Moseley in Bloom Open Gardens 2012 - Day 1

Last weekend was Moseley in Bloom's Open Garden Days in the south of Birmingham. I've always fancied going but never got round to it, but this year I played the "It's Father's Day and daddy gets to do whatever he wants" card and made it to both days along with a mate from work. Despite the bad weather on Saturday the whole weekend was truly inspirational with some jaw dropping gardens and very friendly dedicated gardeners. Well done to you all! I took so many photos I'll make two posts. Here we go ...

Saturday tended to cover the gardens in north Moseley, which tend to be grander, as you can see!

 I thought this was a good idea, a large white-flowered clematis growing up through the deep purple of a black Elderberry, Sambucus nigra.

 This was a nice twist on the '3 stage' type of edging which is very popular at the moment. The idea is to add an extra layer of transition between paving and beds, but it can still look harsh if the paving is straight. This zig-zag effect breaks the lines up even more.

 The next garden had a dead cherry tree, but instead of cutting it down a local artist has carved shapes of animals into it. We counted at least 12!

 One theme that came out was the interesting range of ferns people are using these days. This is a young Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponica.

 The third garden was created by a charming Italian lady keen on her philosophy. The lawn looked very different. There was very little grass in it, mainly moss and what the rest of us would call 'weeds'. I asked her about it and she said her philosophy on lawns had three aspects: if plants are happy and succeed then let them be; if it's low maintenance then it gives you time to do other things; and finally she's not a man so she doesn't care about having a perfect lawn!

 Moseley Buddhist Centre's garden was very tranquil as you would expect, but with some interesting sculptures made out of scrap iron.

 It's always impressive how much time and effort gardeners go to. This property is a converted coach house and was very well designed. Lots of sunken and raised areas that gave it more depth than the other expansive, flatter gardens.

 Another interesting fern. Kind of like a Maiden Hair but with very curly fronds. Haven't been able to identify it in the books yet...

 By now we were getting dizzy on cakes, tea and pollen, as were the bees...

Many of the older house had interesting outbuildings: old workshops, hot houses, stables, coach houses, servants quarters and even outside lavvies. Certainly gives them character... 

 Moseley has a private park and pool. The last time I was there I was 1, when mum used to take me round in the pushchair. Needless to say, I couldn't remember much about it, but there are some great specimen trees in there...

 Some of the gardens had recently had the makeover treatment, but despite the new feel to much of the landscaping the planting looked suprisingly mature.

We finished the day in Moor Green Allotments where to our great joy there was a clubhouse with a bar and even a restuarant! Sorry folks, your secret is out! Time to get my name on the waiting list... Next, Day 2.

Wallflowers get the Chelsea Chop

The wallflowers had started to look rather ragged. Had been flowering for a few months. Although the aim of the 'Chelsea Chop' is to extend the life of later flowering perennials I thought I'd give it a go with these. Let's see. Before...

After...

Time to take cuttings

Another one of my favourite June jobs is taking soft wood cuttings. While mooching around the car boot sale I found a decent sized Butterfly Lavender with lots of side shoots. Also picked up two pots of Sempervivums that were ripe for splitting. First, gather the materials: parent plant, dibber, secateurs and terracotta pots. They root better if air gets around the roots. Clay pots breath much better than plastic ones. Soil is equal parts compost and soil, with a good handful of sand and grit to improve drainage.

 Peel off the side shoots, making sure you get a little 'heel' from the parents stem. Trim off the lower leaves and make sure there's a clean cut on the tip of the heel.

 Dip cuttings in hormone rooting powder and dib into the edge of the pot.

 Water well and move on the the next subjects.

 Also took cuttings of sage, rosemary, clematis and blueberries. Loads of free plants for minimal effort. Splendid.

Making hanging baskets

Now the threat of frost has well passed it's time to get the hanging baskets up. First, gather the materials: plants, moss, baskets, compost, soil and other ingredients (gel crystals, chicken manure, ash and miracle grow)

 First, make the mix. My recipe this year is equal parts compost and soil, a good handful of bonfire ash and chicken manure pellets, with a sprinkling of water retaining gel crystals and miracle grow powder.

