my photos

SUMMER AND SOWING

This weekend the clocks go forward, and for us gardeners is the best time of the year because it means that at last the light has caught up with all our instincts to get out there and garden for as long as possible - Monty Don on Gardener's World.

How right you are Mr Don, and contrary to an earlier post I have been enjoying the gardening coming from your very large patch at Longmeadow.

I know I am going to be envious of your Dahlias come Autumn!

For well over a week now the UK has been basking in the most glorious sunshine, and today has been no exception and an excellent day for making a start on seed sowing - Beetroot, Tomato, Sweet Pea, Nasturtium, Calendula, and Morning Glory.

The seeds I ordered from Thompson and Morgan arrived yesterday, just in time for the weekend - Runner Bean Lady Di, Beetroot Kestrel, Tomato Vilma, Nasturtium climbing mixed and Patty Pan mixed with Cerinthe major Purpurascens to follow.

I also cut back and tidied foliage around the garden, and potted up cuttings from Coreopsis and Scabious - a simple and cost effective way of increasing stocks of perennial plants.



I love the colours of lemon and lime together, inside and outside.

Looking positively zingy and zesty in the sunshine have been the colourful blooms of the Mahonia and bracts of the Euphorbia.

Two seven-spot Ladybirds and butterflies of all colours have been emerging into the sunshine, a Comma, Holly Blue and Small White.

Also visiting, a pair of Goldcrests and the welcome return of Greenfinches to the garden.

my photo

SNOW IN SPRING

The sunshine arrived weeks ago, and it just won't go away!

Flowering now in the garden is Amelanchier, also known as Snowy Mespilus.

The bees are loving it.

I recorded snow in April on my blog back in 2008, which did no favours to the blossom above.

There's nowt so queer as British weather!

o

my photo

... the sun's still shining!

o

my photos

LESSER CELANDINE

Lesser Celandine, a native wildflower or a weed?



Whatever, it spreads like wildfire in my garden!

Looking less intense on a bank in semi-shade, this native wildflower mingles well with the Deadnettle plant, both having complementing white blotch marks on their leaves.

o

Looking more intense on a rockery in full sun, this weed will put itself right where you don't want it!

o

my photos

BLUE WITH A HINT OF BLACK

Above, the peachy pink buds of the Amelanchier tree, against sunny blue sky.



The purply, pinky blue of the Pulmonaria, in dappled shade.



And a hint of black.

Mr Blackbird taking a rest from his duties in the nest, amongst branches of the Hazel tree.

o

my photos

BLUE

On a cold morning, in the warmth of the sun, branches in my garden took on a silvery glow.



Hawthorn.



Hazel.



Rose-hips.



Amelanchier.



A brisk North-Easterly wind.

o

my photo

CHRISTMAS WISHES

... to one and all, who visit This is my Patch.

Happy new year too, and hope to see you all again in 2010.

Louise x

o

my photo

WEATHER

Each of us makes his own weather, determines the colour of the skies in the emotional universe which he inhabits - Fulton J Sheen
O

my photos

RAIN CLOUDS, A BLUE SKY, AND A RAINBOW

A morning of heavy downpours, and an afternoon of sunshine. A mixed bag kind of day for gardeners.



A Yew tree which sits at the top of the garden.

From this spot, if you look North, you can see the South Downs. Unfortunately if you look South, you cannot see the sea for rooftops!



With water droplets and sunlight, a rainbow forms.

my photos

CEPHALARIA - GIANT SCABIOUS

Giant being the operative word! This plant requires a lot of space.

A hardy perennial with pincushion heads of lemon-yellow flowers. A lovely addition to a cottage style garden, and makes a pretty stem for cutting. Its nectar is loved by both butterflies and bees.



The weather here in the South has been gorgeous, with warm, sunny days, with an odd blip here and there!

With longer daylight hours, evenings have been spent titivating, with more serious gardening only happening on days off.

Maybe now's the time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of one's labour!

u

my photo

FROST DAMAGE

There has been a noticeable amount of frost damage this winter. Not only has this favourite pot of mine pictured above, with its piecrust rim, succumbed to the changeable weather conditions, but also many other terracotta pots around the garden.

