Tuesday 15 April 2014

April in the garden

A few beautiful warm days has meant that everything is looking a little more organised in the garden.


The weeding is done, the grass is short and the compost bin has been emptied onto the raised beds and the raspberries.


I managed to get some wonderful hazel poles from the nearby community woodland (the one I posted about here).


Sturdier than bamboo, locally grown and beautifully rustic.  I was thrilled.  Especially as they were only £3 for ten.  I tried to convey to the rest of the family how fantastic they are, but I'm not sure they got me.  But here in this space, I think some of you may understand.

Another thing I don't think they got.  My borlotti beans.  I grew some last year and saved some of the beautiful speckled beans.  I dried them for a while in a bowl on top of the piano and then I put them in an old envelope.  A couple of weeks ago I planted them.  I wasn't hugely hopeful, after all, they weren't proper ones from a seed company or anything.  But, they grew.  



It works!  There's no secret trick or complicated procedure.  Anyone could do it.  Even me.  Grow beans.  Dry beans.  Plant beans.  New plants!  Now please tell me you get how fantastic this is.  Around here everyone looks at me and quietly edges away whenever I show any signs of waxing lyrical about this small miracle.

More natural wonder on the pear trees.  Masses of blossom, but this year there are bees as well.  Last year I didn't see a single flying thing around the trees.  I did the thing with the paintbrush but it didn't really work.  This year both trees are blooming at roughly the same time (one is a little earlier than the other - they are Doyenne du Comice and Beurre Hardy) and if you stand close to them you can hear a happy buzzing sound as the busy bees work hard collecting the nectar.  




Even better than pear blossom is apple blossom.  Daffodils I can take or leave, but apple blossom I can't get enough of.  Often I'll go over and stare at it on my way up the garden.  So I'll apologise in advance in case I post too many pictures of it.  But it is pretty.  The white!  The pink!  The little touch of yellow!



Elsewhere there are tomatoes growing quietly away, blueberry flowers, hostas and the odd herb putting on new growth.





Finally a glimpse of this beautiful tree that's just beyond the end of our garden.  It's always full of birds and I can see it from the kitchen sink (somewhere I spend an unreasonable amount of time).  Right now it's in full glory.  I've no idea what it is, I shall keep a closer eye on it this year and see if I can work it out.


I'm going to have an evening on the sofa now, after a long afternoon of tying up canes, planting beans and sowing peas and watering things.  At one stage I was stood on a dining chair tying the tops of sticks together when it tipped over and I crashed to the ground, smashing the chair on  my way down.  Did I ever mention that I'm a touch clumsy?  Fortunately I'm also quite rubbery, so although I fall over a lot, on the whole I don't break.  I do feel a little bruised and a touch torqued though.  I sense that I may feel it a bit tomorrow.

37 comments:

  1. Blogs are a wonderful way for like minded people to understand aren't they! I totally get the growing of beans, and rustic stakes. However, it would also fall on deaf / bemused ears here.
    Hope that you aren't too bruised in the morning - but if all else fails, you can sit and admire the blossom. It's really wonderful this year isn't it (as are the tulips around here). It's good to see that somethings benefited from all the rain. I've also seen a lot of bees - the sound round the comfrey patch at the weekend was really loud. x

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  2. Love your post! I dried some pumpkin seeds I saved from last year and have planted some and they have come through...so that was one seed packet i didn't have to buy this year, so yes...I do get your excitement!!!
    I love your hazel poles too!!!!

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  3. I have never grown beans but my parents do (hopefully I will next year). Borlotti beans look beautiful and taste as good as they look.

    I'm new to growing things but am starting to really enjoy it. Really like the hazel poles too

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  4. ouch, take care. xxx arnica is good for bruises x

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  5. Your raised beds look amazing!!!!!! I understand about the poles and the beans and would get withering looks around here if I was to get excited about such things!! I especially think that your poles are a real bargain, I mean 30p each, you really cannot do better than that can you! I hope that you are ok after falling off the chair, sounds very painful to me. I think that you have earned a glass of wine after that. Happy gardening!! xx

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  6. That bee picture is scary :( I am so terrified of bees! As usual I'm so in awe of your gardening skills. I can't wait to try soon!

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  7. I'm glad you bounce good! My last big fall was backing up from the sink and forgetting that I had the dishwasher door open and I fell right into the dw bottom basket/drawer! You have a wonderful garden!! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  8. You cracked me up when you said that you were rubbery! HA! I think I am too! And I get it...I so get it! When your hopes are low and those signs of life pop through finally there is just a sense of pride and excitement and hope!!! So wonderful to see all of this amazing growth in your garden! It is stunning! And those blooms....I want to paint them!!! Did I mention that it snowed here last night! Spring sure is taking a while here...so nice to see beauty in your space! Happy Wednesday to you! Nicole xoxo

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  9. We are lucky as we planted a couple of hazels on the plot which produce brilliant poles.

    It's a really good blossom year although our apples are only just beginning to show any signs of flowers.

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  10. I've got used to people glazing over as I talk of hazel poles, plants germinating, worms, etc! Luckily they get the blossom and flower thing and love it when the garden is in full flow. I don't mind if people don't get the gardening thing as it means I'm left to garden quietly by myself which is what I love - and to then write about it on my blog! Love seeing your garden, CJ, it's looking so well tended. I'm a bit behind, must get my tomatoes in!!

