I was lucky enough last week to visit the Chelsea Flower Show – as usual, full of inspirational ideas, but, this year, they seemed somewhat more achievable than usual. The planting was natural and used plants and flowers that us mere mortals might have in our own garden. All in all, I returned full of inspiration and ready to get cracking.
The fabulous warm weekend was unfortunately followed by a frost this week. To my dismay, my newly planted runner beans have been nipped and several of the leaves have turned brown. I am just hoping that they are resilient enough to recover, along with the potatoes, which had their second frosting.

The garden is looking very colourful, with the last of the tulips fading and the alliums now in full bloom – they really fill a gap after the daffs fade, before the summer perennials kick into action. My wallflowers have also finally flowered – a feat I thought almost impossible after the pounding they had by the winter weather.
In the tunnel, the lettuce is still going great guns and I have planted out some more seedlings to ensure succession. This week I picked my first antirrhinums which self seeded from last year and have developed into a strong plant which, with regular picking, will produce flowers for several months – very satisfying.

It is at this time of year that the poly tunnel comes into its own. The ambient temperature is the few degrees above that outside that makes a difference. The rocket and lettuce I planted a few weeks ago is flourishing and I ate my first homegrown rocket salad of the season which was utterly delicious.
I was really pleased to see that the dahlias are sprouting nicely and indeed every trip into the tunnel reveals more fresh new shoots which is all very exciting.
My tulips are finally flowering and well worth the wait. The ragged edges of the petals are very pretty and add much needed colour to the borders.

The deliveries arrive thick and fast, this week runner beans, cosmos and sweet peas, all as usual looking healthy and happy and ready to plant – this really is the most time efficient way to go about gardening!
However, the most exciting delivery of the week was of animal not vegetable – we were the happy recipients of Boris, Dave and Vince on Saturday and they are happily settled in their new home. I am trying not to get too attached as they are destined for the pot, but pigs are very appealing…….. That said I am looking forward to our first entirely home grown Sunday lunch – all I need to do now is plant a few apple trees……..

At last it feels as if being warm outside may be more than just a fantasy. There have been a few off days, but in the main the past two weeks have been hitting double figures on most days, quite a treat given that for the past few months anything above zero has been a cause for celebration! And, accordingly, I have been busy in the garden.

My first delivery from gardening direct was some lettuce seedling which I have planted straight out into the tunnel and, after a few days when they looked a bit shocked, they have now settled in nicely and look perky.

My other exciting delivery was my dahlia tubers. This year, I ordered the Cut Flower Collection and the Connoisseur Range to get some variety. I have planted half in the tunnel and the other half in pots ready to plant out in May time, so it will be interesting to see how the two compare. I hold out hope that these may bring me prizes in the Autumn leek and flower show where my leeks will undoubtedly fail.

On  a trip out to the garden, I was pleased to see that the purple sprouting broccoli is finally producing some yield, despite being buried under snow for the best part of two months, so I will look forward to tasting that. I also picked a lovely bunch of tulips, White Dream, which survived the chickens trip to the tunnel. The were fantastic, a pale white with a green tinge and perfectly formed, so very satisfying. I am off now to mow the lawn, a sure sign that things are warming up!

I have had a girls weekend away this weekend which culminated in a trip to Barnsdale, the garden created by the legendary Geoff Hamilton for Gardeners World. While there was still little to see in the way of plants, the vegetable garden was full of activity and inspirational ideas. Lots of bits of soil, beautifully tilthed of course, were covered in fleece under which hid lettuces and broad beans amongst other things. There were some great ideas, including placing a small cold frame on top of bales of straw and compost, much like the pineapple pits at Heligan, to start off some early salad. The upshot of the visit is that I am off out to the polytunnel to sow some lettuce seeds that I have left over from my Gardening Direct orders of last year. I am expecting some lettuce plants in April, but thought I would try and get a head start so I can compare progress.
Now that things are beginning to get going in the garden, I am pleased that I have ordered lots of plugs for ease of planting. This year, as opposed to last, I am working four days a week and anything that saves me time will be very welcome. I can’t see how I could fit those hours of pricking out into my current schedule, so am delighted that someone else is doing that task and I am getting the plants in a more ‘oven ready’ state so to speak.
I am very excited today as I have managed, in between my gardening, to dry not one, but two loads of washing on the line, a pleasure denied me for at least five months. These simple pleasures make all the difference!
In terms of plant activity, the garden is a fabulous carpet of snowdrops and aconites, late for certain this year, but a delight to see. The snowdrops have shot up this week and now have stems long enough to pick, so I have dotted them around the house and am enjoying their delicate scent.
Off now to make the most of this Spring day – happy gardening!

