Our Camellia has been exceptionally pretty this year and has flowered prolifically.
The weather as usual is unpredictable and changeable. So nothing new there then!
Still, regardless of what the weather is going to do, there are chores and tasks to contend with if the new year of gardening is to be successful.
Let’s start with the gardening chores we have been looking at over the last few weeks. Our bulbs are providing lots of flowers to make the place look colorful and vibrant. From dwarf daffodils to common daffs, Crocus and Tulips, and the ever beautiful Hyacinths with their delightful smell/
We do plan to build small raised beds to house these and the kitchen herbs and the blocks are stacked up ready to be laid. Once these raised beds are done, we can then transfer the bulbs from the troughs and pots we have them in at present to the new beds.
There will also be two Herb beds to hold the kitchen herbs to be used in culinary uses but for now, they have to be held in containers.
Bulbs in their pots and troughs which have been delightful this year.
Loraine has been busy with this year's seedlings and has already planted many of them out, but has protected them under fleece to keep them a little warmer. As we are in an exposed area the winds can be very cutting here until we get more shrubs and trees on the property. Once this is achieved, it should negate the force of the winds by quite a lot which in turn will allow us to grow plants much easier than at present.
We have also completed the beds around the new walls that Paul put up and they are planted up with all sorts of offerings which should look fabulous as the year goes on.
All of our plantings in the new beds around the wall have taken well and are now
producing lots of growth.
The Asparagus beds are sending up shoots now and more are appearing each day. We are allowed to take a few small crops from them and we are certainly looking forward to tasting them this year. All of our fruit bushes are sending out leaves and fruit sets and even our new Raspberries have now all come through so it looks as if we managed to save each of the bare-root plants.
As for the orchard, many of the trees are sending out this year's leaves and it will not be long before the blossom starts to appear, from then on it will be crucial that they do not fall under any frosts that would destroy the fruit sets.
We have 20 fruit trees in the orchard that are all showing new growth now and even our horse-damaged trees are bouncing back so it is looking good.
Among the trees we have are Cornish Apples, 3 different Pear varieties, Cherry trees, Plum and Greengage along with Hazel and Walnut trees.
Our orchard trees are sending out leaves ready for the new season’s growth. You can also see the mounds of earth in
the photo is courtesy of our resident Moles!
Building work on the hut is going well, somewhat slowly but well. We have come to a halt now as we are waiting for the timber to be delivered comprising of plywood sheets for the roof covering. Shiplap timbers for the skin of the hut and rough timber planks for the floor. Paul will make the windows at a later stage once the exterior has been completed.
The timber frame of the hut is now complete and awaiting its exterior finish.
From the above photo, you can see that the timber frame is now complete and the next task will be to get the plywood sheets on the roof joists ready for the rubber membrane which is sitting in our polytunnel at present. Once the roof has been fixed and is waterproof, Paul will then affix the shiplap exterior to form the walls of the hut. When that has been completed the floor timbers can be laid to finish off the main works and for all purposes, it should be fairly dry inside the building.
It will then require the windows and doors to be installed and glazed which will make it fully waterproof. The build does not end there though as the veranda to the front of the hut has to be constructed and electrics installed along with the other services. The internal walls will be lined with 11mm OSB to keep the inside neat and tidy.
West view of the hut and wall running down to the South.
Besides the garden wall itself which consists of many hundreds of blocks to build, the hut is the second largest project on the site so once complete work can then commence on the North wall to form the northern confines of the walled garden.
The area outside of the hut entrance with the veranda will lead to a cottage courtyard effect with small trees and maybe even a sunken fire pit? More on that later.
The gap you can see to the right of the hut frame is where a gate will be installed giving Western access to the orchard, etc. Water butts will be installed just inside this area to give rainwater for the plants and the rest will hopefully be channeled off to the pond area to give extra runoff. The other gate will be by the composting area near the, at present, empty field.
That is all for now and we hope you enjoyed the update.