After the freeze

Since the last post the only activity in the garden, until this weekend, has been to defrost the bird bath and put feed out for the birds. With temperatures falling to -5 degrees C it must have been very challenging for the wildlife, so its been a priority to keep them fed and watered. Its been interesting watching 5 or 6 blackbirds sitting together in the same tree, then later chasing each other around to defend food and territory.

The robin is a regular visitor and is often sitting on the fence before I go out with feed. It even starts to feed while I am only a few feet away. A long tail tit and thrush have also been spotted.

This weekend brought warmer weather and so I could get into the garden to tidy up. The Cosmos and Rudbeckia had been totally destroyed by the heavy frosts. The late flowering had been a great show but the remains after this cold snap had left them in a terrible mess. Other plants look to have survived although the parsnip leaves have seen better days.

Oh no, snow!

The snow has arrived. Friday lunchtime time the snow started to fall in Cardiff and within a few hours a good few inches had settled. So begins the big freeze.

Earlier in the week the days had been getting chillier with morning frosts damaging the still flowering Cosmos and Rudbeckia. The weight of the snow finally crushed the life from them and all that remains of the Cosmos is withered and broken stems. Surprisingly some of the Rudbeckia might still survive.




Since the snow arrived its been more important to feed and water the birds. The bird bath must now be defrosted each morning with hot water replacing the thick layer of ice. This morning I filled the bird bath with freshly boiled water. With the temperature at -2 the water had started to freeze again by the afternoon. Within minutes of going back into the house the Robin had arrived at the bird bath for a drink. It would have found the water too warm and drank from the cooler spillage on the floor.

Peanuts and seed is already hanging in the garden. Muesli, dried fruit, mixed nuts, meal worms and biscuits are put out each morning. Today these foods attracted the robin, magpies, a group of 8 starlings, a pair of collared dove and 5 or 6 blackbird. Interesting, and worryingly no sparrows have been seen in the garden for some days. Hopefully they have found a better food source.

There is very little to do in the garden for the next few months apart from harvest the Brussels and parsnip later in the year and plan for next year. Ive not really thought too much about the year to come apart from controlling the spread of the hostas and day lilies. These two plants have been most successful but do cover a lot of space when fully grown that other plants struggle to compete. The evergreen shrubs that should be providing winter colour and interest are disappointing as a result.

The last blooms of 2010

November has been an interesting month and its only half way through. The weather has brought the challenges of frost, strong winds and heavy rain. The perennials including hostas, marigolds and fern have completely died away leaving large and muddy gaps in the border.

The winners this month are the Cosmos and Rudbeckia. These were sown late in the year and then planted late into the borders and pots. I didn't expect them to do much this year because they were grown so late. However I have been very surprised as both have bloomed beautifully with the Rudbeckia giving a very strong display.




The apples have been removed from the tree to allow it to concentrate its energy on itself during the winter and spring months.

Autumn takes over

Its November and autumn has definitely arrived, first with warmth and wonderful colours in the trees and bushes, and now with strong winds and rain. Once these winds die down there wont be many leaves on the trees and the arrival of autumn and darkness with the clocks going back makes it all seem to happen so much more abruptly. Never mind, its still a great time of year and so much is changing so quickly.



Way back in august the day lilies were finishing. Since then they have completely died away and their spiky leaves have dried and been cut back. Schizostylis fenland daybreak then took over the boarder. Now even their vibrant but delicate pink flowers have lost a bit of their punch.

Hosta's have all but gone but still strong are the Brussels. Ive had a difficult time controlling the caterpillar populations on these plants. As there are mixed in with the flowers and shrubs of the border I have not been able to net them, hence a variety of caterpillars have enjoyed a feast. Between the thick stalked leaves are small round Brussels that should provide a good accompaniment to Christmas dinner.

The parsnips have also been doing well and it will be interesting to see how large they become when harvested. The leeks are looking good and seem to have survived the attentions of what might have been leek moth. At one stage the drooping and damaged leaves looked terminal. However in recent weeks they have all bulked up.

The apple tree is starting to shed its leaves. The apples are still on the tree and have grown to about 3cm's in diameter, not big enough to eat. I shall leave them on the tree for a while but I cant see them growing much more now. I expect that a leafless tree will be putting its energies into surviving the winter, not growing more fruit.

Lastly the runner beans have been the biggest success of the year, with much eaten and still more in the freezer. I have kept some back to dry out and provide seed for next year. Only a handful of carrots made it through the season which was disappointing. However the size of some of them has been incredible. It certainly helped growing them direct into the border and not into pots as in previous years.

The August report

Its been almost a month since my last post and a lot has happened during that time. The day lilies have given a brilliant display and are just coming to the end. I have let a few flowers develop into seed pods and will try to cultivate any seeds I collect next spring.

