Escape

This impressive crop of fungi has sprouted at the foot of my hawthorn tree, with a few smaller groups scattered around nearby.

l have no idea which variety they are as l haven't investigated further, but l won't be frying them up with my bacon and eggs in the morning that's for sure. l don't want a trip to my nearest A&E department for a date with a stomach pump! (Or even a date with death.)

l'm drowning under a sea of cherry tomatoes !

What started as a modest and easily useable handful of fruits (or is it vegetables?) each day has steadily progressed into whole punnets. Not that l'm complaining because they've been very tasty and it's nice to know that no chemical of any kind has been in contact with them, and they are as fresh as it is possible for them to be.

But next year l'm growing fewer plants, and trying a different variety. Earlier in the year l bought some supermarket tomatoes which had a beautiful flavour and l saved some of the seeds from them so l hope they will germinate next spring. The variety was called 'Aranta'.

l quite enjoy the end of the Summer season as it blends into Autumn because it gives me the chance to clear the borders, dispose of annual plants, dig in some soil conditioner and generally get things into some order before Winter makes an appearence. And l like to plot and plan for next year.

l've bought some pink double tulips - ' Angelique' (above) and have potted them up ready for Spring. These will be used for added colour in the garden and can be placed where they are needed most. Unlike bulbs planted directly into the ground though, they do need watering during the Winter when there is a dry spell.

Also new for the Summer will be some dramatic purple Aliums - a type of ornamental onion. l've never grown them before so it will be something to look forward to. 

My Echinaceas are at the large seedling stage. l'd hope they would be a little more advanced by now as they need to be bigger before they can be planted out into the garden ready for flowering next June. But that's gardening for you, things grow at their own pace.

The blue glazed urn, once home to my now sadly deceased Japanese maple 'Orange Dream', has been re-vamped and used for a display of velvety purple pansies with a bright yellow blotch in the centre, and a golden ornamental grass for height and contrast. lt gives a very pleasing effect and a nice splash of colour in the enclosed section of the back garden where they can be seen every day.

This is more like it. The sunshine has returned - for now - and Pussem's happy too, having sneaked onto my chair the minute my back was turned.

My wall pots are full of little greenish-white strawberries and even the blackcurrant bush has nine tiny currants. l wasn't expecting anything from it the first season so l'm pleasantly surprised how healthy it is.

Three of my tomato plants are now in a grow-bag and appreciate the extra root space as they've put on alot of growth. Two more plants are in the border. No sign of any flowers yet though. One of the disadvantages of grow-bags is the shallow depth of soil and the tendancy of the bamboo canes to tilt over and need supporting themselves. l think l've got round the problem by inserting a piece of branch in front of each plant and tieing it back against the cane to improve stablity. The purple fringe of campanula around them looks great and is very popular with bees. l like to encourage them as much as possible to help pollinate the fruit and vegetables. Pyracantha blossom is another favourite of theirs.

Last year l bought a number of small plug plants of some herbs and these are doing well, apart from the French tarragon which didn't survive the winter. The biggest success has got to be the lemon balm (below) and it's grown so much l've already been able to take some cuttings of it. The leaves, especially the younger ones, have a fabulous zingy lemon scent when you rub them between your fingers.

The bird-life has been going through some changes in recent years. Blackbirds for instance, were once readily seen hopping across the lawn and pulling worms out of the soil. Their lovely flute-y song was heard during the day and the familiar 'chink-chink' at dusk. And families of sparrows would take vigorous dust baths in the borders and then sit and preen their feathers on the forsythia nearby. Now they have all but disappeared. Perhaps this is in part due to the cats who have claimed the garden as their domain. A couple of species which are thriving are wood pidgeons and collared doves. They just weren't around when l was younger, now they're everywhere!

These were given to me by Ralph. The one at the front on the left is called a Shaving Brush plant (because the flowers resemble shaving brushes), the rest are Aloe Veras - widely used for their soothing, medicinal properties. Ralph is into spikey and unusual plants, and more recently different varieties of mints of which he has quite a large selection. l'll ask him to post some pictures on his blog Swimming Against The The Tide.

 ln this shot below, l have tomatoes (on the left), chives (at the front), nasturtiums (behind them), two pots of cat grass for Pussem to nibble on in the hopes he'll leave my houseplants alone, overcrowded white annuals and night scented stock at the back. Behind these is one of my Japanese Maples. Although l love the shape of the pot it wasn't a good choice. When the maple grows too large it will be very difficult to remove due to the narrow rim.

On the wall, out of harm's way is my strawberry plant 'Aromel'. The first flowers have appeared and it's now busily forming tiny fruits. l have a second variety 'Pegasus', supposed to be a heavy cropper. These should keep me supplied with fruits from mid summer onwards.

