Planting bulb: tulips, narcissus and crocus in pots - 15.11.2015

A productive few hours outside today. I really must invest in some sort of waterproof something as there's not much glamour in sitting on a spread out bin bag or folded cardboard box in the middle of the yard while I try not to get too wet and the neighbour's cat is constantly trying to sit on my lap. She doesn't seem to understand one tends to use both hands when potting up plants.

I received my tulips, daffodils and crocus this week, so that is what I have planted. When growing bulbs in pots it's worth researching the time of year each type appears as that will in turn help you when doing the "lasagna". Essentially, crocus come up the earliest, followed by daffodils, then tulips. So, you pop in the bulbs that will appear the latest first. i.e. layer of grit, then some compost, then tulip bulbs, some more compost, then daffodil bulbs, more compost, crocus, more compost. At the top, people normally plant annuals in flower such as pansies or violas. I fell short this time around as I thought I might find some in the Artisan Market yesterday, but unfortunately there were no annuals that I could see.

I only put some narcissus and crocus in this shallow pot. Trying to keep to the white and blue theme of the violas, I put some Minnou narcissus and some Blue Pearl crocus. I packed in the violas, and hopefully they will now grow better as they were starting to look rather water logged in their tray.

This pot is much deeper, so I could stack more bulbs. Here I put some purple Recreado and pink Bruinel Wimper tulips, some W.P. Milner narcissus and some Cream Beauty crocus. Again, in trying to keep with the purple and yellow theme. Mainly, I wanted to remember what individual bulbs I was using, so I made a note of the colour of each variety and tried to keep some sort of order that way. Not a massive display of violas but, as I said above, I am hoping from now on they will put on a better display! I can always buy a tray elsewhere in the next week or two. 

This pot is a bit more... improvised. As I had run out of annuals, and I didn't want to leave the soil bare, I am going to experiment with this. I took some cuttings from thyme and sage earlier this summer and they have been hardening off in their small pots since then. I hope the tulips will grow around them and then, in spring, when I would dig the bulbs out anyway, I can then decide if I want to  keep the herbs there or not. First, as always, some gravel and compost, then my last set of tulips, Belle Epoque; I think they will be my favourite. I added a layer of compost and put my last set of crocus, Snow Bunting. Finish with a last layer of compost and water.

I still had some narcissus that I had not planted, so I cleared the bottom of the small bed we have and I planted them at the front of the border; Segovia. I think I will be able to utilise that area later in the year as it looks like a woodlandy site with the buddleia creeping over like that. I have also discovered the way the cats come into our back yard... (Note: see the wonky fence... there's a gap... tut tut)

So far this is what we have. Some pots here and there to bring some green over the winter months.

Snippets of Spring 19.04.2015

Until I developed this hobby, I didn't care much for spring. It was an annoying season which brought on hayfever, pollen I was allergic to, etc. Now, however, I find something to get excited about every day. How fast a tulip can bloom, some seedlings can grow. It seems so simple, but one single seed has what it takes to produce an amazing result of nature, and we shouldn't take that for granted. Since growing my flowers and veg from seed, it has changed my perspective on a couple of things; living in the moment is more important than wishing the days away until the weekend, until the next holiday. In a way, it has helped me take a decision that I will delve into closer to the time.

For now, however, here are some snaps that I really, really like.

Rudbeckia, scabiosa and dianthus that I pricked out and potted on. Some will stay, but a couple will be for friends. No more info in case they are reading!

Double tulip. They have become one of my favourite flowers.

 Hyacinths. They have got so heave I have had to stake them!

Some nice, traditional daffodils

Loving the contrast between the brick and the muscari.

Felt a bit let down by the narcissus at first as the flowers are tiny! But I have grown to love them.

My father-in-law gave me this hydrangea last winter, it has started to grow! If you know what that grassy plant is, do let me know. There are clumps all over the garden.

After the initial shock of being outside, the sweet peas have started growing up the wigwam (or, teepee, as I like to call it). I did have to loosely tie them to the structure as they were too short and floppy at first and I had noticed some snail nibbles!!

