Garden musings

It’s not often that I allow myself to just sit and enjoy things, and it is never something that I plan into any time I have but after an almost sleepless night during my last time off I did spend the precious time I had planned to spend gardening just sitting with some tea, and then a little lunch, enjoying the sun in my front garden;

Front garden blooms ~ August 2012

It is not the mass of colour it was last year, I think the slugs put pay to that but there is still plenty there;

Front garden blooms ~ August 2012

Front garden blooms; sweetpea bucket ~ August 2012

Front garden blooms; leeks ~ August 2012

And as well as the flowers I seem to have gathered a not to shabby fruit collection;

Front garden fruits; summer fruiting raspberries, red currant, gooseberry and a bramley apple ~ August 2012

Front garden fruits; autumn fruiting raspberries, strawberries and the last pot of potatoes ~ August 2012

Front garden fruits; all gold autumn fruiting raspberries~ August 2012

Front garden fruits; red princess strawberry ~ August 2012

Even thought I knew what I had growing I didn’t realise how much there was until I stopped to take stock of it. I haven’t grown mountains of food what I have grown has been a nice treat and are forming the base of next years growing. Of course I would have liked to have much more coming in from the garden but that just hasn’t been possible this year and I am ok with that, which is a very odd feeling. And there is always next year

Flowers: Poppies, Sweetpeas & Sunflowers

I’ve never really bothered growing flowers much before but I think as I become less of a ‘traditional’ veg grower and learn more about the environment, permaculture and biodynmaics I am seeing growing food as a whole picture which includes the beauty and other benefits of plants that aren’t straight forward eatables. I still argue that vegetables can and do have their own special beauty but don’t feel so cheated by growing them amidst flowers and my view point that that’s not proper food growing has changed.

This year most of the flowers I have grown have been in the front garden from the packets of hoarded seeds I have scattered and I have been so pleased with the results;

Front garden blooms - 21st August 2011

The front patch of flowers has completely by accident mostly been red; red poppies, red sweetpeas and a mix of paler shades of pinks all set off by splashes of white and the striking yellow of the sunflowers.

Red field poppies - 20th August 2011Sweetpea wigwam - 20th August 2011Sunflowers and poppies - 20th August 2011

Sweetpea wigwam - 20th August 2011

 

First poppy of the year - 13th July 2011

Sweetpeas - 20th August 2011

There hasn’t really been any time for sitting and enjoying it this year but most of the flowers will have self seeded and I still have plenty of other packets of seeds tucked away awaiting daylight. I have plans on expanding on these as well with Calendula, Nasturtiums, many more Sunflowers, Lobelia, Poached Egg plant.

 

Inside I have already planted Crocuses, Dwarf Irises and Hyacinth bulbs so as the pots can be brought to my dad’s grave and inside when they are flowering.

Wordless Wedesday

I’m not really sure where ‘Wordless Wednesdays’ started or where I first saw it so I am afaird I cannot pass on credit for the poetic title. I have built up lots of photos that never have a reason to see the light of day so I thought ‘Wordless Wednesdays’ would be a place to begin making the most of sharing them

This is what the garden looked like as I left to be maid of honour for my friend; the sunflower was the first one to open. - 21st August 2011