Flighty's plot

I’m not one for using any herbs when I cook but I am going to have a small herb patch on the plot.

I was given a Rosemary last autumn which is a classic herb, and well known for remembrance.

I’ve ordered a packet of mixed culinary herbs which contains Basil, Parsley, Sage, Summer Savory, Thyme and several others. These are a mix of annuals and perennials, and it will be interesting to see how they grow.

I’ve also bought a packet of seeds of this herb

Chiltern Seeds Vegbook says…This has been developed especially for ornamental use, being very floriferous, branched and compact. It is very fragrant, has green foliage and small creamy-white flowers with attractive purple bracts. There may be better ones to cook with but not many to look at.

You will guess why I have to grow this one when I tell you that it is Basil ‘Magical Michael‘.

This morning was glorious, being sunny with only a light breeze. I went to allotment early to do my Birdwatch and did reasonably well. Mind you if I’d seen all the birds that I could hear chattering and twittering in the trees then it would have been a lot better.

There were the usual Crows, Magpies, Seagulls and Woodpigeons. I stood and watched a Robin perch on top of an eight foot bamboo cane when another one appeared on the ground nearby. A little later I saw one on top of my shed. The Blackbirds and Starlings flew in and out of the trees. There was a tree full of Blue Tits and/or Coal Tits, and a lone Song Thrush(?) at the top of another tree singing away. To cap it all I was nearly back home when I saw two Jays, one under a large shrub and the other flying away.

I warmed up with a cup of tea and some toast then went to the horticultural society’s hut for some bits and bobs. Bonemeal for the roses, grass seed for Cally at the bookshop and peanuts for the birds.

After chatting with the others and asking about what potatoes to grow I decided to get some Majestic early maincrop for general use and Charlotte second early which are a good salad variety. I shall now have to read up on what to do with them!

I then went back to the allotment and spent a very pleasant couple of hours doing some work for the first time this year. I lightly dug round the roses and gave each a couple of handfuls of bonemeal as recommended by the supplier I got them from. I twice filled a bucket with surface weeds and added them to the compost heap. Then I lightly forked over the vegetable, herb and wild flower areas. Considering the amount of rain we’ve had I was surprised at how easy going it was.

The bulbs I planted are all now showing well above ground, and some of the seeds I sowed last autumn are beginning to grow.

It was good to see several other plot holders making the most of the good weather, and walking round I even came across a few daffodils in full flower.

It’s little wonder then that I’m a happy Flighty!

Whilst clearing Plot124 I spent a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to grow. Early on I’d decided that much of the plot would be flowers.

I also read A Garden from a Hundred Packets of Seed by James Fenton which is a delightful little book in which he relates a simple, refreshing way to start a garden from scratch.

I’ve also been given various packets of seed, mostly by Nikki, including Cosmos, Hollyhocks, Poppies and Sweet Peas.

During December I received a copy of Chiltern Seeds Grow something new from seed Catalogue 2008 which I’ve been looking through with great interest. I’ve ordered some 20 packets of seeds, mostly hardy annuals which are easily grown and of the sow and forget varieties.

They include Nasturtiums Tom Thumb Mixed about which it says If you can’t grow these you’d better give up gardening as a hobby! At the other extreme height-wise is the Sunflower Autumn Beauty which grows to 6 feet with flowers 6 inches across.

In the catalogue are these words…Sometimes we make too much of the chore of gardening! There are so many plants that make no demands on us. We have a supplier in Holland who has a trial ground on which he raises more than 1500 varieties of plants each year. All he does is till the soil, roll it, sow the seeds and that’s it – no thinning out, no weeding, nothing, and if they don’t flower?…!

It can’t be that easy…can it?

I came across this brief, but hopefully apt, poem…

Gardeners who are old

It seems that gardeners who are old

Are best at making the flowers unfold.

I also couldn’t resist borrowing this from Louise’s This is my patch blog

You’ll have noted that I’ve not mentioned herbs or vegetables, which will be the subject of a future entry.

My last Plot 124 entry was Log pile which as you can see was three weeks ago! The reason for the long gap is that there’s very been very little to write about due mainly to the seemingly continual wet weather.

Regarding the log pile it’s now looking rather more substantial as I’ve added some logs to the few I started with. It’s about ten feet or so down the plot from the pond and the patch between the two is going to be the wild flower area which should attract bees, seed-eating birds and butterflies.

Last Thursday I met a good plot neighbour John, and his lovely dog Jodie, on the site. He was just checking round as it had been rather windy the day before. During our chat he offered me some blackberry plants which he’d dug up a few days before. As you know I love blackberries so the offer was gratefully accepted. I planted them yesterday, which was dull but dry, finding that the ground was very sticky indeed!

I’m pleased to see that the three roses, and most of the raspberries, that I planted in December are showing slight signs of growth.

The birds are using the feeders, the seed one more so than the peanut one, and I’m topping them up about once a week.

With the ground being as wet as it is and the forecast for the rest of the week being yet more rain it looks like I’ll be doing nothing more on the plot until at least next week. Never mind I’ll carry on compiling my seed list which I think I’ve now nearly sorted out!

I have a spare copy of the hardcover Royal Horticultural Society Diary 2008. If anyone would like it then please leave a comment. If there’s more than one of you then I’ll pick a name out of the hat and let you know who it is. Once they’ve emailed me an address I’ll post it to the lucky winner.