Weeds and Waistlines, Signs of Spring!

How can I be sure that this is spring?
It is warmer, yes. The beautiful but icy grip of the Scandinavian anticyclone is loosened.

It is dry, surprisingly so and distant hills have smoke patches every day as estates start the moor-burning season. It keeps the fire services busy and hopefully will be finished before the grouse and other ground nesters start to build.

No, the real reason I know is that my muscles ache and I have the oddest twinges. Such is age and a soft winter.

My waistline is definitely broader and after about 15 minutes of wheel barrow and lifting work, I am starting to think about the next tea break.

This last winter I suddenly decided after years of neglect, that my family needed cake. Well yes, I can still bake, but it will have to stop!

Definitely time to get out and stay out.

Spring also brings that restlessness that sees every messy corner and cobweb. A brisk walk around, shows up the leaves that have not been lifted, the jumble of pots in odd corners, and the grassed up areas you meant to deal with last July.

The corners no-one is supposed to see, where the dead pots lurk and the Jabberwocky jabbers

And look under the leaves of Epimediums or winter green ferns and there is my old friend ground elder and yes, the dandelions and bittercress have gained volume over this last week.

 

 

Overwhelmed and slightly panicky…it must be spring . The only defence is to lift your eyes and enjoy the hazel catkins, the first primroses and the wonderful snowdrops.

However, time to spring clean….If I can find the energy!

Margaret

Primula Propagation and Summer Snow

Where have I been? Well here, but doing what?
Well it happens every July. I really look forward to the end of committee meetings and more time at home and in the garden, and what happens?

Well I spend more time in the garden, but not as we know it. 

July is propagation month, first the Auricula and then the old fashioned primroses.
Almost two weeks are taken up with the task. It is rather satisfying, the rows of young plants grow, you get to meet some old plant friends and you listen to a lot of radio. All good fun.

The other thing that happens in July is that it rains. This year it has excelled itself and we have had torrential downpours and it is a surreal experience sitting in a poly tunnel propagating and seeing the sheets of rain cascading down the outside. When I looked out across the hill, the woodland was steaming and for a second I was on the wet west coast of New Zealand…except I was wearing a fleece in mid summer.

This week has been much dryer and I have been back in the garden real.

After several wet weeks absence, it is very scary to see weed growth and my first task is to tackle the ones that are about to seed….lesser willow herb and bittercress. That’s quite good fun as they come out readily, the only down side is the midges, who are now here in force.

And I have made a point of lifting my eyes from the soil. Many plants have grown rapidly this past month and often surprise you.
I love the corner where many Primula florindae have flourished and are now in full flower. Fragrant and very hardy, they have all come through the past two winters, they are excellent garden plants.
They are normally a rich yellow, and there is also a lovely rich dusky orange, and a rare and lovely red.

I also revisited some of the mid summer shrubs. Flowering shrubs are not so plentiful in summer after the riotous flush of rhododendrons and azaleas, but those we have are all the more appreciated for that.

I love the white flowering ones. Just now we have Deutzia glabra  and several Hoheria . Both are lovely and stand out well against the lush dark green foliage of summer.

And then look down. Below the Deutzia the ground is covered as with a snow shower. And further along the path, Hoheria lyalli blossoms are scattered as confetti at a garden wedding. Just lovely.

Romping away after the rain

It is grey and overcast today, but perhaps we are through the gales and lashing rain of the past two days.
It was very cool first thing and I left the house with five layers, It is now after 9am, and I am down to four.

There was fresh feel to the air, but none of the wonderful after rain smells that you get on a warm day. Is anything nicer than the peppery smell of your birch leaves, a pulse of wild garlic from the stream or the lovely sharp apple scent of Rosa eglanteria. I will wait for them to return with the warnth we are all missing.

'This is the time of year when you loose control'. I heard a character on the Archers say that, when I had it on in the car yesterday evening. He said that things race away from you, and they do. It is not so much the ever present weeds; though of course they are accelerating; it is the lush growth.  Warmed in April and watered in May, many plants are romping away.

So I walk along a path, peering eagle eyed for weeds; wheeking out the seeding bittercress (I try not to hold botanical grudges, but bittercress comes near!) and than I stop think, "Were there primroses in this bed? well yes, when you look below the Geranium Jolly Bee and the Ferns, there are some yellowing primrose leaves.

Early in spring everything has its place and there is none of this exhuberant growth, but you have to adnmire it.
This is the time of year when you loose the heart to cut down and banish the Campanula lactiflora seedings and the just flowering Jacob's Ladder.

NO No No this is definately a case of less is more, the garden will be the better for less Campanula...but I'll just let it flower.

Some days I think if we went away for a year and returned we would find the garden populated by Campanula , Hardy Geraniums and Bittercress of course!

Taming the Sneaky Weed - Ground Elder

So it is now routine.
I rise around 7am and make my way to the kitchen to prepare coffee. I dress, still layers and wool, the early mornings are cool, and taking the hot coffee, go out to greet the day.

The days have been wonderful this spring. Dry, not freezing and bright, though often with a linger of mist on the Loch. The birds are of course so busy that they scarcely notice my passing. The dog is much slower getting up nowadays so they do not have to avoid his untargeted bounds and his nose poking through into bushes.

Most mornings I weed, I weed and weed and weed.

Ground elder is the target of my attention and there is something very satisfying, freeing a patch of ground from its encroaching spread. But is it is triumph of hope over experience. I know it will be back and I know I will miss some, but it still gives a glow of satisfaction as I drag another bag of weeds back towards the compost area. Yes we do compost it, but it needs to be in the centre of a heap and it needs to get Hot, so careful composting is the order of the day.

The other alterative is to leaves it to rot down in the bag. We turn all compost bags inside out so they are black side out, that means they not only look better they warm up better and so help composting start faster.

Of course you must be sure there are no holes in the bag…or it escapes. This is my secret fear, that ground elder will take over the entire woodland and strangle out all the bluebells and lady’s smock …this is the stuff of nightmares.

Hence I walk through the garden with my eyes downcast. I need to remind myself to breath and take in the fresh foliage and view, and I do, but I can’t afford to let the ground elder (or dandelions) slip.

Time for breakfast and as it is a bank holiday I will have some time to do some of that other most pleasurable part of gardening, planting.