greentapestry : Dear Diary

Saturday 8 May 2021

Dear Diary


When I started my blog many moons ago I had some notion that I would be able to make use of it to track gardening and allotment activities. I thought of it perhaps developing into regular diary type entries which would enable me to record the plannings, plantings and general going ons in the garden and what was then an allotment too. Well I was never brilliant at keeping a diary even when I was much younger and in the way of all my previous chronicle keeping attempts entries slowly but surely fell by the wayside. I have decided to have another attempt at a weekly or thereabouts diary type post. I'm sure that some weeks I will have more to say than others.

After the cool and dry April we experienced the first week of May has been decidely chilly too with some dramatic wintry precipitation. What has been remarkable though has been the amount of rain we've had over this time which has been welcomed by the garden, although perhaps not as much by the gardener whose attempts to get out there have been thwarted. Everything though looks so refreshed and the air smells better. We are promised warmer days in the week ahead starting with a prediction a temperature in double figures tonight! For the first time this spring a mollusc patrol will be mounted when darkness falls.

Plans for this week include planting out some of the September sown hardy annuals later than I would have preferred. These include orlaya, ammi visnaga, scabious and calendula. There should have been snapdragons too but only one germinated. Mind you it's a fine specimen if I say so myself but it is destined to be a lonely only. There are also some February planted on the heated sand bench 'Galilee Pastel' mix anemones to be planted. Once I have freed up a number of three inch pots there will be more pricking out and hardening off of various greenhouse residents. I reckon that everything is behind this year because of the combination of cold and dry. The first batch of March sown sweet peas are also ready to be planted. There is a wigwam already in place awaiting them.

Seed sowing plans for the week include zinnia, French beans, and direct sowing sowing some nigella. There is something else too but it is evading me just now. No garden centre, plant fairs or garden visits planned for this week but hopefully there will be more soon.

Giving me great pleasure in the cold and often damp gone past week have been my zingy pots of tulips. One filled with 'Ballerina' tulips, whilst the other two have a mixture of 'Ballerina', 'Jan Reus' and 'Purple Dream'. Although I love the colour combination 'Purple Dream' is much taller than the others and is rather wayward. I will tweak the combination next year. Apologies for the quality of the photo but it was a lightening snap with my phone on a chilly evening. It still conveys the colours. I feel so smug to have three containers of flourishing tulips as I have a love hate relationship with them, the leaves leaving me stone cold. The secret might be that himself planted them for me under my supervision. What has given you pleasure gardening wise this week?



7 comments:

  1. Hi Anna, writing a diary is fun indeed but as you say it can be challenging to stick to a regular routine. Mind you, we've tons of diaries which record our life in different parts of the world, gardens included. We sometimes read them daily by daily chapter and it can be very moving. It has been a very dry spring so far but we're in for some rain. So much too cherish, the lushness, the colours...my favourite time of year, what's not to love about it ;) .Your tulip combo is fab, Christo would have loved it no doubt :D

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  2. Many moons ago indeed Anna, you began your blog the year before me. You have done very well to keep it going, regularly for so long. Good luck with your diary plans! I love that ballerina tulip by the way, I'm hot and cold on tulips too. I've loved reading of your seed sowing and planting plans. We've had much rain for this past while too and the greens and new growth in the plants are very much appreciating it.

    What has given me pleasure gardening wise this week? That's a very easy question to answer - I took an early morning visit into the garden centre I used to visit regularly pre Covid. It was wonderful to walk through the doors again and the way it was laid out made it feel close to a normal visit. I was only in just under 30 mins but went armed with a shopping list of plants and sundries. I didn't get everything on it but came away with a good few. I'm waiting for good weather to get out in the garden now :-D

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  3. Great idea to kep up a garden diary. I am growing Galilee Pastel anemones thiis year. The pricking out process is what I dread, specially as I grow far too much from seed. I love your tulip combination, a great success.

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  4. I sometimes come across note books where I started to write a diary of sorts, so I can empathise with you. As you say a blog with the search button, and being able to look back, does help. I was able to plant out most of the little plants I have been nurturing in pots in the garden, but with the weather on the cool side, I have kept french beans, courgettes and cucumbers back for another week.

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  5. The photo looks like a painting. We just had the mother of all hailstorms.

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  6. This is a nice way to keep records Anna. I write down what I plant and sow in a big book, but rarely note down anything else. Purple Dream and Ballerina go well together... I grow both but in different beds. Hope you get some warmth now after all the rain.

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  7. The tulip combination looks really striking Anna - a great joint effort!I have looked up those anemones which you and Chloris are growing - very pretty, and I look forward to seeing them. I must get tips from you both as I have never had any success with this type. Hope you have you managed to get your plantings out done - I have found things I have planted out have all put on a spurt since then

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.