CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

December evenings are spent turning my stash of garden goodies into decorations. Surrounded by piles of dried pressed leaves, seedheads and flowers, sticky glue guns and wire, the chaos gradually turns into a few wreaths and a lantern I really like.

Wreath 1 is a tiny mix of pressed purple Cercis leaves, covered with butter yellow gingko leaves and one or two vitis leaves that have tuned a silvery violet.

Wreath 2 is a simple circlet of Cercis leaves, each a slightly different pink, orange or purple. This year the leaves turned slowly and many fell before they turned completely, probably due to the late summer rains and even later leaf drop.

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Wreath 3 is a medium-sized wire frame covered in felty white poplar leaves, with orange veined quince leaves on top, topped with a few wisps of Dusty Millar that dry easily and one or two sprigs of tiny Canary Bird (xanthine) rose leaves.

The lantern is an idea I pinched from my grandson’s nursery school. A fern leaf is spray glued onto a sheet of tracing paper, then rolled into a tube placed in a pot top.

The lantern is lit with a night-light, though I suppose one of those battery-driven ones would be safer.

I hope you all have a good time this Christmas.

PS. Hope all your birds are safely undercover following Defra’s rules. Have a look at our sister website www.henkeepersassociation.co.uk for tips and advice.

Wreath 4 is a huge angled wire shape that I keep in my kitchen bay window with the light shining through. I pressed nearly all the leaves from my tiny persimmon tree and dotted them with fern leaves and honesty seed coins. It looks quite good from a distance.

JOBS TO MAKE YOU FEEL SMUG

I love this time of the year. That special low light – intensifying a mellow spectrum of colours that would be too much in spring and summer – heralds a burst of energy and a need to give my garden a helping hand before season’s end.

The meadow’s cut and the paths are raked, and filled with enthusiasm for my new mower, I’ve decided to turn and area of long grass to mown sward, just to give that part of the garden more of a sense of space, and to make sure I won’t get wet legs when I hang out my washing.

So I’ve razed and scraped, gathered and abraded, filled hollows with soil and flattened old anthills, and am just about to mix grass seed with sharp sand and broadcast it over the area. If there’s no rain, I’ll water, and because nothing’s nicer for my bantams than a large helping of grass seed, I’ll have to cover the space with netting. 

As the leaves start to fall, I rake up those that fall on paths and main lawn, but leave the rest to rot and cover the borders and wild parts of the garden. Checking my builder’s bag full of last year’s leaf mould, I pulled out a handful that contained a squirming silvery slithery slow worm. Not sure who had the biggest fright. Will be very careful when I empty the bag and make sure there’s a nice warm alternative compost heap nearby.

The hedges have been cut, but we’ve left areas of ivy to flower for the bees. My success with a modern lawn mower encouraged me to seek out other new clever devices. A visit from the guys at Stihl introduced me to a whole new range of compact cordless power tools. Amazingly light, battery-driven and really quite quiet, I marvelled at their strimmer and hedge cutter; was slightly terrified by the possibilities of their small chainsaw, but couldn’t quite see the need for a leaf blower.

I’m glad the industry is taking note of the ever-present army of gardeners who aren’t sturdy and tall, who want tools that they can carry without getting a hernia, who want to work with without being deafened, but still want to do a good job. The batteries seem to last a good 40 minutes without re-charge.

I’ve planted three new bags of purple tulips – ‘Queen of the Night’ and ‘Black Parrot’ in plastic flowerpots, so I can bring them out in bud and pop them in containers, to take them away as they fade. Narcissus ‘Thalia’ is another favourite, and I’ll add to my collection, plus a pan of Dutch iris ‘Black Beauty’ to cheer me up in the depths of winter.

Thoughts of winter don’t depress me yet, I’m just making the most of this precious time of the year, doing jobs that will reward my forethought by the bucketfull when they’ll really be needed.

