Spending time in my garden is one of my favourite things, on a level with making music, painting, reading and eating. But these weeks it certainly takes up almost all of my free hours.
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| My romping Digitalis |
And the thing is, most of that time was spent watering, for it was like the Sahara desert in Brielle. In March we normally enjoy 60 mm of rain, and this year we had 1 mm. Watering on my plot means carting watering cans to and fro, and as my go-to waterbutt was empty by the end of March, it meant an extra 10 metres every time.
This afternoon (I write this on March 26th) I planted 30 Crocosmia bulbs, and I was that worried the poor little things would not survive the desert conditions (extremely dry and sunny during the day, but freezing at night) that I decided to plant half in pots in the greenhouse, just in case the same thing happened as with the Narcisii...namely they could not push through that rock hard soil. I did put my giant Lilies in though...fingers crossed.
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| Cup and saucer vines |
Greenhouse
I salvaged the slightly nibbled but not completely destroyed vines and put them on my highest shelf. The others I composted. And I showed my greenhouse toad, Mr Waddles, the way to the pond. He was slightly bemused, but then swam to the nearest pot of Carex and perched.Planted 6 Cauliflowers, 3 Parsley, and 3 rows of salad leaves. I still aim to sow my Spinach, Courgettes and Chard in between the flowers outside, but will have to see what the weather does in April. So far we've had snow, frost and yet another two storms.
And I treated myself to a Tillandsia usneoides, which we call Spaans Mos.
Why? Just for fun.
As I said, I read a lot (approx. 50 books a year), and that plant evokes the Southern plantations of books I practically devoured. Ever read The Vampire Chronicles (by Anne Rice)? I only have to gaze at my Tillandsia and I am in Louisiana.
I managed to keep my obelisks upright during the last storm by putting heavy paving slabs on the bottom rungs.
That made me heave a deep sigh of relief, I tell you! You can read lots more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962, and in the meantime love from Mr Waddles and myself, enjoy your hours in your garden!
