Or in my case, measure at all, purchase once. I need a fitting to go on to our outside tap so that I can connect a hose to it. It "looks like" a three-quarter inch fitting. So I "borrow" a suitable fitting from Dad. Too big. So today I purchased a half inch fitting. Too small. If I’d bothered to measure it, I’d know that it is five-eights. Bah.
Busy day
I had great plans for all the things that I was going to achieve yesterday. Unfortunately, one job took far longer than I had anticipated, so I didn’t get through my entire list. Who knew that painting trellis was so arduous? I had it marked down as a two hour task, but instead it took nearly six!
Anyway, yesterday Hels and I
- painted the trellis and gate
- painted the shed door
- sanded down three of our new (old) garden chairs ready for painting
- mowed the lawn
- planted several plants – a Spiraea, Veronica, Veronicastrum, Eryngium and Anemone
- cleaned the house
- did the recycling
- cooked lovely duck in port, orange and green peppercorn marinade
- collapsed in a heap at the end of it all.
In other news, things have taken a step forward(ish) with regard to the sale of H’s flat. We now have a pile of paper. Yay.
Brimstone, no fire
A rather beautiful yellow butterfly has just fluttered by the window.
That is all.
Sad loss of a horticultural hero
I’m a week late with this, but I’ve only just heard – Alan Bloom, possibly the greatest perennial plants advocate and enthusiast of the 20th century, has died aged 98.
Alan Bloom was a great influence on me as I came into the horticulture industry. I’ve read most of his books, including the excellent Plantsman’s Progress, which covers not only his background in horticulture, but also his relationships with parents and children, touching on Fenland life. His enthusiasm and passion for perennials, illustrated by the way he developed a large perennial-growing nursery at a time when shrubs and low-maintenance gardens were the fashion, as well as his co-founding of the Hardy Plant Society, were rewarded with an MBE as well as the two highest honours in horticulture – the Veitch Memorial Medal and the Victoria Medal of Honour.
He cut a slightly eccentric figure. His hooped earrings and long flowing hair marked him out as slightly different from most (rather staid) horticulturalists. He had a passion for plants matched only by his passion for steam power (he collected many engines for his museum at Bressingham, Norfolk). He was also a Quaker and, judging by his autobiography, something of a rebel who was not afraid to stand up against the "perceived wisdom". He did much to popularise perennials, both through his media appearances and also through his development of the "island bed" technique of displaying them, and it is probably fair to say that I might not be doing what I am doing today if it had not been for his efforts in this field.
There were to be special open days of his Dell Garden at Bressingham Hall this summer for the HPS. Knowing his great age, I had planned to attend in order to meet the great man before he died. Unfortunately, that opportunity is now lost. Instead, a tribute day will be held there on 21 June to celebrate his life in the garden he created, a garden which features some of the 200 or so plants that he bred and developed. Some of those plants are growing at my parents’ nursery, and I’ll be planting one or two in the garden here.
Garden news
More planting last night – sage (Salvia officinalis Berggarten), Penstemon barbatus Peter Catt, catmint (Nepeta faassenii), some Ranunculus, some Gaillardia and a Salvia nemorosa variety. Monty seems to have spotted the catmint already, but I’m not sure that he knows what to make of it. Perhaps he will let it grow a little before he sits on it/eats it/shreds it.
Quiet here…
…due to being away from the laptop, either due to work and non-work committments or due to DIY and gardening tasks, some of which resulted in downtime on my internet connection whilst cables were taken out of the way to facilitate painting. Anyway, since we last spoke, H and I have:
- demolished the wood store in the garden
- extended the outside dining area around the barbeque
- created a new small flower bed by the outside dining area
- planted various plants including Brachyglottis, Cytisus, arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica Crowborough), Oenothera, Osteospermum, a cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), burnt-sugar bush (Cercidophyllum japonicum), magnolia (Magnolia stellata), two clematis (the varieties Henryi and Piilu) and assorted herbs
- sown seeds of coneflower (Rudbeckia) and sunflower
- painted the woodwork on the stairs, in the porch and in the master bedroom
- painted one interior wall of the conservatory – aqua, for turquoise fans
- painted the troughs along the side of the house and part of the summerhouse
- visited Borough Market and the Saatchi Gallery
- spent a day with the in-laws/family.
