Imagine if there were no trees, wouldn't that be strange?

December 11, 2017

Trees are things I think we take for granted, but just imagine for a moment if there were no trees, I think it really would be strange. Take Greenwich Park for instance, somewhere you know I walk almost daily, without trees it would look very different indeed. I'm sure it'd still be pretty, but it wouldn't be quite the same.

I'll not deny that at times it would make gardening our back garden simpler, but we'd lose the height and privacy they bring. And I'm not even going to touch on how they can reduce our carbon footprint, although I'm convinced they can.

I've 'followed' a couple of trees and shared those with you here too, remember the Pawlownia Tomentosa or foxglove tree - I should pop along and visit it soon really, and more recently the tree that captured my interest on my daily walk through Greenwich Park. Yes, I think it's safe to say that I think we take trees for granted, and it would be very odd indeed without trees.

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash — Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

The future of trees

If like me, you believe trees are good for us - and the planet - then the good news is there's something you can do about it. Maybe you'll plant your own tree, or maybe your part is simply by taking care of the ones we have already.

Last week was National Tree Week, and I'll admit I only discovered this fairly late on and it got me thinking. Does everyone know how to plant or prune a tree? I suspect not, I know the basics, but when we moved the small apple tree on the plot, there was a lot of hoping that we'd got it right.

The advice on the Landmark Trading blog on how to plant trees says to plant in the autumn or winter, prepare the ground well and aim not to damage the root ball. The good news is that the small apple tree was a plucky little thing and has since gone on to produce a bumper crop of apples, so we must have done enough things right.

The only thing we could have done better is weeded it better, but we were so concerned about ensuring its survival and not damaging it as we moved it about four metres from where it was planted. So that means grass grows around its base - and for a tree that's smaller in height than me, that's not such a good look. I've since realised that what would help is a weed guard for trees and of course pegs to keep it in place.

Now let's talk pegs for a minute, and surprisingly I've a bit to say about these. This year in pursuit of our circles, or more precisely weed-free slate beds, we've tried the metal U shaped pegs and the plastic ground pegs, which look more vicious than they really are. While the metal pegs look more attractive, I've found the plastic dart shaped ones much more effective, for the simple reason that the plastic head covers the hole that you make hammering it into the ground. Simple, hey? And now I'd opt for these for everywhere I'm not expecting to need to remove the pegs.

And if you already have trees, then learning to prune them is also a good thing to know. Smaller trees are relatively easy to prune yourself with the right equipment, we prune our own pear tree and the forsythia, but we know our limitations. Mostly our trees are pruned to reduce their height, and to allow sunlight into our narrow garden, and if I can't do it off our tallest stepladder then it's time to get someone in. That may sound an unnecessary expense, but I'd much rather pay a professional to look after our trees, than to pay one to have it removed should it become diseased.

The key thing to know is when, and generally that will be after its flowered. Too early and you'll have no flowers, or fruits the following year, and that seems like a waste of a season to me.

So can you imagine a world without trees? No, me neither...

* This is a collaborative post but all views remain my own.

My plot during National Allotment Week

August 21, 2017

It wasn't until we were back from the plot yesterday and catching up with Monty on Gardener's World that I realised it was National Allotment Week, I'd read about it a while back but the dates hadn't registered. We'd popped over there to check on the weeks, to see how the squashes were doing (still not great) and to take some of my ever improving tomato plants over to plant out.

I know they're late and unlike Monty my tomatoes aren't ripening as quick as I can eat them, but there is a tomato surprise further in this post so all is not lost.

Our beans are currently doing well; there's plenty more borlotti beans since our last visit - there is a benefit to all that rain, it seems - and MOH was once again all for picking them. It's an annual thing, and this year I've managed to persuade him not to. At least that means we stand a chance to harvest them at all once this year, assuming he buys into it that is.

borlotti beans in the sun during National Allotment Week

The late-planted potatoes (have you spotted a theme yet?) are doing well and are now flowering. We're done earthing them up, mainly because we don't have enough earth to do this with. Now we're waiting for them to grow and I know I'm looking forward to digging them up. The advantage of them being later, is that we'll be more likely to be eating more potatoes by the time we harvest them.

potatoes flowering during National Allotment Week

My sunflower is out too - and it's a beauty.

A sunflower finally during National Allotment Week

It also has the sturdiest of stems. There's a few more to come yet too, but not as many flowers as the redder sort I grew last year. Maybe next year there'll be some of each.

Up until today I'd only had four tomato plants on the plot. They were from dad and he said they were a giant variety. They'd bushed out greatly and I'd missed the opportunity to do the traditional pinching out. This weekend though I was determined to sort them out, and thin them a bit too. And that's when I made my tomato discovery.

Some actual tomatoes.

A few green - but giant - tomatoes during National Allotment Week

Green of course, but actual tomatoes. This year, that's a very welcome sight.

My runner beans have also started.. Nothing last week and this week a handful or two picked for dinner one night this week. Even for our temperamental supplies, it's always worth a visit to the plot before we head to the shops. Although to be fair runner beans are something we never buy, why would you when you can pop over to the plot and pick some like this:

A handful of runner beans during National Allotment Week

The other thing I've no need to buy is rhubarb, I cut more stems today and that emergency crumble I made last week is all but gone.

Another picking of rhubarb during National Allotment Week

So not a bad visit, add to that another trug full of weeds and another of tomato plant leaves, the compost wasn't doing too badly either.

But I shouldn't rest of my laurels, there's still plenty more to do and plenty more to be sown too, and even more plants to go out. But before we get to that I'm just hoping the foxes don't take a liking to the new tomato plants I put out this weekend. Because I won't be happy!

More soon...

It's National Gardening Week, what are you up to?

April 12, 2017

This week is National Gardening Week, and the focus of this year's week is to "Help New Gardener's to Grow" so as I've been collecting lots of gardening inspiration lately, what better time to share it than now? So as well as the inspiration, I'm also sharing my gardening to do list - as there's always something more to do, just like anything else. And if all that sounds like too much work, just scroll to the bottom of this post where I'm sharing nine recent photos from my garden.

From around the Inter-web

Top ten gardening jobs for April, with advice from the RHS
10 ways to bring your interior style into your garden, Houzz
Grow sunflowers from seed, Gardeners' World
A beginners guide to adding trees to your garden, Houzz
A beginners guide to green roofs, Houzz
Right plant, right place - an invaluable guide to choosing plants, Crocus
Planting herbs in containers, National Gardening Week
Take the quiz and find out Which National Flower Are You?, Into The Wild blog - I was a Black Orchid
Watch Monty Don create a wildlife garden, Gardeners' World

My gardening to do list

Clean the greenhouse - tick - we did that on Sunday.
Plant on those giant fuchsias - tick - they're snug in the clean greenhouse.
Sit in the garden and enjoy just looking at it - tick - another one from Sunday, let's hope the lovely weather returns soon.
Start sowing some seeds: tomatoes, sunflowers, chillies, beans, herbs and some flowers too.
Wait (impatiently) for my potatoes and onions to arrive.
Continue to collect toilet rolls to sow sweet peas in.
Source a small-ish pallet for my latest craft project idea.
Mark out where the gabion seating wall will go, and how many we'll need.
Take more of our leaf mulch over to the allotment.