Our climate keeps me busy: where I walk the doggie walk at 6 am in wintercoat and with a woolly hat on, I carry watering cans in my t-shirt at 10 am to make certain my newly planted Lathyrus will not wither before they've had a chance to climb up the obelisks. Never a dull moment!
I had such trouble to dig plant holes! The soil is hard as a rock already. My spade did not get through, so in the end I used my hori-hori knife to make a hole
I planted two perennial Latifolius 'Pink Pearl'. Fingers crossed they will survive! They'll look gorgeous against that black obelisk, and against the silver grey fronds of the Artichokes as well.
The Kiwi has established well and has grown. It has started winding itself around my frame. But I noticed the newly planted Iberia sempervivens next to the path is struggling...sigh.
In between my single orange tulips there is one double.
My apple trees are showing blossom. They have all taken their brutal pruning in their stride. I hope the apples will taste better as well.
I lived in orchard country as a child (all gone, sadly, and turned into greenhouses), and the sight of apple blossom instantly transports me back to childhood. Our neighbour had a miniature train track through his orchard to transport the boxes of apples to his warehouse, it fascinated me. But I wasn't allowed to play on it. Actually I wasn't allowed in the orchard at all, but I sneaked in anyway. I'm sure he knew, and turned a blind eye.
My fern is in its woolly mammoth fase. I adore ferns. In my part of the country they do not grow naturally, except the small ones that like to live in medieval walls. There are a few of those around Brielle. But the one in my garden is struggling in that heavy clay, so I treat it to water where the other plants have to do without extra watering.
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| Periwinkle and Geranium |
This is the time of year that my Periwinkle takes centre stage. In a few weeks it disappears beneath the pink Geranium.
That Geranium was one of the first plants I put in my garden in 2021, and it has taken the soil into its stride. Such a cheerful, easy, no-nonsense plant!
Frost? Don't care. Scorching sun? Bring it on! Under water for more than a week? As if it had a snorkel. No rain for months? No problem.
My frogless frog pond is showing signs of life. I told you I found a hibernating salamander, didn't I? I haven't spotted it since, but as I quickly put it back, I am sure it lives there still. The water is very clear, so that is a good sign. And loads of waterplants to hide beneath.
Right, I hope you'll have a good weekend, wherever you are, and that the weather treats you kindly.
If you are interested, here is the link to my sparkly new website:
Renée Grashoff Schrijft You can get the text of my blogposts there (about my books and life in Brielle) translated.
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