Snapshot October 08
rain rain rain rain rain….. sunflowers still hanging on. The extra grass seed that we planted is starting to come up.
October 5, 2008
Gardeners World Lavender Potted Outside
I have been meaning to pot these outside for weeks now, each morning they were looking a little worse from the day before. Since coming via the post they have been in small pots on the window sill. It really wasn’t a nice day to be doing this, rain and wind and cold - so we did it quickly in a couple of big pots that we got from freecycle a couple of months before. This won’t be their final destination, but they should like it outside in a bigger pot for a while. We added a lot of old shingle from the driveway which over the months/years of it sitting in a bag has mixed with soil and now is quite a nice free draining base for these plants.
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September 30, 2008
Wigwams down
It must be autumn, not only are the mornings so dark and depressing, but after last weekend of bringing the sunflowers down, this weekend it was the turn of the wigwams. I didn’t actauly have to dismantle them too much as one had been resting on the wall for a couple of months due to the wind (which had uprooted the peas and beans growing up which had since died) while the other one was leaning quite a bit with half uprooted giving one side of nice green and flowers and the other all dead. They are now all down and stored for next year. I am rather chuffed that painting them red and green seemed to work and so will do the same again next year.
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September 24, 2008
RIP Big Sunflowers
They have been still standing tall but with bowed heads and died flowers for some time. At the weekend we decided it was time for them to come down and so we saved the seeds from one head and the others put onto freecycle (and had someone wanting them straight away). We could have had saved them for feeding the birds but next door feeds the birds already and the mess that it creates is a constant problem for us!
Meanwhile, the smaller multi-headed sunflowers in the front are still doing well. Certainly a good idea I think.
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September 14, 2008
Autumn Grass Seed
We bought some top soil, the first time ever I had bought it! Normaly I have managed to find someone on freecycle wanting to get rid of some, but not this. So, bought a little amount and covered some of the worst areas in the front where the seed just hasn’t managed to get going yet. If we keep doing this every year, should have quite nice grass after six or seven years!
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September 9, 2008
September 7, 2008
Spotted - Chrysanthemum!
Just when I thought we would not see any, I have noted two flowering chrysanthemums and two more in bud. Not a great deal when I think of all the seed I put in, but they are here in the end all the same!
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Wigwams blown down
The first one came down the other week during the strong wind and rain we had. The second one is halfway down following once again the strong wind and rain. Note for next year to put them further into the ground! Mind you, saying wind and rain is a bit of an understatement, more like strong gales and torrential rain would be better. The front garden has been flooded which makes me slightly happy that I didn’t get round to adding top soil and grass seed to the grass in the front, all of which would have had floated away by now.
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Amaranthus looking good
A note to make for next year, plant flowers in groups. The Amaranthus I am really pleased with, giving something different in the garden now that it is coming the end of the gardening year, and espically this year when things that have not been ruined by the constant rain have been wrecked by the strong strong winds. In the middle of it all, there are small bits of red flowing down towards the ground.
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September 5, 2008
The Late Seeds - Result
The seeds that were planted a little bit late (see http://sunflowers.moleville.co.uk/more-seeds-too-late/) have had semi success. They took a long time to do anything, and the cats didn’t help too. This means that the Canterbury Bell, Larkspur, and Chrysanthemum have not been seen - or if they have they failed to flower which I suppose is not unlikely. The Viscaria and Candytuft have done better, started off with lots of leave but now has flowers and is making quite a nice simple country wood type feel, especially under the shade of the tree.
