This week… has been so wet and soggy, that I cant say I’ve honestly been doing much gardening. Just being honest there as I know a lot of us will have wanted to get outside and get the rest of the bulbs in but its not really happened here. But, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been out for a little nosey around to see what’s happening (in between rain!)
Overall, despite the drizzle and dampness, the garden actually isn’t looking too bad. There’s plenty of bare soil, that keeps taunting me, knowing that I should be out there planting bulbs and planning better for next year. I’ve got the bulbs ready to go in the rest of the border but neither the weather of the motivation right now. Hoping for a dry day off on Friday! I’ve started to have a little peak at Dahlias for next year but I’ll save that for a future post.
Salvia Amistad, which you’ll probably know by now, is one of my favourites, is still throwing out new flowers, even at the start of December. I took lots of cuttings, as previously mentioned to save for next year as these are quite prone to frost, which we should be getting pretty hard this week if the forecast is to be believed. All being well, if I mulch properly then we might keep a few but I’ve taken cuttings as a backup plan anyway. New plants can be bought, but its all about trying to save those pennies where we can.
Elsewhere, all of the acers in our garden have pretty much let their leaves go and are now nothing but a series of bare branches and twigs. One of our acers in really in the wrong position, right in the middle of the long border so I’m tempted to move it and now is a good a time as any. The ground isn’t frozen (yet) and there is plenty of space to move it to. I’m also tempted to get a nice big container for it instead so I can move it around to suit the changing seasons of the garden. What would you do?
Speaking of the changing seasons, a bit of an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ has taken place this week. This year I grew Bidens all along the front wall and loved them so much, so I’d been on the hunt for something to replace them with over winter, finally settling on Cineraria, Silverdust. This came recommended by the wonderful Lizzie at The Rose Press Garden and I so glad she mentioned it as this will add a touch of wintery silver right along an otherwise empty space. The most exciting part is that beneath them lies about 300 spring bulbs, waiting to burst through next year….cant wait!
In podcast news the latest episode is out and sadly its the lasut of the current season!
But its a fantastic one, as I had the pleasure of talking to Gardener’s World favourite, Mark Lane. Mark tells me all about his journey to horticulture, which part of his career really brings him the most joy and what we might just see from him in the future.
Mark is a true inspiration within the industry and the work he does to promote gardening for all, is something to be applauded. I do hope you enjoy the episode!
If you haven’t entered it yet, then my 20k giveaway is still running over on Instagram until Sunday 11th December, so don’t miss out!
See you again next week
View From The Potting Bench 