61- Our unpredictable climate

 On Thursday afternoon I was watering my parched pot potatoes (no rain for over a month) in my t-shirt, and on Friday morning I woke up to snow and 4 below zero temperatures. 

Woolly hat back on! 

As Puck and I slip-slided through early morning walkies, I thought back to previous years. Did I experience this abrupt weather rollercoaster before, ever? Well, my memories of previous April 1st celebrations (we have a huge street party in my town to remember "we" threw out the Spanish oppressor in 1572) are mostly of getting a thorough soaking just when you have bought some chips, and there is usually a lot of wind to make all those flags snap. But this huge a change...no, can't recall.

My balcony plants have taken it in their stride, but the allotment plants, hm, don't know yet. My experience is plants usually do not react well to rollercoasters, and simply put their growth on halt. Or die. I'm especially apprehensive about my clematis and artichoke, as they were put in under near desert conditions, and now have had to deal with sudden winter on top of that.

Some of my plants simply shrug and get on with it though.

And in the greenhouse all is well.

This morning I decided to plant out my Verbena bonariensis, as they outgrew their 9" pots, and I had no soil to pot them on once again. So I gave them a pep talk*,  dug them all a nice hole (pragmatically, i.e. at places I could get my trowel in), watered them in and left them to get on with it.

* "Well, here's the thing. You have been pampered since October, but no more. You are tough, you can do this! When you spot a slug, hit it over the head with a clot, Frith knows they are like concrete. Oh, and there won't be extra watering, so dig in those roots!"

The cauliflower are growing well, and I've planted some paksoi today, in between the salad greens (which so far are disappointing, but I have since read that they like light to sprout, ah. Well, in my defence, the earlier batch were covered and did just fine). As soon as I've moved the rest of the Digitalis outside, I'll prepare a bed for the radishes neighbour Yvon has given me, three kinds, no less.

And the beans have been moved outside as well, behind the greenhouse, next to the Apple trees. They were leggy...note to self: do not sow them that early next year!!

I have 5 days off work now, so there will be a lot more planting (on the balcony as well), so I will have a lot to tell you next week.

And perhaps, hopefully, there will be some news about the frog pond. Mr Waddles has moved himself back into the greenhouse though. I noticed him staring at me from behind the garlic this morning.

You can read more about my gardens at Instagram@songsmith2962,  where there are more photos of my garden as well.

60 - Oh my, March was terribly dry! And April started with snow.

 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.

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.

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!

59 - Not a lot of money? DIY!

Hi there! Has your garden survived that silly snow, and freezing winds? And have you?

 If you have it, gardening can cost a lot of money! I visit the garden centres almost on a weekly basis and am amazed by what they dare to ask for stuff. But I need to garden on a tight budget, so I tend to get creative.

Hanging pots

Besides, sustainability is a good concept. My predecessor left me a shed full of rusty bits and bobs, and a mountain of plastic pots. Sure, I could throw out the lot, anti-plastic that I am, but would then have to buy new clay pots which cost an arm and a leg. Is not going to happen. Instead of forking out 16 Euros each for clay strawberry planters, I will recycle those plastic pots.  I have hung them onto the waterbutts, to cheer those ugly monsters up but also to avoid the slug armies. Win-win! All you need is a pot, some wire and optionally something to mask that ugly plastic, like jute/hessian. Eh presto!

Bug hotel

The half-finished one

First I thought to do the traditional bug hotel, using wood. But then I found out my arm still refuses to have me saw wood, bother! Being a persistent type, I then used all the leftover bits from last year's Christmas decorations and a glue gun. And some pretty snail houses, let them take it as a warning!

I filled up the gaps with garden moss, and will put in reeds as soon as I can cut some.

I have also planted a self-sown Alysum in the bottom, but since then saw it did not survive the operation. Oh well, I'll think of something else then. A Nasturtium perhaps, they have proven themselves to be tough as boots last year.

Discarded wood

The frog pond 

The council cut back the old football ground hedge and forgot to take away some bits and pieces. Puck and I like to sniff around there. So I did a little round and gathered some of that wood for my pond. The idea is to gather more, and find myself some rocks as well (a challenge - strictly clay around here), because that pond edge is far too sterile for my taste.

When I came back last, I noticed one of the logs was now floating in the middle...interesting. I wonder what animal did that? Can't be my Mr Waddles, he's not strong enough.

Don't forget I will be handing out FREE Pollinators seeds next Saturday, 10.00 til 12.00, poort 2, plot 54a, Langesingel Brielle.

And have a great gardening weekend, more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962 

58 - Well, hello Belgium! Welcome to my gardens!

As an avid watcher of Jardins et loisirs, it is such a pleasure to greet more and more of our Southern neighbours, and I know you are just as keen gardeners as I am.

