A little snooze on the side.....

Most people find preparing for holidays stressful. There is a lot to do and if you a gardener you have to make sure there are watering systems or babysitters organised for your precious plants.  We decided to increase the pressure level and have our new Garden Room built just 2 weeks before our trip. In hindsight it was good to have a tight target to work to but supervising the Electrician the very afternoon before our departure was cutting it fine. However, once the electrics were installed without any problems, Doc and I unwrapped the furniture and did some hasty ‘room styling’ before moving on to packing for our holiday. Needless to say we did not actually sit in the Garden Room other than to test that the furniture was okay.

The Garden Room had to be finished because 4 days after we got back from the Baltic cruise, our family came to stay for a week. It was just the surprise we had hoped for (lots of wows and ahs) and we could not prise Doc’s mum from the new home-from-home. In fact at one point there were 9 people in the retreat which seems like a contradiction in terms but no-one seemed to mind the crush.  In fact, it reminded us of our caravanning holidays. It has a cosiness and friendliness about it.

Doc had shifted 2 bulk bags of cotswolds chips for the drainage strip around the perimeter of the Garden Room and we are still admiring the chips when we go in and out of the door.  We know the effort it took to bring the gravel down the garden!  A barrow load looks substantial until you lay it on the ground. Doc laid some temporary paving and now has to plan for a newer, larger paving area, flower beds, pergola and water feature. However, the next step is to finish the steps behind the Garden Room and put hand rails across the banks. That is all before we plan any new planting.  We had hoped to be doing that in the Autumn but have revised that ambitious target. 

We had concerns that we would not use the Garden Room enough to justify the expenditure but we need not have worried.  Because of my disability, I sit in it the most and even though Doc is running around doing jobs he is still finding time to eat meals in there and take a tea break in comfort. Now we have somewhere lovely to sit, we go there and because the room is winterised with insulation and a heater, it really is a home-from-home all year round.  An internet connection was a must too and now we can watch TV programmes or listen to the radio.  What we like the best is the fact that the room is actually in the garden, away from the house.  Once we are inside, relaxing, it is going to take Herculean effort to leave our haven and do some chores.  Yawn, I feel the need to go and sit down right now……  

This and That

We have been very busy this last few weeks.  We had a wonderful cruise to the Baltic countries and then family and friends came to stay for a week.  Since then Doc has been assessing the garden and trying to catch up with maintenance but the harvesting is getting in the way.  But that’s nice.  Home produce is always welcome and a full trug is satisfying and useful in the kitchen.  Rosy tomatoes will always bring a smile to our faces and the smell of the leaves is intoxicating.

The strawberries are abundant and we are full to bursting.  I have decided to try freezing some of the surplus to make jam in the autumn.  Using frozen berries works with raspberries, blackberries, red currants and blackcurrants so we will see if it works with strawberries.  I doubt the flavour will be as good so I will add lemon juice to perk it up.

The sugar snap peas are doing well and lots of pretty white flowers means there are many more pods to come.  We eat them raw or steamed.  I have never tried freezing them but we don’t have a glut - yet!

The courgettes are slow in getting going. The plants are still small though there are a couple of flowers.  I have a couple of spare courgette plants in the greenhouse and they are producing tiny courgettes so that is nice. The squashes and pumpkin are just about the same size as a month ago which is bad news.  I blame the cold May and June. 

The cut flower bed experiment is not quite as glorious as we hoped.  Again, the cold weather earlier in the season did not enable the plants to get established quickly.  The plants sulked when put outside and they needed a boost of warmth and sunshine.  Still, we have picked some bunches and together with some bits and bobs from the rest of the garden, the house is looking a little more loved.  Our grand-daughter liked the Helichrysums or ‘Strawflowers’ because of the papery, crispy petals.  They are remarkably long lasting in the vase too.

A friend brought me a large bunch of yellow roses and I cannot resist posting a pic.  The gypsophilla is homegrown and it looks good with yellow.  The flowers are only starting to fade but they have been amazing.  So far, we have had them 11 days and they still look good.  I change the water every day.  This was a top tip form our daughter.  She is a florist so she should know.  It works!

The very wishy washy pale pink peony is delightful and the scent is heady.  This was a plant that was here when we moved in over a decade ago.  Half of it was dead so we rejuvenated it.  Then it was moved several times and then had to sit for a few years to recover from its trials.  We did not know the colour of the blooms and assumed it was the same as the other peony which was also hiding in a border - a beautiful magenta.  How different could it be?  Anyway, last year I staked it and a couple of large flowers were well supported.  However,  this year the stakes were not quite high enough, there are masses of flowers and it rained on them.  The plant nearly keeled over in exhaustion!  I had to pick most of the flowers and they were a bit of a mess but I have saved a few for the vase.  The plant is huge now so next year we need stakes of nearly a metre to support the almost dinner-plate sized flowers.

The summer is rolling along and the garden is full of colour.  The foliage is starting to billow and it won’t be long before the wisteria needs a bit of a tidy up.  It flowered well this year.  We missed the whole show because we were away.  Gardeners should never go on holiday……..