers, they were from very long branches, my thinking always is 'if I don't try I will never know'.  

My next project is with this Oak sapling, I purchase a sage plant and this was growing in the pot, there is no way I would want an Oak tree in my garden, but I was not going to let it die, so it's tiny, I love Bonsai tree's, I am going to pot this in a shallow dish ( I have a spare one), use the restrictive compost and see what happens. I still have my Acer Bonsai, but it has no leaves, it's not dead, just not growing.

Most of these plants here have cost me nothing or just pence, the green shrub came from a neighbour, the Agapanthus I separated a plant in my garden and moved some here. The Salvia hotlips cost me £1 for 2 plants. Not so cost effective are the eaten French marigolds, I got them cheap from Lidl's, they still have some growth, so I will leave them, they might come back. 

I hate to waste anything which comes into our house, I still use a coffee filter jug, I looked at pods for just a short time but did not like throwing away the pods. Through the summer (hot) months, I save my ground coffee and filters, they dry out quickly, the greenhouse smells wonderful. This gives me a good supply to last through the year. 

The dried filters I use in the bottom of pots, instead of crock, I prefer the filters as they allow water to drain, not so quickly as crock. I do keep broken pots to use with the filters in bigger pots. The coffee I pop on the surface of my garden when I have problems with slugs and snails, they don't like going across the gritty coffee. I don't use huge amounts to upset the balance of my soil, but I do use more around my roses and on acid loving pots. Most days we make 3 pots of coffee, so I do have a good supply, the drawer I store these in smells wonderful each time I open it. 

I swap plants as often as I can, I separated primroses last month and passed on loads of new plants, I have new strawberry plants this year and will keep all the runners for new plants. My daughter purchased some white lavender plants, which I potted up for her, a bit fell off one plant, so l planted it, it would be nice to have a white plant. I have got very brave on splitting plants, something I refused to do for years. Later this year I will dig up my beloved Peony, both daughters want a plant, so I will take roots from the edge, I would be devastated if  I killed this plant, the new plants will be tiny, and will have to be grown in pots for a few years.   

I look at our local selling Facebook pages and have purchased loads second hand, our garden is established and most times I don't want to add brand new items, they always stick out, which is only good if like Kirk I want a statement pot. 

I always purchase good compost, I have had some terrible outcomes with cheap compost, I do get through loads of plants, I garden organic, and bugs, slugs and snails as well as the birds have their feed, I do try and limit the damage, but I can't use chemicals, we do have hedgehogs in the garden, whose numbers are in decline and I can't risk hurting them. 

I think the honest thing to say here, is I spend more on my garden than all my other hobbies, as my stash spend list shows each month, but the joy I get from working outside, and the joy we both get for sitting watching wildlife, looking at the plants is immense. We both love to stop for morning coffee and cake and just sit, often for an hour or more, because that's what a garden is all about, enjoyment. 

Getting there

My hanging pot with string of pearls from the greenhouse is inside, I don't want to risk damaging this lovely plant, I will hang it back in the greenhouse, once I have completed all my work. I am hoping some of the green returns to this plant, the sunlight does fade it. 

My poor bonsai acer is still not showing signs of growth, a bloody squirrel dug it out of the pot, last week I changed the compost in hope I can get it to grow, the wood is not dry, so I think it's still alive. 

I spent a wonderful hour going back in time, I often get my blog book out to check a date on something, if it's gardening related it's quicker than trying to look back on my blog. Once I have my answer, as always I get sidelined by all the wonderful photo's full of memories. On average these books cost £60 each, but I love every one of them. 

This is a comment from my last post, which is my online diary, not an english project, Unknown, I can't spell for toffee's, spell check catches most of my mistakes, I am British and will try harder. 

Most of this week has been outside working in my now very hot greenhouse, plenty of drinks, mainly water, hubby helped me on Wednesday, we managed to dig out all the soil and remove the raised bed frame, most of the decking planks used were still good, so they have been cleaned and stored. 

I emptied all the contents, and cleaned inside, I also cleaned my tables and shelves. The vine weed roots were everywhere, we pulled all we can, the back corner of the greenhouse is on earth, so it was coming in there. If it comes back again we will use a good weed killer, hubby used it outside the greenhouse in that corner and the weeds are dying back, the cats and our visiting hedgehog can't get to the area, so it's used carefully. 

I am now waiting for an order from Ikea, for shelving and a folding chair, we do have folding chairs, but I wanted one I can leave down this end, once I have these in place I will have plenty of room to show all my nasties, leaving my potting table empty and clean. I also moved a few things from my shed to the greenhouse, so I now have more space in there, I can't wait until it's been completed, everything is due next week. Plus on Tuesday a licensed guy will come and clear the rubbish, our tip has cars waiting for 3 hours or more, and we still have to pay to dump soil and garden waste.

