Also, I really wanted to buy a passion flower climber and a ceanothus for the new garden (California lilac, it should have gorgeous blue flowers once mature), and yesterday I gave in even though we haven't got a moving date yet. They were pretty cheap as small plants, a bigger ceanthus online cost several times the price so it's a risk worth taking. (Not sure if this is the variety I think is the prettiest but if it dies I may invest in a nicer one later). I am going to try keeping them in pots until I can plant them in the new garden. The ceanothus looks pretty happy. I have "mulched" it with some dead grass, and plan on using a frost fleece if it gets very cold (I know it is probably quite frost hardy as it's evergreen, just want to take extra care of it until it gets bigger). The picture is of it next to my strawberry plants which have survived the winter. 4 pots rather than original 2 - since they had sent out runners which I planted.
Showing posts with label strawberries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strawberries. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 March 2012
moving house (& garden)
I mentioned before that I should be moving house soon. So knowing that I had tried to save money by digging up and saving last year's spring and summer bulbs, and replanting them for this year. That seems to be working out for me, I'm not sure what the success rate is as I didn't count them, but I have at least 15 tulip and other bulbs with healthy green shoots now!
Also, I really wanted to buy a passion flower climber and a ceanothus for the new garden (California lilac, it should have gorgeous blue flowers once mature), and yesterday I gave in even though we haven't got a moving date yet. They were pretty cheap as small plants, a bigger ceanthus online cost several times the price so it's a risk worth taking. (Not sure if this is the variety I think is the prettiest but if it dies I may invest in a nicer one later). I am going to try keeping them in pots until I can plant them in the new garden. The ceanothus looks pretty happy. I have "mulched" it with some dead grass, and plan on using a frost fleece if it gets very cold (I know it is probably quite frost hardy as it's evergreen, just want to take extra care of it until it gets bigger). The picture is of it next to my strawberry plants which have survived the winter. 4 pots rather than original 2 - since they had sent out runners which I planted.
The passion flower was the only one in the shop and looked a bit spindly. When I got it home all the leaves had fallen off! I've left one in the pot to remind me and the plant what the leaves looked like! It still just had some tendrils as a little bit of green. I put it in a bigger pot and it is sitting in my sunny window while I try to coax it back to life. It won't have a fence or trellis for proper support until we move.
Also, I really wanted to buy a passion flower climber and a ceanothus for the new garden (California lilac, it should have gorgeous blue flowers once mature), and yesterday I gave in even though we haven't got a moving date yet. They were pretty cheap as small plants, a bigger ceanthus online cost several times the price so it's a risk worth taking. (Not sure if this is the variety I think is the prettiest but if it dies I may invest in a nicer one later). I am going to try keeping them in pots until I can plant them in the new garden. The ceanothus looks pretty happy. I have "mulched" it with some dead grass, and plan on using a frost fleece if it gets very cold (I know it is probably quite frost hardy as it's evergreen, just want to take extra care of it until it gets bigger). The picture is of it next to my strawberry plants which have survived the winter. 4 pots rather than original 2 - since they had sent out runners which I planted.
Labels:
annuals,
biannuals,
bulbs,
california lilac,
ceanothus,
climbers,
moving house,
passion flower,
strawberries
Thursday, 1 March 2012
fresh food for our hamster
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| carrot |
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| pea pod |
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| baby sweetcorn |
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| carrot |
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| broccoli |
This is our hamster enjoying eating various fresh veg (all raw). Is good to give them fresh fruit or vegetables some of the time as a treat, in addition to their normal dry food - check what's OK to give first though. Others he enjoys are lettuce, cucumber, sometimes berries (strawberries, blueberries - but seems to like these less). You shouldn't feed citrus, onion or tomatoes.
Labels:
baby sweetcorn,
broccoli,
carrot,
hamster,
peas,
strawberries,
syrian hamster,
vegetables
Thursday, 24 November 2011
mini succulent plant
