Blasted by Pigeons

On a recent visit to the garden, we were having our teabreak under the umbrella outside the polytunnel, when we were suddenly blasted with what felt like a handful of stones.

Wondering what on earth was going on, we looked around and saw that the ground was littered with cherry stones. Above us the culprit was just flying off. The pigeon had been gorging (literally) on the ornamental cherries and had chosen our teabreak to excrete the waste. My t.shirt went straight in the wash as soon as we got home.

 I have since read that pigeons eat the cherries whole. Judging by the stones that rained down on us, I was surprised the pigeon could take off.

It was all very amusing ..... after the event.

The cornflowers are at their peak. We have a tremendous amount of dead-heading to do at every visit. It is a restful job. The colour range is good this year.

The poppies are still flowering though some earlier ones are looking a bit ragged round the bases.

 

I am trying to leave the pods in the ground for as long as I can to allow the seeds to ripen. They are beautiful in their own right but not the dead leaves.

I have cleared quite a bit from the flowerbeds, shasta daisies, oriental poppies, sweet rocket. It gives everything else a bit of space.

Lots of campers around this weekend, many revisiting, which is lovely to see.

The little yurt is now up and running. Full of interesting things for the children,

 

 

June has been a blast.

Too Busy Smelling Roses

Our tasks over the last few days .... tying things in, picking sweetpeas and harvesting fruit.

We always lose sunflowers to the wind, so we have constructed Heath Robinson type frameworks using the old yurt trellis.

 The hollyhocks continue to suffer from the ravaging rust. I remove the lower leaves as they get bad but never put them on the compost heap.

After picking the raspberries and blackcurrants, I tended the sweetpeas, detendrilling and tying in.

Dead-heading cornflowers is a never-ending job but I do enjoy it.

This is the new bed in the raised area. I made the mistake of planting lychnis behind the cornflowers so we can`t see the magenta flowers unless we go round to the back path. So much for following heights on seed packets. It is always wrong.

In the middle of my carefully planned scheme, up comes a dahlia which I had forgotten about.

Talking of dahlias, here is one that was grown from seed last year. I left it in the ground. Quite pretty.

 

 

And here are a few more just starting.

 

We are having to keep sharp eyes open for pests as there are a lot of strange new insects around. Thank goodness for Neem oil.

Above our heads as we have a teabreak, ornamental cherries cluster. 

We harvested our first tomatoes, eaten in our salad tonight. Oh the flavour, my goodness, after a winter and spring of shop-bought.

At home we had cucumbers too. 

Tomorrow is a jam-making day I think.

I tried to get her to look but she was too busy smelling the roses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Roses My Love

Well I have never seen such a deep purple nigella before. It was a total surprise. Where did it come from? I`ve no idea.

Today was a day to wander around the garden and enjoy the fruits of our labours, literally.

When I added these to our pick at home, I was able to make my first batch of raspberry jam. It is so satisfying to make, as it sets so quickly. Can`t wait for toast and new jam tomorrow for breakfast.

 

The lavender hedge is doing well after we removed the wire net tunnel and weeded around. The net is now behind forming a wall. I do not trust those rabbits.
 

The first dahlias are out. The variety is My Love which has proved to be a strong plant and one of the easiest to take cuttings from. 

These are the first dahlias from seed, in bloom.

Steve and I set up a strong framework for the longest stand of sunflowers, using two stakes and the old yurt frame poles. It meant that we were able to remove all the canes which are never strong enough to support fully grown sunflowers when it gets windy.

 

 

The alstromerias in this clump have survived upright. Elsewhere in the garden they have been flattened. They make a good cut flower.

 

 

These incredible red roses appear to be too heavy for their stems and I keep finding them bent over which is a good excuse to bring one home.

 

 

And finally I picked the first bunch of sweetpeas.

 

Bumble Bee Frenzy

Every year I collect a lot of poppy seed and its all pretty random, though I do keep the different types in separate envelopes. I just scatter it all over the garden and there is always a wonderful show.

But this year, the colours are amazing, deep dusky pinks in all shades, to almost purple. Is there an outside influence that has caused this? Usually the colours are mid-pinks and pale mauves.

Blended in with the foxgloves we are awash with colour. 

Just outside the garden I scattered them on the chipped bark.

When the sun shone, the bumble bees were in a frenzy to get to the nectar. We stood and watched in fascination.

The cute guinea pigs were enjoying a feast of fresh young grass.

And the very first sweetpeas were out.
 

A Better Day

A couple of days ago we had "one of those days"

Anne discovered Ermine moth caterpillar infestations in our little orchard and we spent most of the visit collecting them. With a plastic bag over my hand, I just grabbed handfuls of web, dead leaves and either bundles of eggs or tiny caterpillars. It was not pleasant and it was too windy for Neem oil spray.

The next thing we found was the rocket plants eaten from above. Not sure what by though.

And finally the wind was playing havoc with the delicate poppies and many other plants.

Luckily today was better.

The poppies are just lovely in deep shades of pink and red.

  

 

I had to clear a space for tithonia plants. They are Mexican sunflowers and a little touchy so I hope they do well in this spot.

 

 

I picked some of the redcurrants so I will be making jelly tomorrow. There were a few green ones but I`ve been picking them out. The crop is really good this year.

We began another batch of comfrey mixture. It is growing prolifically alongside the tortoise run. As I cleared it, the perfume of the honeysuckle was over-powering.

 

The very first passionflower is open. When I planted this small cutting last year alongside the fence, I never thought it would flower so quickly. There are many buds to come.

 

Today was definitely one of the better days.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golden Newts and Fairy Guardians

Well I suppose it was inevitable that the weeds would come as soon as we had rain but ..... oh my goodness. The new lavender hedge has been all but swamped and our last job yesterday was to clear as much as we could. Not easy with a tunnel of rabbit wire held down by tent pegs.

Before anything can be planted the ground has to be cleared. But I did get the last 12 helichrysum plants in and the last bare dahlia tubers. That was very satisfying.

I was dismayed to find three more lovely aubergine plants still at home, after having thought everything was in the polytunnel. I had to clear yet more space to get them in. Now they are protected by my sister in law`s wedding dress hooped petticoat.
 

The broad beans are now out, creating space for peppers and cucumbers. The harvest was either frozen or eaten.

Amongst the damp growth I found this golden newt. So tiny.
 

The polytunnel is now ready for the summer, looking quite tidy and guarded by fairies.

The foxgloves are taking over and such a range of colours. Amongst the weeds are myriads of tiny seedlings.

 

 

The wind has blown the oriental poppies around. I will try to rescue them next time.

The sweetpeas are going great guns though I am having to keep them clear of weeds. They got a good feed with comfrey mix as well as a good tying up.

 

 

I am very happy with the fruit this year. I am keeping a close eye on the blistering on the currant leaves by picking off affected shoots and spraying with neem oil.

 

Anne has covered some of the cherry branches with net sleeves as the crop looks good.

 

There are many campers at the farm over half term and they all looked to be having a great time despite some rain. The farm looks beautiful at the moment. The walk down to the campsite is lined with grasses and buttercups, with the cuckoo calling almost continously.

I can`t tell you how happy that makes me feel.