Hasn’t it been Glorious! The warmth has brought shoots of green everywhere. My beds outside now have a nice row of onion shoots and in the tunnel my broad beans are going great guns and the peas and carrots I planted 10 days ago have started to sprout. It is hard not to be filled with feelings of goodwill and optimism.

My title this week refers not to the weather of course, but the steady arrival in the post of seeds and plug plants. It is lovely, when one is used to the contents of the post being nothing but bills and junk, to greet the steady arrival of little boxes each containing some green treasure.

exciting post

The first to arrive were lettuce and carrot seeds. The lettuce I have planted in seed trays and the carrots have been put in rows in the polytunnel. Next were dahlia tubors and freesia bulbs, which again I have planted straight in the tunnel – as always at this time of year I rapidly run out of space and I can see myself digging more beds before too long. The tunnel, although rapidly filling up, is proving a great succes. Somehow it seems easier to maintian order in there and it is great to have a space that is protected from the elements and vermin as I nervously check my outside beds for rabbit damage each morning.

The great excitement yesterday was the arrival of Asparagus, leeks and dahlias. They all arrive beautifully packaged in cardboard boxes. The excitement is heightened by the instructions – ‘ LIVE PLANTS OPEN IMMEDIATELY’ on the side of the box. I try not to be alarmed, but do feel the sense of urgency that is needed and open the boxes ASAP to be greeted by lovely healthy plugs ready for potting on. Which is were I must go now – I will be glad of the tunnel today as the weather has turned chilly again – I hope not for good……

progress in the tunnel

The past few weeks have been fabulous weather wise – we have been basking in temperatures in double figures and the layers have peeled off as I have been digging in the garden – the temperatures in the poly-tunnel have been positively tropical. In weather such as this, the only place to be is the garden and I have had a frenzy of sowing. In the raised beds in the paddock I have had a final digging over before the planting of potatoes, and in the poly-tunnel I have planted a couple of rows of carrots and some mangetout peas. I have also planted my traditional row of peas in a piece of guttering. Peas being notoriously averse to being moved, the theory is that ,once established, the row of peas will elegantly slide out of the guttering into the prepared trench outside. This way the peas can get a bit of a head-start in the greenhouse and be planted out once the soil and air temperature is a bit more nurturing.  I  usually always feel a frantic sense of urgency at this time of the year, but the words of the vegetable expert echo in my ears  -”don’t plant out before May” - and the panic is replaced by relief as I realise that there is plenty of time.

Peas in a gutter

This week we have been joined in the garden by two pet lambs. In a moment of madness, I agreed to take on two orphan lambs, which the local farmer was only too happy to give away. They are a lot of work, being bottle fed four times a day, but totally adorable. They are in the stable  and when we let them out for  a run they bounce around the garden as lambs should and follow you around like, well, sheep. They have been christened Mint and Currant and are supposed to be for roasting, although I am being faced with a rebellion from the boys who are refusing to countenance the idea – I can see that they will be still happily munching the paddock this time next year – needless to say we had turkey, not lamb, for Easter!

Mint and Currant enjoy the daffs

Happily, the good weather has continued and signs of Spring are all around. The fields are full of delightful lambs and and on Sunday we collected frogspawn with the boys. It is a relief to see how the teenage persona can disappear when faced with a pond full of frogs and bundles of gloopy frogspawn, and boys are boys again.  We now have a pot of the stuff in the garden which as usual will probably come to nothing, but somehow Spring wouldn’t be the same without it. 

This week the village gardening club had a talk entitled  ‘Growing Vegetables‘.  I went along, armed with my notebook anticipating lots of top tips to ensure success.  Unfortunately, the supplemantary title, omitted from the original headline was ‘for showing’. Now this is growing vegetables in a way that is alien and most probably unattainable to me with my somewhat haphazard approach to gardening. Here, nothing is left to chance, and the patience and precision required can only be admired. The soil was ‘riddled’ twice prior to planting carrot seeds, and the ‘long’ carrots were planted in six foot pipes attached to the fence. Show growing is a labour of love and most definately not for the faint-hearted. 

