Whoops, tulips!

Relatively recently I remembered I'd bought some tulips. And quite quickly after that I remembered I hadn't planted them yet, and I was kind of late doing that. But in that moment, the thing I couldn't remember is where they were. 

Hmmnn.

This in itself was more troubling than not remembering to have planted the bulbs in the first place. I was pretty sure they would be ok, maybe sprouting a bit, not too much if I was lucky. I hoped that they were the same as seeds, in that they're programmed to grow, so will try their best for you, well, as long as you eventually give them some help. Help like soil, and water, that kind of thing.

My brain is one of those brains that usually knows where things are, even down to the exact location. For example I'll send MOH to get something from the spare freezer, he'll be rummaging (as usual) and I'll helpfully suggest, top shelf on the right, or wherever it is he's looking for, to much amazement from him (and sometimes me too). 

So it's a bit disconcerting when my brain can't retrieve that kind of information. Usually it'll pop back in at some point, so I leave it a while before starting The Search. 

And sure enough, after a little while of mulling, a day or so later, it came to me. There were in the conservatory, with my seeds. And when I checked, so they were. Thankfully they weren't sprouted so much that they'd grown through the bag either. Phew. 

I resolved to plant them as soon as I could, but that was easier said than done with a weekend in Norfolk planned and then another busy weekend with a long to do list, and one where the tulips didn't make it to the top of the list. But finally this weekend I planted them, and it was lovely to be out in the garden again. 

There was some maths involved too, I had ten of each of the following tulips:

• Weisse Berliner: a white flower, with up to four flowers per stem
• Flaming Flag: a white flower with purple streaks, almost like a raspberry ripple ice cream (but different colours!)
• Menton: a pale coral pink tulip
• Queen of the Night: the infamous black tulip.

And I had either three or five pots to plant them in. Neither was easy for the maths. As I'd also found 55 alliums, I split the 40 tulips between three pots, and the alliums between the remaining two.

And I'm hoping they'll grow. I figured the fact that some of them are sprouting already is a good sign, they're obviously going to be late flowering, I won't be having tulips in April I'm sure. But I hope they'll manage something at some point this year, if not there's always next year.

Normally I'd plant some pansies or something that was already flowering to make the pots look a bit prettier, but not this time. It all feels very disorganised, most likely because it is, but I thought it waa about time these tulips were planted. They're a good four months later than they should be.

As I said before, whoops, tulips!

Back home and checking on a frosty garden

Well, it's been quite a few days. I spent the end of last week in Austria and Germany with Viking and Stihl and had the best time. I learnt more than I ever knew there was to know about lawnmowers, saw them assembled, heard about the research that goes into making them the best they can be and saw the future of cutting grass in our smart gardens. Never again, will I think it's "just" a lawnmower!
 

Infact I was only there overnight, but we packed a lot into two very full days and I've lots more to share with you. And after two busy days, the weekend was much quieter, but I did get out into the garden to see what had been going on out there. Getting out into the garden is one of my coming home rituals, which may seem odd after just a short time away, but with the chance to take some frosty pictures too I couldn't resist.

It was mid-morning and the agapanthus just outside the back door were still frosty. 

I'm not sure if that's good for them, as they originate from South Africa. And while I may be late in doing this, I've covered them with horticultural fleece now to help them through the rest of this cold snap. I also caught the frost on the fence behind it, and was stunned by the detail.

The box balls were coping better with their frosting.

At this time of year my garden is a garden of two halves. The part closest to the house, and in the shadow of the house cold and this weekend still frosty, and further down the garden where the sun reaches, looking and feeling much brighter. I know that's how it is for our North facing garden but it was so evident standing at the prickly conifer whose greeny-grey was emphasised by the frost.

The grass too had a heavy frost. But as we've no path, I had to walk on it - but I tiptoed and kept where I walked to a minimum, so hopefully it'll be ok. It looked interesting close up. 

Next up I spotted the frosted sedum seedheads which the frost seemed to add an extra dimension. 

And then I realised that if I spent this much time walking up the garden then this would be a very long post. So you know, I'm about two metres off the edge of the patio, so now you see what I mean. 

At the back of the garden the kale, which I've still not planted out despite it being on my December allotment to do list, was also sporting the frosted look. It too had been avoiding the sun, even though you can see it on the trellis at the back of the picture.

In the greenhouse I checked on the plants under the fleece and decided they needed watering. So off I went back towards the house armed with a watering can to find the gun on the hose was frozen. Thankfully the tap wasn't - it's by the chip-basket of the boiler so I was hoping it'd be warmer there - and so I was able to half fill the watering can. 