I have planted my 3 pots by the side of the house, should have loads of colour there, my eucalyptus in the 2 pots by the front door are looking good, I pinched out the top as I want low bushes. I have sorted my long pots, infront of the raspberries, I had the plants, and finally I will plant our side bed, it should all be finished by the weekend.

I am watering most days, my blueberries, raspberries and blackcurrant bushes are full of fruits, we could do with rain, but it's the same most years, we are in a dry area of UK. It's dull this morning and the air feels damp, but not expecting any amounts of rain. unless we get a thunderstorm, there is no rain fore caste for weeks.

We have no plans for the weekend, our Asda order will arrive on Saturday, we have BBQ food coming, so we plan to be outside as much as we can. A few days resting will be good for both of us, I have promised to keep busy so I don't get anymore ideas, which result in loads of hard work. We are both enjoying this wonderful hot weather, lucky to have our garden. 

In the green

I have planted the 4 seeds I found in this packet, just a bit out of date, but the seeds looked OK, just hoping they grow.

 The tomato seeds have started to grow, too many for me, I will pot them up and leave on our drive for people to take, but not for a couple of weeks. 

 Bottom right corner are the pineapple plants, they have been in a couple of weeks and are still looking good. 

 These 3 have survived another winter in my cold greenhouse, they are all looking good, the Pitcher plant is losing some of it's taller growth, but the are loads of small ones to take their place. 

 I see these tulips every time I am at my greenhouse, but yesterday I noticed how beautiful the colours looked from behind, the sunshine made them look like jewels.  

 It's bluebell time, I only have English ones in the back garden, I don't like the Spanish ones at all, nothing says warm spring day more than bluebells. 

 My Peony, is a dear old plant and I love to see it come alive every year, I gave some root to my brother last year, and he's also happy it's growing in his garden. This plant was in the corner of our front lawn in my mum's garden, it's getting towards 60 years old. I do chip some of the edge roots off and pass it around, my daughter wants a plant next year, she is having her back garden done, once we get back to normal. 

 Earlier this year, the pesky squirrel dug my bonsai tree out, I did pop it back in it's pot and have kept it in my greenhouse in a shady spot, no buds as yet, but the tree is not dead, the branches are not brittle, I have everything crossed this will grow again. 

It's all about the garden at this time of year, whilst I have very little structure work, I can always find things to do, I have loads growing for the main garden, it will be May before I put much out, still the risk of some frost about.
I am having problems in the greenhouse with my dry river bed planted with my nasties, I have vine weed coming through from next door, no point in saying anything, I have been pulling it out, trying to take as much root as I can, it's the only real solution, but because it's so warm in there it grows quickly. I have dealt with it in the garden along the fence, plus Ivy, keeping it cut back and pulling the roots has slowed it down. I'm in the greenhouse each morning pulling the stuff up, but it's so full in there and my plants are not ones you can get close to.

Wet windy and bored

It's just so bloody wet, there I have said it, I should not moan at all, my garden is wet but not flooded, the house is dry and warm, with so many people having flooded homes, we consider ourselves very lucky. But after weeks of rain, even with a few sunny mornings last week, we have had enough. Plenty of reading and craft time, but our walls are closing in on us. 

 This sock is for SIL, Will's daddy, I was told bright colours and fun, so that's what he has got, these will be another Christmas gift, and at a size 9 foot alot smaller than the other 2 pairs I have made. I just need to ensure I get the foot length right. 

Another good book, I did not see the ending coming, took me by surprise, can't say much, I don't want to give the plot away, book 16. 

 We went shopping on Thursday morning to Lidl, and these came home with me, I can never have too many nasties. I am itching to plant things in the garden, but I have so little room, and it's too early. I am expecting hubby to soon say we have enough plants in the house. 

 This is Ficus Microcarpa, a bonsai plant, I have put a link to RHS page, where you can read more, BUT I did not pay their price, mine was £4.49, it will have to stay in my office in the sun and warm. I am reading on how to keep it alive. I love the dark shiny leaves, just like my citrus and coffee plants, these are much smaller.

The latter half of the week has been much the same as recent posts, I have not been out much, the cold rain does stop any desire to do much. I am still knitting my cardigan, after saying how big the sock foot sizes were to knit, the cardigan is huge. I am itching to do things, reading and knitting are great, but I think we are both stir crazy.
We did visit a wood workshop in the village which is moving premises, sadly away from the village, they were offering wood to anyone who could use it. I wanted some small pieces of hard wood, for an idea I have, once I have results, I will do a post.
Got my haircut again, I'm really pleased, my hairdresser knows how I like it cut, she came to my house, so I had housework to do after.
I'm out today, youngest daughter and I are doing the 1st of 2 Makaton course today, my sign launage should help me. I do love all sign language, and it's always fun to learn new things.