I CAN RECOMMEND:

  • The Stihl HSA 56 Compact Cordless Hedge Trimmer
  • The Stihl FSA Compact Cordless Grass Trimmer

If you are new to productive gardening, check out my interview with Green Gardens here: http://greengardens.buyfencingdirect.co.uk/talking-hen- keeping-with- kitchen-garden/

And early days, but check out my new Instagram page:
instagram.com/p/BLOjBCVBndx/

 

WENT TO MOW A MEADOW

I was in despair about my parched garden, but some serious rainfall and a September boost of energy has renewed my interest. Just as well, there’s lots to do. A visit from Remi with his noisy strimmer has despatched the dry meadow growth raked to a haystack under the oak tree (this will rot down for a year – good fun for the bantams and a bare patch to plant in next year).

Our efforts to scythe were not as successful as Poldark’s, so we’ve resorted to the strimmer – devastatingly efficient and fast, and wonderful when it stops. The garden looks instantly bigger, and there are rich pickings for the hens. I keep several areas long for overwintering bugs, and the rest of the garden lies fallow till the spring.

This time last year, I decided to plant some bulbs in the meadow. I bought a bulb planter – a sort of auger (from crocus.co.uk) that fits into a cordless household drill. Always keen to try out a bit of new kit, my son Max worked the plot, screwing easily into the thick clay soil, 12 cm deep, bringing out a divot. I followed on, pouring a little grit into the hole, popped in the bulb then topped up with a mixture of compost and soil.

 

We repeated the process all over the plot, planting 250 Gladiolus byzantinus: a delicate magenta variety (think pre-raphaelite, less Edna Everage) that works well in grassy areas because it’s hardy with a strong seed head and stem. Dotted in amongst them I included 100 dark blue Camassia esculenta or quamarsh, smaller with less foliage than other family members – the catalogue promises a blue haze.

In the past, I’ve planted Narcissus Pheasant’s Eye in clumps, cutting out a square of turf, but I want a sparser look with little spots of colour among the grasses and the tiny magenta Grassy Vetchling that seeds itself everywhere under my fruit trees. The result was pretty spectacular, the glads were more successful than the camassias, but the overall effect was just what I wanted.

The Whitstable Open Garden Group will be opening for the NGS on May 21st in 2017 so perhaps you’ll visit to see it all in full flower.

HOW TO GROW BULBS

  • Before planting, store bulbs in an airy shed or garage.
  • Improve drainage by planting on a layer of grit.
  • Bulbs should be planted in a hole two or three times their height.
  • Cover the area with chicken wire if squirrels are a problem.
  • In grass, don’t mow for six weeks after flowering.
  • And never tidy away foliage until it has died back completely.

BULB SUPPLIERS

  • I bought my bulbs from gee-tee.co.uk.
  • Clare-bulbs.co.uk for bulbs in bulk.
  • Rareplants.co.uk & bulbspecialuists.co.uk for unusual varieties.
  • Wildflowershop.co.uk – for native bulbs.

FROM GUILTY PLEASURE TO HORTO-CELEBRITY

I’ve been missing writing my weekly gardening column in the Telegraph (replaced by a monthly interiors piece) so much I thought I’d spend a little longer on my blog. I’d been planning to document the succulent’s overnight success from secret passion to omnipresent media top plant, to show off my collection and pass on the tips I’ve amassed from other succulent geeks.

While I can boast modest success in the garden, I’m the kiss of death to houseplants. Perhaps it’s their total reliance on me I resent. The sole survivors of my lifetime indoor plant collection are succulents. As a genus, they’re a complicated family, but many are easy to grow in specific locations. Both tender glasshouse and hardy garden varieties are strangely addictive, and for me, a visit to a garden or nursery is not complete without a new purchase to add to my collection. And there are thousands to choose from.

Apart from groaning shelves of tender echeverias, agaves and crassulas sheltering in my porch, I also admit to a penchant for the hardier sempervivums and sedums that’ll survive anywhere outside: in pans, on roofs or – my latest venture – in gravel beds like living Persian carpets edged with reclaimed barleycorn twist tiles, to either side of my front door.

Crassulaceae are accommodating plants, easy to propagate by plucking offsets or big leaves, leaving the wounds to callous over for at least a day, then potting up to pass on to other succulent geeks. Adapted to withstand a wide range of temperatures and conditions, their fleshy stems and leaves act as water storage containers to minimize evaporation, which is why they survive despite periodic neglect.