The garden is certainly beginning to take shape now, particularly as the seeds that were sown last week are beginning to sprout. I’m fairly sure that there are going to be too many of some plants if all the seeds germinate – our small garden is unlikely to be able to accommodate 70 sunflowers – so some judicious thinning-out might be called for in a few weeks time (I expect I might be able to donate some seedlings, if they come out of the ground in good shape, to Sil – depends how they all grow). We also feel like we have made some progress on the house, although we have at least two more full days of painting in the conservatory and porch, just to complete what we have started. The bathroom and kitchen have both been put on the back burner for the time being – maybe we will tackle them as autumn projects before the dark nights set in.
There will be photos, certainly of our trip to the South Bank, and possibly, if I get round to taking some, of the garden.
Also, since we last spoke, my parents’ MP has caused a furore in the Tory party by speaking his mind and then standing his ground – more on this when I have a moment.
Water, falling
Yesterday, I had to go over to my parents’ nursery to do some odds and ends and, whilst there, I picked up some things for the garden. In particular, I got some Iris plants as well as some fertilizer for the lawn and borders. In addition, on the way home, I picked up a packet of grass seed to patch up our threadbare lawn.
Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to get straight outside and plant the Irises, spread the fertilizer and sow the grass seed before it got dark. Overnight and this morning we have had steady rain, so the fertilizer and seeds will have got a good soaking in – it will have helped the seeds sown at the weekend too.
Rain and water is certainly something I’m conscious of when it comes to the garden – it has even made the news. I’m going to invest in some hose and a drip irrigation system for the tubs and troughs, but I’m also thinking that it might be worth getting a water butt.
On the subject of water, today is World Water Day.
Hard at work
A day of much gardening activity, punctuated by washing of the cars – that’ll make it snow, or worse.
Anyway, a summary of the day’s activities in the garden:
- lawns mown
- border in rear garden forked over, two sacks of organic matter incorporated
- horrible weedy border in front of car parking area in the front garden dug, with manure and ash incorporated
- one of the three troughs alongside the house rejuvenated with spent potting compost
- plants planted in the rear garden: Ajuga, Cytisus, Dianthus, Iris and Phygelius
- plants planted in the trough: rosemary and parsley
- sweet peas planted front and rear
- seeds sown in all three locations: parsley, Eschscholzia, Shirley poppy, Aquilegia McKana hybrids, nasturtium, Virginia stocks, Nicotiana sylvestris (yes, that is tobacco), cornflower and a pack of mixed hardy annuals.
Not sure how successful the seeds will be – a spot of rain would certainly enhance their chances, but other than that we’ll just have to wait and see. As for the plants, they should all do reasonably well. The overall effect is far from stunning so far (hence no photographs for now), but these things take time (in spite of what the garden makeover TV shows would have you believe). A lot will depend on how well the seeds do, as they make up 99% of the new front border planting – designed deliberately to be cheap and expendable in case I get round to tackling the new parking area this year. As for the rear and the troughs, I need to get quite a lot more plants to furnish them properly. I think some visits to a few nurseries for some scrounging might be called for.
Grr
To the bright spark that drove into Hels’s car in one of the lanes in Ruralville, smashing off the wing mirror, and didn’t stop – thanks. That’ll cost us quite a bit to have fixed.
To whichever of our cats it was that knocked over the full vase on the dining table overnight, spilling water all over my brand new Wallpaper* magazine and leaving a huge water stain in the table and an even bigger puddle on the floor – thanks. Next time, I’ll use the pair of you to mop it up.
Snow, dropping
Much happiness at Graybo Towers this morning as a parcel arrived containing a consignment of snowdrops (Galanthus for those that like botanical names) and winter aconites (Eranthis). As is typical with these things, I had The Man From The Ministry here at the time who, it turns out, is a Galanthophile and has offered to give me some of his fancy named varieties of snowdrops. For free. Bah.
Anyhow, I ducked out earlier to plant the new arrivals before the cats shredded them in their packaging. Now the snow is falling, so here is a picture of snowdrops in the snow.
