Away for a While!

My mum has been called into hospital for an operation under full anisthetic,unexpectedly. So I am travelling up tomorrow and may be away a week!

Things to Do! & Things I've Done!

I though I would be very organised, especially as spring appears to be round the corner, and write a list of all the jobs that need doing in the garden....

not in any particular order

Move one foxglove tree
Paint Coal Bunker lids and gate
Take down trellis behind baytree and arch
Put up new arch for Blackberry
Paint Rabbit hutch (where cats like to sit)
Paint table and chairs in Potager
Cut lower branches off Rocket Tree
Plant other Box plants round Potager
Repot or plant eucalyptus
Dig over veg bed 1, 2 & 4
Plant 150 bulbs I have
Make & fix wooden kick boards around chicken run (should stop them kicking out all the bark)
Dig out dead Smoke tree
Put new weed membrane down Far side of Bed 4 & Gravel
Sort out bottom of Garden:-
Decide what to plant round bottom patio
Decide what to do with stone river bed bit
Resite pond pump box and hide
Major sort out of bottom flower bed
Serious tidy up round Greenhouses
Sort out waterbutts round greenhouses
Dig out stumps outside big greenhouse and decide what to do with that area?
Sort out shed contents
Do something with compost bins
Dig out raspberry canes & give to neighbour
Plant Trachycarpus
Plant Cordylines
Consider whether to buy more gravel or slabs
Plant veggie seeds
Get more staging for greenhouse

Front Garden
Clear leaves
Replant clematis
Find new home for Minature hop
Plan & Plant up summer window box

I wish I hadn't as its just getting longer and longer!!!!

I have also been to Wilkinsons, my favourite shop and acquired some more tree ferns.


At a garden centre near by (not my usual one) I also acquired another Caster Oil plant,


at the bargain price of £5.99. I expect your wondering why I should duplicate my plants, well....................... after much deliberation I have decided that this year my front garden should reflect my tropical garden. Now both the Castor Oil and the Tree Ferns grow well on the shady side of the house (its north facing)and by the time its warm enough for them to be round there, the caster oil should be quite large. The Tree Fern (Dicksonia Robusta)is slow growing but is still of a size I can lift back through to over winter it>

I have planted today the seeds of this plant

Ricinus New Zealand Purple (Caster Oil Plant) its an annual and provided they all come through I may pop one out the front.If you remember I grew a couple last year and the foliage is pretty spectacular!

My really, really naughty buy (please don't tell hubby)is this

a double Brugmansia, I know I have loads already, but the worst of it is I bought 2 and they are white! (he goes mad when I buy white flowered plants) They are potted up and will be brought on with the view to grow them as standards and have one either side of the front door!!!

Awhile back I purchased the seeds of the Hardy Tapioca (Manihot Grahamii)


these I planted today also. Apparently although easily germinated they more often than not get to the 2 leaf stage and keel over. So I have planted 8 out of the 32 seeds I have, six have gone into a heated propagator and 2 are just covered and in the heated greenhouse. By the way if I am successful this could be a nice little earner!!!!!!!!! I will keep you posted!