Garden Stirrings

 The gloom of winter is starting to lift, there are still faint shreds on light in the sky at 6pm now, and as well as the emergences of colour I've shown you from around the town, I've noticed that things are stirring in my crocus planters too.

If anything, they are ahead of this time last year, I don't recall the flower heads appearing by mid February in 2022. 

I don't know about you - although I doubt any of you would disagree - but I'm glad the days are starting to lengthen, and I won't be cycling home in the dark for much linger, and I'll be able to go for walks in the evening, and that the frosts will hopefully soon be gone for another year.

Cycling in the lowest temperatures we've had for a fair few years was no fun at all. 

Obviously there still might be a sting in the tail to come this season, but as I do every year, I feel this tremendous relief when March begins to get closer on the calendar, and my mental health takes a bit of a boost.

I hope it does for you as well.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.02.23

My Autumn Oasis

 I still have colour in my postage stamp yard, my little container garden, my little project in attracting pollinators to the yard.

To be honest, the main attractors have been the buddleia and the clematis which grow entirely of their own volition without any input by me, but I could say I have done a good job by not removing them. Besides my own plants have had their moments too, the presence of caterpillars would indicate that butterflies have paid more than a fleeting visit. 

There are still sunflowers, zinnia and cosmos coming into flower, but I've done no more work on the plating front. I'm assuming my crocus and allium bulbs will do for another year, although I did gather allium seeds and plant them too. I suppose right now I ought to be collecting the old flower heads to gather seeds from them too. 

It's all a learning experience.

I turned 50 over the weekend. My main present should be treating myself better and enjoying myself more. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.09.22

Latest Garden Funs

 Well, I'm determined to do more posting again, now that the cricket season is coming to an end and I won't be too sore and battered to go walking and cycling. 

It has taken a long time for some of my pots and planters to get going, but there's a fair bit of, er, action going on now if plants growing very slowly counts as action.

After an eternity, the alysia has come in to flower, after a period during which I thought I'd killed them all and had to thin them. They are great for pollinators apparently, but the flowers look very teeny tiny for that. 

Also after a long old time, there's flowers blooming in one of my seed bomb planters, various little pink, white and purpley things. Not a clue what they are of course.

I have a second, and rather more impressive sunflower in flower, pretty much the sole survivor in its planter. It looks beautiful. And in front of that, I have two planters of nasturtiums on the go, hopefully I'll see flower heads soon, else I might have to thin them. 

I've had a second flush from my coreopsis. and that looks rather nice. Most of the rest of my pots I got earlier in the summer have gone to seed more or less, apart from the geraniums. 

My first season as an incompetent gardener and I've enjoyed it. Some things haven't worked, others have. It's a very middle aged thing to be doing, it feels like, but hey I'm nearly 50. 

The sense of reward when something grows and blooms in the way it should is very gratifiying, and also very helpful from the old mental health point of view. 

Let's see what happens in September.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 31.08.22

A Spot of Deadheading

 On my sister's advice, I had a bit of a garden tidy up tonight, deadheading the coreopsis, hacking back the brown and dry phlox, and removing all the past it allium from the planters.

When doing the latter, I found that the soil in the planters were covered in the seed heads from the allium, so I spread them out a bit, gathered a few to put in the planter I'd just removed the dead poppies from that never flowered, and covered them thinly with soil. 

I will eave themm out a bit longer, then transfer them to the mini greenhouse for autumn and winter and see what happens. The bulbs will still be in these planters too. 

Felt rather pleased with myself for doing this, it seemed a very proper gardener thing to do!

I've enjoyed this rather insignificant standard of gardening in the great scheme of things, I find it wonderfully constructive and therapeutic. 

And middle aged, but hey, who cares.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.07.22

Garden Update

 After a slow period, where nothing much seemed to be happening, we now seem to have had a bit of mini flowering of various bits and pieces.

The last couple of allium appear to be developing clusters of red flowers, not yet open. Flower heads area appearing in the poppy tub, there's a feeble blue showing from the very few cornflowers in the tin bucket that have survived.