The diantus is looking promising.

And the violas are still quite happy.

I bought these winter pansies in, well, winter. They had grown a little leggy and bare and was about to through them out when I noticed there was new growth. So I pruned them, took them out of the pot they were in (where salad leaves now live) and I now have them in the greenhouse chilling for a little while until they look healthy again to go out and play. 

Finally, we have one of the two M&S daisy buckets I bought a month or so ago. It sure is looking promising. 

 

Tending to the front garden

I feel front gardens are often overlooked. People seem to pave over them and prefer to park their cars. However, the front garden is, in a way. the first impression people get of your house. I had personally never thought about this as I grew up in a block of flats (typical in Spain) and as a child I had never paid attention to my nan's front garden as, perhaps following the tradition of the 50's and before then, we went straight to the back door.

However, over time I have noticed that my nan took grate pride in having her box hedge pruned properly, and she liked having some roses there too. When it is warmer, and in the next pay day or two, I want to invest in a couple of large plant pots to have outside the door, for example. In the meantime, I have added some friends for the dianthus to grow with. I bought the "Snake's Head" Fritillaria at my local garden centre, and my partner's parents bought me some fragrant viola's as a gift when they visited last weekend.

I think I have kept the Fritillaria in the greenhouse for a tad too long as when I looked at them yesterday they looked a bit thirsty and in fact a couple of flowers had shrivelled up. I watered them and asked them not to die. I left them out overnight, and seeing them this morning gave me an idea. I had left a pot on a step, and it looked rather pretty. Thinking of placing my geraniums on the steps when I can have them outside in May.

I love anemones. They are looking healthy and I love purple.

Tulips are growing nicely. No buds yet, but I am excited to see what colours come out!

My planter is also growing nicely. I have found a new plant that I like. Hyacinths are lovely.

Finally, I have noticed some life with the potatoes! A tiny weeny green thing has given me hope as I was starting to think nothing would grow.

I have been weeding a lot today. This week that I have off I need to really tackle the unruly growth that's happening at the moment.

Spring

It's fascinating how much difference a week makes. I took this photo on Saturday 21st March; I was admiring the crocus which had emerged from the winter pansies.

Last weekend, I was pondering whether I should take out the leaves of the pansies when I noticed the daffs were coming through as were the hyacinths.

I love this shot. It makes me feel hopeful.

Weekend jobs - Saturday 28.03.2015

This weekend has been a productive one. I have been pottering around in the garden and then in the greenhouse when it started to rain. Here are some of the things I have done.

Yesterday I weeded this bed. I am slowly making my way round the garden doing some weeding every weekend. To be honest I wouldn't be that bothered if it were my own garden, but our landlord is adamant that we keep them at bay. Similarly, parts of the garden are quite bare and make the weeds more obvious, so hopefully once we get more stuff growing we can relax a bit with those dreaded weeds.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a couple of heather plants. I am worried that the one I bought in Autumn is either dying, or I have pruned it at the wrong time, so I thought I would get another two to keep it company as it is looking rather sorry for itself.

I had bought a couple of tulip pots at the garden centre last weekend. I still have a lot of learning to do in regards to what to plant with what and when, so it'll be through trial and error that I get this art down. In the meantime though, I decided to pot 2 anemones with one tulip pot, and plant the other bunch on tulips in a random spot.

I also planted some dianthus Doris in the front. I would like the front "garden" to look nice too, but there's so much concrete everywhere that I would have to invest in a lot of big pots, for example. My in-laws brought some violas as a gift today so I might plant those out around the dianthus.

Once it started raining I worked in the greenhouse a little. I repotted these geraniums. I was hoping to be able to have them outside soon,but the seed packet says they should be kept inside and then gradually harden them off late spring until they flower in June. I'm considering not growing them from seed next time; I think it was Alice over at The Edible Garden who considered only having perennial flowers and not annuals. I have not made up my mind yet but we will see.