With flowers like riotous fireworks in bright orange, yellow and red, that seem to appear overnight on long shooting stems, some are monocarpic with rosettes that die after flowering, throwing out little ‘chicks’ that root and spread. The variation of leaf colour and texture is mind-blowing: from powdery blue to downy grey, near black to floury white, while some have frilly petticoats or sculptured rosettes, reflecting their South American roots.

I start the year with a daylong spring clean of my porch’s occupants, tidying away any dead leaves and re-potting each plant in new gritty compost. I recently heard a fellow succulent geek boast her growing medium was one part John Innes no 2, one part grit and one part Tesco cat litter. I dust each plant with an old blusher brush, and dot any mealy bugs with a fine artist’s paintbrush laden with meths, then cover the surface of the pot soil with gravel to discourage vine weevil. 

One of the main reasons for succulents’ success is their ability to look wonderful in unusual containers. Match their leaves with grey lead and galvanized steel, rough concrete and stone, as well as the usual terracotta. I’ve seen them in wellington boots, in saucepans and even plastic dinasaurs. Trawl charity shops, car boot sales and re-use food containers. Make sure there are adequate drainage holes by puncturing the bottoms with a Phillip’s screwdriver powered with a heavy hammer, or in hardcore metal situations with a strong power drill bit.

BEST OF THE BUNCH

  • Sedum morganianum known as Burro’s Tail with fleshy green hanging dreadlocks
  • Sempervivum ‘Blue Boy’ grey green and S. Atropurpureum: dark purple.
  • Echeveria ‘Perle von Nurnberg: pearly purple, E. ‘Meridian’ with pink edged ruffles.
  • Agave Porcupine – a flat grey artichoke-like rosette that grows 30 inches wide.
  • Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’: tree-like, with maroon/black rosettes.

LOOKING AFTER INDOOR SUCCULENTS

  • Succulents thrive on benign neglect.
  • Most need a sunny bright warm spot with adequate ventilation.
  • Some appreciate a summer holiday outdoors.
  • Grow in containers in John Innes no 2 with 40% horticultural grit.
  • Watch out for tufty white mealy bugs, and treat with meths or liquid soap applied with a paintbrush.
  • Always allow soil to dry out before watering, and don’t leave the pots sitting in water.
  • Feed monthly in early spring and summer with proprietary cactus feed.
  • Stop watering altogether in winter, especially in a non-centrally heated situation.
  • Water with rainwater to prevent mineral build-up on leaves.

SUPPLIERS

  • Urbanjungle.uk.com for website and great nursery in Norfolk.
  • Blueleafplants.co.uk for a stylish selection.
  • Fernwood-nursery.co.uk website and National collection of sempervivums.
  • Surrealsucculents.co.uk – Cornish nursery website.

OLD MOWER: NEW MOWER

I usually enjoy the workout I get from a bit of brisk mowing with my old push lawnmower, followed by a burst of vigorous raking – so good for the waistline, but recently as my path network through the meadow has increased, the effort has rather overwhelmed me – a battle lost. But a friend gained: a jolly Gtech cordless mower (gtech.co.uk) that folds away small in my shed and doesn’t require diminishing muscle power.

Lawn mowers have always irritated me. In the past our heavy-duty pull-start diesels defeated me. I used to get my husband to start up for me, but every time they cut out, I was left pathetically needing a re-start. How dare manufacturers produce a machine that half the population can’t use?

As our rolling acres increased, my sons grumpily took on the mowing as a way to earn pocket money, and then when they left home, I employed a couple who magically strimmed and mowed their way round the garden in seconds flat.

Part of my reason for downsizing here was to be more self-reliant, so the vintage push mower left behind by the previous owner was perfect. Just a squirt of WD 40 and a sharpening of the blades, and it was good to go. But it had no grass collector at the front, and got easily fouled up by longish grass. So I viewed the prospect of mowing with less and less enthusiasm, the grass grew and then became unmowable.

