My garden makes me so happy

[HumphreyCobbler]

I wanted a garden all my adult life, and for the last three years I have had one.

To begin with I was worried it wouldn't be as much fun as I thought it would be, but I soon discovered it was even better.

It was an overgrown, tangled mess when we moved in and slowly we have transformed it. I am still a beginner, but I already know so much more than I did.

Today I came home to find a massive pile of well rotted horseshit waiting for me. It was brilliant.

I don't really know what the point of this post is, I just wanted to share

Oh dear, Humphrey, but still, it's better than the fox getting into the hen house.

Well my end of the world bit of Kent is as dry as a teetotallers convention. My mother rang me earlier crowing thrilled about the rain she has in Berkshire. We are apparently due a light shower at 1am. Whoop-di-bloody-doo

I am getting hysterical here. A few minutes of drizzle and ppffffttt it was gone.

Drizzle here on and off all day that somehow just didn't seem to reach the ground , then proper rain for about one minute.

We have had rain! A fair bit! Good dancing Maud :o

Huh. Didn't work here.

::Stomps off to put clothes back on::

Had a dilemma today. Received very healthy, lusciously green and bushy, replacements for poorly perpetual spinach plants that came a couple of weeks ago (note: Dobies customer service absolutely excellent). Unfortunately I did plant out the poorly looking ones when they came as wasn't sure about receiving replacements. Although they are still not that healthy they are hanging in there and I felt that I couldn't dig them up and replace them with new versions because they've been trying very, very hard.

Needless to say, I now have perpetual spinach plants squeezed into every available space around the veg plot. A total of 36 (!!) plants. May be needing some help eating spinach.

I definitely get too attached.

Good morning! Another beautiful day... for sunbathers. What a spring I chose to start a lawn from seed. It's doing ok, but we have been watering from the mains a lot.

I have had to stay off work today because my DS was sick a couple of times yesterday afternoon, sent home and the usual 48hr quarantine applies now. He is absolutely fine today and so far we have...

...planted two tomatoes in a patio planter, a courgette and an aubergine in another planter, and as these are beside a third planter which has blueberry bushes in it, we've put canes in the corners and netting around the lot. I know the aubergine might need more warmth but I'm counting on the tomatoes sheltering it. I may revisit this if they also block out the light. I have another young aubergine plant which is under my glass 'cold frame' (see profile pic) and which will be grown inside something of that ilk once the 'veg patch' is organised.

Then put courgettes in the ground, and a few more leaf beets too. Have got some more celeric to put in (Pkam, the ones I potted on in the plastic greenhouse are looking much stronger than the ones I put out in the ground) and a handful of gazanias. Might move some seedlings from potting shed window to open plastic greenhouse to harden off a little.

The second of my Astilbe plants which arrived as bare root corm things has shown a shoot emerging from the compost. Am supposed to leave them (not even water them) until they are leafy. I think it encourages roots to develop downwards in search of water/goodness.

Pkam - too much spinach is an oxymoron :o You can freeze it. And make vats of saag paneer

I agree with Christine- spinach cooks down so much, you need loads of it for one meal.

My poorly rose seems to have perked up, finally one of the buds has actually bloomed! Got all excited then felt a bit rubbish when saw loads of far more spectacular roses on way to work. Bah humbug.

My poor garden is being blown to bits. We are investigating hedging options. I will sacrifice view for a windbreak I think.

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend in their gardens and the rain situation improves.

Everyone elses roses are about two weeks ahead of mine too Pootles.

Once again it seems to be blowing up a storm here but I imagine that once again it won't actually rain. I have been been feverishly watering the garden.

Meanwhile, in other news, I have potted on the tomatoes and redone one window box and the hanging baskets.

We had rain overnight - don't know how much but it is cool this morning and very windy. Today I am going to buy some horti polythene for veg and then I really hope I am done with spending money...! Oh except I now want some night scented stuff like phlox and stock.

Yesterday my mum was here and helped me plant out six heucheras, the last of the gazanias and leaf beet, six potatoes in the ground and five in big deep pots. My sissyrinchiums are starting to pop flowers on their stalks, and the smaller alliums are starting to bud-burst. Chives and Spring Onions emerging in patio pots.

Just had to run out and shout at a cat which was about to have a poo on my sweet potatoes. Did we have suggestions for cat deterrents earlier in the thread?

At last, we have had some rain. Not - as far as I can tell - the downpour we really needed, but more than the feeble sprinklings we've had in the last week. Phew.

::Puts clothes back on::

glad you have have some rain Maud.

The wind is blowing my garden completely flat. It is horrendous, I am gutted at the damage it is doing.

Lexilicious, it all sounds splendid. Holly leaves spread around are supposed to deter cats, I have not tried it so have no evidence that it works.

Even better are spiky holly cuttings, stuck into the spaces which cats would otherwise use as their commode. ::bleurgh emoticon:: I have heard that dried orange peel works too, but have never put it to the test. I am planning to buy a water pistol for the two cats that seem to have adopted my garden as a basking place. Oddly, they don't deem to poo on it but they do flatten the plants. And isn't there a plant which cats are said to be repelled by?

One benefit of a small, fenced garden is that it is protected from wind, I guess.

At MILs last night - rained there. Got home, dry as ever. Getting cross now.

Have come back with around 30 red valerian seedlings and 15 aquilegia seedlings (hopefully purply black) and a couple of foxgloves happily donated from MILs huge garden. Now just need a bed to plant them all in. Looks like we'll be digging up a 1m wide strip of grass that runs between our drive and high fence. Problem is it's 25m long! Not a small job but should look great when done. Will need to be raised as our soil is like concrete so now need to build it and order quite a few tonnes of soil. And will need considerably more plants than those now residing in a load of pots. Any ideas to fill the bed along with the valerian, aquilegias and foxgloves? Want height and preferably some interest for quite a few months of the year.

I just planted out some sweet peas as I couldn't leave them in the root trainers any longer. Only the top couple of inches of soil are damp - the rest is like dust.

Is your new long bed going to be in shade, Pkam? How about lamium or galium odoratum to weave in and out of all the other things? They do very well in my shady bed, as do alpine strawberries.

Ooops. Not much good for height, though. Solomon's Seal (if it doesn't succumb to sawfly) or phlox? Dicentra spectabilis, especially the white one?

No, very sunny. Bit worried about the aquilegias as think they prefer a bit of shade but couldn't say no. Some of MILs grow in full sun so may be ok.

In that case, scrub my earlier suggestions. How about going Mediterranean - lavender, rosemary, cistus, lemon verbena? But won't the foxgloves get a bit frazzled too?

I was going to say Lavender hedge too Maud. Scented all year round and extra pretty in the summer. Rambling roses on the fence? Occasional lollipop olive/bay trees?

but hang on... 25 metres ???

I have been slightly concerned that the fence might blow down today and let next door's big dogs into my garden but it has survived. Some dead branches came off the trees out the back though.

It's so windy here I don't honestly think I can water the garden

we have lost a lot of fruit due to the wind. It is still blowing a gale.

Ordered 4 tonnes of soil today. This gardening lark gets more expensive by the minute. Anyone got any experience of knautias? I put one in my little corner bed and it's gone a bit mad but the flowers are great (had to stake it today as it was getting pummelled by the wind). Thinking a few of them might be nice in the new long bed.

Had to dash out a few times today to rescue various plants. Sunflowers got big canes and a courgette got a bit squished by a passing flying cloche. Glad I work at home as otherwise I'd have lost a few things. We had some rain this evening by the way; just enough to dampen, but rain none the less.