The apple tree produced a small amount of blossom a few weeks ago. While the blossom last for only a few days it has developed into seed heads which should go on to become apples. I am surprised by the timing of the blossom and expect the weather will become too cold for the apples to grow.

I harvested the potatoes this weekend. The plants were all suffering from blight so I didnt expect to find much. However I did manage to find enough to fill a bowl or two dinners worth. That evening I boiled some of them but after just a short time they had all split and gone to water. Disaster, and straight into the bin.

The big sucess has been the pea and bean crops. The dwarf beans produce a good amount of pods. I have also been shelling peas and picking runner beans and there is a lot more to come.

Snails reproducing on the doorstep

This morning I was surprised to see two snails locked together as they reproduced. The photo clearly shows the tube of each snail entwined. They stayed in the position for a number of hours before moving slowly away in different directions.

This reminds me of the time I found two slugs reproducing. That photo is not on this blog so I will search my files and add it at a later date.

Meanwhile, the garden is blooming with huge amounts of day lilies, Hostas, Hebe and fuchsia's attaching lots of bees into the garden.

Vegetable-wise the dwarf beans have been producing a handful of beans every other day. The peas and runner beans are just starting to flower and so a harvest should not be far away.

The two leeks that have been growing since last year bolted a few months ago. I left them to see what would develop and as the photo shows they have bloomed into beautiful circular flowerheads.

The flowering leeks have also been great at attracting bees. I am trying to grow leeks again this year and so far four are growing well. I am also trying spring onions growing them all together in a large deep container.

The garlic is look good too. I had a sneaky peek at a couple of the bulbs today. They still need some time to develop fully but so far so good.

A Blackfly horror story

The last few months have seen the horrid beasts, the blackfly and on a smaller scale greenfly, attempt to take over the garden. The apple tree has been the worst affected. The tips of the branches have become a haven for blackfly, curly over the leaves and laying masses of eggs. Ants then march up the branches and seem to be feeding on the flies. I'm not sure what the ants are actually doing but they are not reducing the numbers as I first hoped.

My method for clearance is to put on the garden gloves and systematically squash and wipe them all away. As the tree is about 5 feet tall it is possible to do this by hand. While the tree is small like this I think it is important to take this much care of it. Once it is taller the apple tree will have to fend for its self but by then it should be much stronger. I have now cleared the flies three or four times over the last few months but it doesn't take long for the critters to re-establish themselves again.

The photo shows a mass of greenfly on the underside of the leaves, while ants crawl around them. More recently they have been blackfly.

I have also found blackfly on the runner beans and Rose of Sharon. Greenfly are in the lettuce but that is to be expected.

Birds in the garden

A few weeks ago I set up a Kodak Zi6 in the garden and left it to record the birds feeding and drinking. Its taken a while to edit but here is 90 seconds of sparrows and a couple of magpies.

Caterpillar visitor

Over the last few days I have noticed a number of large brightly coloured caterpillars wandering around the garden. I photographed one as it sheltered under a potato leaf. I was going to remove it thinking the leaves were about to be munched. Instead I left the caterpillar were it was but kept an eye out for any damage.

Later that day the caterpillar was still there with no damage to the leaf. The next day the caterpillar was replaced by a silky ball holding two potato leaves together. The caterpillar had formed a cacoon. It is now changing slowly into a moth or butterfly.

I have since found out the caterpillar is in fact a species called Lackey Moth Caterpillar. Although the caterpillar is brightly coloured the moth that it becomes is a very dull brown.

Blooming lovely

The warm bank holiday weekend weather has really brought the garden to life. For the first time in 4 years the clematis has flowered displaying a wonderful purple bloom. Each autumn I have pruned the branches of the clematis, as instructed in the books and each year I have been disappointed by the amount of growth and lack of flowers.

Last autumn I decided not to prune to see what happens and if it still did not flower it would be removed. Without pruning the leaves grew back much quicker this spring and there are a number of flower buds ready to burst open.

Also in flower now are Iris, Thyme, Purple Broccoli (was left to flower) and the Violet Heuchera.

7 day germination

Last weekend I sowed a few more seeds in the garden. Probably a bit late in the year but I should get some reward before the autumn. Most surprising was the seed at which the dwarf beans germinated - 7 days. Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised, the weather has been very warm.

Yet again I have not done very well with the tomato seedlings. The first seedlings germinated in early April. However they are still only about two inches tall. This could be caused by a combination of errors on my part. Poor soil - I have used a mixture of general purpose compost, garden clay soil and perhaps other unsuitable matter. Greenhouse - Once germinated I left the seedlings in the greenhouse. This sounds ok, but I think it may have been too dark for proper growth to start. The greenhouse cover is clear plastic with a green mesh, which from the outside seems ok but from the inside might be just a bit too shaded.

