March 2017 - blossom time

March is blossom time for our cherry plum, damson and pear trees. Sharp overnight frosts are still common and we carefully monitor the weather forecasts for signs of overnight drops of temperature so that we can try and protect at least some of the blossom with horticultural fleece. The pear is easy enough to cover as it is on growing on dwarf root stock, but we can only protect some of the lower damson branches and the cherry plum has to look after itself. At the moment it looks as though all three have fruits that survived this first of the weather challenges.


At the front of the house the crocuses have finished flowering but the grape hyacinths have taken their place and the daffodils are now open.

The rosemary bush loves it in the full sun but could do with a bit of pruning. We have plenty of recipes that have rosemary as an ingredient and now is also a good time to take some heel cuttings for propagation.



In the main back garden we have plenty of winter and spring greens: swiss chard, cavolo nero, curly kale (mostly red ursa), leaves from cabbages and brussel sprouts, a few brassica florets, and the ramsons (wild garlic) are flourishing.

The nettle patch at the back of the garden next to the fence and compost heap is rampant, but rather than pull them up we shall be eating the tender, young leaves over the next few weeks. I'm thinking nettle tea, nettle and squash soup; nettle, ramson and Babington's leek risotto; nettle, ramson and cheese tarts.... mmmm.

Having made several bids for freedom through the bottom of its growing bag, which had been on ground next to the strawberry patch, the horseradish has now been banished to the concrete path. Ha Ha! Try and get out of that. Horseradish leaves are still popping up amongst the strawberries and I am regularly pulling out roots. These have been taken up by members of various local veg growing and allotment groups, although one person subsequently decided not to plant them after learning how invasive they can be.

And finally, the birds are now in full song and a true delight to have around the garden.

My rosemary bush has died

My poor old rosemary bush has finally given up the ghost. It is a bit old - about 20 years - but has thrived in this spot, which is not ideal, to the extent that it required regular pruning.

It's in semi shade and although the ground drains well it gets the run off from the shed roof. For the last two years there has also been a vigorous comfrey plant growing behind the bush and in the autumn I have simply left the leaves to rot back into the ground. So too much nitrogen might be a contributing factor. I have two small rosemary plants from cuttings but won't plant them here in case of disease. One I'll put in a pot and the other I'll put at the front of the house where it is sunny and dry.

I've decided to apply my recent permaculture training to help me decide what should be planted in this area in its place. Expect to be bored by sketches, photos and outline plans in the near future!

The garden shed

I repeated last year's experiment of growing runner beans up against the side of the garden shed, and it does seem as though the beans like it there. I attached some netting to the shed on either side of the door and planted the beans a couple of inches in front of it. They didn't need much encouragement to start winding their way in and out, and up through the netting. In front of the beans is a rampant rosemary bush that is now obscuring a comfrey plant (also rampant). The comfrey is regularly chopped back and the leaves are rotting down nicely in my improvised fertiliser bucket.

The rest of the ground is smothered in lemon balm, chives and oregano, and there is Greek basil, spring onions and Moroccan mint in the pots. Nettles keep popping up and are regularly picked for making tea and adding to our green vegetable mix for lunch. In spring there is also a patch of ramsons. Ramson flowers and leaves have a lovely, mild garlicky flavour and are wonderful in a salads or as an alternative to chives on scrambled eggs or in omelettes. Hairy bitter cress also likes this spot although it does better in the spring before the other herbs take over. I once regarded it as a weed but I now use it to add a peppery zing to salads. You can even make hairy bitter cress pesto! (http://huntergathercook.typepad.com/huntergathering_wild_fres/2013/01/hairy-bittercress-pesto.html). And, of course, there are the inevitable dandelions. Like the bitter cress, I treat the dandelion leaves and flowers as salad vegetables but don't let them run to seed. Plenty come in from adjacent gardens without our own plants self-sowing. There is no point trying to pull them up; a tiny piece of root always seems to remain in the ground ready to regenerate an even bigger and stronger specimen! My past experience is that weedkiller is not always effective - even if I were still in favour of using it - and not really an option in such a densely populated herb patch.

In the tiny patch of ground to the left of the shed door are runner beans at the back (again winding through netting), another comfrey plant going beserk, and herb fennel in front (about 3ft high). A foxglove struggled valiantly for a few weeks and managed to produce a few flowers, but in the end just couldn't handle the competition.
 
The shed itself was homemade in the late 1940s, or so we were told by our elderly neighbours when we moved here in 1982. The sides and roof are corrugated iron and the door is made from reused planks of wood. The cast iron framed windows finally came away from the main body of the shed about 10 years ago and now form part of a portable cold frame for spring sowings. Our neighbours hinted that they would be glad to see it come down and we did consider it for a while. Apart from the fact that it is a good size with plenty of room for storage of pots, garden tools etc., it is very solidly built (apart from the windows that fell out). It would require serious brute force, or a stick of dynamite, to demolish it. For much of the year vegetables hide it from view and, in any case, we have grown to love it.

Long live our garden shed!