I was always very British garden orientated (helped by my misplaced Celt inclination), but last year I stumbled on the above mentioned TV programme and realised (sorry, a bit late, sorry!) that other Europeans make damn pretty gardens as well! Not only in Belgium and France, but also in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Italy and Finland.

Thus my internationally orientated blog this week

Gardens I love to watch 

Take Instagram@katrins_garten . She tends to go for the close-up, which I adore, as she has a very good eye. Only the names, mind, not the sort of  ramblings I write. 

Also from Germany comes Instagram@basilikum_und_kaktus again great photos, with loooong stories; an interesting garden though.

From France I follow Instagram@small_parisian_balcony because it is exactly what it says, and I have a balcony garden too and like to see what other gardeners do with theirs. This is elegant, just what you expect from Parisians. (I do follow a Delhi balcony garden too, but more about the Asian ones later)

England, obviously! I watch closely what Instagram@nigel.dunnett does. He's a landscaper, very trendy designs, often on a large scale, and I can learn from his use of grasses and earthworks.

More about my international must-follows another time.

What else is happening in Hunky Dory?

There.be.slugs.

Yeah, yeah, what else is new, I hear you think. The thing is, they are in the greenhouse, oh horror! And nibbled on my cup-and-saucer-vines, the little shits. My precious expensive vines! And it is still too cold to plant outside, so what can I do? I patroll, I turn over every pot, I grumbily remove them and throw them over the ditch. I need chickens!! Chickens are not allowed though. (Like sleeping on the plot, not allowed...imagine if I would try to sleep with chickens, I would probably be tarred and covered with nettles before rolled across the allotments' bridge on a wheelbarrow).

But the potted up potatoes are looking wonderful and the cheerful spring flowers warm my heart every time I gaze at them.

Update about the FREE Pollinator seeds

Remember I will be happily handing out seeds on April 9th from 10.00 - 12.00 at my allotment, plot 54a. Drop me a line for the address, either here or DM me at my Instagram, see below.

Read more about my garden on Instagram @songsmith2962 and have a lovely week pricking out your seedlings or whatever it is you do.

57 - Living with the seasons

 People in cities (and I lived in large cities for 10 years) tend to divide seasons according to "beer outside" and "beer inside". You can tell my time spent as a city dweller was in my twenties, right?

Spring!

These days I live by the season. Walking a dog helps a lot, because for one you realise that more often than not it is dry at dawn. You don't believe me? It is! And then by 07.30, when it is time to leave for work, it rains. What I mean is, dogwalking and gardening both immerse you in whatever the weather throws at you. If I would only garden when the weather is fine, my plot would be in a sorry state.

Thus I planted my perennials last October with rain pouring straight down my back into my jeans. My frog pond was dug when it was blowing so hard it was difficult to keep my footing. And this week I am struggling to get my earlies into rock hard soil. Hans next door used a rotary cultivator to get his potato patch ready, but since I plan to only plant 12 chitted seedpotatoes that seems a bit over the top. Still, that soil does worry me. What will my tender seedlings do when confronted with this stuff in a month's time? The only thing I can think of is to fork shop-bought garden compost through, by lack of my own compost, which I have only just started.

Still, it will not stop me from sowing even more seeds this afternoon.

Summer!

I had put two large plastic ground sheets down over the piece nearest to the ditch in October, and that has worked a treat! The soil underneath is black, crumbly, weed-free. Black gold, hahaha. So I've decided to put the potatoes there.

The plan was to make raised beds, but ...Plans can be changed. Those tatties need to get in the ground, it's a full moon and it is time!

I hope the three Artichokes I've planted (10 cm of stick with tiny roots on) will feel the pull of that moon and start to grow. I adore those plants, they are so architectural, and their large flowerheads are gorgeous.  There is something magical about huge leaves, don't you think? Gunnera, also on my wish-list, but I don't think this would survive my heavy clay. It's also a bit of a thug, and I need to keep friendly with the neighbours.

Tomatoes Summer '21

Someone asked me if I wasn't happy that the gardening season would start soon? Excuse me? My gardening season has not stopped from the moment I could drag my sorry old body back to the allotments in September! Even when the wind was screaming around the greenhouse and the rain was thundering on the roof, I was there, even if just to make sure that roof was still on!  And to talk to my salad leaves, garlic and broccoli, of course.🤗

Okay, at this moment, just when you have decided I am totally barmy (but harmless), it is a good moment to leave you. Have a great gardening week, enjoy the outdoors and why not try to talk to your seedlings? No harm done.

Read more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962 

56 - Of bark and bees.

Instagram@the_pollinators 

Days, I spent dithering about grass vs French chipped bark. I like grass, especially to walk on barefooted, and the sweet smell when it's freshly cut. But to lay an esthetically pleasing grass path is quite involved. And I'm afraid that on my plot it will soon morph into grass with huge puddles on for 9 months of the year.