So next year I shall used proper seed compost and put them outside sooner (depending on the frosts).

Daffodil flowering time lapse

Over nine days during March this year I photographed a daffodil as it developed and eventually flowered. I was interested to see how the plant changed before flowering. I had noticed on other daffodils that although the petals looked ready to open it was some time before the flowerhead would reveal itself.



The time lapse movie reveals that the flowerhead moves from pointing skywards, through approximately 100 degrees to point towards the ground, before flowering.



The time lapse has been done very roughly as the camera was not set up on a tripod but I would simply hold the camera in the same place as best I could. As a result the background moves around but the overall effect is still good.

Purple broccoli

This Sunday we enjoyed the first purple broccoli with a roast beef dinner. I wasn't overly impressed but it was nice to see my first broccoli harvest on the plate.

The apple tree is beginning to show a fine display of leaves. I'm sure within a few more weeks the once twiggy look will be replaced with a fine bushy growth.

Carrots and lettuce have started to show in the borders and pots. I have had to put slug pellets down in these area in the hope that the young seedlings will survive.

The only other activity in the garden over the last week has been to transplant the 11 tomato seedlings and 2 leeks. 3 cabbage seeds have germinated but they can wait for another week before they are re-potted or moved to a position in the garden.

The radish and Brussels that were re-potted a few weeks ago are still in their pots. As they are still small I cant be sure which is which (should have labelled them!). I will have a better idea in few days as everything is changing so rapidly now the warmth has arrived.

The warm weather has meant that the garden has needed a watering with large cracks appearing in the soil.

First signs of life

This weekend brought the first signs of life in a number of places. The first potato broke through the surface at the weekend. Now, two days later, two others have emerged. The potatoes with planted about a week before the main seeds in the greenhouse. Therefore they have taken about 3 or 4 weeks to germinate.

The broccoli, planted last year, has started to develop into more recognisable small purle/green fluffy sprouts. However the cabbage is still just a mass of leaves.

The seeds in the greenhouse are emerging slowly. Broccoli and radish have already been repotted with tomotoes looking like the next contender. They are too small to transplant yet, but hopefully they will be much bigger by the weekend.

The garlic is still doing well. I am experimenting with carrots and parsnips sown directly into the borders as the carrots sown into pots over last two years have been disappointingly small.

The sunny weather also meant the grass could be cut for the first time this year.

The warmth of spring

There is certainly a warmth in the air with spring making it's subtle presence felt. Although the wind has been generally cold and the rain (sleet and snow!) heavy and persistant, when there is a chance to feel the sun, it is warm. The plants are lapping it up too.

Daffodils are almost all in bloom and blossom is starting to appear on trees. Since I sowed the seeds a couple of weeks ago, the brussels and radish have germinated first. There are signs of the tomatoes germinating next but everything else is at a slower pace.

A couple of days after sowing all those seeds I planted garlic into the right side border. That too has germinated quickly with each clove at least 2 inch's high. Last year I grew garlic in pots. They germinated fine, but a combination of overwatering and a dull area of the garden meant that they all rotted. This year they are in the ground and on a sunny side.

This weekend the rain and bog-like conditions prevented me from doing much until Monday. However I did eventually get to repot the brussels and radish, sow onion, leek and cabbage seed for the greenhouse, and start off some salad, both indoor and out.

It's seed weekend

A glorious sunny Sunday followed heavy rain on Friday and light rain on Saturday. All that rain left the garden water logged and so I was unable to go near the borders. Instead I used the time to sow the veg and flower seeds for the coming year. All have been put into the green house as its too cold and too early to be left outdoors. I have not got a great deal of space so for the larger plants I have restricted the amounts of veg seeds in each row to 5 for each variety, in the hope that at least 1 will germinate.

Tray 1

1. Tomato - Harbinger


2. Tomato - Money maker


3. Tomato - Gardeners delight


4. Tomato - F1 Fantasia (x2) Harbinger (x3)


5. Pepper - California wonder


6. Pepper - Mini mix


7. Pepper - Yolo wonder


8. Sweet basil

Tray 2

1. Mint


2. Radish


3. Radish


4. Leek


5. Leek


6. Brussels


7. Brussels


8. Marigold

Tray 3

1. Salpiglossis


2. Coleus


3. Nigella


4. Morning Glory


5. Nasturtium


6. Antirrhinum


7. Cosmos


8. Stock

Tray 4

1- 5 Marigold

6-8 Sweet Pea

To round off the day, I also created a new herb garden with a pot of mint that I bought at Morrison's on Saturday and a pot of Thyme and Parsley that I have been growing for a few seasons. The herbs are contained in a trough that sits next to the back door, so that I don't have to go far to pick a few bits of anything. As mint is a bit of an aggressive plant containing it within the trough should be perfect.

