Hello,
New photos have been added to follow the progress of my tomato seedlings. Have a look in the tomato growing post here.
Hackney’s biggest ever wild flower meadow
Yes, this is what the council has planned, and it is right here were I live!
The area that has been dug up is extensive. Chances are it will look lovely. Apparently the fence should come down in July – I am surprised how quickly this meadow is expected to grow.
Will keep you posted!
Related articles
- Plan to revive UK wildflower meadows (bbc.co.uk)
- Olympic park will blossom with more meadows of wild flowers (standard.co.uk)
- ‘Coronation Meadows’ could save wild flowers (telegraph.co.uk)
Seven small improvements to my garden
Hi everyone!
I have five hours of solid gardening work behind me. Yesterday my determination to clear up the garden for the summer suddenly took over! Once I got started, I could not stop. Now below are photos of my efforts.
As it turned out over recent weeks, some of the pots on the staircase had too many plants in them and the leaves were getting into each other’s way and sunshine. To address this, I bought two new pots and bamboo sticks to redistribute the plants. In half an hour I built two pyramid-shaped climbing structures. At the top I tied the bamboo sticks together with garden wire and covered this with cord for a nicer look. I then attached fishing wire to the bamboo to create a climbing grid for the sweet pea seedlings.
At the moment the seedlings look a bit miserable due to the re-potting.
The idea is that they should grow up the trellis in a triangular shape.
Next, I decided to make use of what plants we have in our garden, be it climbers growing through the fence from our neighbours’ garden or plants left by tenants that recently moved out from our house. To that effect, I attached a plastic grid to the wooden garden wall and started to guide a climber that grows through the fence, up this trellis.
I also provided a bamboo stick as support for a wild climber that has started to grow out of the soil.
It was also time to remove the faded tulips from their pot and to place them into a box so they dry and can be re-planted in November. For more information on what to do with tulips throughout the year, here is a link to my blog post on tulips.
As only very few of the Freesia bulbs I received for free from the Guardian Gardening Centre have sprouted, I added a plant from the staircase into the middle of this year’s low cost plant arrangement.
I checked on the tomato seedlings and my staircase project (part of separate blog posts), and to finish things off, I re-potted the lemon cypress, re-positioned the torch-light from last year and cleared up the floor. Job done, I was pretty tired, but hopefully you like the result : )
- Trellis Envy (smcommunitygardenblog.wordpress.com)
Tomato growing
6 June 2013:
The seedlings have been re-potted into tomato cage pots
As their new position is less protected than the window sill, a transparent plastic sheet at the back helps to keep away draughts:
31 May 2013:
On the window sill
12 May 2013:
Moved to the window ledge
28 April 2013:
Grown from a package, the tomato seedlings indoors:
The hostas are making progress
All the waiting has paid off! – tulips and staircase in May
It’s spring re-pot
A perfect sunny day in Hackney made me feel compelled to plant several packages of seeds I have received from my friend, and to re-pot small plants I think could do with a bit more space for the summer.
Today was mostly about taking care of plants that haven’t costed me anything. The seeds were a present, the small carob plants were grown from free seeds as well and by buying climbers from the Guardian Garden Centre, like anyone else who orders a certain amount from them, I received some free bulbs.
As I normally end up with a rather messy terrace when re-potting plants, today I used this new gardening sheet.
It is great and comes as a flat throw, with press studs on all four corners. You press them together and the sheet turns into a self-contained square box in which to neatly re-pot plants.
[Carob seedling about to be re-potted]
[and freshly planted seeds]
I added convolvolo, cherry tomato, bean, zinnia and cosmos seeds and finally moved the lemon plant outside.
There is also a random ivy seedling that has started to grow in one of our pots on the terrace. A nice surprise!
If you have read my blog for some time, you know that each year I make a point of having one flower bed that does not cost anything. So this year, we have two.
You can easily create your own, by looking around your house, garden shed or even in your neighbourhood. Many people throw pots and plants out when they move, so its fairly easy to bring some home. Recently our neighbours moved out leaving some solar-powered garden lamp and a rather unsightly pot behind. The pot is broken on one side, but filled with soil and free Freesia bulbs from the garden centre, the broken part will soon be covered by leaves.
Freesia shoot
Hosta shoot
Related articles
- Winter is losing its grip – Guest post by Toby Buckland (ratedpeople.com)
- The cut out and keep guide to potting on (growyourownwithbenandady.wordpress.com)
