Sowing and mowing

Sowing and mowing

More sowing and more mowing were on our list of jobs to get done this week.  Cool mild weather has kept the grass growing and with one large orchard lawn and five other areas to be mown, it’s a job that has to be planned so that nothing else suffers or is forgotten. 

Sowing in the greenhouse and vegetable garden continues.  A dwarf runner bean ‘Jackpot’, Sweetcorn ‘Swift, Dwarf French bean ‘ Sprite’, Climbing bean ‘Lingua di Fuoco’ and magnificent squash ‘Marina di Chioggia’ were all sown in pots while outside a bed of peas was planted.

Back in the greenhouse we potted on the Mexican sunflower ‘Goldfinger, Cosmos ‘Cupcakes’ and the fiddly Dianthus ‘King of Blacks’ which we moved in little clumps.  Gaura ‘Summer breeze’, Rudbeckia ‘Sahara’ and Rudbeckia ‘Prairie Sun’ are not enjoying the cooler nights and are still just a little bit small to be moving on at this stage.

Weeds are starting to grow at a pace and one job that must be tackled in the next few days will be the long shrub border on the northern boundary; we started weeding through this area several weeks ago but have been distracted by our seedlings.  It’ll be the first job on our list tomorrow providing the strong winds and rain we’re having at the moment haven’t caused any damage to the plants, trees, or structures in the garden.  


On the plot - Italian vegetables

Why not try something new in the vegetable garden this year?  Italian vegetables have grown in popularity in recent years faring well in the UK climate. There are three we’d...
Read More

Gardening explained - marcescence

You may have noticed certain trees clinging on to their leaves throughout winter and well into spring until new replacements start to appear.  This holding on to last year's leaves...
Read More

Gardeners' notes - what to do in May

Plant out half hardy annuals Your greenhouse or window sills are probably groaning under the weight of annual plants that you’ve been caring for since sowing them a few months...
Read More