ONE
I squeezed in the last of the tulips anywhere I could find a square inch to put them. Felt relief it was done, then panicked and ordered some more. Then remembered I had already panicked two weeks ago and ordered some more then – now on their way. So ordered black plastic pots from Sarah Raven to put the newly ordered bulbs in. Now I need more compost and grit for the pots. I MUST STOP THIS.
TWO
For the pure fun of it, I moved my beehive compost bin a few inches to the left; dismantling it tier by tier, building it up and filling as I went. Extremely satisfying and lovely to see all the activity in there. You can probably see my mistake. The bottom tier which opens is now on the top and so I can’t get anything out of the bottom. I shall just have to wait six months and then dismantle the whole thing, get the good stuff out and rebuild them properly.
Inadvertently inverted beehive compost bin
THREE
I was planning to discard the salvia Amistad when the frosts come and put tulips in their place but they are still flowering like mad. So I’ve decided to leave them and cut them down for the winter and hope for the best that they will still be alive next year. If they die, I will have nurtured dead sticks for six months but worth a try. I’ll let you know how they do.
Two salvia Admistad still flowering in their pots, looking almost like a tree
FOUR
I still can’t resist collecting bags of leaves left on the pavements. I empty them into jute leaf mould bags but the problem is where to put them. Where in a small garden can you pile up ten bags of leaves for a year or so waiting for leaf mould? Under the garden dining table of course. Yes, not a long term solution but all part of having to squeeze things in if you have a town garden.
Bags of leaves stuffed under the garden table
FIVE
In Spring, I rashly dug out two overgrown shrubs which although ugly, gave us privacy from the street. Now I realise there’s a big gap and we are goldfish in a bowl in our living room. Thought long and hard how to break up the sight lines. Solution – a few cheap big evergreen shrubs in big pots clustered together. The Pittosporum tenuifolium “Coxhill Gold” and “Tandara Gold” will be lovely for flower arrangements and the Nandina domestic (a bamboo) has red berries right now.
A few shrubs in their pots to create a screen from the street
I haven’t planted them yet so it looks a dog’s breakfast – the bags of leaves all I have to stop them falling over in the wind. But they do a great job of screening us from the street. As they are sitting on paving I have to think of an imaginative way to permanently plant them.
SIX
This grass, hakonechloa macra Aureola looks good all year until I cut it to the base in February for new growth to come through. They are thriving in the border and in a pot they look great but the second picture shows one which is struggling probably because I haven’t watered it enough.
Hakonechloa macra looking lovely in the border
This grass is suffering from lack of watering
Thanks go to The Propagator for hosting this theme of Six on a Saturday. Look at his blog to find other people’s contributions.
How I laughed at your tulip ordering binge! It borders on OCD, doesn’t it? Yet, almost any gardener can relate to your experience. The salvia is gorgeous, and what a good idea to use jute bags to store those leaves. I’ve been using plastic garbage bags with airholes sliced in – not nearly so attractive. Actually, not attractive at all.
Hello Mrs D, yes the jute bags are lovely things, feel very rustic and don’t stick out like sore thumbs.I got them on Amazon. I have a feeling they disintegrate though, possibly long before the leaves have decomposed but I’ll cross that bridge………
How nice to find your blog. Your salvias are amazing. I share your admiration for Haconechloa macra. A really useful grass in a number of varieties.
//Best regards Helene
And how nice to hear from you Helene. Where in the world are you?? So glad you like my blog about our little garden here in North London. Best wishes, Julie
Your week had me in stitches, it’s so relatable – the bulb buying, the neglected pot plant, the ripping out something ugly only to find there was a reason it was there, the reversed compost bin, o stop! Were we all made this way or did gardening do this to us? It doesn’t matter because your salvias are indeed, truly amazing.
thanks so much for your comments Lora, very glad to have made you laugh!!
I can definitely relate to the tulip planting. What is it about tulips?
I really had finished for this year when I decided the huge container near my car (that a neighbour had given me for tomatoes) could now take 50 bulbs for bringing into the house…So now I have finished planting, only I noticed my B and Q has a bit of a sale to get room for the Christmas trees…Oh for goodness sake, come inside and give that trowel a rest!
I mostly write short stories (sometimes about gardening) but this was a tulip blog post of mine:
https://mjlstories.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/spring-at-last/
Great to hear my tulip behaviour is widespread – and as soon as their Sales start I just can’t resist getting a few more. I am glad to have found your own blog and will now follow you. Just got to pop out to plant some more…………
I’ve just taken some side shoot cuttings from my salvia. It’s a bit late but they look so healthy. Finger crossed they grow. Such a lovely blue. All the best with your garden. Karen
Thankyou Karen for your comment. I wonder how much longer the salvia will flower – do you have to keep the cuttings under cover or indoors? All the best with your garden too. Julie
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