Invasion of the Artichokes...

Spot what's wrong with this picture - okay don't dwell too long on the weeds or the wobbly paths...Spot the great big clump of Jerusalem Artichokes that some Doofus (namely me) planted in the wrong place, right at the front of the plot! I didn't believe they would grown to two metres - I laughed at the idea they would take over, and now I admit it...I was wrong - so very wrong! My mission this Autumn is to dig them all out and re site them - do I think Ill succeed? Not likely!

 

 

 

But the first dig started today and to paraphrase Miss Celie from The Color Purple - 'they sure is ugly'! the kids think they look like Grubs or great big maggots - lovely!

 

 

                      

I'd usually hide them in a soup but as we're sworn off butter and cream and all things that make artichoke soup lovely another way had to be found. I can't overwhelm the house menu with them as their nickname 'fartichokes' is well deserved, so we're going for little and often and thoroughly well cooked.

 

Tonight we had them mashed, seasoned and stacked with baby vegetables. Delicious and as far as the side effects go...so far, so good!

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Missing my spring garden...

I really have to do something about our borders, they look glorious in May but by August they're done for! I'm going to photograph them over the next couple of weeks as I plan for next year, but for now here are some of my favourite moments of early summer...

                                                         

                                                         

                                                         

How quickly it goes! I'm already writing myself reminders to plant more clematis and alliums but to leave some space for later flowering plants too. Already counting the days till next spring!

Shabby days and autumn colours....

It's always the same at the end of summer, we get busy elsewhere and the garden is left to its own devices. The grass grows longer, the edges are blurred and the blooms that once stood proud and vibrant lean on their supports, signalling another summers end. 

                                      

                                         

I used to give myself such a hard time for runniing out of time and energy in the garden as autumn arrived. ' I should be extending the season' planting for winter, hoeing every weed. But the reality is that when you work and have a family something's got to give and for me that's manicured lawns and weed control! 

                                       

                         

I'm learning to let go and see the beauty in our garden as it is, shabby edges and all. The truth is something's have thrived without the high maintenance attention they got in spring and look better for it, alas something's haven't but there's always next year. For now I'm just enjoying the last hurrah of colour that its got to give us.....

One year (and a bit) on...

Finally, some time to myself when the stars have aligned and the broadband is working, the jobs are all done (or at least out of sight!) and the technology is all in the right place to sit down to and write. Its been over a year since my last post and I think that's the way my blogging goes - feast or famine. Sometimes I run out of things to post and sometimes I run out of time to post them but either way it feels nice to be back.

Its been a busy year, the buildings finished, the kids are growing too quickly and the garden has grown out of control. Here are a few of the highlights...

delivering Russian Giant Sunflowers to the Village Plant Fair,

 

hatching Hen Solo, our new addition to the flock,

 

my new shed...ta dah!!!

 

and making a start on landscaping the side of the house that has been a building site for the past 3 years...

 

 

this looked like this for approximately 4 days before BH realised the benefits of putting a liner down first and now needs redoing to tackle the weeds, but that's another story...

 

 

Just in case I'm tending towards a rose tinted view of our rural idyll lets be clear, there's also been a nasty brush with hogweed, a lot of rain, several bad backs and a longstanding battle with nettles that still rages on.

 

 

This autumn we're determined to finish the interior of the house, move a green house, plant a lot of bulbs and put a liner on that patio. There's also the matter of roof repairs to tackle - oh joy! Thats it for now but by the time I press post the list is sure to have grown....

 

Digging and planting...and a plant sale to prepare!!!

Its been a big weekend in the Freerange household. Been as it was bank holiday we couldn't resist the urge to hire heavy equipment and do a spot of digging...

Believe it or not this was a pile of bricks and rubble on Friday, and while it may not look so pretty just yet, to me it looks fabulous - fabulously rubble free...hooray!

 And by Monday it looked like this...

                                       

Ahhhh....happiness is a full skip! Blimey we really need to get out more!

On the planting front its been all hands to the deck. Im holding a plant sale in our village this Saturday to raise funds for our village church. It sounded like a great idea when I suggested it last year but now I'm panicking ...the green house is only half full...