The wildflower seeded tubs have got things going on, with pink and red spiny poppies, sweet allison and what appears to be honesty, with other plants appearing to be just about ready to bloom too.

The clematis type shrub on the back wall has gone mad, and lots of white flowers have emerged there, which the bees love, and it also provides cover for the sparrow families nesting round and about, including in a hole in a fire escape stair rod. 

Nasturtiums have sprouted in the mini greenhouse, as have the antirhynus. 

I did feel there was rather a lot of green however, so I caved in and bought some marigolds and geranium, which are brightening the place up and offering pollinators feeding opportunities; tiny bees like the french marigolds by the look of things. 

Most of it planted by me in the end though, a first time gardener.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.07.22

Greening the Garden

 So, let's have a look and see what progress I've made in turning my garden area, tiny and comprising nothing but flint chips, into some sort of mini-haven for nature. 

This has all been done with pots and containers, but mother nature has added her own splashes of life. 

My alliums attract pollinators, but not as much as the herb robert and ragwort that has erupted through the ground beneath the stones. Tree bumblebees and especially early bumblebees have come down to feed. 

The sparrows use the big sprawling clematis at the back for cover as they dart in and out of the window feeder on the flat upstairs, and my washing line feeder when I can remember to fill it. 

Life has happened in all my containers and pots now, they have all had things sprouting. The lemon and orange and autumn sunflowers are strong, the poppies have sprouted as have the convovulvus and alysium. 

The cornflowers didn't make it though, they grew tall then withered. I think I should have thinned them. Consequently I decided to thin the convovulvus tonight to see if that might help it flourish.

I did it with scissors, and I have no idea if I've done it right! 

We shall see.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.06.22

More Gardening Stuff

 My giant alliums have gone over, but my dwarf alliums are now coming into flower. At least they are in one planter, for some reason the ones in the other planter have not formed flowering heads. 

I suppose these things happen when you are a "gardener" - how hilarious to refer myself as one of those. 

There is action happening now with the rest of my new plantings - my bee and butterfly mix meadows are showing life, my convovulveses are sprouting, the alysium is coming on nicely and I'm wondering when the cornflowers can come out of the mini greenhouse. 

Amazingly, after what feels like weeks in the greenhouse, the poppy seedlings are appearing since I've moved them outside. 

Let's see how things go along. I've got my echinacea to think about planting now.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.05.22

Garden Activities

 We've not had great weather recently, so I've knocked off the cycling for pleasure for a bit until the sun comes out and the wind drops, and we don't get snow and hale within ten minutes of each other. 

Instead, I've done some more gardening work, filling two planters with wildflower seed bombs, and planting an Asda cornflower kit. I'm planning to add some more in the next couple of days and get some more pollinator friendly plants on the go.

The weather still being bitterly cold at night, I've got a mini greenhouse I've rescued from my family home, and I'm using it to shelter the new plantings at night. The next pots I plant out will also go in there until the nights are warmer. 

Middle age has arrived with a vengeance!

My pre-existing plants, well all the crocuses are over now, but my alliums flower spears have now emerged, the sonetti is still flowering after about 9 months, and there are new blooms coming out on my little alpine plant with a confusing long name I can't remember!

Looking forward to growing more things.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.04.22

My Crocus Babies

 Time to update you with some crocus news!

Well, my little crocuses have been growing away in their planters and pots, and got to the stage when their blooms were in place, but not opened up.

Or so I thought.

It took me having time off work to deal with a big electrical safety test at my flat to realise that on a sunny day, they were very much opening up! And looked absolutely wonderful to boot.

There's two sad things about this though. The first is that I've not noticed any pollinators on them. That doesn't mean they haven't been dropping in, but that I haven't seen them. My sister thinks I need to have them higher up on the wall, but we will see.

The other sad thing is, is that they are already going over their best after only two weeks. Spring is so ephemeral, the glorious crocus carpets in the cemetery have totally disappeared just a week after the ground was like a huge purple and white flag. 

In other news, it took a very long time, but my bird feeders have finally been noticed. The local sparrows keep dropping in on the seed feeder, flapping off whenever I open my door. But I have caught them on it a couple of times!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 21.03.22