Now I have planted up this herb garden next the back door I have realised that I should do the same for the salad area. For the past few years I have grown the salad at the top of the garden, but that means I have to walk to the top of the garden to pick a couple of leaves. So the next job for the week will be to move the salad containers down to the back door. This should also be an improvement for the plants as there is more light and warmth at the house end of the garden.

Apple tree joins the Garden of Shaz

Welcome to the newest member of the Garden of Shaz. The Cox's apple tree, a Christmas present from Rob and family, was planted into the garden today. It takes pride of place at the top of the right side border.

Over the last few weeks I have been improving the soil, digging in new compost and sand. This weekend brought glorious sunshine and so I could not hold back any longer.

The tree was in a plastic pot and so I treated the planting as such. However, once I tried getting the tree out of the pot I faced a problem removing it with the rootball intact. As I prised the tree out it became a bit messy. In the end the tree came away from the soil and so became a bare root planting. With a stake to keep the tree in place, it should be protected from the wind that will blow towards it.

At 4 ft tall I can not wait to see how well it grows over the next few years. I do hope might attempt at planting it was satisfactory.

Homemade compost

The first weekend of March brings glorious sunshine. Perfect weather for gardening.

The weekend jobs were to carry on improving the area where the apple tree will go and some general tidying before spring really hits.

The apple tree will go near the top of the garden in the left side border. The soil in that area is horrid and needs lots of improvement before the tree goes in. For the last few weekends I have removed the grass, added good soil and dug it over but with any heavy rain it still gets too boggy.

This weekend I started adding sand to improve the drainage.

But how about the compost heap? Since starting work on the garden I have composted as much as I could, with any extra going into the wheelie bin. But for those few years I had not looked to see what was happening below the top level.

After removing the newest material from the top it wasn't long before I found really good decomposed compost, as you can see from the photo. And there was loads of it. Three buckets of this free compost then went in to the border to help improve it.

I hope to be able to have the soil ready for next weekend and get the tree planted before the growing season starts again.

I also dug up the carrots that have been growing since last spring time. I was hoping these would have grown bigger than the previous year but no such luck. As you can see from the photo the average length is only 2-3 inch's and perhaps two meals worth.

The lack of growth may be due to the depth of the container. This year I will plant some carrots direct into one of the borders to see how they do.

New resident in the Garden of Shaz

This Saturday saw my first proper exploration of the garden this year. It was a lovely sunny day, although cold, and the ground was very soggy. So the plan was simply to tidy the garden and make some preparations for the planting of the new apple tree.

As the ground was so wet I abandoned the trainers as normal garden wear and went for the heavy duty work boots kept in the shed. Before putting them on I thought I had better do a quick spider check in case of expected visitors. However, instead of finding spiders I had a bit more of a surprise. Inside both were bits of material, laces and plastic making what looked like a cosy little spot for something slightly bigger. The boots had become winter homes for some mice.

Snowy garden

The garden has been covered in snow and ice for the past week, but yesterday brought a proper covering of snow. I measured 4 inches in my back garden. Thankfully its thawing quickly which should mean that I can get into the the garden and start getting things sorted.

The carrots are still frozen and under snow but if the weather stay warm I may be able to dig them up at the weekend.



Here are a selection of photos. The Robin you can see in one of the photos is a regular visitor. It has very little fear of me and will often sit on the fence watching me breaking up and throwing bread in the garden. Any other bird would fly off as soon as the back door opens. This robin stays and watches.












I have also spotted and Redwing in the garden over the last few days. The first time I saw it I knew it was different but didn't get a good enough look. The next day I saw it again and noticed the red parts under the wings and the white flashes around the eye. If you look closely at the photo of the branches you can see the backside of a bird. That is the redwing. That was the best shot I got before it noticed me and flew away.







The first bird in the garden looks to be the blackbird as the footprints have been captured in the snow. When I first looked out of the window these were the only footprints to disturb the new covering of snow.











I have been putting a lot more food out for the birds these past few weeks. Bread, biscuits, rice and grated cheese. The favourite traditional food seems to be the nuts. With starlings, sparrows, blue tit, coal tit and magpies all having a munch. The seed feeder is less in favour though with very few birds going to it. It may be that the position is not great but during the summer last year it was so popular with the sparrows I was filling it almost every other day.

New year freeze

Its 2010 and the garden is frozen solid. There was a little snow before Christmas but that turned into ice by the next morning and lasted about 3 days. Since then there has been warmer weather and now another cold snap to start the new year.

The carrots in the photo where dug up on the 12th December. Since then the ground has been frozen solid so I am unable to get to the others. I hope the ice is not destroying them but I will not know until it warms up again.

The car thermometer said it was -5 at 08:00 this morning. That's chilly. I have been removing the ice from the bird bath each morning and replacing with hot water. The birds do use it, mostly for drinking but sometimes even to splash about in.