Garden Diary: September

Isn't it funny - all that fuss about 'what happened to the promised barbeque summer' but hardly anything about what a lovely September it's been. John Humphrys has even been complaining that it's been too dry. It's true, the sunny weather has caught me out a few times, but overall for someone who works outside a lot, it's been great.

The garden doesn't look bad either.

Tagetes blooming at last, having survived slug depredations. Sorrel in too great an amount for even our salad-eating habits. I will have to give some away. Oregano also allowed to flower, for the sake of the bees and hoverflies. Plastic yoghurt pots turned in slug-proofing for winter salad mustards.

Part of the potato crop - Pink Fir Apple. Very tasty, but not a prolific potato at the best of times. I've been slightly disappointed about my potatoes, and will try old compost sacks turned inside out next year, with better compost.

From the front: sunflower, Achocha, and runner beans. The Achocha (the 'Lost Fruit of the Incas') has only recently flowered so I'm not sure whether it will get enough sun to fruit. Lovely leaves though.

The main garden looking lovely and lush, with white Japanese anemones and tomatillos.

Our apple tree doing what it does best: producing more huge apples than we can ever eat, on branches which droop down and make hanging out the washing a limbo job.

Finally, indoors are three 'Ring of Fire' chillies. It's the first time in 25 years that I've grown chillies; the last time was at university and resulted in a mini-riot.

Bottesford and Stamford

A pleasant day in a town which epitomises much of what is lovely about England. History, architecture, local shops, tea and scones.

First an accidental visit to Bottesford and its glorious church chock full of old tombs with carvings of people with very solid ruffs and rows of children like tiny adults. There are also some interesting late medieval carvings including this one, possibly one of the deadly sins.



Below, two of the four Stamford churches we explored: St. John's Church: a grinning hand rest and an angel roof, and St. Mary's: a glimpse of the lovely arts and crafts chapel ceiling. More information about both churches here.

3 nature reserves, 3 art galleries

Wednesday last, my class for the day having been cancelled and it being a nice day, I headed off on my bike in search of late summer flowers and a few art galleries too.

First stop was the Stables at Wollaton Hall. I used to come and talk to the police horses here back in the 70s, now it's a cafe, gift shop and art gallery. The gallery has a wildlife and animal theme, and this time it was Pollyanna Pickering: hyper(un)realistic paintings of animals and landscapes. Not my thing at all.

Over Derby Road to Nottingham University and a large area of grassland surrounded by halls which is called the Downs. If you want to feel dizzy watch this. Anyway, it's a nice acid grass land and has some slightly startling Great Burnet, below, as well as the yellow composite Smooth Hawksbeard, Yarrow, Common Sorrel, Common Knapweed, Catsear and Lady's Bedstraw. (Aren't common names lovely? Latin names are good too, but I've slipped more and more towards the English ones over the years. You can tell a plant I learnt at University if the Latin name comes into my head first!)

Then on to the Djanogly Art Gallery in the University grounds which had some interesting works in its open exhibition. I particularly liked some paintings of demolition but failed to find out who they were by of where they were of as you had to pay 50p for a sheets of artists and titles.

Over University Boulevard to the Science Park, past one of the most hideous buildings which has gone up in Nottingham over the last few years. At the other side survives Dunkirk Pond and Beeston Sidings, below. Here I found many plants found on limestone grassland; Greater and Lesser Knapweed, Wild Mignonette, Haresfoot Clover, Wild Carrot, Marjoram and Bladder Campion, as well as plants of wasteland such as Evening Primrose and Rosebay Willowherb. Not a restful place: there is a metal recycling works over the railway line which grinds and rumbles loudly.

Next, along cycle tracks to Kings Meadow, a tiny gem amid remnant industry and new offices. I spotted some Yellow-wort immediately - a favourite plant of mine I first saw on a site in the middle of Sunderland in the '80's. Lots of other familiar plants and another yellow composite which got me searching my flora: Narrow-leaved Hawkweed. I'm trying to work harder on yellow composites - and I do know they are now called Asteraceae!

It was a hot mid-afternoon, so I headed back north through Lenton and Hyson Green where I popped into the New Art Exchange, originally for a cuppa but I ended up going round the exhibition instead. It was about modern-day slavery, so a thought-provoking and rather sombre end to the trip. There were some rather beautiful pictures of elderly Japanese women who had been 'comfort women' in the Second World War: the artist had chosen to record their strength and resiliance rather than their tears.