Apologies for the long absence, no excuse other than the festive season and the prolonged snow, which has meant that gardening couldn’t be further form my mind. However, as the snow seems at last to be thawing, I am spurred into action.

I haven’t seen a blade of grass in the garden for the past three weeks, and for the past two everything has been under a foot of snow. The polytunnel has been encased in snow on several occasions, but seems to have withstood the weight.
Yesterday, as we unblocked the ice from the drains, the pansies in the pots outside the back door appeared after a long absence. I will be seriously impressed if they recover from their prolonged hibernation, but the are still green and have a few brave flowers.

The chickens have been looking increasingly forlorn, seriously unimpressed by their icy run. Yesterday I put them all in the poly tunnel to have a scratch and it was as if all their Christmases had come at once! I am sure I will regret introducing them to its delights once the summer comes, but for now it is a welcome relief.
Attached I hope are a few photos of the past few weeks for the Gardener in the North.

These last couple of weeks the climate has changed dramatically from a benign autumnal feel to the darker days of Winter – the days seem to have very suddenly shortened, I suspect due to the latitude and Little time seems available to get out in the garden.

That said, this is where the tunnel comes into its own. last weekend, I spent a happy couple of hours planting my winter pots, quite snug and warm, with the rain pattering on the polythene. I now have a whole selection of sizes of pots, planted up with two varieties of viola, ornamental cabbages and under planted with narcissus for that Spring surprise – very satisfying work. Although, it doesn’t pay to get to attached as one of them was hit by a stray football, followed by boy, this weekend, resulting in a rather untidy mess of pot, plants and soil -still no use crying over spilt milk as they say!

The highlight of my week was the arrival of my raspberry canes – Glen Ample – a variiety I have very successfully grown in Suffolk and I look forward to see how they adapt to the moere Northern Climes. I have heeled them in in the tunnel to await the departure of the sheep before planting them out. The date is now set for the end of Nov. I know that despite their irritations I will miss them, and the jury is out as too whether the boys will happily munch their way through the coveted crispy bits for Sunday lunch!

In the garden, it seems that the opposite of Spring Cleaning applies, as it is in the Autumn when the tidying up takes place and you get that satisfying sense that all is cleared away and ready for the Winter ahead. I am never sure how many seed heads to leave on for the frost to decorate, but usually leave a few of the more statuesque and tidy away the ones that trail, get damp and detract rather than enhance.

I have just spent a satisfying afternoon raking leaves, I hope for the last time, and cutting back. In the spaces that have been revealed, I have planted tulips, the dark Queen of the Night interspersed with a pure white, which I hope will escape the mice and damp to produce a pleasing display next year.

In the poly tunnel, I am nurturing violas, ornamental cabbages and wallflowers, which I think need another week in their pots before I plant up my pots for winter display. I plan to underplant with the remaining tulips and dwarf narcissi and the rest will be up to nature. I have taken cuttings of the geraniums and put them in the tunnel. It is the first winter for the tunnel, so it will be interesting to see how warm it stays and how things fare in the colder months – all a learning experience.

Vegetable wise, we are still eating carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and leeks. I am hoping to keep some going to see if I can produce a home-grown platter for the Christmas table…………

Have just spent a pleasant afternoon in the sunshine planting bulbs. Allium, tulips of three different varieties, pink, white and purple Queen of the Night. Having seen this garden go through a full circle of seasons for the first time, I am getting a feel for the gaps and while the early spring bulbs, snowdrops in particular, were in abundance, there was definatley a gap later in the season and I hope that the tulips will fill it.