However, as always every gardener has their pearls of wisdom to impart and those I learnt I will pass on to you. The first of these was that, at this latitude, it is best not to plant anything outside until May, when the soil has well and truly warmed up.  Now, I am always struck by impatience at this time of year and feel I should be getting things going early, so it was reassuring to hear that, as always, patience is a virtue and that holding off for that little bit longer will be better in the long run.  The second top tip, which I pass on ‘without prejudice’, is to put your parsnip seeds, three at a time, in a Rizla paper before planting, to ensure germination. Why this should work I don’t know, but at a matter of pence a packet it is probably worth a try when germination can be so hit and miss.

In the vegetable garden here all is going well. The netting has kept the rabbits at bay and the broad beans are growing nicely in and out, with the cloches providing protection from the hard frost at the weekend. Sadly, the ducks have disappeared, I think taken by a fox, especially hungry at this time of year with cubs to feed.  Such is nature and I do miss their friendly quacking, but being very mercenary, at least now I can let the dog in the paddock  off his lease.  I leave you with a photo entitled ‘looking forward to my plugs arriving’, the germination of my sweet peas falling way below expectations!

Just thought I would add – I spent some of this afternoon in the poly-tunnel, while the weather outside was somewhat inclement – strong winds and showers of rain. Those of you who enjoy camping will understand the pleasure of hearing the sound of rain on canvas, feeling its proximity, while being comfortably protected from it. Being in the poly-tunnel is somewhat akin to this, the pleasure being accentuated by being ‘out’ in the garden despite it being a grotty day.

Have attached photos of my broad beans – the first green in the tunnel! – and those outside protected by a miscellaneous collection of cloches.

protection from the elements and vermin

My lovely wooden labels were a parting gift from Suffolk – hand-turned from Ousden oak – I am tempted to give them faces as like sentries they ‘guard’ my rows.

It has been a week of mixed fortunes. While the weather has been heart and body warming, the vermin have been out in force. With the warmth and sunshine of last week,  the garden was the place to be. We mowed the lawn for the first time this year and that just cut grass smell conjured up images of summer days. My little vases inside now contain lovely posies of pulmonaria, narcissi, hyacinths and hellebores. I always enjoy the thought at this time of year that for the next  six months or so there will be fresh flowers to pick in the garden, I am hoping to extend this season with the polytunnel and have ordered plants to create a ‘cutting garden’ under cover.

Mothers day flowers

In the vegetable garden all is not well. Middle son came scurrying in last week from letting the chickens out gleefully telling me that there was a rabbit in the chicken run. When I went out to investigate, I discovered that said rabbit and his friends had also visited the raised beds, which now had tunnels that any miner would be proud of, and my precious onions strewn asunder. They have been hopefully replanted and we have now constructed a rather heath Robinson affair of piping and netting, which my husband is not allowing me to post on the blog, in an effort to deter them, though I fear that more drastic measures may be required.  

I have planted out my broad beans – a row in the tunnel and two outside. Outside, I have employed my tried and tested method of cut off water bottles for protection, and hopr that will give tham a good start. This week I plan to plant out some lettuces in pots and sow some carrots. I have always grown carrots in buckets, partly due to lack of space, but also in theory the gap to the rim of the bucket protects from root fly, which fly along at ground level – so far it has been successful and allows you to fill the buckets with finer compost that I can ever achieve in my beds, thus reducing ‘forking’…..

I spoke to soon! I should have known it would happen, the mere mention of Spring and now, as I look from the window of the shed, I can see snow on the hills. The temperature dropped below zero last week, and it snowed, as if to remind me not to get too carried away in my belief that Spring had really arrived. Despite this there are still new signs of life around us. The broad beans that have inhabited the bathroom windowsill for the past three weeks have finally emerged, as have the sweet peas. The lettuce seeds, planted only last week have proved their eternal optimism and popped up enthusiastically. They look so delicate and it will be interesting to compare their progress with that of my plugs, which I know will arrive looking infinitely more robust, and save me the dreaded pricking out task.

