This Years SunflowersLavatera on the bankingCompanion plantingA good sized cabbageBrassicas in abundance this yearBrussels and tomatoesFlowers everywhere but no a courgette to eat.Looking forward to Kale CrispsRuth is rightly proud of the sunflower growth, but they are being given a run for their money by the bolted brassica.
I decided to see if I could make a small bench from pieces left over from chair making, but I haven’t solved the jigsaw puzzle yet. I sat outside the shed and loved the light on the flax, roses and other plants then came inside as it got colder. Instead of closing the curtains I put off the lights and watched for bats, but there were only my own creations flying around. I’ll be generous and assume it was the cold and not the neighbour’s light polution that kept them away.
The more formal FrontA crop of sloes Later?Willow shoots good or bad?It is still moving from cold to hot and back again, but the garden is giving little gifts all the time. Ruth’s much loved magnolias, wild sloes flowering and the willow arch, made over winter, showing shoots.
We had quite a lot of snow recently, which gave us an excuse for staying inside and watching nature. At one point we had 3 female and one male pheasants in the garden. The snow also gave the chance to spot tracks, including evidence of the supected badger that has been digging up the paths for worms. On a nice day I cut some willow from the bottom of the garden and made an arch on the entrance to one of the paths.
Logs for next yearEvergreens come into their ownBrash pile awaiting log sorting to kindling and shredding for the paths.Asking to be made into cup matsEach year the garden develops a whole load of log and brash piles, as the trees get pruned. Slowly they then get brought to the top and processed. In the absence of a lot of flowers, the evergreens, skeletal trees and the colours of the logs and brash piles add a nice pictorial element to make you smile.
