Cardigardening

I realised that despite all my knitting over the last year and a half I had a distinct lack of cardigans. Jumpers overflowing, but very few cardies.

Well, that's not too hard to rectify...

February...

April...

And I also got around to buying and sewing in the zip for my hoodie jacket - I bought the yarn for this from a spinner/dyer on Lewis many many years ago (I guess the 1990s) when visiting my cousin Margaret and her husband Donald. Knitted the jacket last year. Zip only waited 9 months...

And possibly late April, more likely May:

Just finished blocking the body, first sleeve on the needles. I have no idea how this will turn out. I had 4.25 skeins left of this gorgeous Jaeger 4-ply silk that I got as an absolute bargain in 2011 and couldn't find a pattern I liked to use it. So I am making up my own...

I have also been busy in the garden. I finished weeding the LBE a couple of days ago - see April photo. And yesterday I started on the veggie patch. After my first abortive attempt when the weather gods sent down an onslaught of hail the moment my hands were covered in dirt I got back out an hour later and got in a good session.

This gives a good indication of the state it was in after a year of neglect due to last year's weather and my frozen shoulder. I actually got the next bed cleared as well by end of play yesterday evening.

Oh, and I have also bought some more yarn. 700g of organic merino aran. That was my allowed reward for knitting an extra mile over my 12 mile target of last year...

Getting Ahead

I really shouldn't say it because I got a great head start last year in the garden and then it all came to a grinding halt.

But I have weeded the LBE and even done some planting - the heucheras Penny bought me for my birthday and a couple of sisyrinchiums. I then pottered a bit, transplanting a few self-seeded primroses and self-rooted violets moved from other parts of the LBE.

I still have about 4 or 5 metres to convert from weed patch to LBE, to join up with the existing long bank. I had hoped it would get done last year. I did make a start on it last year, digging out the clay from the bottom metre or so, but never got any further :(

And today the veggie patch has been attacked. I started out only intending to weed it. Then I decided it needed some muck spreading. I managed a couple of barrow loads before deciding that was enough for the day. And then Paul came out so I asked him to do a few loads. I had fully intended coming in once those had been dug in, but as I was drinking the cup of coffee he had brought out for me I decided I wanted to change the layout. So I have ended up digging the whole lot over and moving all of my 'paths' to divide the area into 4 long narrower sections that hopefully can be weeded without me having to stand on the soil. The rhubarb is already growing away, and I seem to have three leeks from somewhere...

Blowing In The Wind

Today was the last day for the foreseeable future when it was not going to rain. Instead we had 30 mph winds. Luckily from the south east so I was somewhat protected from them working on the long bank extension. I was determined to finish the next section up to the top, having come in at around 7 p.m. last night with not much left to go.

After half an hour I was ready to get the last rock in place. I thought I may be able to shift it myself but soon realised I wasn't. I had excavated its hole and went and got Paul to help. Once in place I had a foothold to finish digging out the area above it. An hour later and time to have a celebratory cup of coffee and ciggie. 33.75 hours from start to finish, and I am guessing that was about a third of what I have left to do.


I treated myself for the rest of the afternoon...

The new section now has been christened with three heathers - another nine being planted in other sections of the LBE, six hostas and two gentians. This was not a simple task as the wind kept blowing the pots over while I was digging the planting holes, and then I was having to try to hang on to the pots when I had removed the plants. One pot did escape and was last seen racing towards the bridge.

Another gentian and sedum planted in the bed in front of the wall. Then I tackled splitting the liriope that has been living in a pot since we moved up from Sandhurst. Once I managed to get it out of its pot (having to firstly remove the snail population attached to the rim) a lot of effort was spent jumping up and down on a spade to split it in half. I then split one half into four, three planted and one put aside for Reg. The other half was replanted back into the pot. Then down to the bed at the top of the drive where, again with a lot of effort, I managed to dig out the day lily. This again was split into four, one replanted in its original site and the other three in the new section. Finally I managed to dig out a piece of the euphorbia Jean had given me - a decent bit of root and three good buds on it. On a roll I decided to also split a good clump of alliums into three smaller clumps. My last job was to prune my Kilmarnock willow - although much admired in May by our visitors due to its vigour this was now getting out of hand...

Whilst moving plants from one end of the garden to the other I noticed this Red Admiral butterfly posing on the high bank wall.