 Ive only got 3 more days to take cuttings and get potting - yikes!

On the plus side, the cuttings I took last weekend are already taking well. This is the Eau de Cologne mint I grew last year...it smells amazing...

and my phone is starting to fill up with messages to say that friends and neighbours have been taking cuttings too...phew! fingers crossed we'll have stuff to sell after all...

Now I just need people to come...I sense sleepless nights ahead...

Just keep sowing...

Has spring really sprung? The signs in the garden all suggest so, I still have hellebores flowering...



And Muscari popping out all over the place...



The muddy brown palette of the past months has begun to be replaced by the acid greens that should shout springtime...




But if like me you were gardening today in hail and snow - yes snow! Then you'd understand why I'm a little confused. Its still so cold here in East Yorkshire that I'm way behind on all my usual garden jobs, so today it was an early start to get things done...

I dug and weeded beds...




And then I sowed,



And sowed,



And sowed!



I also sowed snowball turnips, oriental salad leaves, squashes, coriander, dill, radishes, little bear squashes,calendula, lisanthus and chinese lanterns...phew!

The Marys and the Mitfords were desperate to get amongst the seeds,



But Arthur had other plans and whilst my back was turned tried a little digging of his own...



The monkey!

Of course now Im finished for the day the weather has cheered up and the sun is shining. But as the next task is to clear up the main greenhouse ( a chore i'm dreading - note the poor bird that knocked itself out in there)




then I'll call it a day! Back to work tomorrow...


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Marvellous Magnolias...

The time has come this year to tackle our untamed beds and borders in the garden. Year 1 and 2 were all about getting the vegplot active, but now, after living in a building site for what seems like forever, I want something pretty!

The first flower bed we've tackled we actually started last year. It was full of conifers and a huge Ceanothus. I was quite attached to the Ceanothus as when it bloomed it was the striking blue and covered in bees and butterflies, but a hard winter saw it off and it gave us the courage to tackle the rest of the overgrown shrubs. in amongst these were three conifers and a eucalyptus oh and a dried up looking stick. The conifers and the Eucalyptus came out but I had a funny feeling about the stick due to one fossilised looking flower bud. The stick stayed.

And last year the stick grew, it grew other sticks, but on the whole it stayed pretty stickish. That was the end of the story until this spring when the stick burst into life and turned into a beautiful Magnolia.

Magnolias always remind me of North London as we would see the most amazing ones in very everyday places there, and at Easter time they're at there best. I never thought we could raise one in the wilds of the Wolds, so this one is extra special - I'm 'sticking'with it...

Autumn colour at Harlow Carr...

We had a trip out at the weekend to the stunning RHS garden 'Harlow Carr'. I start to lose interest in the garden at this time of year as it just seems like one chore after another - but this proved the perfect antidote to yet another days leaf raking!



A shot of autumn colour to chase the blues away!

 The Harlow Carr Garden is just over an hour away from us, just outside of Harrogate. I wasn't sure if there would be much to see at this time of year, but I was definitely wrong. Shades of Autumn coloured the landscape and the planting was so well thought out to ensure that the very last drops of colour would be around to see out the season...

 The long border garden was beautiful - Ive made a promise to myself to go back and see it throughout the year. How did it inspire me - well for one thing I wont be daunted by the size of my border any more, I mean look at the size of these! and I'm determined to plant on a bigger scale. When i put one or two plants in they just get lost in our long border and have no effect - not any more - scouts honour!

 I love this tea 'leaf' pot - although I'm not sure how its poured!

 My next resolution for next year - to plant more foliage. I didn't used to see the point of plants that weren't showy and flamboyant. My how my tastes have changed!

 But I couldn't give up colour completely - these pinks and purples were much brighter than they came out on camera - and a joy on a cloudy October day...

 We found these in the woods - sorry  - arboretum! I did wonder about something like this as a garden feature, BH just rolled his eyes!

 and the Freerangers had the bestest time with miles of garden to run round, log mazes to explore, willow whales to hide in and plenty of ice cream - a grand day out indeed!