After a weekend away (more on that later) I’ve come back to a garden that is basking in the late spring sunshine and some soaring temperatures (dare a tempt fate here by saying it’s meant to be 23℃ next weekend?!). The tulips are largely on the way out really, but having had very little free time this week, they’re still dangling by a thread in some pots, and I’ll get to them eventually. The plight of the busy gardener hey?! I’m sure you can sympathise there!
One job that I did just about manage to tick off this list this week is giving the borders their first ‘dose’ of nematodes, ready to fight off the slug invasion. I’ve said it before, but I’m happy for the slugs to be here, they are all part of the ecosystem of any garden, but I’d rather they leave the dahlias alone – everything else (including the hostas!) is fair game. If you struggle with them then I’d recommend looking into them as it really does work!
A job that I haven’t done is planting out of the sweet peas! Our last frost has almost definitely passed now, but truth be told, the space for the sweet peas isn’t ready, and I need to get my act together over the coming evenings with sorting it all out. As mentioned earlier, trying to find that elusive ‘spare time’ is proving difficult at the moment. Is anyone else sharing the same feeling? Time feels like it’s running away but in reality, there is bags of it left in the season yet.
And finally from me, this past weekend saw the sensational BBC Gardener’s World Spring Fair at Beaulieu in the heart of the New Forest. I was there sharing all my garden DIY top tips with the crowds on the ‘Get Growing Stage’ hosted by my good friend, Ellen Mary. If you’ve not been before then you’re really missing a trick, its a show made for us gardeners, with everything you could possibly want from a garden show. Add it to your diary now for next year and make a weekend of it, I hope to be back again in 2025 – until then, you can see me at Gardener’s World Live in June (check my events page for all other dates).
If you do manage to get yourself some gardening time, or even if not – perhaps pop my latest podcast episodes in your ears while you’re at it. In this one, I speak with resiliency warrior, Kim Stoddart. This is a great conversation with someone I really admire, and I know you will too. You can listen to Kim and all past guests here now!
Now, over to my guest this week. Georgina aka @plot_bae, is a self-confessed gardening addict based in North Yorkshire. A mid-30s mum, who left a fast-paced corporate career a few years ago after the lockdowns made her re-evaluate her priorities. Three years later and she’s a complete convert with a garden to be proud of but perhaps more than she initially thought she’d bargain for! Do enjoy reading her story, below.
“If someone had told me three years ago I’d be so into gardening I would have laughed, but honestly, it’s brought me so much joy! It all started with a friend gifting me a few spare veg seedlings and strawberry runners they had, and from that point on I was hooked. Gardening has not only provided me with tasty fresh fruit and veg, but also massively improved my health after years of working a desk job and surviving on caffeine – it’s great exercise and has done wonders for reducing stress!
I live in a rural village with my husband, 4-year-old daughter, and a fluffy dog named Bella. We were very fortunate to be able to purchase 8.5 acres that backed onto our property two years ago from a local farmer, and we’ve been busy working on it ever since. The land was depleted from years of intense farming, but when the sale went through, we immediately put the whole area to grass and wildflowers, and it’s been improving massively since then; where previously the land was either waterlogged in winter or rock hard and cracked in summer, it is now lush and green and teeming with life. Our ultimate goal is to create a sustainable food forest type area, but we’re still learning and don’t want to rush it.
The land and garden are home to our free-ranging chickens and ducks – we have four rescued ex-farm hens and three rescued drakes (male ducks). While I’m gardening, the chickens are always trailing behind me, hoping for a snack of worms or grubs as I work. They’re great garden helpers and have noticeably reduced the slug population, although they are a bit messy! When I first started gardening the primary goal was growing food and I didn’t spend much time on flowers, but as I’ve become a more confident gardener I’ve really expanded what I grow and now absolutely adore having colourful blooms to look at while I’m tending to the veggies, or sitting down enjoying a cuppa on the patio (a daily ritual on dry days).
This week has been all about potting on the many seedlings sown over the last couple of months, and getting the garden spruced up for late spring and summer use. I’ve been busy potting on marigolds, tomatoes, various squash, zinnias, kale, nasturtiums, and loads more! Hardy plants that are big enough have already been planted outside, and I’ve been regularly adding to my veg beds. This week I’ve planted out onion seedlings, larger kale seedlings, pak choi (undercover), peas, chard, broad bean plants, a couple of new varieties of strawberries, and also some small fruit trees (a family apple tree and pear tree so far).
The last few days have been much warmer here, and the evenings are getting ever brighter as we move into late spring, but I’m not quite ready to bid farewell to tulip season – this year has been a great success with the spring bulbs, and I have really, really enjoyed them! Looking ahead, I am very much looking forward to warmer mornings, starting to harvest the berries that are heavily in flower now, and for the many dahlia tubers in my raised beds to start flowering over the summer months.“
I don’t know about you, but I wish Georgina all the best with her garden in the future and what shes done with it so far is outstanding!
Have a fantastic week ahead, enjoy the sunshine and I’ll see you back here again, next week
View From The Potting Bench 