This week has been taken up with digging the beds and spreading manure in preparation for planting. It is a backbreaking task, but satisfying and I know from experience that it will pay dividends in the long run, particularly as it is newly cultivated soil and needs a bit of working. I have put out a couple of cloches to warm up the soil before planting out, and am keeping a beady eye on my neighbours to see how their gardens are progressing to ensure I don’t get ahead of myself. I have this week joined in infamous Leek Club and will try my hand at growing competition leeks for the show in October. It is a serious business and being a total beginner expect that I will have more luck in the flower categories, blowsy chrysanthemums and dahlias, which are showy in every meaning of the word.

Dare I say it, but it feels as if Spring has finally arrived. I know those more accustomed to the seasons here will draw their breath in through their teeth in caution, but in the garden on Saturday it definitely felt warm at last. The corner of the front garden is carpeted with aconites and the first ‘tete-a-tete’ have eagerly flowered.

This week, I have spent a satisfying afternoon tidying up the shed, which has been something of a dumping ground since it was reassembled following its journey north. I have put up hooks for tools and arranged the shelves in an orderly fashion. It is satisfying to see some sense of order and I have resolved to try and kepi it this way – there is nothing more frustrating than popping out for a quick five minutes in the garden, only to waste it all looking for the necessary piece of equipment.

I am dismayed to see that a mole has appeared in the polytunnel. It has been making its way there for some time and, despite the best efforts of husband and no.2 son in setting traps, it remains undeterred. I think it is time to call in reinforcements. Every village has a ‘mole man’ and this is no exception.

The highlight of the week has been taking delivery of a ‘bucketload’ of manure, which has been unceremoniously deposited on the drive. It has been hard work shifting it, but the beds are now blanketed and the polytunnel smells quite sweet and nourishing! All is now ready for the arrival of my plugs, so I wait with eager anticipation.

This is my first year of gardening in the Northumbrian hills, thirty miles west of Newcastle. I am an enthusiastic gardener and flower arranger, but my commitment to the garden has always had to fit around the needs of three young boys, a dog and husband, all of who make varying demands on my time. Having spent the last ten years trying to tame the clay of East Anglia, I now find myself taking over the reins of my parents- in – law’s garden, which they have tended with care and precision for the past 17 years. The formal area of the garden lies, snugly walled in, in front of the stone farmhouse. To the back is an acre of paddock which now houses a chicken run, duck pen and my newly erected polytunnel. Old floor joists from the barn have been used to create two large raised beds and this, along with the tractor tyre, sentimentally brought with us on the move, will form the vegetable patch. This is all presided over by the shed, also transported from the south, which affords fabulous views as far as the Cheviot. This week the snow has finally melted away to reveal a mass of sturdy and resilient snowdrops. In the few days that they have been exposed to the spring sunshine, they have grown an inch and are now perfect for picking to put in small vases dotted around the house – little reminders that the winter is on its way out.

It has warmed up this week and with the birds tuning up, I am at last spurred into action in the garden. This is our first year in northern climes, in a new (to us) garden and so every new shoot that pops up is a surprise. I know that I am going to have to adjust my gardening calendar to take account of the latitude and hope that my newly erected poly-tunnel will help extend the season somewhat. I am new to the business of growing under polythene and expect that this year will be one of new experiences, triumphs and disasters alike.

I have this week planted my broad bean and sweet pea seeds and hope with a little extra heat from the propagator that they will soon be emerging. The great excitement has been, at last, ordering my vegetable and flower plugs from http://www.gardeningdirect.co.uk. I have chosen plugs in the main, which I hope will circumvent some of the frustrations and disappointments of seed growing and importantly enable me to be more productive with my limited time. Browsing through the Gardening Direct website brings back memories of being a child in a sweetie shop, and as usual I have got carried away. The selection is amazing, with all sorts of unusual plants, and hopefully, as plugs they will give me the head start that I need this far north. I can’t wait for their arrival and need to get busy preparing the soil. My friendly farmer, Jim, is going to deliver a front loader of manure this week – an advantage of living in the depths of rural Northumberland – so I should be kept busy distributing that around the borders and beds. Till next week then – good gardening. The Gardener in the North