Vita`s Dream

Yesterday we went to Sissinghurst Castle. It took about 35 minutes so it would be a good trip out from Freshwinds Campsite, if you are a garden lover

The garden is amazing and I love it. It`s not the first time we have been there.

There were many visitors but as the garden is so vast, it didn`t spoil the visit.

 

 

It is divided into "rooms" with different themes, most famous of all the white garden.

 

(There is a digger working behind the hedge.)

From the top of the towers, it was possible to see the layout quite clearly,.

as well as the surrounding countryside.

 We wandered through all the areas admiring the colour combinations and wondering at the planning beforehand......my planting is so haphazard.....depending on what is ready to plant and where there is a space!!!

Here are just some of my photos.

Under the wisteria.

Clematis in full bloom.

 Even "Painted Lady" sweetpeas flowering.

We wandered through the tranquil, meditative meadow.

 

Finally we made our way to the vegetable garden....a huge area, well guarded against rabbits.

Three volunteer gardeners .....they had been planting, but I`m not sure what.

Every bed was coded with numbers and letters. We were imagining the planning involved in such a huge area.

Last year 3,500 kg of produce was used in the restaurant.

At the craft and produce fayre we bought ourselves lunch...a folded pizza and homemade damson and greengage icecream.

Then we made our way home, with heads full of ideas, as usual.

A lovely day out.

Oh, and there were real flowers in the loo.

Polytunnel Paradise

What could be better on a showery day, than to spend it in a warm polytunnel, planting everything up  and preparing for future crops.

I`m not quite sure why I have planted so many tomatoes. At the last count it was 23 and I still have at least 36 lovely plants at home. They all needed stringing. Steve had the hard job and has put a wire down the whole length, tying strings as he did it. I attached them to the posts and then tied tomatoes in. I had to remove strong sideshoots from 3 plants already.

Next we used some old floorboards to retain the last bed. 

I put in melons and watermelons.

I labelled all the varieties clearly.

 

The cucumbers have taken away very well.

And I got the aubergines in.

I had 30 packets of seeds to scatter such as godetia, candytuft and nemesia.....they were all either very cheap or in the sales.

I thought they would make a nice splash of colour in odd corners so some of them went in as well.

Steve got the sprouts in, in between showers.

They look a bit sorry for themselves. It remains to be seen whether they survive the slug on-slaught.

A really long but productive morning followed by a long snooze in our garden room.

Worries, Woes and Wonder

There are some happenings in the garden at the moment, that make you wonder 

if you`re losing the plot......

Losing it to ......slugs, snails, rabbits, mice, aphids.

On first arriving at the garden we usually have a good look round.

This is what I found....

red and green strawberries bitten off in little heaps in the polytunnel (mice)

dahlia tubers uprooted and nibbled (rabbit)

blackcurrants with red blisters (aphids)

the newly planted helichrysum reduced to stalks (slugs and snails)

This is all that`s left.

It is disheartening to see the plants you have germinated, nurtured and raised, disappear.

It made me a little reluctant to plant anything I had brought with me.

In the end I bit the bullet and put in sunflowers....

........with plenty of slug pellets.

I dug over the middle beds and repositioned feverfew which last year was rabbit proof.....

that`s not to say they won`t be eaten this year.

 

In the far bed I put self seeded white daisies.

Let`s see what happens next.

 

Steve put in pumpkins and courgettes.

 

He also did some bean tripods.

And here are the wonderful parts of our visit today....

 

.......the new quince tree with its huge flowers......

.....the broad beans romping away after the rain.

.......the new pet rabbit somewhere in here......

 .......the herb garden making a comeback after being eaten to the ground......

 

.......the magnificent angelica.......

 

 

.........the gunnera leafing up well, considering there is a rabbit hole right next to its roots......

........perenniels starting to flower......

.......Jurys Yellow growing away well......

......cardoon flowers showing amazing rotational patterns.......

We had a long morning  and got through a good number of jobs.

Five more tomatoes in and two cucumbers. 

The strawberry plants came home with us.

 

And on reflection the WORRIES and WOES are far out-weighed by the WONDER.