Hydrangea...

Hydrangea macrophylla red

Ground Cover

 French and Runner Beans , Blauhide purple peas, Crown Prince squash, Long green trailing marrow, Hundred Weight pumpkins with Cosmos, Black ball Cornflower,Jewel of Africa trailing  Nasturtiums .amazing ground cover plants for a large area, or small,just don’t plant too many.

Sunny start @Abbotsford

New Cut Flower Bed in the making

This bed had some old roses in it that had been there for years some more than a decade, so we thought it was time for something new and a bit of a change.Firstly we dug out the old, kept the ones that were strong and that we liked and then replanted them elsewhere. next in with that "marvelous machine" Marvin the Rotavator !!
With a quick rake to even out the soil, we used a length of wood divided the space up equally, laid some builders sand so we knew where are edge lines were and then planted in some lupins and tulips that had been elsewhere,the dahlias will follow shortly when its warmed up a bit more and I will post some photos so you can see how it all works.

Veg Plot ~ 2

 Next stop .A new Veg plot in the making.
 ..and so it begins.. This space in the past has had Tulips, Dahlias, Lillie's, some Fruit trees and has never really been a space that works.This year we are reclaiming it and changing its look and feel.We have already rotavated it at one end and put some Roses in -City of London-Floribunda-lovely and pink.This  is a working progress..so..to be continued.

Herb Bed in the making

This bed faces South, so it has a wonderful sunny outlook. It has some Victoria Plum,a Green Gage and Damson espalliard trees against the wall.There are three climbing roses and a Black current and a Blackberry bush here too.The plums are fantastic and every year produce an abundance which some are often taken to make some jam,others are sold and most are munched.
At the top of this bed there planted is an Herb bed..but only small..This year we would like to plant a much larger one.After digging then rotavating and raking, I then took out a worn out gooseberry bush and replaced it with a pretty weeping cherry blossom.
 Next stop, some gigantic herbs..to be continued...

Biodynamic/Lunar Calendar - sowing times for the Northern Hemispere

March 2014

1st -Sat--Flower 

2nd -Sun -Flower change at 07.00 to Leaf

3rd-Mon- Leaf

4th - Tue - Leaf AM only

5th - Wed -Fruit

6th - Thurs - Fruit change at 16.00 to Root

7th - Fri- Root

8th -Sat - Root

9th-Sun - Flower

10 th -Mon - Flower

11th-Tues-Flower change at 15.00 to Leaf

12th - Wed - Leaf

13th-Thurs-Leaf

14th-Fri-Fruit

15th-Sat-Fruit

16th-Sun-Fruit change at 14.00 to Root

17th-Mon-Root

18th-Tue-Root

19th-Wed-No planting

20th-Thurs-Flower

21st-Fri-Leaf

22nd-Sat-Leaf

23rd-Sun-Leaf change at 11.00 to Fruit

24th-Mon-Fruit

25th-Tues-Fruit change at 13.00 to Root

26th-Wed-Root

27th-Thur-Root

28th-Fri-Flower

29th-Sat-Flower change at 17.00 to Leaf

30th-Sun-Leaf

31st-Mon-Leaf change at 19.00 to Fruit.

For more info on biodynamic planting read M.Thun   (Floris books)  you will find a link in the Websites FYI - list.or click the link

Floris Books

www.florisbooks.co.uk 

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

The Veg Plot 3 perennial...

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

joanna.swiers@scottsabbotsford.co.uk

(t) 01896 752 043

www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk

a New Post in the making

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

joanna.swiers@scottsabbotsford.co.uk

(t) 01896 752 043

www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk

The Field View

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

joanna.swiers@scottsabbotsford.co.uk

(t) 01896 752 043

www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk

Cardoons

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

joanna.swiers@scottsabbotsford.co.uk

(t) 01896 752 043

www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk

Re-vamping The Old Rose Bed to "something completely different".

Digging out all the old and tired roses- keeping a couple-The City of London- and now we have a blank canvas to plan a new flower bed for your delight.

Joanna Swiers

Gardener

 Complete renovation, this is exciting.
A whole new bed to play with..to be continued...

www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk

Iris foetidissima citrina

 Tuesday 25th February 2014

This morning we have been digging up Iris foetidissima citrina also know as the roast beef plant, adders meat

and stinking gladwyn. Apart from the yellow flag Iris pseudacorus, it is our only native iris and it has a Royal

Horticultural Society(RHS) Award of Garden Merit.(GM)It has the constitution of an ox so will grow in almost any

situation, wet/dry conditions open/shaded site and it will tolerate neutral and alkaline soils but flourishes in an

organically rich,loamy soil that retains its moisture.
Our Iris has become huge in its space and the rhizomes are covered in moss,so we are digging up the whole

plant which you can do now ( Spring) Autumn or Winter, scrapeing off the moss , keeping the strongest rhizomes

with a healthy fan of leaves and replanting back in its spot with plenty of well rotted manure or leaf mould

(haven't decided which one yet) so it will continue to flourish here in the border in the Walled Garden at

Abbotsford.Long after its flowering, in the Autumn and through Winter it produces spectacular huge pods that

are full of orange/red seeds, which burst open and cling to the seed heads till spring which the birds completely

ignore.This plant was highly valued as a medicinal herb especially for making poultices for drawing out splinters

and the odd arrow head and it smells nothing like roast beef !

....To Be Continued.....