Not being one for covering up with fleece or bubble wrap, mesembryanthemum and lavender plants, usually fairly hardy in this part of the UK, have not made it through the winter. In hindsight, I should have placed out of harm's way along a sheltered wall. A plant cannot possibly survive with constant freezing and thawing, and having to sit in cold, wet compost!

Tell me which plants have you lost this winter, in your part of the world?

my photo

THE CALENDAR - PART THREE

I knew when Winter swirled
Not by the whitened world
Or silver skeins in the lanes
Or frost
That embossed
Its patterns on window-panes
But because there were transfer-sheets
By the bottles of spice and sweets
In the shops in two little streets.

by Barbara Euphan Todd

These days, for heavy snow to fall in the South, is a rare occurrence. This was the wintery scene waiting to greet us on Monday morning (02/02/09) after the night before. The snow has now thawed and it's raining.

I wonder whether we will have more snow?

o

my photos

SUMMER SUNSHINE

The hottest day of the year so far - 31 degrees. It may not sound a big deal to some of you living in the parts of the world you do, but for here in the UK, after the summer experienced so far, this temperature is positively tropical!

One of three plants basking in the summer sunshine today is Coreopsis grandiflora Mayfield Giant which can tolerate dry conditions, and flowers on and on, although does need deadheading to keep flowering to its maximum potential.



The first marigold of the year. These came out of a mixed pack of annuals given to me by a friend, sown late so only just starting to produce flowers. I always start the seeds off in pots and then transplant to where I choose in the garden. This year I have planted on into wooden troughs, facing east. When in containers water when necessary.



Nasturtium, one half of the variety St Clements, which is happy to be in dry soil. A lovely mix of yellow and orange, zingy citrus colours. Perfect for brightening up a salad and your day!

my photos

BLUE SKY AND SHADOWS

Look at this blue sky, not one cloud in sight. This is what the weather is like today, here along the south coast of England, and breathing a sigh of relief can guess that maybe our long awaited summer has finally arrived.

The sunshine has been casting some really lovely shadows around the garden. What plants are these shadows being cast from? Just for fun leave me a comment with your guesses and in a few weeks or so I shall give you the answers.

Shadow number 1.

Shadow number 2.



Shadow number 3.

my photo

PIERIS

Today the weather is a welcome improvement on yesterday, a mixture of sunshine, blue sky and marshmallow clouds, intermittently being overcast by huge threatening black clouds bringing with them sleet/hailstone showers. I took the photo of the fiery red growth on this Pieris 'forest flame' this afternoon whilst the sun was still out.

An evergreen shrub which I have growing in a pot, placed in partial shade. It likes an acid PH and has white flowers in Spring.

The photo below was taken yesterday, and look at the depth of snow on the bench. Now we don't often see this!

my photo

SNOW

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the first snowfall we have had this year in West Sussex? It is quite an unusual sight these days, and by lunchtime the ground had become blanketed in the white stuff and some quite deep drifts had formed in parts of the garden. By mid afternoon with the temperature rising, the snow quickly began to turn to slush.

I had to be quick to catch a photo of the weight of the snow on the white blossom of the Amelanchier which is also known as Snowy Mespilus.

my photos

JACK FROST

Air below 0°C is defined as Air frost, measured at a height of 2m (6ft). Ground Frost occurs when the air at ground level is chilled below freezing point. Ground frost is measured at 5cm (2in) above the ground. Hoar Frost the fluffy deposit of minute ice crystals on grass and brickwork, occurs on calm, clear nights when condensation takes place after freezing. Black frost, as the name suggests, is a thin sheet of frost without the white colour usually associated with frost.



Sedum covered in frost - this plant is as tough as old boots!



Frozen Bird Bath - don't forget to make sure you leave unfrozen water for the birds!

my photo

RED SKY AT NIGHT

This is what the sky looks like, today, late afternoon, down here in West Sussex. After a very mild, bleak, blustery and wet start to the day, it has cleared to become dry with a noticeable chill in the air. I passed through my patch today, just enough to put out my bin and box for tomorrow, to throw foodwaste and shredded paper into my compost bin and to take a photo of this lovely sky which looked incredible, as if alight, I like the skyline against the silhouette of the hedge.

my photo

AUTUMN

Photo taken in my garden after a morning of rain showers.