I borrowed an electric hovermower, but it seemed just a matter of time before I electrocuted myself. So here I am with a state-of-the art battery powered beauty that easily cuts the entire garden with juice to spare, slices through any length of grass and neatly cuts right up to the edges. Hooray!

And Gtech do bikes, strimmers and hoovers too!

POST GARDEN OPENING BLUES

After 500+ visitors on Sunday, the garden and I are feeling a bit battered, but pleased and thrilled to meet so many of you. What an amazing day, and we raised over £3000 for the NGS, £500 for the community garden from teas and £200 for Whithorts from the plant fair.

Mixed weather of course, but apart from drizzle, we didn’t really get wet. People were seen grasping their yellow leaflets all over town, and joined in with a garage sale scheme and the Biennale as well, all running at the same time: all the more to see. Thanks so much to everyone who was involved.

And next year we hope many more of you will join us and open your gardens too. Pick a time you think your plot looks good and email mary.bruce@churchmans.co.uk. She’ll come and check you out, but don’t worry, she’s a nice lady.

A bit of an anti-climax, and it feels strange not to be manically gardening, but Sunday is Hens & Gardens Day at Great Comp Gardens near Sevenoaks (see greatcompgardens.com) and I’m giving talks to encourage free-range hen keeping. Lots of lovely pure breed birds on show and for sale, in a stunning garden. See you there, I hope.

NGS Kent, Great Comp Gardens, Open Gardens, pure breed poultry.

MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATIon

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a change to my garden in just a month. Not much my doing – just a really speedy change of season:  instant leaves, flowers and grasses. My lovely meadow bulbs planted with an augur and drill last October, are up and out and will probably be over by the time I open my garden with the Whitstable Group of Gardens for the NGS on June 12th(10 till 5).

As you can imagine, thoughts of the opening are foremost in my mind as I garden. Everything has a time limit, a deadline and it’s hard not to wish this month away.  Such a lovely fresh time of the year, I may suggest we open in May next year, but who knows what the weather would bring.

If you’d like to pay us a visit, look us up on on ngs.org.uk or on https://www.facebook.com/whitstableopengardens/ or https://www.facebook.com/ events/452410098296873/. I’ll also be tweeting @FrancineHens as time goes on. Just drive down Borstal Hill into Whitstable and turn left after the Murco garage into Joy Lane. You can park at Joy Lane School on the left past my house, and look out for the familiar Yellow Signs.

Come and buy your ticket/route map and have a quick look at my garden and then set off on foot following the walking route, or visit the gardens near here and do the second leg by car and park again (not easy on a sunny Sunday in this popular holiday destination).

We have seven gardens open, plus several more indicated by a Yellow Balloon that are showing support (including Joy Lane School, Wynn Ellis Almshouses and a Guerrilla Garden) that can be viewed from the road, seafront or path; a Plant Fair at the Umbrella Centre in Oxford Street; and Tea & Cakes at Stream Walk Community Gardens. Come and enjoy a day by the seaside and take in a few eclectic gardens at the same time, what we lack in acres we make up in imagination and creativity.

If you would like to join us next year, please contact mary.bruce@churchmans.co.uk.

Email me at francine@kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk if I've forgotten anything.

 

HERCULEAN TASKS

Yikes, and it’s April already. Whatever happened to March? My only excuse is that work in the garden has rather overtaken me. It was a tall order to think I could re-plant all my plants in a more welcoming soil; re-pot and feed my containers, including a porchful of succulents; and re-site the grass paths that have wandered off-course in the orchard.

On sunny days, there’s nothing better than working outside, with my bantams scrabbling away in the backs of the border and my poor old cat enjoying the sunshine on a bench. But six weeks on, I seem to have RSI in one of my fingers, have suffered two bouts of something nasty from my grandson Etienne, but most of the initial work is done, with only the vegetable garden to conquer and usual seasonal tasks.

The motive behind this madness is our group opening for the NGS in June. All over Whitstable, gardeners are regretting their decision to participate. None of us seem to have established gardens, so it’s the usual attempted transition from pig’s ear to silk purse. It’s only the niceness of NGS visitors that makes us think this has the possibility of success.