There is also plenty of tidying up to do. Leaves everywhere and plants beginning to look distinctly tired. The begonias are now on their last legs and next week I plan to refill the pots with violas, underplanted with the dwarf narcissi. We had our first frost last week, albeit in the more exposed spots, and the heating came on for the first time, a definate sign that Winter is on its way.
Still brightening up the days, though, is the abundant harvest of tomatoes. I picked a whole basket today and plan to roast them in the oven with basil, olive oil and garlic – delicious!

This week was dominated by the build up to the Annual Leek and Vegetable show. This was my chance to redeem myself after what I still feel was a fairly poor showing at the Slaley Show. During the week preceding the show, all the competing leeks are ‘punched’. This involves a surreptitious visit from a committee member who punches barely discernible holes in the leaves of the leeks to ensure fair play. With some assistance from the Chair of the Leek club, Brian, I dug up my leeks on Friday night. They looked pretty crummy to me with very patchy leaves, but apparently looks are immaterial, it is size that matters. The leeks are judged on volume, calculated by the length from the button to the first leaf division, (which must not be greater than 6 inches), multiplied by the circumference. The ‘v’ – I don’t know the technical term – must be intact with no splits. It is a precise art and a tense experience. Anyway, I had managed to produce a decent pair – they have to be entered in pairs, so set off on Saturday morning with high hopes. I also had also managed to producec a floral arrangement. This was my  back up  to keep my spirits up should I be way out of the prizes with my leeks. Having dropped the leeks off first thing we were allowed beck into the hall at 3.30 to see the results of the judging – to my utter dismay, one of my leeks was judged to be ‘not sound’ – there was a tiny split which had escaped my attention in the build up and that minute detail scuppered my chances. I know I am not cut out for this precision gardening, but am sure my competitive streak will out and I will be back again next year. Thank goodness for the flowers – I was thrilled to see the red card next to my exhibit showing that with a good standard of competition I won the class – I was even photographed by visiting press, so am hoping to see my moment of glory on the pages of the Hexham Courant next Friday!

After all that excitement it was a relief to have a relaxing couple of hours in the garden on Sunday. I had a delivery on Friday of Wallflowers, Violas and Ornamental Kale, so spent a contended hour potting on the plants and setting them out on the staging in the poly-tunnel. I hope that there will be enough warmth and light in the days to bring them on before I plant them out in a week or so.

I was excited to see that some runner beans that I planted late have finally produced and for supper yesterday, we had beans, carrots, some little broccoli sprouts and a melange of baby courgettes, tomatoes and leeks. I have left one broccoli plant in the tunnel that survived the caterpillars and it is producing a steady stream of little shoots, to be eaten much like purple sprouting.

I have just been disturbed from my keyboard by the postman delivering a selection of bulbs – Allium Purple Sensation, Tulip fringed pink and white, Tulip Queen of the Night and Dwarf Daffodil collection – all beautifully packaged by Gardening Direct, so that is my cue to finish up and get out in the garden – till next week, happy gardening1

The pressing task of the moment is raking leaves. It seems relentless and disheartening, as no sooner are they cleared, than another lot appear. The only redeeming feature of the whole exercise is the accompanying bonfire, and this afternoon I had a great one. After first checking that the  wind  was in the right direction, one match was all that was needed to ignite a pyre of hedge clippings, branches and dry leaves – very satisfying!
As to the flowers, the begonias continue to amaze me, still going strong, with masses of white blooms, a definate for next year – Trailing Illumination White. The antirrhinums are still going strong, and I have transplanted some of the plants into the polytunnel to see if they will overwinter and produce some early blooms – I’ll keep you posted.

In the kitchen garden, I have just gathered a satisfying harvest of potatoes, the delightful Bambino tomatoes and carrots. I always lose heart with carrots in the middle of the season, fed up with all that thinning, but planted in buckets this year and with minimal attention, I have had a great harvest and it all feels worthwhile. I am still picking fabulous blowsy Dahlias – Tahiti Sunrise and definately plan to plant more next year, there is littel to beat them as a cut flower at this time of the year.  And thinking of next year, I am looking forward to an evening curled up on the sofa with the Gardening Direct catalogue to plan and dream about next years planting.