Yesterday, I was working in the greenhouse and gradually became aware that I was being watched. I glanced out of the windows to see whether any of Margaret's sheep or cows were out there doing that chewy, starey thing. But no. No visiting workmen either; eyeballing me through the door, noses pressed up against … Continue reading The Watcher
English Country Garden
Priory Picture Post # 16
Still got plenty of ... ... to collect. So have to spend a lot of time over at the ... ... trying to make more space. But whenever I do a local busy body ... ... turns up. Uninvited. Getting in the way, making a nuisance of himself. Turning the compost had exposed a wriggly … Continue reading Priory Picture Post # 16
Sussex Eucalypts
Were you to walk up the drive from The Priory you would, after a couple of hundred yards, come to an area of mown grass surrounded on three sides by a small wood. In January 2009, I thought it would be a good idea to plant Eucalyptus gunnii here; three of them. So I did. … Continue reading Sussex Eucalypts
Making Leaf Mould
There are a lot of trees in the Priory gardens. Six very big oak trees, six big weeping willows, two large ash trees, nigh on twenty alder, half a dozen hornbeam and then various fruit trees, shrubs, hedges and specimen trees. In addition there are trees aplenty in the surrounding fields and on the driveway … Continue reading Making Leaf Mould
Echium pininana
It was only when my Agave americana started whimpering and heaving itself out of it's pot, millimetre by millimetre, that I thought, "Hmm, really must repot that." After a prolonged struggle I managed to lever it out; the state of the roots were, frankly, shaming. Sorry, sorry - so sorry. I've now re-homed it … Continue reading Echium pininana
Away Awhile Again
The first frost has struck the Priory and the tropical bed wasn't happy. Dahlias were disheveled, discoloured and crumpled when I turned up for work (bright as a shiny new button) on Monday morning. I bundled all that dahlia top-growth off to the compost bins and wrapped up the banana (Musa basjoo) in hessian. This … Continue reading Away Awhile Again
My Pond Leaks …
... and I should like to fix it. (That's a phrase straight out of a 1970's Hungarian/English phrase book; in the Socialising/Dating section). But sadly, I don't know how. I have tried. I asked Reg (his real name) to fetch his implausibly big digger and help me. He dumped a huge digger bucket of wet … Continue reading My Pond Leaks …
The Anxious Gardener 