SuburbanGaze

Today has been spent propagating seeds again - true to form with military precision.   The curse of anal retentiveness that follows me everywhere has been put to good use on this occasion... Having researched each seed last year prior to purchase, (to ensure our garden could provide the right conditions) I created a table listing each item, the area of the garden where they would find their final home, and the instructions for achieving  successful results.   Last year I naively used the same methodology for sowing all seeds.  Unsurprisingly this brought varying success rates (basically chucking them all in seed compost, placing in the potting shed and crossing our fingers).   This year is a more considered approach. Having gained more knowledge, I am attempting to mimic each seeds natural habitat in the hope that the number of successes is increased.   Today was the ...

To instil that Friday Feeling I dragged myself away from the central heating and did a quick bit of work outside today.  Yes, I repotted the long-suffering wildlife pond plants. The six plants (most whose names still remain a mystery) have been sitting in a container of rain water for ages waiting for me to get with the programme.   So it is with a great sense of achievement that I have rehoused them in three larger pond baskets after giving their roots a hair-cut and trimming off all the rotting foliage.   Improvements on the previous potting method were made by layered with horticultural grit at the base, aquatic compost on top of that and finally finishing off with a layer of more grit to prevent the soil from bleeding into the pond.   Hooray for Friday and roll-on Spring!

There is not much going on outside at the moment as we pass winter solstice and hurtle towards spring.  Despite the hope of new life that spring brings, we have several weeks of freezing dull weather to navigate.   Whilst the garden looks at its worst at this time of the year, our collection of garden tat stands out as gorgeous features amongst the bare borders.  This all started with a chance sighting of a humble garden gnome a few weeks after we moved into our home. 'Woodland Wilf Looks Pail', was a thoughtful Christmas present from my partner.  I must have seen him in a GC somewhere, thought he was cute and then forgot all about his existence.  Some gardeners loathe them, I don't care, I love them.  Cue gnome madness.  Woodland Wilf gnomes are now dotted around the garden.  They sit under trees, next to the pond and unsuccessfully guarding the bird table from pesky grey squirrels. For my 4...