2026/20 - Gardening in Uncertain Times

 Tending to leave politics out of this blog, I thought I'd make an exception for the 20th post of this year.

                  (Cytisus 'Apricot Gem')

My gardens, Hunky Dory (the allotment) and the balcony both, are my 'happy place'. I potter, I enjoy, I make mistakes, I rejoice in projects that work. 

War

But I would be telling lies if I said I am dancing through life at the moment. There are two terrible wars on in my distant backyard, effecting life in my country. Firstly it brings us/me anxiety and secondly prices of everything are shooting up. The price of petrol has gone through the roof, and this affects everything which has to be brought in by trucks. Thus it makes driving to my nursery more expensive, but it also makes everything I buy there more expensive as well, and prices in supermarkets are even higher than they already were. At home, energy prices (gas/electricity) have become ridiculous. And that's all without even mentioning the huge regret I feel when it comes to those poor, ordinary people in those countries at war. How does bombing civilians out of their homes, let alone killing them, weigh up against conflicts which clearly are just about money? Please save me from old, megalomaniac men!

Everything combined, it makes for a financially worrying Spring.

Allotmenteer

As an allotmenteer, the most logical step is to grow more of my own food, right? Easy-peasy. You'd think. And I will try. But the thing is, I am much more of a FLOWER grower, as the gate-crasher above illustrates. It takes up precious space in my planter, where I could grow at least 4 more broccoli plants. But do I rip it out? Nope. Not yet, at least, times must become even more desperate before I start doing things like that.

Still. I did chalk my greenhouse windows and I took a trip to the nursery to buy the tomato and cucumber plants I wanted.

Meanwhile the grass verges around Hunky Dory have erupted with rapeseed, so lovely. And the peaceful countryside around me makes up for the bombed out cities I see on the news every day. 

Eikenbladsla, or oak leaf lettuce I think it is in English. I put that gutter I discarded to good use, fingers crossed that it will work.

I bought two Cucumber and two Tomato plants, and have two more Cherry Tomatoes at home on the balcony. Hopefully that will save me getting the expensive veg from the shop. And they taste a whole lot better!

And I have Rettich, love it, and the Paksoi is doing well.

I have a glut of Rhubarb at the moment, I give away lots, but I will also look into making Rhubarb cordial. Don't you think the back of those leaves is beautiful?

Not too shabby for a flower grower, right? But flowers are my first love.

The Euphorbia does her best to repeat the colour of the Rapeseed and pull it into my garden.

The bronze leaves of the Physocarpus opufolius Little Angel make my heart swell every time I see them. They will turn much darker over time, to dark red.

And the Centaurea are everywhere. They self-seed, but I must admit I help them by throwing their seedheads in the beds at random. They satisfy my craving for cornflowers, which simply will not grow in my garden.

My Ukranian friends from the Taalcafé like them just as much as me.

The advantage of the giant Pampas Grass behind my struggling Fern is that it now keeps the Fern in shade or partial shade for most of the day, and it likes not being baked by the sun! Like me, in fact, simply cannot stand it. So every time I get a bit morose because of having no funds to go on holiday, I remind myself I can't 'do' faraway hot places anyway. So... unfortunately no Mexico or Singapore for me...I'll try to nurse their plants instead.

 

Hunky Dory is mostly green and yellow right now, but will turn to green and pink/lavender soon. The changing of the colours in my garden mean the changing of the season to me. First white, then yellow, then blue appears, then the multicoloured Tulips and after that whoosh! During May all of a sudden the pink/lavender bed will burst into flower.

Look me up at my website Renée Grashoff Schrijft when you want to read more of my writings, and have a good week, wherever you are.

Renée Grashoff 

2025/19 - Explosion of Greenery

 Almost the month of May and my plants have exploded into growth.

This beauty, which we call a perennial cornflower (centaurea montana), or korenbloem in Dutch, has decided she wants to grow in this spot this year. That means she has 'walked' four metres from her original spot. As I think she's lovely, and so do the bumblebees, I do not mind at all!

