|
May
In The Gardens 2007 |
|
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 Ponds and water features are being topped up regularly. Painted the conservatory in the Town Paradise garden and erected our marquee in readiness for the first of this season’s weddings. The dahlia tubers were regularly watered so that new shoots were produced which we used to produce cuttings. Removing leaves from daffodils as they turn brown and collapse. Allotment Planted out SWEETCORN Applause’ and covered with a cloche. Planted out ONION ‘Mammoth’; CAULIFLOWER ‘Lateman’; BRUSSELS SPROUT ‘Bedford Filbasket’ and CABBAGE ‘Redsky’, ‘Red Drumhead’ and ‘Red Jewel’. Put collars on all brassicas. Artisan's Cottage Garden Planted out multi-sown BEETROOT ‘Moneta and ‘Red Ace’. Elizabethan Vegetable Garden Planted out LETTUCE ‘Can Can’, ‘Pandero’ and ‘Webbs Wonderful’. Directly sowed MARIGOLDS between rows of BEETROOT and CARROTS. Ornamental Kitchen Garden Planted out CAULIFLOWER ‘Purple Graffiti’; BEETROOT ‘Red Ace’ and BRUSSELS SPROUT ‘Red Bull’. Greenhouse Pricked out MARIGOLD ‘Honeycomb’, ‘Dianty Marietta’ and ‘Naughty Marietta’ and CALENDULA ‘Apricot Tart’. Sowed ROCKET and mixed varieties of RADISH into lengths of gutter and potted on LETTUCE ‘Granada’ and FRENCH BEANS; CAULIFLOWERS, ONIONS and RUNNER BEANS for use in the Gardeners’ World 40th anniversary garden at the Gardeners’ World Live Exhibition. Sowed FRENCH BEAN ‘Borlotto Firetongue’ and ‘Valdor’; RUNNER BEAN ‘Scarlet Emporer’, ‘Red Rum’, ‘Celebration’ and ‘Painted Lady’ and CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN ‘Algarve’, ‘Cobra’, ‘Rob Roy’ and ‘Blue Lake’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Planted POTATO ‘Salad Blue, ‘Burgundy Red’ and ‘Shetland Black’ into 10 litre pots as they are always decimated by slugs when planted into the soil. Potted on TOMATO ‘Red Currant’, ‘Golden Grape’, ‘Ailsa Craig’, ‘Alicante’, ‘Nimbus’, ‘Plum Lemon’ and ‘Yellow Pear’. Pruning – Penstemon if missed last month, Lonicera purpusii, Exochorda, Berberis (evergreen) and Viburnum farreri after flowering. Mowed any areas where the grass was getting long. Strimming and lawn edging as and when needed. Regular watering, ventilating conservatory and greenhouses when warm and damping down floors in the mornings. Allotment Cut COMFREY and NETTLES putting some in the compost bin and some into bags before dropping each bag into their individual water butts to be used as liquid feed. Weeded through CABBAGES. Planted out PEA ‘Oregon Sugar Pod’, ‘Kelvedon Wonder’, ‘Sugar Bon’ and ‘Early Onward’. Harvested some POTATO ‘Swift’ from hot box. Reclaimed Garden Planted out PEA ‘Sugar Bon’. Parterre Planted out CHARD ‘Bright Lights’ and ‘Rhubarb Chard’; BEETROOT ‘Solo’, ‘Pablo’ and ‘Kestral’; TURNIP ‘Tokyo Cross’ and KOHL RABI ‘Lanro’ and all remaining LETTUCE. Greenhouse Sowed CELERY ‘Loretta’; CUCUMBER ‘Palermo’ and SPINACH ‘Perpetual’. Potted on CUCUMBER ‘Burpless Tasty Green’ and ‘Crystal Apple’ and PUMPKIN ‘Hundredweight’ and ‘Aladdin’. Pricked out BASIL ‘Red’ and ‘Sweet’ and PARSLEY ‘Curlina’ and ‘Flat-leaved’. Sowed RADISH ‘French Breakfast’; TURNIP ‘Golden Ball’ and ROCKET into gutter for use in the Gardeners’ World 40th anniversary garden at the GArdeners’ World Live Exhibition. General Border work as usual - weeding, forking over, pruning, cutting back and dividing herbaceous perennials if needed. Topped up existing mulches on beds and borders. Filling gaps in the Winter Border with new plantings. Shredding woody waste when it was too wet to get on the gardens. Allotment Lifted mature red and green CABBAGE to be used for use in the Gardeners’ World 40th anniversary garden at the Gardeners’ World Live Exhibition. Dismantled temporary staging in polythene tunnel used for hardening off plants in readiness for TOMATOES. Scattered organic slug pellets around susceptible crops. Reclaimed Garden Replaced PEA ‘Douce Provence’ in one of the beds with CARROT ‘Maestro’ and ‘St Valery’ after they were eaten by slugs. Ornamental Kitchen Garden Slug hunting! Parterre Planted out KALE ‘Darkibor’. Put netting over all brassicas. Gentleman's Cottage Garden Removed BROCCOLI plants. Erected wigwam in readiness for RUNNER BEANS. Greenhouse Potted on all