Spring bulbs

I planted some bulbs today. They are:

- Iris Edward (dwarf)
- Tulip Heart's Delight (striped foliage)
- Narcissus Little Gem (short stemmed)
- Narcissus Sun Disc (fragrant miniature)

Now it's just a matter of waiting to see what actually comes up!

September is drawing to a close, as is the summer. We've been enjoying an unexpected few days of blue skies and early autumn sunshine, which is a late delight.

The summer of 2011 was, apparently, one of the coolest for around 20 years. It didn't feel that way to me here in Wyke, but perhaps that's because I'm not used to the local climate. Having spent most of the summer here in Dorset, I thought we'd had a decent amount of sunshine and warmth.

I've neglected both this blog and, to a reasonable extent, the garden over the summer.

The big change outdoors has been the felling of one of that line of leylandii which created a grey-green wall along the eastern boundary. It is a particularly ugly wall when viewed from the neighbour's side.

I decided to take down a tree half way long the garden. Those nearest the house provide a useful screen which I don't want to lose just yet. Further down other bushes have sprung up beside the leylandii, so while their removal creates more space and light, it does not give away too much privacy.

Over the next couple of week another one will come down. I have already begun to thin it.

Outside the front of the house the huge Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) has come into flower. It's huge, well over 2m high.

1976 Again?

I'm a newcomer to Wyke and to Dorset.

So I thought that the relatively dry climate and almost unbroken sunshine were normal features of the this part of the south coast. However, it seems that the whole of England is experiencing an unnaturally rain-free spring.

There's already talk in the media of 2011 becoming another long, dry summer, like that of 1976. That's not something that farmers want but tourists love the prospect of being able to enjoy Mediterranean temperatures while holidaying in the UK. If this weather persists the seaside resorts, such as nearby Weymouth, could enjoy a boom in visitors.

The impact on the garden appears to be that flower are blooming earlier than normal. The bluebells and daffodils almost overlapped this year, which is very unusual. I've got two red currant bushes laden with fruit and yesterday I thought I saw one that was turning from green to red. I need to research when red currents usually ripen.

I'm watering the new plum tree daily and it's growing nicely, as far as I can tell. I'm also watering the small vegetable plot in which are growing carrots and spring onions. They seem to be going quite slowly.

While the weather is dry I must make some more repairs to the leaky waterbutt. My first attempt at stopping up the cracks with silicone had some effect, but it's not entirely sealed. If water's going to be in short supply this summer I need to do all I can to capture and conserve that which falls.

Leylandii

Yesterday I began to take down one of my boundary leylandii.

There are about eight of these trees along my eastern fence line. I'm guessing they were planted around 20 years ago - that appears to be when most of the major work on my garden, and my house, was carried out.

Whoever planted them was looking to optimise the space in my garden because the trees were planted right up against the boundary line. I suppose it's possible that the then residents of this house and the house next door agreed that that trees themselves would form the boundary line. 

Today a low fence runs along the eastern side of the trees, placing them firmly on my side. The neighbours have cut the leylandii right back to the trunks on their side, which must give an unsightly appearance - a row of bold uprights  with all the twiggy dead wood behind them. The bright green foliage that's on my side will be invisible to them.

However, previous residents of my home have also had a go at chopping back the leylandii. Three or four of the trees in the centre of the boundary only have foliage at the top. This means that their role as a screen is ineffective, because once you cut leylandii back it does not grow again.

These mature trees are now about 12-15 feet high and still throwing shoots upwards. I want to take them down, putting in replacements which will be kept to about 8-10 feet and. I'll probably go for a mixture of shrubs rather than a row of a single variety.

The process of replacement will take time. I already have a garden full of dead wood and yesterday's initial chopping added to an already high pile. I estimate it could be a decade before all the leylandii are down.

Bluebells

My new garden is packed with bluebells.

I've been told that they are the Spanish variety. Tall, bold and very attractive when in flower. That was a few weeks ago now and I'm now left with a carpet of green leaves and swelling seed pods.