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  11. You have been busy! I'm always amazed when we can use the seeds our plants produce - like you it feels like it should be more complicated than that :)

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  12. Hey CJ,
    I totally get the feeling of seeing your home grown seeds germinating into healthy seedlings! This morning in the greenhouse, the runner beans seeds that I collected have all popped out to say hello. So chuffed. And all my Cosmos seeds are very healthy seedlings. Your garden looks beautiful and productive. And you can't be any clumsier than me. Seriously, I am always falling down or up the stairs.
    Have a great week CJ.
    Leanne xx

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  13. Wow, homegrown seeds I too would be waxing lyrical or even shouting it from the roof tops! Your garden photos are wonderful so much blooming and flowering we are a little behind here.......

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  14. Your garden looks beautiful. Seeds are just amazing aren't they. I almost can't believe they 'work'! :) I hope you enjoy the beans they produce. How do you find your blueberry plants for getting fruit? Did you have to wait many seasons before they fruited?

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  15. Good garden post. The last two times that I have carved a butternut squash, I have put the seeds in a bowl on the counter with the intention of drying them and planting them. Well, each time, my husband assumed they were compost and so then threw his veggie scraps on top. So there go my good intentions! Glad yours are growing! So for the hazel - do you plan on making baskets or garden structures with it?

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  16. I totally get your excitement about beans growing from seeds you've collected yourself, and about hazel poles. I don't mind bamboo canes on the allotment, but if you need a structure building in the garden, I can see that hazel poles are the way to go. How lovely to have raised beds in the garden, you'll have some of your produce on your doorstep so to speak rather than having to make a trip to the plot to harvest it. Sorry to hear about your little accident, hope you're not too sore today.

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  17. I absolutely understand. We grow hot peppers and the seeds come from the University of New Mexico. Last year I tried saving some from our peppers! THEY GREW and we have enough to share with Steve's "hot head" buddies. It was a little thrill!

    Sorry to hear about your fall. BE CAREFUL!!! We don't want you getting hurt. Hope you are feeling better soon.

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  18. Lovely post, and wonderful pictures. You must be well pleased with everything.
    Lucky you with the hazel poles, and that's a really good price as well. Well done with the borlotti beans, that's always worth trying with any variety. Flighty xx

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  19. It get it, the beans, the sticks, the whole bit. Your garden is going to be beautiful. Thank you for sharing your photos. I hope you're doing better after your fall. Hugs to you.

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  20. I hope your evening on the sofa was relaxing. I am glad you are rubbery, we don't want you hurt after all. Do you have a vegetable garden at home as well as your allotment? You'll need an extra large cellar and freezer to store all your produce. The garden year in Scotland is well behind yours, our apple tree has no blossoms on yet. Can't wait.

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  21. Such beautiful pictures! I love the borlotti beans story. I would also be telling anyone that would listen what I had done. Mine would just walk away too! :) Hope you continue to enjoy blue skies and flowering trees!

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  22. Great post CJ.. and yes I totally get the rustic poles and the seed sowing and growing :o) Love the photos of the bee on your blossom. Hope you're not too bruised after your little accident.. take care :o)

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  23. You must be a very good and careful gardener, you do such a great job in the garden...I truly admire you! Your photos are beautiful especially those with the blossoms. I'm sure you feel better now!
    Take care!
    Olympia

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  24. I dried off some of our red broad beans pods to sow as fresh seed this year. I'm hoping for some success just like your borlotti beans. Still waiting for our apple blossom but pears and cherries are in full blossom at the minute. It's wonderful!

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  25. Your garden looks well organised, also get a full sun shine. It's so lovely! All your seedling look great, also the pear and apple bloss. I can't wait to see the progress

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  26. Whew! You need a good sock, rubbery or not, that's a lot of work, CJ! The pictures are beautiful. Well done!

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  27. Your bean seedlings look wonderful. I get excited when any seeds germinate, but it's even better if they're seeds that you've saved yourself... careful though it could become addictive.

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  28. There seem to be many more bees around this year, good to see.
    It is so exciting getting ready to grow stuff again. The greenhouse is a hive of activity here and I would be planting things out if only the nights were a little less chilly. Your raised beds look good to go. What is growing over the arch?

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  29. Your garden looks wonderful,and what nice weather we are having this easter week.

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  30. Your garden IS amazing!! Mine looks like a playing field... because this is what it is... we got back yesterday and within 30 minutes the few bluebells we have got flattened during a football match. Husband was playing too... so that's why I don't bother!

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  31. My goodness what a fabulous garden and your photography captures all the growth so very well.
    Wishing you a very Happy Easter

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  32. I get you, totally! The poles are perfect ... the things that excite me most aren't manufactured, they are made from locally sourced raw materials. And don't get me started on the miracle that is the humble seed.

    Lovely post m'dear. I do hope you aren't too bruised from your fall x

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  33. Oh my goodness you sound a bit battered from your fall and I just read the more recent post of you tumbling when playing football! Your garden and seedlings are looking really super, what a lot of work you must have put in, puts me to shame!

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  34. Oh yes, I get all that! Your garden seems a bit ahead of mine, though in the case of beans and tomatoes it's probably because I was so late sowing them. And you have such beautiful blossoms! And being clumsy, I get that too...!

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  35. I can't get enough of apple blossom, either. It's one of my favourite sights of spring. I love the bee on blossom, too. It is wonderful seeing everything coming up in the sunshine.

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  36. I all looks wonderful! Congratulations to you and all that hard work. Love love love blossom. Of all types and how great it is to see such happy pears and apples. Spring is just the best!

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  37. Your garden plot is looking great! I spent today in mine and it feels wonderful to be 'on top of it' doesn't it? On the barlotti bean front, I just plated some that I had also grown then dried three years ago, I didn't expect any of the beans to germinate as I found them in the greenhouse, where they have been all this time, but pretty much every bean is now sprouting away. Love it when that happens. Let's hope this lovely weather continues :)

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