Early morning

Thus I decided on chipped bark. It means expense, and digging out a layer of that cement-like soil, but it will look like a path instantly as soon as I've put it down. And no weekly mow. An occasional weeding, yes. But also quite nice to walk on, and creepy crawlies love it. (Oh, to have a clutch of chickens! But no)

So, I ordered 5 humongous 70 liter bags of French bark, which were unceremoniously dropped at the bridge to the allotments, and gave myself a nasty backache as a 'bonus' when I had to get them into my wheelbarrow. Not cheap, pine bark, so if you garden on a tight budget (like me, ha!) I would really think about it. But apart from easy to use, it is great to look at, and smells really good.

The French bark

What else has been happening on my plot? The Verbena bonariensis I foolishly planted outside look okay, despite a week of ground frost. And seen from the road those two obelisks really make a difference to my flat patch. Oh, I could watch that climbing rose out of the ground! But will have to be patient, so far it has just 5 clusters of tiny leaves.

Still, my weekly round of garden centres will continue, searching for bargains. This year, due to the metamorphosis of vegpatch to flower garden, I will use lots of annuals, but the plan is to gradually turn to mostly perennials, interspersed with some veg.

I adore bees

By the way: just like last year I will be a food bank for bees for The Pollinators,Instagram@the_pollinators their address link is also right on top of this blog. I will be distributing FREE seeds from my allotment on April 9th between 10 and noon. You can find my address through their website, or drop me a line in the comments or at my Instagram page.

I will sow my own pollinators mix under the apple trees,  to prolongue the pollen gift after the apple blossom has vanished.

A sea of bark

Back to the bark...

Oh dear, it seems a vast expanse of bark, and it isn't, honestly! It is just the one path circling the lavender circle. It is the angle of the photo, honestly!

 The rest of the front half of my garden will be a mass of flowers, promise. Well, at least that's the plan. I've been sowing yet more seeds today, there is hardly any space left in the greenhouse now. Time for that night frost to leave us!

Oh, and I had my last greenhouse broccoli for dinner last night, it was lovely.

Read more on Instagram@songsmith2962 

55 - Alas, not everything is an immediate success

Gardening to me is fun, hard work, rewarding, mindful, trial and error and yes, sometimes it is just plainly frustrating.

For example, when I put in all those plants one of my allotment neighbours gifted me in Autumn, my plot looked pretty full and lush. But now, come March, most of that lushness has turned into bare muddiness. That workable crumbly soil of the potato bed has morphed into, well, not concrete exactly, but to something resembling waterlogged cement. And it has rained so much and so hard these past months that my young plants are up to their necks in mud, and some of them have been swamped altogether. And don't start me on that awful sequence of storms!

It has made me think hard about my paths. Will I use grassed ones ( as I had planned), or shall I change to bark? I have had bark paths in my old garden, and the advantage is water will quickly drain. The disadvantage is little critters will drag the bark down into the soil (enriching it, so that's good!), so bark will have to be bought and redone year after year. Grass is cheaper.

Still, it will not be necessary to get a mower, nor to mowe every week.

Decisions, decisions.

Still. The obelisks are up. And so are the 5 pallets. I've repurposed them to compostheap receptables. And that ugly upright heavy iron fence is now an ugly heavy iron fence lengthways, in between the flower borders and the intended veg area. I will mask it with grasses, I think. Right now it is just ugly.

Boys will be boys

I've spoken to another neighbour about bringing  my shed door to the front, he says it's easy ( yeah, to him), and I can put one of my waterbutts to the other side, easily. Hm, I'll concentrate on the garden first.

So, what else has not gone according to plan? Well, the hederas I had put around to camouflage my waterlily vessel (no way you can call that ugly black plastic vat a pond), look pretty sorry for themselves. Golly, I do hope they will start growing soon! And my circle of lavender look at me with a frown every time I walk past. What do you call this soil, woman? It does not resemble anything we like to grow in! After I have put my glut of Verbena bonariensis and Digitalis in, the mud will be a little more camouflaged. And I have started another round of seed sowing in the greenhouse.  Jasper two plots along and I had a chinwag, like me he will put the emphasis on flowers rather than veg. Lovely, it's always nice to have a flower mate.

Remember I told you there was a huge patch of annual silverleaf anon, all stemming from just one plant but now trying to take over next door's cabbagepatch? I ripped it out, leaving 3 metres of bare soil underneath the apple trees (to sow my pollinators seeds in) and Leo kindly took it away and threw it on his bonfire. So. Water plants next, I think, to lure in those much wanted frogs and toads.

Carry on, determinedly forwards!

Read more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962