I planted a few British bluebells in my previous garden but they never amounted to much. I had rescued them from a site that was about to be built on but my garden didn't have the dappled shade that I think they prefer. I never learned how to care for them or encourage them.

My new garden, however, seems much better suited to bluebells. A handful of trees and plenty of the semi-shade in which I think they thrive.

The question for me today is whether to deadhead them. The plants are putting lots of energy into growing seed pods which I have no use for, so it makes sense to me to remove them. I want the plants to focus all their energies into recharging their bulbs for next year's flowering season.

A quick search online confirms that it's perfectly normal to deadhead bluebells. Some people also appear to cut the foliage back fairly soon after the flowering is over. It seems that Bluebells are resilient and some refer to them almost as weeds.

Perhaps I need to take care that the bluebells are controlled and don't become invasive. I'd never thought of them in that way before.

Timberrrr!

Yesterday we made a major change to the garden. A large conifer which dominated one side of the garden was removed.

Over 20ft high, it was halfway along the western boundary, which meant it kept a large part of the garden in shadow most of the day. It's height was exaggerated by its position on top of a rockery. I assume it was planted as a dwarf, over 20 years ago, but have grown to a height and width that was no longer appropriate for the space.

The pictures show the conifer as it was when I moved in earlier this year and the space it left behind.

The tree had also begun to push over the wall behind the rockery and it was shading the spot where I had planting the Victoria plum. The conifer served no purpose to us, so down it came. We brought it down with the aid of a chainsaw, and with minimal damage to anything else in the garden.

We've also acquired some additional plants from our visitors, who helped take down the tree. Broccoli, more tomatoes and oregano have been added to our collection. I need to decide where to plant a herb garden.

Tomato Feeding

Another first for me. I fed our tomato plants yesterday. Bottle said to mix 20ml with 2.5 gallons (about one watering-can) of water. Which was enough for two plants, and should be applied every couple of weeks.

2.5 gallons on water on two plants is a lot. Should I put it on all at once and drown the poor things, or put keep a watering-can with diluted feed and apply it over the 2 week period?

What it is to be a novice (and at my age)!

I applied a generous amount of the feed to the plants and spread the rest over the other things I have growing - spring onions and carrots. That used up the entire can.

Compost

Cleared more space in the SE corner and put the second composter in position. I now need to start filling both with plant and kitchen rubbish.

The pink bush in the middle of the garden is flowering profusely. Looks lovely but is growing very fast. It's too big and will be seriously cut back once the flowers have gone. I don't know what it is.

Rain's Arrived

After the driest April for a long time, May has begun with thunderstorms and heavy rain. We had a lot yesterday evening, from about 4.30pm through to at least midnight.

The good news is that it's refilling the water butt and saves me watering so much. The bad news is that the patch on the water butt hasn't worked and it's still leaking.

I took some more photos in the garden the other day, as it's now blooming away. All those dreary clusters of sticks have transformed into abundant green.

The buddleia bush in the back garden is producing yellow balls of flowers - I've not seen that before.

What appeared to be a dead shrub in the front garden is now coming back to life as a fushia. The dead bush is around a metre high, which must represent years of growth, but most of the new life is at the base. Perhaps the hard winter killed off most of what's above ground.

We think another large bush at the front is another buddleia but it's some way from flowering. It's very tall so will need cutting back.

It's been a week of watching the veg continue to grow. The carrots are coming on and I've cleared more space in that corner. One of the new composters is in place and the other will follow once I clear the remaining ivy from it's intended spot.

First Post

We moved in over two months ago. Here's a summary of what I've done in the garden so far:

- planted Victoria plum tree (£10, B&Q) in late March.
- began clearing SE corner to use for growing veg and for compost bins.
- planted two short rows of carrots in SE corner, again in late March.
- planted three batches of spring onions, first in mid-March and others in dated pots.
- began cutting back various shrubs and conifers.
- recovered dying strawberry plants from containers they'd come in from Hampshire.
- put up rose arch and planted rose from Hampshire.

I think that's it so far.