Snowdrops,first of the Hellebores and Polyanthus

The Snowdrops are looking so clean and pristine you would not believe that they had been battered by 6 days of constant gale force winds .It leaves you wondering how can something that looks so delicate can in fact be so robust.

The Hellebores are nearer the house in quite a sheltered border . 

The first of my self pollinated and and self sown seedlings are flowering for the first time. I am really pleased with this two toned one showing almost stripes of pink and white.

The pale lemon one I bought last year also the white with red markings.

This poor little polyanthus was covered by 6inches of snow  six weeks ago and as I pushed the snow off it I really thought it was dead , but no its still fighting .

Snowdrops

Self Sown Seedling Cross between
 White and Deep Maroon

White Hellebore
with Red Spots

Pale Lemon
Hellebore

Polyanthus

Tthe first flowers of 2011

With all the nasty snow and frost I had missed this lovely little shrub flowering away in a sheltered corner.  The strong perfume in cold sunshire soon reminded me that  the  Sweet Box Sarcococca  is flowering

This little flower is the first  Erysimum plantworld
rainbows . This plant has been in flower constantly for 12 months the long stems continually producing new  buts at their tips.as soon as the weather warms up I'll cut it back again . I have 6 plants more coming on from seed hopefully more colours.

 The cabbage and cauliflowers in the front greenhouse are doing well The first ones to produce heads have been damages by the frost .These will go to feed the hens but there are plenty more to come.
These will have to be used or frozen by the beginning of March to enable the potatoes and broad beans to be planted

Let the battle comence

I have had terrible trouble with rats this winter. Maybe due to the excessive cold .Here in the field they have nice warm compost heap and hay pile for nesting and as much hen food as they can stuff themselves with. Despite having five  poison bate boxes I was just not winning large holes being dug around the hen pen. So in desperation on Monday I sent to Amazon for an electric rat trap and six snap traps .As I said in the title let the battle commence. I will post if it works

the History of the garden

The garden has been grown along organic lines since 1975.

The fruit and vegetable garden at the side of the house consists of seven raised beds. These have been fertilized with compost and seaweed for the last 36 years and are now 3 feet higher than the paths.

Here I grow Raspberries, Gooseberries, Strawberries and  Blackcurrants.

One bed is  devoted solely to herbs, which are used both  culinary  and medicinally .

The vegetable patch  is very productive for a small space. Here I grow autumn planted Onion sets , Carrots, Beetroot, Lettuce, Cabbage,  Cauliflower, followed later by Purple Sprouting Broccoli  and Brussel Sprouts.

The garden has three Greenhouses a 24 x 12 ,8 x 10 and 20 x 30 .

The 20 x 30 is used mainly for the raising of plants for the garden and greenhouse ornamentals, 2 of the benches are used in the summer for growing Peppers and Chilies in pots.

The 8 x 10 usually produces 3 crops a year.

The first crop  is early potatoes planted in February so that we have New Potatoes from mid May.

The second crop is Sweet Corn it doesn’t grow well in the garden as here it is so windy. In the greenhouse it flourishes and produces masses of cobs.

The  third crop is Kale and winter lettuce .

The 12 x 24 also produces 3 crops a year

The first crop  also being potatoes in 2 beds and broad beans in the third bed.

The second crop is Tomatoes and Cucumbers under planted with Parsley and French Marigolds in two beds and climbing French beans Runner beans and French beans in the third bed.Not forgetting a small patch of Sweet Peas just for the scent

The third crop is Cabbages, Cauliflowers,  Lettuce, and Chicory  which  hopefully make it through the winter.

February 1st

Looked in vain for my lemon pink and blue Hellebores I just hope they are underground waiting to come up . Fifteen large snails on the wall just 4 inches away from where my special Hellebores should be .Never the less these got squashed and added to the food on the bird table

The garden looks so dead and miserable after all that snow and frost. I'm sure so much of it won't be back.
Even the base of the Cordyline  Australis is looking so damaged I think I will have to cut it all down around the base

The buds on this pink  hellibore are a lovely promise of things to come

The sprays of buds on this Flame of the Forest are almost ready to burst open

Looks like the white Hellebore Lenten Rose looks like its going to be the first to open

With the Deep Red Hellebore a couple of weeks later

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