Back at the computer, I’ve written about garden bloggers, garden clubs, asparagus, my new hens, wildlife gardens and pollinating insects for the Telegraph; the wonderful Charlotte Molesworth for Gardens Illustrated and several chapters for a new book for Pavilion publishers. I’ve also seen a lot of my family who’ve been renting their house for Air B&B and coming to stay here.

KGB FEB16

Lots of lovely little eggs from my new girls – three bantam to two standards in recipes – with real deep yellow yolks from eating garden greenery, just right for batches of pancakes. And signs of spring in the February garden with a bunch of flowers and pretty leaves (on the Home page), not just for Valentine’s Day, but because it’s mid-February and there’s hope in the air. But it’s still cold outside with frosty mornings.

Have replanted a couple of beds. After waiting three years as plants just sat there, with their feet in yellow clay, not growing, just sitting, I decided to start again, to dig them up and add a lot of grit, compost, wood chip and manure to mix in the soil. Elsewhere I’ll just add a mulch which I hope will retain winter’s moisture throughout our inevitable summer drought.

I’ve re-cut my mown grass paths, avoiding the bulb shoots pushing through the meadow, including all the wild gladioli that Max and I planted using the augur drill in November. Looking forward with some trepidation to June when we open as a group for the NGS Yellow Book. I hope visitors will understand, this is still a garden in the making. 

NEW BEGINNINGS

Happy New Year to you all!

As the last Christmas leftovers are turned into a soup, and my lovely bunch of red amaryllis slowly fade, I’m sitting by the fire, surrounded by seed catalogues planning for the new year and trying to ignore my computer and work. Writing my blog is always a pleasure, sharing good news and new arrivals, this year with the arrival, at long last, of some hens.

Having dithered and waited, hatched and failed to find Orpington girls, I’ve succumbed to the glories of these little bantams. Gold laced – very exotic, and still Orps, but quarter scale of the standards, though still not tiny. These were bred by Will Dyson at Great Comp Gardens, better known for his salvias, and they are very pretty, busy and friendly. (PS. Will has others for sale.)

It took them a couple of days to find their way in and out of their house, a few more to discover the nest box and lay inside (despite the china egg as encouragement) and now they’ve settled without a gap in their egg production – fab to have homelaid eggs again, with lots left over to give to my grandsons.

I decided to go for bantams because I knew that with local fox problems they’d probably be spending more time in their newly re-enforced run, though, come spring and more gardening activity on my part, I’ll let them out into the garden. Fingers crossed that with new dogs living on either side of me, we’ll be left in peace.

With news of two new books in the pipeline, articles in Gardens Illustrated coming up, (look out for one on the wonderful Charlotte Molesworth in April) and hopefully continuing work for the Telegraph, it looks like a busy year ahead, including a group opening here in Whitstable for the National Gardens Scheme in June.

Keep in touch.

Christmas Shopping Day - Sunday December 6th

Celebrate Christmas at 19 Joy Lane with an eclectic mix of passionate people selling tasty treats, stocking fillers and special presents to suit every pocket.

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* Katy Cox's Mighty Fine Things include locally sourced homemade fruit liqueurs, preserves and Christmas goodies. Lots of seasonal tastes and ideal presents.

* Rune, The Norse Baker bakes fabulous Norwegian biscuit and cakes to bring a Scandi twist to your celebrations. Also Stollen from local baker Toby Scwenn. 

* Hiroko Aono-Bilson is a textile artist who designs and makes presents using antique kimono and pretty hand crocheted bags and toys.

* Frances Prescott is a magazine make-up artist, offering advice and highlighting her products. An appointment at her salon will make a much-appreciated present.

* Cranbrook Iron make bespoke ironwork for home and garden, from huge fire bowls to small decorative objects to enhance your home.

* Martin Pamment of Kent Beach Art is a beachcomber who turns flotsam and jetsam into decorative artworks. Also Jane's beautiful painted pebbles.

* Kate Makes Chocolate and Kate's Bees of Kent will be selling delicious homemade chocolates and the produce from her beehives.