BEANS; LETTUCE ‘Tom Thumb’, ‘Lollo Rossa’ and ‘Granada’; CHARD; KOHL RABI; BEETROOT; TURNIP, SPRING ONION ‘Laser’ and ENDIVE, KALE ‘Redbor’ to be used for use in the Gardeners’ World 40th anniversary garden at the Gardeners’ World Live Exhibition. Pricked out TOMATO ‘Ailsa Craig’ and ‘The Tumbler’, ‘PEPPER ‘Gypsy’, ‘Mohawk’, ‘Apache’ and ‘Friars Hat’. Sowed FRENCH BEAN ‘Tender Green’, ‘Slenderette’, ‘Fandango’ and ‘Plus Gus’ and RUNNER BEAN ‘Lady Di’ and ‘White Apollo’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sowed SALSIFY ‘Giant’; SCORZONERA ‘Russian Giant’; FLORENCE FENNEL and CHICORY ‘Witloof Zoom’ into modules. General We have started trimming some of the deciduous hedges that have been overhanging lawns and borders. All compost heaps were turned and any ready to use compost was put in a separate heap then covered with a sheet of polythene. When the weather allows we have been painting fences and outdoor furniture. Planting out Argyranthemums, Osteospermums and other tender perennials that have been overwintering in our heated glasshouse. Planting various areas around the gardens that needed filling, as well as the annual ‘Rudbeckia’ and ‘Dahlias’ in the cut flower area. The Tranquil Garden had some new wooden edging put in place to separate the border from the gravel path, we then gave the all of the borders a fresh top up with a bark chip mulch. Mowing once or twice a week now as the grass is growing strongly, the clippings are being spread over our various compost heaps. Opened glasshouse doors and windows if warm outside. Allotment Planted out MARIGOLDS. Incorporated well rotted manure into area in readiness for SWEETCORN. Dug sharp sand into area where root crops will be grown. Directly sown CARROT ‘Autumn King’, ‘Chantenay Red Cored’, ‘Yellowstone’, ‘Samurai’, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Earlky Nantes’.Intersowed between rows with MARIGOLDS. Dug out CELERY trench and firmed soil heaped on side ready for the planting of catch crops. Planted CELERY ‘Giant Red’, ‘Martine’ and ‘Pink Mammoth’ into bottom of trench. Planted out KOHL RABI; BEETROOT and TURNIP and sowed RADISH ‘White Breakfast’ and ‘Cherry Belle’ into mild hot bed. Erected bamboo framework for RUNNER and CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS. Planted out CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN ‘Cobra’, ‘Algarve’, ‘Blue Lake’ and ‘Rob Roy’; RUNNER BEAN ‘Celebration’, ‘Red Rum’ and ‘Scarlet Emperor’; SWEETCORN ‘Quick Treat’ and ‘Swift’; CELARIAC ‘Monarch’ and CARROT ‘Maestro’. Supported BROAD BEANS in rows using canes and string. This week was our Veg Weekend where all the productive areas not usually accessible by visitors were open for viewing. Our vegetable area supervisor, Susie Watson, was also on hand to answer visitors questions. Parterre Planted out CELERIAC ‘Brilliant’. Dug out LEAF BEET ‘Swiss Chard’. Planted KALE ‘Redbor’. Planted out SWEDE ‘Brora’. Elizabethan Vegetable Garden Planted POTATO ‘Annabelle’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, Charlotte’. General tidy through. Planted out PARSLEY ‘Favorit’. Ornamental Kitchen Garden Planted out RUNNER BEAN ‘Painted Lady’; CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN ‘Rob Roy’; FRENCH BEAN ‘Borlotto Firetongue’; BRUSSELS SPROUT ‘Redbull’ and KALE ‘Redbor’. Greenhouse Sowed PEA ‘Early Onward’, ‘Sugar Bon’, ‘Oregon’, ‘Sugar Pod’ and ‘Hurst’s Greenshaft’; RUNNER BEAN ‘Clebration’, ‘White Apollo’ and ‘Rotbluhende’; FRENCH BEAN ‘Purple Queen’ and ‘Cazone’; CLIMBING FRENCH BEAN ‘Limka’ and PUMPKIN ‘Sumo’ and ‘Mammoth’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sowed CABBAGE ‘Protovy’ and ‘Traviata’ into trays. Planted TOMATOES ‘Tumbler Red’ around the edge of a hanging basket and placed BASIL ‘Neopolitana’ in the centre of the basket, for use as part of the Barnsdale demonstration on the Grow It stage at the Gardeners World Live Exhibition. Potted on all the vegetables that needed it that will be used in the Gardeners’ World 40th anniversary garden at the Gardeners’ World Live Exhibition. Moved MARROWS, SQUASH, COUGETTES and outdoor CUCUMBERS into poly tunnel to harden off. Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 © Gecko 55 Ltd. All rights reserved |