Not much left in the garden now, well at least not any tomatoes. I haven't had the time or will to tidy up or plant spring bulbs yet. My purple osteospermum is the best surviving colour out in the garden.. the dahlias are over now. This baby plant is growing indoors in soil from a leaf of a bigger plant (the stem you can see is a different one though, dragon plant).This pansy only flowered briefly but was really unusual looking, frilly and purple!
I saved some tulip, narcissus and alium bulbs from this summer - I've never tried re-planting bulbs before. I may try to see what I get rather than spend a lot on new ones this spring, perhaps try to save the dahlia tubers too, although the red ones I had this year aren't as nice as the big bold purple and white ones I had a couple of years back.
Finally, another old pic from October - showing 1 of my strawberry plants sending out runners, which I've put into another pot beside it. Sorry not very clear with the long grass around it. I must go out and rescue them into the warm before any frost.. perhaps they will have fruit next year. I think it is the bought plant rather than the from seed 1 that had the runners.
Labels:
gardening,
pansy,
plants,
runners,
spring bulbs,
strawberries,
succulent
Thursday, 11 August 2011
mystery berries, Sungold toms, strawbs
Speaking again of the "potato" plant (grown from a pack of dahlia tubers) carrying little green fruits. A few of the green fruits have turned into small blue berries - I wondered then if they are blueberries or blackcurrants! But after searching the web I found a page saying that these berries could still belong to a potato, since that is where the seeds are. How strange! I haven't tried to dig down and see if there are actually potatoes yet as it is right in the middle of my flower bed amongst poppies and sunflowers, but I should do at some point.
More gardening advice from the web - a branch had almost snapped off in the wind from a tomato plant with several green tomatoes on. Apparently I could have taped it up and it might have healed with time, but since I've already broken it off fully, I have pushed the branch down into a new pot of soil to see if it may grow roots and start a new plant. (As apparently this can work). Last time I threw a branch of tomatoes in the compost bin not knowing this, hope it works!
I had thought none of my sungold plants had made it, but now I can tell the difference between the larger red Gardener's Delight tomatoes and the more plentiful and flavourful yellowy-orange Sungolds so I do have both after all - in fact more Sungolds than GD's. I thought they were ripening past yellow (to red), but they stopped at orange. The smallest ones are the tastiest. I've been able to pick 5-10 at a time (only 1 or 2 GD), and there are always more green ones growing to take their place. It does make growing them worthwhile - enough to put in a salad whenever I want. It's cost a bit to buy seeds, tools and compost etc but is better value than buying a big box of cherry tomatoes and wasting most of them each time, as is normal from a supermarket. The plastic packaging is wasteful too, and they taste nicer. Also of course it is fun to grow them. :)
F1 Sarian strawberry plant - grown from seed and now complete with little baby strawberries! It is a couple of months since the Homebase Cambridge Favourite strawberry plant stopped fruiting (bought as a small plant). But now this one has nearly got to that stage. I'll be very pleased if I see ready to eat berries, after all the other seedlings didn't germinate or died.
Saturday, 11 June 2011
tomatoes and strawberry plants
Plant on the left is a small Cambridge Favourite "cheat" since bought as a plant (it has produced 3 edible strawberrys so far), on the right is F1 Sarian grown from seed in January, the only survivor and finally big enough to go outside!
Gardener's Delight cherry toms still making progress.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
strawberries

1 strawberry seed (F1 Sarian) germinated and got as far as a mini plant still smaller than a fist (which has taken about 4 months!) whilst only 1 other grew but then died. The one survivor is in a seed tray with its lid on to keep it moist, I will keep trying with this one. I also cheated and bought a small local variety of strawberry plant from Homebase which is outside and has a few little green strawberries on it now, under netting in case of birds or animals. Not too bad for a small plant.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
tomatoes
Gardener's Delight (I had more of these seeds than the Sungold)

one of the few surviving Sungold (I tried to repot/didn't water enough and they withered) showing how small the strawberries are in comparison, planted a week earlier I think.
Stawberry seedling:

one of the few surviving Sungold (I tried to repot/didn't water enough and they withered) showing how small the strawberries are in comparison, planted a week earlier I think.
Stawberry seedling:

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