My Gardening View #5

It’s the time of year when things are getting a little cramped in the garden. My greenhouse is overflowing and there’s barely room for me inside the potting shed. In fact, I have to ‘unpack’ it before I can start to do any seed sowing or potting on. Even so, there’s a sense of optimism to my gardening view with new shoots appearing daily.

Everywhere there are seedlings waiting for the weather to settle so that I can get plant them out. They have spent days outside hardening off but it’s been too cold for permanent planting.

This year, I’ve sown more flowers than usual, mainly for the cutting bed but also to fill in the main border in the flower garden where I’m in an on-going battle with soapwort (Rueing Some Plant Mistakes). I’ve decided to leave the bed ‘fallow’ this year so that I can keep digging up shoots as they appear. To stop it looking too bare over summer, I’m planning to put some of the dahlias and annuals in there.

Among the things I’m growing are different varieties of nasturtium, cosmos and lupin as well as zinnias, helichrysum, and calendula.

A welcome addition to the potting shed – a well thought out gift from one of the family – is this radio. I love the colour and the fact I can now listen to radio, podcasts and audiobooks without having to be permanently attached to headphones.

Outside, the gardening view is filling out as things take off in the vegetable garden. There are tiny green fruit on the strawberries and the broad beans have started to appear. I’ve managed to get the first lettuce out and am planning to sow more.

I’ve grown potatoes in tubs since my children were small – there was an annual ‘contest’ to see who could produce the most. It’s a good way of growing them, if you’re short of ground, and it also helps to keep the slugs away.

The rhubarb is romping away and the first flowers are appearing on the chives. Summer is on the horizon.

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