Fatsias for Foliage
I read that the Fatsia plant (also called Japanese Aralia) is great for foliage and suited to tropical themed gardens, plus also a fast grower. So when I saw some cheap I ordered a couple. To my happy surprise, they arrived in pots instead of the bare-rooted state that most mail-order plants come in. This also allowed them to arrive quite large. Like everything in my gardens they will be an ongoing experiment. You can apparently keep...
Spring’s First Seed Plantings
With Spring only a day away (or already here by some 9 days or so if you go based on the Solstice dates as I always figured you should), it must be time to get some more seeds in. Today I planted some Cucumbers (2 types) and some Sweet Corn. Those should be no problem. Perhaps more interesting, I broke out some old seeds I’ve had for a few years, so which may no longer be viable. This included Australian Baobab Tree, Cheddar...
Spuds Away!
I’ve been impatiently waiting for the chitting to work on the spuds and decide today it would have to do (to plant the first batch – I plan to stagger planting in three parts and hopefully spread the harvest time accordingly). Guided by Helen Razer’s excellent article/tutorial (http://bit.ly/helen_spuds), I’ve used certified seed spuds, six to a planter bag, and my own mixture of light and fluffy growing media...
The Fruit Bowl
The word orchard evokes, for me, images of rows and rows of fruit trees. But there’s really no reason it can’t be something more modest. That’s what I’m assuming for, with a growing collection of fruits trees, one of each type is ample. And as I live alone, there’s no reason it won’t serve me well while also being mainly comprised of relatively small trees. I do have one (very) big specimen –...
Getting Very Berry
One of the most enjoyable minor projects in the past couple of years has been the raspberries. I picked up a couple of canes on Free cycle from someone whose raspberries were taking over. They’ve been a great success, providing a handful of fruit that first year, and a lot more than that last year. I expect them to be even more prolific this year. I haven’t really got the hang of pruning them – you’re supposed...