The last day of the day lily

The eighteenth of August see's the last of the day lilies shrivelled and wilted. That means the day lilies flowered for over six weeks this summer. The demise of these flowers however brings with it the realisation that summer is nearing the end and autumn is slowing creeping closer. Its been a strange summer weather wise this year with the best of the sunshine in Easter and the summer being warm, but often wet but more often cloudy. Ive not had to water the garden as much this year and when I have its been because the wind has dried the potted plants rather than the sun.

So while the day lilies fade away the garden is still bright will pink and purple fuchsia, bright yellow Rudbeckia and and the small red blooms of the runner beans. Ive had a great crop so far from the runner beans and given the amount of flowers still displaying there is still loads to come. The hosta's have bloomed and have now set seed, their huge leaves showing the first signs of dying off. Ive also had a good crop of garlic this year with the bulbs now dried and hanging in the shed.

There is the first hint of the ice plants tiny flowers starting to bloom and I would expect a brilliant display in a week or two attracting the bees back into the garden.

Lastly the four apples on the apple tree are doing well. Three of the apples are really growing well and developing a lovely red glow but its still some time before they might be ready for harvest. One of the apples is on the disappointingly scrawny side. Its tucked low down beneath the nearby hosta's and has probably missed out on its share of sunshine. Its an odd shape and what amuses me most is the strange way it is attached to the very end of the branch as if its just been stuck on as an afterthought.

The day of the Daylily

The third of July brings the delight of the magnificent Daylily. The buds began to open yesterday in the warm sunshine but it wasn't until this morning that the first buds opened fully. These large yellow trumpets tower over the Hosta's, Hebe and Heuchera. When I see these great flowers coming into bloom I know the summer has finally arrived.

Spring 2011 review - part 1

There has been lots going on in the Garden of Shaz over the last six months. Here then is a review of spring 2011 to chart the changes over the last few months.

After such a harsh winter the eventual thaw was so welcome. But it brought with it a water-logged ground that took weeks to dry out. So once the water logged ground had dried enough, I could get to the brussels and harvest. I had imaginged that I would be enjoying home grown Brussels and parsnip for Christmas dinner, by sadly they didnt make it to the plate because of the frozen conditions in December. I was concerned with the brussels and parsnip still at the mercy of the elements and how the freezing conditions would damage the vegetables. Apart from a little damage from what I suspect was caused by insect kind, I was quite surprised how good a condition the sprouts were. Once picked there was enough for a couple of dinners and actually tasted pretty good to.



The parsnip leaves had been completely destroyed by the frosts and snow which made it difficult to know where the dig. I decided to leave them in the ground until drier conditions and in that time noticed new leaf growth forming. It wasnt until February until the parsnips were eventually dug up and what a huge surprise it was so see what had been growing under ground. The was a mixture of sizes from the minisule to the massive and the weirdest growth on most. Few were neat plump and long like the supermarket type. Instaed they were mostly odd shapes with finger like growths forming miniutre parsnips. I believe this might have been caused because they were left in the ground to long and had started the growing process again, as with the new leaves.

Oddly shaped or not, they were still edilble and so with much cleaning and peeling a good amount of parsnip chunks were eventually cut.

The green, green grass

Its so green, the grass in my garden. Greener than its looked for a very long time. But how can it be after the harshest winter for a 100 years. I think its because the 8 inches of snow we have had has actually protected it from the sub zero temperatures.


During December the temperatures by day were as low -3 degrees if not lower. Before the snow, the ground was rock solid after days of the harshest frosts I have ever seen, that created the most beautiful effect on everything it touched. Then with a layer of snow that lay on the ground for perhaps as long as two weeks, the ground temperature could start to rise again. Once the snow cleared the grass was already springing back into life to reveal this lush carpet of green.


So while the garden was covered with this second helping of snow the priority again has been to keep the water in the bird bath de-iced and a supply of food for the birds.



This Christmas I was hoping to enjoy my own homegrown Brussels and parsnips. However, because of the big freeze it has been impossible to harvest anything. Hopefully they will survive this weather and be edible for a January meal instead.