Gardener's diary, weekly update
Spring day 67 (93 day season)
Summer feels as though it has began, however officially begins on 20th June. It's been a busy week in the garden, plants have sprung to life and spring like green, shiny leaves wobble in the sunlight.
The first roses have been and gone, sitting propped on top of tall branches with glossy leaves. The first rose of the season is always a delight for me, the smell strong and the petals delicate.
Jan’s roses mixed with a purple clematis
This week brought RHS Chelsea flower show, Glastonbury for gardeners. I worked for Niwaki as their plant expert, selling beautifully made Japanese tools. I wasn’t able to see many gardens but the main delight is to visit Dibley’s nursery - specialising in indoor plants.
Demonstrating mini shears at Niwaki, Chelsea flower show
I splurged on a Plectranthus ciliatus, native to South Africa and treated as a house plant in the UK. Also, I couldn’t resist another cane begonia, specifically Begonia ‘Little Brother Montgomery’.
Begonia ‘Little Brother Montgomery’
Plectranthus ciliatus
Jobs in the garden this week:
Planting summer bedding and refreshing herbs which haven’t survived Winter
Reinstalling and setting up irrigation in the garden
Weeding annuals
Pruning any group 5 shrubs (pruning after flowering)
Cutting hedges and topiary.
Applying slug wool pellets. They have demolished most of my cabbages at the allotment, I insist on organic gardening while most of my neighbours on the plot are using killer slug pellets - posing threat not just to slugs but hedgehogs and birds.
Ikebana flower display this week:
Featuring: Clematis, wheat grass, privet and campanula
Bird of the week:
A Eurasian wren! They are so sweet and make sounds like alarms, they drive some people crazy but I find the alert they soothe me.
Photographer and videographer: Lawerence Chatton is one of the only reasons I visit Instagram. His videos are special!