Checking elsewhere in the greenhouse the box of bulbs I'd dug up and saved when we removed the earth for the circles last summer were starting to sprout. So that's another job for the list, these were destined to go into my flower patch over on the allotment. But I've not dug that either yet. I might have to come up with an interim plan of popping these bulbs into pots so they can grow, and then I can plant them where I want them when I'm ready.

Two of my three chilli plants were still hanging on, I'm hoping the watering will help them, but I suspect I may have picked my last chillies. Considering it's January it's not too bad, is it? I've impressed myself though as for the first time I've grown frozen chillies, so these went straight into the freezer.

My bargain hyacinths from last year have buds on them too, so they're now in the conservatory acclimatising before coming into the living room. And then no doubt when they're at their most perfumed, I'll move them back into the conservatory so I can cope!

Heading back down the garden again, this time armed with fat balls to top up the bird feeders, I spotted the pink flowers of the hosta. Somehow the frost accentuates the edges of the leaves, don't you think?

The black grass which edges the patio was wearing the frost in a striped pattern which was definitely eye catching. On first thoughts I didn't think the grass had grown much from when I planted it, but looking back to last February I can see it's grown more than I thought. And now I can see there's newer plants forming (in this picture to the left of the main clump) but not being the patient type, I wish it'd hurry up and get on with the ground covering job I bought it for.

And finally, my bulbs are growing!  Well the ones, that are in the earth where they're supposed to be and not in the greenhouse. Although I did spot one rebel out there.

So, it's true there are signs of Spring even in our gardens. It may be a little while off yet, but we know it's coming don't we? I've seen daffodils in the shops, but I haven't caved yet as it feels too early, and I want to enjoy the frostiness of winter for just a little bit longer yet, well as long as it comes with blue skies...

A fleece-covered greenhouse

When I packed up the garden about a month ago that included the greenhouse. But I had a dilemma as I still had plants growing in there. The chillies were still fruiting, and I'd followed dad's example of planting some aloes into the greenhouse bed, but I knew that in our north facing garden they'd be unlikely to thrive, or possibly survive, without some extra help.

When we cleared out the shed and greenhouse in the summer I'd found some horticultural fleece and I wondered if it would help here. So with a nothing ventured, nothing gained approach I set about tucking them in.

And this weekend watering the greenhouse was one of the chores that got me out into the garden. Even though plants will slow down over winter, they still need some water and I was keen to see what was going on under that fleece.

The amaryllis has recovered well, it was in the conservatory and not looking so well. I brought it out into the greenhouse as it seems to like it there, and it's rewarded me by reviving itself.  The aloes were doing well too, but the real find was to discover that my bargain hyacinth bulbs from last year are starting to grow again.

The chillies were doing well and there were some new fruits on the plant, so that has to be a good thing. 

And yes that is a geranium. It's a relative of the ginormous one dad has in his greenhouse, and looking back I can't believe it's two years ago that I first shared the hugest of geraniums here.  The red stemmed plant on the right is a blueberry plant, that's shed its leaves but I'm hoping that's normal.

The succulents were also doing well. The one above - a Pachyphytum, or grey silvery one - has been under the fleece. The ones I propagated from leaves are coming on leaps and bounds and really are looking like proper plants now.  You'd never know how they started off now, would you?

So with everything checked and lightly watered, I tucked it all back up again and edged out of the greenhouse amused by the ghostly shape. But if it works and helps the plants keep going then I'm all for it. Checking the thermometer it's already reached -4 in the greenhouse which seems chilly to me.

I couldn't help but notice the difference in the mind your own business. Inside the greenhouse it was thriving and clearly happy. It put itself there and well it's good to have some spare incase the weather wipes out the rest of this plant. It's a plant I love - partly because of its name, but also because it's a great filler and softens the edges. It has to be used carefully, I'd never plant it in a flowerbed, but along paving and walls it's brilliant. And next time you visit a National Trust or similar garden, look out for it, it's more widespread than you first think.

But outside I think the weather could be starting to get to it. I'm not sure if its the cold or the wet. We'll see how it goes, but at least I know I've got some backup.

Outside the greenhouse I checked my 'spare' brassicas and they're still doing ok. I'm sure they'd do much better in the ground, so remember my allotment to do list, yes these are the ones I need to find space for. There's some curly kale, purple sprouting broccoli and a few more red cabbages, because I don't think you can have too many. And I still can't throw out plants that are growing!

A little sun makes all the difference doesn't it? Especially if you've got a lovely warming fleece on!