Early April was so hot and so sunny that I screened the south-side of the greenhouse with netting. The nine automatic wall and roof vents cool it a little but it still gets terrifically hot in there. Of course, as soon as I finished stapling the netting into place, the sun slid behind ... ... … Continue reading Where’s Spring?
Month: Apr 2012
Tending Trees Part 2
I don't know exactly how many trees I've planted during the past four years. Not counting a hundred and seventy beech-hedge saplings or five yew-hedge 'trees' or any of the 'shrubs' that will attain tree-like status (photinias and cotinus for example), I guess about forty. During the same period, we've felled perhaps a dozen dead … Continue reading Tending Trees Part 2
Tending Trees Part 1
When I took the job at the Priory, I (naively) didn't appreciate how much time and care the trees would require. Each year, I arrange for any sickly, dangerous or unwanted trees to be felled and for dead, rotten and restricted branches to be removed. If a smallish tree needs felling or a low branch … Continue reading Tending Trees Part 1
Wild Places, Wild Flowers
April is a busy month for gardeners and the sheer amount of flower can be a little distracting. Plants are elbowing through to the fore, hurling themselves into flower and screeching, "Me, me, me. Look at me!" And very pretty it all is too but I do wish (a little) that they would just calm … Continue reading Wild Places, Wild Flowers
Planning for the Tropical Border
In between mowing and planting and fretting, I've been cracking on with the tropical border and the two completely new beds (see - 'Busy, Busy, Busy'). I finally finished cutting the turf (on either side of the path) for the two new beds; rock hard soil didn't make this task any easier and yep, I've … Continue reading Planning for the Tropical Border
Beauty … and Disappointment
On my way to the Priory, I sometimes drive through the handsome downland village of Glynde. And at this time of year, I often stop to admire a walled enclosure by the church. The long-established planting of daffodils en masse ... ... is terrific and something I am trying to emulate at work. I've still … Continue reading Beauty … and Disappointment
The Anxious Gardener 