Knowing ones onions

Whitemoor Allotments Show, 22 August. We (Nottingham Organic Gardeners' community allotment crew) entered 6 categories, and were delighted to win three prizes. I was especially pleased as I'd volunteered to choose the produce we entered, and I'd 'dressed' the onions. I can't claim to have done much to grow them, though I did plant them back in the spring. Nature did most of the work!

Garden Diary: August

So, July got missed out due to having fun cycling round the West Country in the rain, and the sun. Never mind, here's the container corner, probably too crammed with plants. Air circulation could help a little to prevent disease. And sadly, disease there is - blight, like everyone else. I've just had to get rid of some of the tomatoes in the picture below. As you know, potato blight affects tomatoes too, being in the same family, and in a way it's worse. With potatoes - if you catch the blight early - you can cut off the haulms (stems) and compost them, so the potatoes can just stay in the soil till you need them. If you let the blight progress, the potatoes get horrible and slimy and stinky and inedible. Unlike the poor Irish in the potato famine, we have many different varieties to choose which have varying resistance to blight. However, my pot potatoes are King Edward, not resistant, and Pink Fir Apple, not very resistant. So far they look OK, but I'll be keeping a good eye on them.

The tomatoes are another story - once they get it there isn't much you can do except collect the fruit and make green tomato chutney. The Tumbling Toms in the hanging baskets look OK for the moment but are strange dwarfed things, and with the baskets being rather shallow, they suffer water stress very easily - NOT good for tomatoes. Can I claim to be doing it all wrong so you don't?


The Gardener's Delight in the mini-greenhouse frame at the back look OK too - they are in the best place and the biggest pots and are in a shallow tray which catches rain so have had consistent water. The courgette just in front is progressing fine too - for a container plant. I'm not making excuses, but growing food crops in containers can be much more difficult than in the open soil.
Talking of which: here's the little plot. All change here - been have been abandoned and I have got the leeks in, better late than never. The untidy leaves in the middle are sorrel, a tasty and easy addition to salad. The onions are small but tasty.

And below is the main garden - abundant, I think you'll agree? It's going to be another good year for apples - once a biennial bearer, now our apple tree seems to be more consistent year on year. Maybe I am doing some thing right!

Summer Holiday

'On Me Bike' came back from her summer holiday at the end of last week. Two weeks cycling through Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, camping mostly, and catching up with friends and relations. Two days torrential rain, three days some rain, the rest of the time a mixture of quick showers, sun and cloud. Actually not bad!

Mainly following the West Country Way section of Sustrans National Cycle Route 3, stopping after a 'moving-on' day to explore the local area.

Here's some pics. Charlestown, near St. Austell, where I camped for three nights while visiting the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Roadsign above Bodmin, in the rain.

Camel Estuary, from the Camel Trail.

Lane in North Cornwall.

Wind-sculpted tree near Coombe Valley, north of Bude.

Lane in North Devon (I had just crossed the infant River Tamar!)

Duckpool. (Yes, this is what this was signposted as...)

From the Tarka Trail over to Appledore.

Hill farm above Barnstaple, on the way to the campsite on an organic farm that I was staying at.

On the top of the world on Exmoor, looking over to Dartmoor in the rain, after a morning pushing the bike uphill!

Garden Diary: June

It's getting worse, isn't it? My late posts I mean. Been a busy few weeks, what with work and not-work, so the garden and garden blogging have both been a bit neglected.

The patio area is starting to become vertical gardening, with hanging baskets and behind them a trough with strawberries in. The potatoes are getting huge. I've had some Swift new potatoes, but I think I'll have to dispense with the Roosters as they are starting to fall over. The King Edwards went through a bad patch but are now looking better, and the Pink Fir Apples are looking good.

Garlic ready to harvest and rather too many tomato plants, now pushing at the top of the mini-greenhouse again. Tumbling Tom in the hanging baskets with nasturtium. The latter were lovely for a bit, then got the worst blackfly I've ever seen. Maybe they were too stressed (the nasturtiums rather than the blackfly) as those are not very big baskets. Bigger ones next year.

Onions are filling out, but a little slowly. Carrots, not unexpectedly, didn't really like the clay soil and its accompanying slugs. You have to give these things a try. Sugarsnap peas in the middle, with an undercrop of sorrel. Slightly unconventional. In front of those are french beans with the plastic slug-protectors, which do seem to help. I've now planted kohl-rabi among these... any pretence at planning has gone by the wayside! Behind are beetroot, but like the carrots and radish, they don't seem to like the soil. Also they are probably not getting enough light. It's very easy when you've only got a little plot to get very carried away. As summer turns to autumn I'll start sowing winter salads, and this plot will become herbs and salad.

The main garden looking even more verdant.

This is the same alpine trough as here. Evidently my weeding did do more good than I expected.