Things are growing so fast now! Bursting into life with an unstoppable vigour.

My tomato seedlings have moved house into larger pots as they now have two pairs of true leaves and were jostling for space. From here they'll go into their final positions - grow bags or larger pots. All seven seeds have germinated - a hundred per cent success rate. As l only need three at the most l'm not sure what to do with the others.

Still no olive plants, or blue poppies. Patience is a valuable attribute when you grow your own. The poppies are going through their two week 'cold spell' in the fridge, but l check them every day.

The night-scented stock and white flowered annuals are sprouting like mustard and cress. A lovely surprise, as they had been languishing in their packets for a very long time - two or three years - and l thought they'd be dried up and useless by now. lt's remarkable how such tiny brown specks can evolve into living plants, full of scent and colour to delight us all through the summer.

My latest acquisition is a blackcurrant bush. l have visions of blackcurrant ice cream, apple and blackcurrant pie, blackcurrant jam ... but sadly l won't get any of these this year as it doesn't bear fruit until it's two, and even then l suspect the crop won't be huge. lt's an unpromising twig now, less than a foot tall, and apart from a miniscule green shoot it gives the impression of being dead! l was reading up about their cultivation yesterday, and l definitely do not like the sound of 'Currant Fly'.

Lily of the Valley are pushing reddish/brown shoots like little spears, through the earth. lt spreads like mad, and never seems to need feeding.

The wood spurge is in full flower. The blooms are a beautiful lime green shade and contrasts wonderfully with the dark maroon leaves. l'm tempted to take some cuttings later in the season, but l'm wary of the milky sap which can irritate the skin. l might take the risk - wearing gloves.

Just one week after sowing the seeds of 'Gardener's Delight' tomatoes (pictured), and also some chives, tiny green shoots have appeared already which l gaze at in awe. ln my mind, l am already harvesting the fruits of my labours.

l am deliberating whether to plant out the tomatoes when they are large enough, into Grow-Bags, or in pots. l think the pots will win. They are deeper for one thing, higher off the ground away from slugs and snails, and take up less standing room. The other option is to plant them directly into the border at the far end of the garden, but then they would be at the mercy of passing pedestrians, some of whom may like the idea of 'free' home-grown produce.

My herb border is getting a re-vamp after the winter, as it looks a little jaded. l've weeded and cut away any brown stems, and fed it with some organic pelleted fertilizer. The french tarragon appears to be dead. lt is an annual shrub, but l had hoped it would survive.

l'm in the process of ruthlessly hacking back a hypericum which has become a monster and taken over a large section of the border under the front window of the house. lt is a useful hotel for snails. They like to slide up into it's twiggy branches during daylight hours, then nibble holes in the choiysia and japanese anemones next to it when darkness falls. So, it needs to be cut down to size - around 18inches should be enough.

l was given some bulbs of an unusual plant called a Voodoo lily. lnitially, they need no soil or water at all. They can be stood on a saucer or a windowsill and the leaves and flowers just emerge. The flowers are said to have a very distinctive and pungent aroma. (Hence the name 'voodoo' ?!) After blooming, they are planted in soil and a new bulb forms in place of the old, now shrivelled one, then stored in a cool, dry place until the following Spring when the whole process begins again.

l woke this morning and looked out onto a snowy white world ... and one cold black cat sitting patiently by the back gate, waiting to be let in. Despite my attempts last night to encourage him indoors for the night as it was so chilly, Pussem had flatly refused and padded off in the direction of a neighbours garden. He was happy enough to come in this morning and be dried off though. After a bowl of food and something to drink he curled up on one of the beds for a nap.

l am slightly concerned about my plants as they had just started into growth and the change of temperature must have been a real shock to the system, but the snow is already melting and the sun is out so l don't think they'll suffer any lasting damage. Yesterday l moved my Japanese maples (in pots) into the back porch as a precaution against the high winds - yes, we had those too. The papery leaves seemed too fragile to cope with the enslaught.

Last week l bought a geranium sanguineum (also known as Bloody Cranesbill), pictured above. lt wasn't in a pot, but just a ball of roots surrounded by compost sealed in a plastic bag, then a cardboard tube. As it only cost me 79p l'll be pleased if it grows. Planting it outdoors will have to wait a day or so til the weather warms up. The soil is too wet and cold at the moment, and l'm more of a fair-weather gardener.

l also bought a couple of small houseplants called Ludisia. l had no idea what these were, but the rounded maroon coloured leaves with red veins, and little white flowers on elegant stems were very appealing. After searching on the internet l discovered their other name is the Jewel Orchid.

