Project Garden

PROJECT GARDEN

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Welcome to Project Garden ... if you are of a nervous disposition you might like to click off this page ... we are turning a Hovel into a Home and so you won't always see pretty pictures ... there are some real horrors in our garden at the moment, but fingers crossed with a lot of hard work we will turn it into a English Country Garden to be proud of.

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08/09/2019

For the last couple of weeks we've begun the construction of a Gabion retaining wall in one section of the garden.  This afternoon, Gabion 1 was finally finished, and I planted it up with this little beauty...

One of the reddest Heuchera, with large glossy leaves which are red all Spring, Summer and Autumn, with neat white flowers with a pink tinge.
Very neat habit.
NB Doesn't like winter wet.
Bred by Janet Egger

H 25cm W 35cm

Heuchera 'Fire Alarm' from Plantagogo.com - actually it came from Wisley (but had a Plantagogo label on it).  It was a memorial gift from my Mother-in-Law to mark the life our our beautiful dog, Russell, who passed away last week.

Heucheras' are one of my favourites, and Plantagogo have a National Collection.  I can't wait to get more from them. 

She bought one lime green and the other dark, dark purple, and I will share those with you at a later date. 

It was hard work putting the Gabion in, but we're really pleased with it.  I'll share a photo at some point, but I need to get over my garden shame.

In case you're wondering about garden shame, that's my term for downright embarrassment at the state of the garden, and lack of pretty planting.  Just about every area needs work, and so I can get the 'on the money' photographs because of it.  I just keep telling myself that with every back-breaking day we spend out there that feeling will lessen.  It will never be a Chelsea winning garden, as we just don't have the thousands of pounds that would take, and I'm cool with that, but I would like have it at a point where I can share photos with you all.  The same of it is that we used to have a two and a half acre garden that was stunning, and I would have been perfectly happy to share.  Oh well, c'est la vie! 

14/07/2019

Lots of weeding was completed, and more rubbish dug out from the previous owners.  Darling Husband made a slight repair to the temporary fence, and moved a small Honeysuckle to the new bed in the hope that it might climb the fence to cover up the fact that a nice new one has yet to go up.  I also planted out my one and only remaining Loofah seedling and some sweet peas at the base of the wall, with the hope that they too will join the Honeysuckle.

Also managed to weed another small bed and transplant my Sweet Pea plants and add some yellow alpine Primulas on the basis that they would be easier to keep there, and can be moved to their final location when I'm ready.

Marigolds seeds have also been sown, and Parsley seedlings potted on. I also managed trim the Magnolia a little bit, and also lop off a bit of overhanging vegetation in the form of a plum tree bow that is making the brick patio dark, and was also catching me off guard on the way to the compost heap.

We've also started taking down an ugly wall outside the bathroom window, and have plans to get rid of the concrete behind it too, so that I can create a large bed that will have Sarcococca hedging and herbaceous planting to compliment the stunning Poppies that have turned up in the bed recently. 

12/07/2019

I'm off today after an overnight hospital visit on Wednesday, where they did a sleep study and discovered that I stopped breathing 37 times in the night for between 30 and 50 seconds each time.  I've been given a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine to use when I sleep - and it seems, a new lease of life after one night.  I woke up once and have 8 hours of terrific sleep.  This morning I felt like I'd been made 10 years younger in my sleep, and even after a hectic morning gardening in the warm Sussex sun, I still feel good.  Why did I resist one for so long ... it's really not that bad people.  The snoring has vanished, although, I do look like Darth Vader's mother, LOL!

After watering the garden, I've pruned, weeded, planted and dug some of the rubbish out of the back part of the garden.  Although Darling Man will have to help me dig out a large piece of green wire fencing that has come to light - along with all the glass and rusting plumbing supplies the previous owner seems to have buried.

On my way back from the Hospital yesterday I stopped off at Blackbrooks Garden Centre in Sedlescombe, and had a happy hour or more of browsing their wares.  Predictably, I came away with one or two items including two types of green manure seeds, carrot seeds and some black netting for my sweet peas.

This evening, when it's a bit cooler, I will sow the pak choy and carrot seeds, and I can then, hopefully, get most of the digging-over done and sow the green manure in the back bit of the garden.

I have a beautiful white Hydrangea that we had as a wedding anniversary present last year, and that will also be given a temporary home in that section of the garden, along with it's pink cousin.

The lavender I planted a few weeks ago is still alive and kicking, and has now been joined by some Nicotiana alata Grandiflora bedding plants (which smell do lovely in the evening).

The Perpetual Spinach (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla var. cicla) is doing well - in fact a bit to well if there an be such a situation, and we are eating it most days.  It's super easy to prepare, I just waft out, grab a plant and cut off the head, waft back in rinse well and then wilt down with boiling water then drain, sprinkle on a bit of salt and a knob of butter - tender and tasty.  Tomorrow, we are going to try frying garlic, onions and chilli with sherry and add the leaves in to wilt down, which is a tip picked up from Southern Greens on a Food Network program.  They did it with Rainbow Chard, which has now gone on my seed shopping list for next year.

That list is getting longer, and longer, and I will definitely need more growing beds to accommodate all the veg next year.

I'm off to shower and get ready to take our old boy, Russell, to the Vets this afternoon, he's not in good shape and we're all really worried out him.  He's such a lovely gentle dog, but I have a feeling that it might be time to say goodbye to him sooner that we would want.

01/07/2019

I dream of a pergola like this one, and I'd love to create something similar ...

Actually, I'd take your arm off to live in the original.

30/06/2019

I just love the exuberance of Summer, and this weekend I have managed to capture a small part of it since we moved to this house 4 and a half years ago.  We have the most abundant Hydrangeas at the side of the house, but they are rarely seen.  Today, I had to trim back one of the ornamental grasses, and so snagged a few along with some trimmed back Honeysuckle stems and a rose that was too pretty to leave.

Having spent most of our time working on the house ... although there is a long way to go inside ... we needed to try and do some work on the garden, and claim it as our own.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been clearing and concentrating on planting up the small raised vegetable plot, but with the weather so hot we decided to purchase a small bistro table and chairs and parasol as there was nowhere to sit apart from a precariously perching on a wall.

There is a very long way to go before I reach something approaching a garden I would be proud of, but I thought I would bring you along for the ride with the update on our progress.

Yesterday, I beat the heat with an early start and planted a some plug Lavenders, which will form part of a hedge at the top of the garden near the section of hard-standing that will eventually house my greenhouse.  Then went on to dig over the section of garden behind it.  Oh my goodness, I just don't know what goes through some people's heads ... I was 2 minutes into the job when I unearthed (literally) a whole pile of buried building and plumbing waste ... just WHY would somebody do that?

Honestly, the recycling centre is about 2 miles away, and this is just a case of unadulterated laziness on an industrial scale.  I have to say that it has been typical for everything we have dealt with in this hovel that we are gradually turning into a home.

On a happier note, my sweet pea and parsley seeds have germinated well, and the Perpetual Spinach is romping away now that I have purchased a shade tunnel for it.  As a bit of a TAH DAH moment, I have one Loofah seedling and another one breaking through.  They were a bit of a try and see experiment I must admit, so I'm happy as I wasn't certain that any would germinate.

The picture was taken a couple of days ago, when the first one was just popping up into the world.  I find such joy in sowing and watching these miracles of nature come to fruition.

I'm off to pop the kettle on, and settle down for a bit of contemplation on my new iron chairs.

Hugs

Kay