Sunday 2 February 2014

Feb One means Jan is gone!

Thank goodness January has finished - the wettest January since 1910. I wonder what February has in store for us... Its first day was not at all bad, and we had blue sky and sunshine for most of the day. Of course I only know that in retrospect. I was out in the garden with the camera shortly after sunrise in order to make the most of what I expected to be a very brief window of opportunity.

In the weak Winter sunshine the plot looked very stark, and the dominant theme seemed to be plastic. Plastic cloches in various forms - long ones, round ones, tall ones, tiny ones:


And plastic greenhouses, plastic compost bins, plastic tables. Where would we be without plastic???


At least the shed is wooden, not plastic! Oh, and the raised beds...


The plastic is actually doing sterling service, protecting my plants from the wind and rain while giving them the benefit of what little light is available. This greenhouse is hosting Sweet Peas (top shelf) and Hellebores (bottom shelf). [Notice the SIX bricks weighting it down]


This one hosts the two pots of peas - the ones that had originally been sown for peashoot-production. The peas are getting quite big now. I think I will soon have to provide them with some support.


Here in one of the long cloches you can see some chicories. The flimsy end-pieces of these cloches have proved to be more trouble than they are worth, but I have put in some sticks to dissuade the local cats from using the cloches as sleeping-quarters.


The Parsley is positively revelling in the relative warmth of the little bell cloches. It's really luxuriant at present. Much better Parsley than I usually have in January. I must do this again next year!


Notice how much smaller are the plants without the protection of a cloche.

Arrayed in profusion on and around the paved area are pots of various sorts. Some of them hold dormant herbaceous perennial flowers (Echinacea, Gaillardia, Rudbeckia), and some of them hold Blueberries, while in the wooden boxes are some Strawberry plants. 


I have decided to get rid of the wooden wine-crates that the Strawberries are in. They are already two years old and are rotting rapidly. Guess what? I'll replace them with more plastic! This week I bought a couple of 22-litre black plastic storage crates, at £2.50 each from Tesco, which will do the job nicely once I have drilled some drainage holes in them.

Now, at the beginning of February, the garden doesn't look very appealing, but I'm beginning to think about sowing and planting. Very few seed-packets bear the words "Sow from January onwards", but there are a few that say "Sow from February onwards"! We just need a few more dry sunny days like yesterday.

11 comments:

  1. Your garden looks rather large in your photographs. The weather is beautiful today & was rather pleasant yesterday too. A very pleasant several hours have been spent this weekend weeding & suchlike.

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    1. Jo, it's not actually very big - about 10m x 10m, that's all. Has been described in the past as the "Tardis garden" though!

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  2. We've got another lovely day here today, even nicer than yesterday, it makes such a change to see a bit of sunshine.

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  3. I can tell you are itching to go.

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  4. Your patch looks incredibly organised and ready for the wonderful growing seasons to come ;D
    Even though we've a very lazy wind today (lazy as in not going around you...just straight through) but it does feel like there's spring nearby.
    I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it comes soon.
    Enjoy your Sunday!

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  5. What a very tidy plot Mr. Willis - all the plastic seems to be doing a sterling job.

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  6. Actually, your plastic cloches look pretty attractive and very neat. They do a good job as well.Hope you get more of that sunshine in February, Mark!

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  7. I am wondering what your garden looks like in the evening light? I think it must be inviting.. And I agree with Elaine..very tidy Mark... I like neat, I am afraid.

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    1. Sometimes in the Summer we eat outdoors in the evening. When it has been a sunny day, the evening light makes the big Scots Pine trees on the other side of the road glow a mellow reddish-gold colour. Lovely! (But a long way off at present).

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  8. It all looks so neat and tidy and lovely Mark. Hope the weather improves for Feb.

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  9. What would we do without plastic? It is such a useful material. Though when I did my row covers I did contemplate metal for the bars. The short ones are metal. But plastic is so much lighter and I'm not getting any younger.

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