 Line the baskets with moss. This is actually moss and grass thatch that a mate had raked out of his garden. Half fill with soil.

 Push some of the plant plugs through the sides of the basket, then fill with more soil mixture. give it a good watering.

 Finish with another round of plants on the top and fill with soil. Give another good water.

 Hang and stand back and admire!

 Job done...

June round-up - Flowers

I guess these speak for themselves...

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June round-up - Fruit

Despite racing away, the grapes in the greenhouse haven't formed any fruit this year. Mind you, the plant itself is only two years old. Maybe next year...

The blueberries have started to form and don't seem to need much feeding at the moment. Plenty of new growth for next year too.

 The raspberries have gone mad and the bees are loving them. I think they are a little later this year due to the topsy-turvy weather in the spring. I'd like to get some late and autumn flowering varieties to extend the fruiting season. Spotted a nice 'Autumn Gold' variety in the garden centre but quite expensive. Might try some seeds from the fruit when it's on sale in the supermarkets later in the year.

The morello cherry is doing well in terms of growth, but very little fruit. Again, quite a young plant, maybe two or three years old. I've since pruned off some of the branches leaving pairs about 30cm apart when it gets espaliered against the fence next year. 

The stars of the fruit show this year are the outside grapes. Both white and grape are developing lots of bunches of fruit. Maybe it's because they are in full sun from dusk till dawn, whereas the greenhouse is in shade early and late in the day. Let's hope the birds don't get to them before I do!

Should have a remarkable crop of strawberries too this year. They have been strawed and fed once. I'm also collecting some later and ever-bearing varieties to extend the season beyond Wimbledon fortnight.

I forgot to take a picture of the fig, which has finally sprung into life, as well as the blackcurrants and jostaberries. Maybe later in the month. Next, flowers...

June round-up - Veg

Early June saw the first crop of the year - Chinese cabbages. They were freebie seeds from an early seed order. Very tasty in stir fries, but not much else...

 Potatoes in the bulk-bag are doing very well. Due to the heavy rain they have since collapsed, so have had to stake-and-string them to give them some extra support. Have since started coming into flower too.

 My plan was to keep some brassicas in pots until room became free in the raised bed. Unfortunately the cauliflowers bolted, but the calabrese and sprouts seem to be more patient. Bottom right are the 500 plant pots I picked up off eBay for a fiver. Should keep me going for a few years.

 The outdoor tomatoes haven't shown any sign of blight yet, despite all the heavy rain, though it's a little early for that problem yet. hopefully July and august will be drier and warmer. Oddly enough the cucumbers in the greenhouse have done very poorly, but the chappy in the pot on the right is doing very well.

 The climber in pots are supposed to be forming a 'wall garden'. Cobra beans are rather slow, but Passiflora is racing away.

 The Tumbling toms are supposed to do the opposite and trail downwards. Once the first sets of tomatoes swell they should start drooping and gravity will do the rest.

 Peas are well in flower and are loving the heavy rain. Swelling up well. I sowed another load of carrots to infill the row in the foreground, but germination is still very poor. Not sure why. It's all fresh seed. Maybe they are just taking their time. Have found lots of little slugs and have been picking them off of an evening.

 The Maris Piper potatoes are also doing well now. Just coming into flower and difficult to earth up any further now. Won't bother any more now the threat of frost is well over.

 In the greenhouse I've got short rows of beetroot, dwarf french beans, celery, peppers, a chilli and some shallots.

 In the other bed my beafsteak tomato trial is doing well. On the left there is Super Marmande, started from seed in January. In the middle is Big Boy, bought as a seedling in March, and finally a Belriccio grafted tomato rescued from death's door, a.k.a B&Q. First trusses are about to set, so time to get feeding them. In the foreground more beetroot, Pak Choi (which soon bolted - kept in pots for too long), marigolds and lettuce.

 Sad to say, but I've heard several references on the radion and tv to preparing for autumn! In past years I've not been prepared for the mid-summer gap, so this year I'm making sure I've got plenty of veg seedlings in reserve - here swede, more beans, more celery, more lettuce and a few flowers.

Next, fruit...