* The usual odds and ends from The Kitchen Garden: and eclectic mix of vintage, garden and hen keeping stuff.

Plus greatly reduced new gardening books I've reviewed sold to raise funds for Shernaz Dinsdale's Maiti Nepal Fund, also proceeds from mulled wine and nibbles. 

Need to know more? Email me at francine@kitchen-garden-hens.co.uk

Pascale Mazelaygue will be opening her house with friends at No 48 Joy Lane on the same day - Pay her a visit as well.

KGB AUTUMN

Summer’s over. We had our last evening drink looking at the sunset down at the beach hut yesterday evening. Sure, there’ll be others, but we’ll be so wrapped up you won’t recognize us! Could this be the time to finish the painting and decorating, when it’s too cold to lounge around? Son Max back from his six-month stint in US with his wife Helen (they got married in Vegas), back and looking for work. Must look out all those jobs I need doing before winter sets in.

Lots of apples wish there was a communal juicer somewhere I could take them. Seems such a waste, especially with no ducks or hens to gobble them up. My most successful crop was Katy, cordoned against the fence, bright red and v. tasty. My two pears have a good burden, but not yet quite ripe. Love pears, so looking forward to them.

Have bought a new Hotbin that will hopefully produce lots of lovely compost to lighten this heavy clay soil. Will also compost Jacques’ family’s food waste – I don’t have much to throw away, but children seem to produce a bit, but this bin will break it all down within 6 weeks.

Lovely weekend out and about, starting with Dixter’s Plant Fair where I bought this bunch of flowers from James Horner (see Sunday Telegraph article). Beautiful, then off to the Walled Nursery in Hawkhurst for wallflowers and The Artichoke Gallery in Ticehurst for their Modern Rustic exhibition. Home to plant the named coloured wallflowers halfway up their stems, at Emma’s suggestion. This is the way to get really good stocky plants apparently. Love the smell of wallflowers, and the dark reds, pale yellows and burnt orange tones.

On Sunday I went to the car boot and Faversham Antique Market, (the first Sunday of the month) where I’ve been buying goodies for our Christmas Shopping day here on December 6th – will give more info nearer the time.

FRONT GARDENS

I love walking past front gardens to see what’s growing. Even householders who don’t purport to be gardeners can play host to all sorts of exciting self-seeders, if they’re not too tidy. In mine, ox-eye and perennial daisies have created a fringe along the back and front of my privet hedge, and occasionally a purple daisy – common salsify, appropriately called the Oyster Plant pop up as well, though the verbena bonariensis is fast creating a thicket.

Bright magenta species gladiolus communis appear between crazy paving slabs along most plots in my road, and I’ve begged a few corms to plant in my orchard. I was happy to see that Tom Coward, gardener at the fabulous Gravetye Manor Hotel (one of my favourite gardens – pay a visit and indulge in their afternoon tea) has also dotted them in his meadow planting.

The Whitstable lily is a species iris orientalis, and vigorously sprouts in many gardens here. Again, I spotted a neighbour weeding it out and asked for a bagfull of corms. Like many opportunists, it can get overwhelming in the comfort of a flowerbed, and needs management, like the pretty creeping toadflax that will smother and cover any surface.

The RHS is campaigning for people to not cover their front gardens with hermetically sealed paving, bad for wildlife, water dispersion and ugly. I inherited a gravel garden, and most things grow happily, provided I don’t run them over when I park.

Don’t forget Great Comp’s Hens & Gardens Event on Sunday 21st June.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Still no hens! My broody and eggs are coming from a local school, and apparently there’s been some rather over-enthusiastic egg collecting, so they’ll have to start from scratch. Well, I suppose it’ll give my plants time to get established before the arrival of beaks and claws.

It has been very dry here, but at last with a bit of rain, plants are beginning to grow, and grow. One gets lulled into a false sense of security and misses pests (that cardoon is annually turned skeletal by slugs), weeds can take over – especially from my compost mulch which starts to germinate, and plants will flop unless staked. I try and spend late afternoons in the garden.

