Those Purple Sprouting Brocolli do not grow themselves....... but Loraine can.
For gardeners, the start of the year taking in
January, February, and March are perhaps the hardest months of the year! Not because they are hard work but in terms of the weather and waiting for the new season to begin they do drag on and test the patience of the gardener. Even if you have work to get on with, the winds, rain, and cold can be too much to bear and tend to delay the jobs that are waiting to be tackled for the new year's growing season.
There was no post for February as little was happening, the weather was not good with high winds, oodles of rain, and if not those, then very cold and dank. As such we did very little in the gardens or the polytunnel.
Paul did however get on with the gates for the walled garden and these have not only been built and painted but also fitted into position in their respective spots. These gates were made from mild steel and the main frames were constructed from 1" box steel, welded as required and an inner wire net welded on to stop intruders into the garden such as rabbits and livestock. The latches were screwed onto the main frame with self-tapping screws, then fitted to the wooden posts which were previously installed earlier in the month of February. Here are the photos;
This is the South Flower garden gate, complete with its own metal Daffodils.
The central panel is in 3D with the different parts picked out in colours.
Next one up is the North gate beside the composting area which allows access to the fruit field and the as yet, unused top field. That is a project for the future.
Photo of the North Gate complete with central panel welded onto the frame.
Here the central flower panel can be seen clearly and we think adds to the garden design.
And finally, the West gate which is by the garden hut and allows access from/to the orchard and garden road.
The West gate allows access to the hut and the walled garden.
Central panel detail can be seen better in this photo and adds colour for the colder, darker months of winter.
On the West gate above, the bottom step needs to be seated made from concrete blocks bedded in cement to give a firm footing when in use. The North Gate and the South garden gate will have concrete lips built to allow easy access for wheelbarrows and to level off the ground for aesthetics. The North and the Flower Garden gates will also have a wire net arch placed over the gates to support plants such as Clematis Montana which we intend to grow down the wall to the cemetery wall to provide much more interest and colour.
At present, we are enjoying the flower bulbs we planted last year and they are providing lovely splashes of colour all around the garden wall. With flowers such as Mini-Daffodils, Double-Daffodils, Crocus, Etc, they are adding a welcome sight when visiting the gardens, and there are many more to come yet.
Although they have just been in for 8 months, they are looking good and provide some cut flowers for indoors.
Loraine is busy in the growing workshop and many of the seeds are now sprouting and need to be pricked out into individual pots to grow on. She has also planted some early potatoes in sacks in the polytunnel which should give us an earlier crop of Casablanca New Potatoes for eating. As we get ready for the new season there will be lots of planting and growing on to be done which will keep Loraine very busy in the coming months. Paul will of course be carrying on with the build projects and once the walled garden is finished, for now, he shall be moving down to the house level to build some flower and herb beds and some blocks walls where required. Once these are done then the main building works are complete for now until the chicken run is tackled.
You all take care out there and we shall post again soon.