Next to the greenhouse the many bulbs are spent, the only ones still there are the tulips. But the lilies, bearded iris, digitalis and especially the aquilegia are now asserting themselves in between the hydrangeas. As I allow the bulb greenery to die down naturally (I have only deadheaded them), this bed is a bit scruffy right now.

For some reason unknown to me the Papaver has also upped roots and is now living next to my water butt. Could it be that my artful dried flower arrangement in the corner of the greenhouse is to blame? I stuck some lovely Papaver seedhouses in there...Anyway, it can stay, because it always makes me giggle at this stage of its development. Tell me, what does it remind you of? Quite!

The aquilegias on the other side of the greenhouse are more sheltered, so already in bloom.

My sugarsnap, doing well next to the broad beans, which are also doing well so far.

Well. I planted 6 Camassia bulbs last October, and this is the only one that has come up! That is very disappointing, I must say. According to Monty Don it is a thug which will spread all over the place. Hm. I wonder.

They were supposed to pop up in between this lot. 

But my rosebush is looking fresh and it is full of buds, as are the three other roses I have. I love roses, and they had a tough year last year. So it pleases me they are looking so well.

On the other side of the artichokes, against the obelisk, the clematis and perennial lathyrus are climbing up it. But: I also spotted that grape I planted three years ago! Wow, I thought that had died! Not so, which is absolutely great. I did take a photo to show you, but when I looked just now it only showed my reflection, sorry.

I mowed the last bit of the grass this morning, so the silene is standing out and there are masses of marguerite coming up as well as teasels. It will be colourful and attractive to lots of insects.

This was in May 2024. It does not show, but the flowers were actually as high as my waist.

Right. Time to make a salad, as my salad greens have exploded too!

Would you be interested in my other blog on my author website, here is the link: Renée Grashoff Schrijft There I write about my hometown and books.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Renée Grashoff 

163E - Woolly hat on!

 No idea if you feel the same, but personally I am pretty fed up with the weather! It remains cold despite sunny spells, it keeps on raining, it keeps on stormy here at the coast.

The orchard in between showers

The prediction for this week was between 5 and 10° C during the night and 10° max in the day (normally is 15° for this time of year). You'd think that my balcony garden would be suffering, but it is reasonably okay. De Hosta has two flower spikes, I've never seen them this early! And the kitchen sage (Salvia officinalis) is also blooming, very weird.

At Hunky Dory the Centaurea Montana are flowering their hearts out, the darlings, and they will keep this up until the first frost. So if you are searching for an easy plant to put in heavy clay, pick this one! The early bumblebees will thank you.

Centaurea Montana 

What surprised me as well, were the tiny Digitalis I replanted last October from my porch, where they had seeded themselves, to my border. I had expected them to flower in 2025, but they are flowering next month. Very happy about that, obviously.

The purple Aquilegia, whose seeds I had thrown into the narrow border in front of the greenhouse, are not disappointing either. That border, where the Narcissi are finished by now, always is boringly bare in Summer, and because the Erigeron profusion just will not grow for me, I had to come up with something else.

Aquilegia

   They will rise nicely above the Nigella that always seed themselves in the border in front, because they will get to at least 60cm. Be careful with the Aquilegia seeds, they are very toxic. And for cats this is a definite no-no, they will die when they eat any part of the plant. So if you have one of those cats that likes to snack plants, don't get an Aquilegia!

   This week I have sorted out the balcony garden. I wanted to do this for weeks, but due to the weather I could not find the courage.

Yay, green again!

Rain and mud are fine in the garden (kind of), but all that muck on the balcony that I tred into the living room - no thanks!

Yesterday though a friend helped to pull out the extremely heavy Euonymus from the roll container and today I managed to pull out the rest of the winter plants. The Euonymus can spread its roots in Hunky Dory and the mass of bulbs can dry out. Then I optimistically/against my better judgement (you pick) put veg compost in the containers and planted the tomatoes that were bursting out of their grow pots.

Herbs, mini-pond and tomatoes

Now only the Tagetes and Cucumber to plant and finally done.