Some olive tree seeds given to me by Ralph, have not yet germinated. l read their growth can be erratic. Even in the wild where a tree would shed hundreds of fruits, only relatively few would take root. l may try putting them in the fridge for a couple of weeks. The shock of the cold might wake them up.

My strawberry plant 'Aromel' remains under cover. Eventually l will put it in a large wall planter - l have a useful south facing wall which gets a lot of sun (when we have any), and is well away from the cats. Aromel is a variety with well flavoured berries and a long fruiting season. lt will be quite novel to be able to pick my own strawberries in the summer.

The task of rose pruning began today. My Zepherine Drouhin climber still had alot of leaves from last year, and there were some new shoots too, but most of them had to be sacrificed to my secateurs as l needed to cut lower down the stems. This will create a more open and healthier shrub. l worked a couple of handsful of B&Q Multi Purpose Organic Plant Food into the soil around the base, and sprayed the stems with Rose Clear to protect against pests and diseases.

Nearby, l had some rooted cuttings of another climbing rose called Schoolgirl. Inspite of being lovingly cared for they have never shown any signs of wanting to flower and l suspect they aren't getting enough sunshine as their current position is quite shaded. l dug them up and moved them to a warmer home at the base of a south facing wall.

ln their place l'm going to put a selection of hardy ferns. A thick lush carpet of fragrant green fronds should look beautiful. l may put some slate chippings or cobbles around them as a finishing touch. This will help to retain the moisture in the soil. Ferns like it cool and damp.

The Purple Wood Spurge l planted last year is doing well. lt has a nice neat habit of growth with purplish-green leaves. The new growth at the end of each stem is a contrasting pinky-red. l can't wait to see what it looks like in flower.

Still no sign of any buds on my Tete a Tete daffodils, and just a couple on February Gold.

l was in the back garden yesterday and something was wrong. lt didn't look as it should do at this time of year.

Then l realised. No daffodils!

l'm used to enjoying a cheery display of minature multi-flowered Tete a Tete and the slightly larger February Gold. On closer inspection there were leaves but no sign yet of buds. l can only put this down to the hot dry summer we experienced last year. l have free draining sandy soil and the bulbs may have dried out which affected their growth. l only hope they recover. l miss my splashes of gold.

On a happier note, a patch of snowdrops which l thought l'd lost when workmen were trampling over the border, putting up scaffolding, have emerged. A strange thing though, inspite of being there for many years the clump has never increased in size.

One of my two pyracanthas looks very sorry for itself, almost totally devoid of leaves. l've been pruning it back in stages and planned to eventually replace it with something else, but l won't need to now. Growing near the base is a holly bush! Around two feet tall, green and healthy, probably the result of a bird dropping a berry, or eating it first then dropping it.

l love it when l receive one of nature's free gifts.

Too much food and alcohol .. too much time spent slumped in a heap on the sofa .. too many repeats on TV ..

lt was a relief to get outside for some gardening therapy. My plan to tidy for half an hour maximum quickly escalated to an hour and an half because l was so absorbed by non-thinking, physical exertion.

Sweeping and gathering leaves was the first task. Worth doing as the borders look so much neater without this carpet of brown decaying 'stuff' harbouring pests and diseases and blocking the plants' air flow. Also, l found a £10 note tucked in amongst the leaves to my delight. l might put it towards the purchase of a statue for the garden.

Next, pruning back dead or scruffy vegetation for the same reasons as above. Many gardeners prefer to leave on this growth to protect the plant from frosts but it can be a home for overwintering insects, not all of them friendly. The choice is yours.

This was followed by cleaning tubs and pots which are kept outside. One of the Japanese maples l bought last year is in an attractive biscuit coloured urn, but it is unglazed and with the damp cold weather has acquired a light covering of bright green algae. But this was easily removed with a squirt of washing-up liquid in some water and a scrubbing brush. The urn has now regained it's 'just bought from B & Q' good looks.

Lastly, a similar treatment for pathways and patio areas which can become green and grimy although it's best if you substitute a broom for the scrubbing brush otherwise it will take you until the end of next year! Preferably use a broom with stiff plastic bristles which are more water resistant and don't wear so quickly as the natural sort.  Again, washing-up liquid with water is fine, but if they need more of a heavy duty clean it's worth buying a special Path and Patio cleaner and follow the instructions carefully incase it isn't pet friendly.

l found this test featured on another blog so l hope the owner will forgive me for borrowing it, but it's just the thing for sluggish brains   www.mybraintrainer.com/brainpower/index.asp   

The New Year is almost upon us and there are quite a few traditions surrounding it :  http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm  

Perhaps we all have our strange superstitions. l have one. l put a piece of coal and some coins outside on the windowsill on New Years Eve, then bring them in again the following morning - hopefully bringing warmth, good luck and wealth in with them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!