LB8 - The Start

Wanting to plant my new saxifrage Silver Velvet in the LBE bed under the wall meant that I had the motivation I needed to finish that bed off. As it was it only took a couple of hours yesterday as Penny had done most of the leg work for me earlier in the year, removing the stones and forking it over. I really only needed to weed it, dig it over with my hand trowel and then define the edge and line it with some of my many stones. It still needed more topsoil added to it to really finish it off, but not as much as the rest did - for a start we did not find any piles of bricks buried there unlike the part along LB9. It was duly christened with the planting of the saxifrage and the erodium to keep it company.

So on to LB8 proper.

I decided to start at the bottom. First task, as always, was to remove the surface stones. A bucket load and I was ready to start digging out the clay that is solid a couple of inches below the surface at the bottom. I was progressing well but two hours in and the weather changed so I called it a day. Back out this afternoon, with Penny helping for a while. A couple of metres completed and I have now started working my way up, joining up with LB9. A few bucket loads of soil have been relocated to the top, another couple should be enough to finish that off. Paul came out to get the two large rocks in place, the one under the bucket being the monolith we had dug out of the f-t-b-t-b last year and the dark grey one was amongst our freecycle top soil. I am almost ready for another where the trowel is, but I decided to stop when I noticed the midges coming - not sure if I have escaped unharmed but I already have so many bites I don't want to risk more...

It is hard to judge how much I have still to go, but I guess I have done somewhere between 10 and 15%. I have already exceeded my original target for the LBE this year so my new target is to complete up to the top from what I have done today, and maybe the clay removal and cobble stone edging all the way along. I will need to apply more weed killer as I have spotted some more ground elder coming through on the remaining weed patch.

On other gardening matters I reached profit on the veggie patch last week, mainly thanks to the free potatoes and rhubarb. I harvested my first cabbage today - four veggies (cabbage, runner beans, purple dwarf beans and peas) with Sunday lunch today not to mention the first dug King Edward potatoes.

I have now ordered an apple tree collection from Adam's Apples. Ten apple trees to grow as vertical cordons with a mix of cookers, eaters and dual purpose that are suitable for growing here. I specified a couple of varieties that I wanted but am leaving the rest up to the expert. The man was very helpful when I phoned and they are extremely competitively priced. He asked why I was wanting to grow them as vertical cordons and I explained that the bed I am planting has a low wall with a metre of railing on top and I am planning to use the railings as their stakes. He has suggested starting them as vertical cordons and then train them horizontally along the top of the railings. I suppose I could even try planting them as oblique cordons, still using the railings to train them. They start delivering in January, but will wait for me to say when I am ready for them which has taken a worry from me - if we have another winter like this year I could not plant before March. I now have to decide on what other fruit trees I want...

LB9 Open For Business

A full day spent digging out stones/weeds and about 10 barrow loads of soil relocated to the bed by Margaret's wall. Three rocks dug in at the top and some more pieces of slate pushed in to keep the soil in place. LB8, here I come...once the weed killer kicks in...

Gardening Woes

Well it looks like the weather has beaten me as I look at the drizzle outside. Now that metcheck is back up and running I can see that it will be a matter of diving out there when I can. I really should concentrate in these coming windows of opportunity in getting the potatoes out and preparing the veggie patch et al for winter.

I am sort of resigned to the fact the the FTB-to-be is not going to happen this year... Unless I am prepared to brave the rain and gales... Or there is a dramatic improvement in the weather in the last three weeks in October.

I spent a few days last week working on the long bank extension. Better to get the plants and bulbs I already have sorted than continuing on something that may not happen in time.

Digging the edge foot or so of LB11 and LB10 to remove the stones and, as it turned out, areas of solid clay. Then placing in more largish cobble-stone footholds/soil erosion stoppers. Between these I have planted alternating areas of the pink and purple ajugas sourced from the parent plants in LB12 and 150 dwarf daffodils. Also a few groupings of snakeshead fritillaria - I still have some left that I need to get in. A little further along and I transplanted three pulmonarias which are looking a little flaccid but I have hopes that they will survive the trauma (I have plenty more if they don't) and two more Johnson's Blue geraniums.

I then started on the next 'layer' back to the previously positioned footholds. Luckily no clay - probably much deeper here but still plenty of stones. A whole day spent, and at the end of it 45 pink tulips, two rhododendrons and a very vibrant pink heather planted. But it is ready for a plant buying spree next year...

I bought some more bulbs from Aldi's last week - it may be a matter of just plonking them in somewhere this year and then relocating them next year. I was too optimistic of the lovely weather we had last week continuing...