  Whilst I am hacking away at roots with my hori-hori, I always ask myself why I subject myself to this every year, but when it is finished, I can really enjoy it. Puck is also happy it is done, she can snore in the sunshine and sneak into the strawberry pot (she thinks I don't know) to snack in a month or so.

My gorgeous Hosta

All that needs to change is that temperature, minimally 20° more, please. This morning it was 1°, even the ducks had lost their usual pizzazz!

Right, enjoy your weekend, with or without a woolly hat.

157 - Knippen, knippen en nog eens knippen (Cutting)

Vóór de zoveelste bui uit voor de 3e keer mijn dode stengels geknipt. Nu moet ik nog één keer en dan is de tuin klaar voor haar  groeispurt.

Verzopen maagdenpalm

  Nu alle dorre stelen weg zijn (behalve die van de Echinacea, die dorre bloemhoofden vind ik nog te mooi om weg te knippen) valt pas goed op hoezeer mijn Maagdenpalm (Vinca major) te lijden heeft gehad van die enorm natte maanden. Zoals je op de foto links ziet is 90% bruin. Er zit nog wel leven in hoor. Het oogt alleen blergh. Een dame in Cambridgeshire (Gardener's World) wiens enorme tuin iedere winter onder water staat, stak me een hart onder de riem over de Vinca. Bij haar overleeft de Vinca dat ook, sterker nog, ze noemde haar 'a thug'.

De Geraniums daarentegen vinden die natte voeten geen probleem en zijn al lekker aan het groeien zoals je ziet. En ook de trommelstok Alliums staan al fier rechtop. De grassen moeten nog gekortwiekt, maar daar wacht ik nog heel even mee.

De creepy crawlies worden wakker

Ik zag hier en daar al een verdwaalde hommel, en de slakken zijn ook wakker geworden. Waar ik ook heel blij mee was, waren de vele wormen die ik tegenkwam toen ik wat uitgebloeide balkonbollen overzette naar de tuin.

Bollen tussen de takkenhoop

  In januari had ik natuurlijk enthousiast mijn appelbomen gesnoeid en de takkenhoop flink uitgebreid, daarbij totáál vergetend dat ik ook bollen had geplant bij de kikkerpoel. Dus nu piepen die tussen de takken door.

Ehhh...naam kwijt

  Er groeit al van alles! 

  Ook planten waarvan ik nu denk wat wàs dat ook alweer? Maar wanneer ze wat groter worden, ga ik ze wel weer herkennen.

De Rabarber groeit lekker

  En het is spannend of sommige van mijn favorieten ook dit jaar weer gaan opkomen. Zo ben ik dol op Gauras, maar die zien er nog uit alsof ze zo dood zijn als een pier. Terwijl de Centaurea cyanus (vaste korenbloem, lavendelblauw) zich vrolijk heeft uitgezaaid in mijn graspad. Heb ik gauw verplaatst, al die stekken. Hommels, bijen en vlinders zijn er gek op, dus wat mij betreft kan ik er nog veel meer kwijt. Ik begon drie jaar geleden met één plant en nu heb ik al zeven pollen. Bovendien bloeit deze schoonheid van april tot en met november, wat wil je nog meer?

Het bijenhotel

Mijn bijenhotel is open, maar er waren nog geen gasten.

Omdat ik even wat grond wilde halen, ben ik langs de Heindijk gereden en man, daar was het druk! Hele karren vol violen zag ik ik achterbakken verdwijnen, ik ben niet de enige die snakt naar wat kleur. Overigens heb ik me ingehouden, er staan nog genoeg bloeiende bollen voor mijn balkondeuren. Ik sla de violen dit jaar over en ga straks half mei naadloos over naar de zomerbloeiers. Mijn overgehouden witte Pelargoniums staan (binnen!) volop in bloei, die kunnen dan naar buiten, net zoals de banaan en vetplanten. Die vinden dat geweldig, die maanden buiten.

Nog even en alles heeft kleur!

   Goed, hopelijk kan je tussen de buien door toch nog even naar buiten. Let vooral op de bloesembomen, daar wordt een mens vrolijk van. Fijn weekend!