A busy month outside the garden gate: with Chelsea, a friend’s wedding, lots of garden visits, and a new book to start. (Have joined forces with photographer Bill Mason to work for a publisher – the rest is a secret, but you’ll be the first to know). In the meantime, have had jolly days out at Etchingham Station, the Walled Nursery at Hawkhurst, Borough Market in Bankside, and the private gardens in Canterbury Cathedral Close – all with fascinating garden stories – some of which can be read in the articles’ section.

There’s nothing better than a day out visiting a garden:  a lot to learn and marvel at, a little light shopping perhaps, and maybe lunch or at least a piece of cake. Sometimes you can also donate to a worthy cause as well. Why not a trip to Benenden in Kent to our Kent Hen Party to see and buy hens, hatching eggs and plants?

STILL CLODHOPPING!

The joys of gardening a clay soil, and I really shouldn’t be even standing on it, so have been wobbling on planks and duckboards as I tidy, plant and try and improve the soil. Have added Gro-char Soil Improver, grit and horse manure. There’s a school of thought that chunky manure is the answer, and of course I garden in raised beds where I can, but trees and shrubs need to go into the soil.

Have ordered 100 plugs of Yellow Rattle (from naturescape.co.uk) to reduce the grass in the meadow and leave more space for wildflowers, and planted some white wild strawberries to confuse the squirrel who ate my entire crop last year. It’s all about problem solving.

The old swing seat is getting a coat of paint and I promise I’ll re-cover the cushions, the existing ones have nearly rotted away anyway. Bulbs are appearing, slightly later than usual, and it’s a relief to welcome favourites back. I sometimes get dark days when all I can see are the plants that haven’t re-appeared. Oh me of little faith.

I’ll be talking to the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral on March 11th about gardening, hens and downsizing, and at the Country Living Spring Fair on Saturday March 21st about keeping hens. It would be great to see some familiar faces.

 

CLODHOPPING

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Spending my afternoons puddling about in thick clay as I try to turn the area around my metal swing seat into a scented garden. Hacking out old hedging shrubs that have been banked up with the excavations for a greenhouse that has long since disappeared: bricks, flints and bits of rusted ironmongery, all clagged together with lumps of yellow subsoil.

It’s a strangely relaxing – and exhausting procedure for just a few hours every afternoon, as I dream of what I’ll plant (akebia, eleagnus angustifolia, sweet peas, and magenta-coloured shrub roses), and imagine myself sitting in the sun. The image is completed with an imagined flock of Orpingtons. Every time I garden, I miss sharing the excitement of the turned spade, though the job is easier without darting beaks.

I’m hoping that Kent College will lend me a broody and some of their hatching eggs. Their provenance (mums and dad seen above, and borrowed for the day) can be seen in an article I’ve written for this month’s Gardens Illustrated, in some gorgeous pics by Andrew Mongomery: Henkeeping for Serious Gardeners. Can’t wait!

Winter Gardening

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A couple of days spent out in the garden and life makes sense again. Leaf mould and compost sorted and mixed, and spread on the beds. I won’t clear them until late Feb, but the spring bed behind the veg garden needs tidying so that early treasures can actually be seen. Hellebores are opening, arums unfurling their spears, a few snowdrops and various bulbs beginning to bud. A sort among the pots at the back of the house produces a few to bring to the front door, including winter honeysuckle, wintersweet and a pot of cheerfulness.

On the terrace table, I have a pot of tender hellebores under a galvanised cloche – like a tiny greenhouse, various pots of herbs for easy access from the kitchen, myrtle, winter savory and hyssop, apart from the usual suspects. Time to take down the Christmas decorations and replace my driftwood tree with a pot of cymbidium orchids again.

Writing about gardening clothes for the Telegraph and I realize just how important it is to be wearing clothes that are comfortable, easy to move in and that keep you warm. I favour a pair of Max’s old Carhart baggy jeans (I wear woolly tights underneath), a strange hoodie over a red cashmere jumper and a ski vest. I always wear gloves – Showa, and my ancient Dubarrys keep my feet warm and dry. Not fashion plate perfect, but workmanlike.

PS If you miss an article, just type in Francine Raymond at the Sunday Telegraph, and it should be there.