| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 08:51 am: |   |
In February 2001 I decided to take on an allotment. My garden was too small and I wanted more space to grow more flowers.
I also had plenty of helpers! |
| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 08:53 am: | |
The worst weeds on my allotment are thistles, dandelions, Docks and couch grass.
By June 2002 it looked like this.
At this time I grew I huge collection of hardy Geraniums and not much else. |
| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:05 am: | |
By 2003 I had incorporated some different plants such as poppies, Grasses and Aquilegias.
May 2003
and by June !
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:12 am: | |
Richard built us a picnic area so that we had somewhere to sit and eat our lunch
He also made me a bench. Allotment 1 is south facing and this bench is in a sheltered area in a sun trap.
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:21 am: | |
Here is my favourite plant, my baby 3 year old Gunnera Mannicata and my favourite daughter Jennifer :)
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:27 am: | |
IN January 2003 we took on plot 2. This is used almost solely for growing fruit and vegetables for the family.
Here is what it looked like before we started work.
By June crops were beginning to grow
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:29 am: | |
By June 2003 we even harvested some of our first crops. Fresh strawberries - yummie!:)
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:31 am: | |
August 2003 This is the Rudbeckia bed that grows along the front of plot 2.
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:34 am: | |
Plot 3 began in April 2003. This is to be a wildlife garden, with pond and bog garden.
It is a very wet patch ofland and noone had ever managed to cultivate it. However, I thought quite differently and have decided to build a huge bog garden!
Here is what it looked like before work began.
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:38 am: | |
I have always wanted a wildlife pond so built one all by myself.
Here is the hole under construction
The liner goes in
...and the finished effect...for now!
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| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:41 am: | |
Work has stopped now in order to wait for spring when I hope to plant alot more pond plants, marginals and moisture loving plants, with an emphasis on Darmeras, Primulas, Irises, Ligularias and any tall plants.
The tall plant on the left of the photo above is Rodgersia Pinnata Superba |
| Posted on Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 05:38 pm: | |
Love your pictures. And you have done a lot of hard work to get to were you are. I have a small pond and love all the pond plants. A friend just gave me lotus seeds so I am going to try them next year. Have fun. Don't forget to show us pictures next year. Debbie |
| Posted on Friday, October 24, 2003 - 04:15 am: | |
Thanks Debbie. DOnt worry I will!! Forgot to mention that further up plot 3 (the bit you cant see) I am continuing to dig out beds for my herbaceous plantings. I love plants that grow big and would like to plant alot next year. |
| Posted on Friday, October 24, 2003 - 09:17 am: | |
Today I was feeling really lazy. The sun was shining and the sky was blue but I didnt feel like leaving home. I therefore spent most of the day clearing up the back garden and putting some of my tender Hardy Geraniums and Pittosporums to bed for the winter. We have had our first frosts this week and my Geranium Canariense caught it a little but no great harm was done. I also watered by pots with insecticide to kill of any Vine weevils which are a big pest around here :(
Here are some photos of my back garden in mid summer.
The bright red flowers you can see are Oriental poppies, most of the other flowers are Hardy Geraniums and a few grasses.
The white structure is a conservatory that my husband built onto the back of our house a few years ago.
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| Posted on Sunday, October 26, 2003 - 05:33 am: | |
By the end of this week the frost has really done the plants some damage. Tidied away the last of the Butternut Squash plants that have turned black and picked the annual Huckleberries now that the frost has been on them. Also dug up some of the first parsnips. The ones that had been growing in the raised bed where beautifully straight and measured a whopping 17 inches, but the ones that were growing in the ground had forked and had more fingers than an octapus!! I think in future all our carrots and parsnips will be grown in raised beds. The last of the annuals have died and my pond has some ice on it for the first time!!
It is a gorgeous sunny day today and the ice soon melted but all my plants look so wilted and sorry for themselves. It is at this time of year that you think nothing will ever grow again. But never mind as I worked I could hear the woodpeckers and the Nuthatches. Unfortunatly the midges were very bad today and there was no wind to blow them away so came home earlier than usual.
One positive thing though. The first of my dwarf species tulips have started to show!! |
