Garden Update - Six things I've been doing in my garden today

This extra post was inspired by The Propagator, who is sharing six things going on in his garden every Saturday. It seems like a good idea, so I thought I would respond by sharing six of my own. Here they are:

 

1) Pyracantha is now in full bloom on the North facing wall outside the back door. It covers the whole height of the wall, and is a mass of tiny white flowers which smell great and attract so many bees it is absolutely humming. Today I have been training the straggly stems by putting screws in the wall and tying them in. 

2)  Potatoes. I've never got round to growing potatoes before, even on the allotment, but this year have planted them in bags of compost, earthed them up by filling the bags to the top once the shoots appeared and watched with satisfaction as they've grown really well, now flopping over the side as they start to form flower buds. Today I put some string across them between canes to keep them from blocking the path. Hopefully in a week or two they will be flowering fully and we can pull them up and see what sort of a crop we've got. Looks promising so fingers crossed!

 

3) Eremurus. Opposite the potatoes in a big pot is a foxtail lily. I tried growing them in a border last year but it was too wet over winter and they never appeared in spring. So last autumn I planted just one in its own pot, placed in a prime sunny position against a South facing wall. It has certainly enjoyed itself, it is over six feet tall and now flowering spectacularly. I will be tempted to get some more started later this year, no doubt.

 

4) Lettuce. This week we can start to cut the first leaves of Lollo Rossa to add to salads. It's so much nicer when you can take a few steps an pick fresh salad, rather than open a bag from the supermarket that is days old but has had goodness knows what added to it to ensure it survives the much longer journey to your plate. These are growing just a few feet from the back door.

 

5) Roses. We have a short rise walk comprising three arches all clothed in climbing roses, and this week the first flowers have opened. I've no idea what variety this one is as it was given to us by our neighbours, but it is the first to flower this year and smells delightful.

 

6) The compost heap. I've bought lots of compost lately. It's the time of year for potting on and planting up. So I thought today I would finally harvest the compost heap. It yielded a whole dustbin full of material. It's not as light as the stuff you can buy form the garden centre (I don't turn it often enough) but it's peat free and should be full of goodness. That saves at least one trip to the garden centre and about £12. I'll use it to pot up the tomato seedlings. And taking so much compost from the bottom of the bin means there is now more space to add stuff at the top! 

 

So that's what I've been up to in my garden. I post regular updates on what's looking good in the garden on my facebook page so please check it out and Like it to get updates. And tell me about what you've been doing in your garden by writing in the comments box. Don't forget to visit The Propagator to see what he's been up to as well.