A link to San Fransisco Bay area

The orange tea rose, the one bloom that is perfect.

I wanted to link Jeanne's blog Uncle Toms Garden. She is the most inspiring blogger for growing herbs, veg, and flowers using the method by the namesake.

http://uncletomsgarden.blogspot.com/

Her pictures show how well the method works for germinating seeds.

I will try it out en masse next year for the herbs, veg, and border plants...

Garden Alchemy

Here is the newly dug, composted herb border next to the bird bath/feeder. I finally took the green bin up and separated the compost into ready and not ready piles.
The front window border (soon to be Vegetable garden) has been dug up, and a good four inches added to the top of the soil. It is dark, sticky, and quite cloggy the compost. It should supress any enterprising weeds from getting a foothold. The only plant left growing is some love in the mist. It has self seeded back into the border from where it came.
The magic of compost is that you make it yourself. From garden waste, plonked into a bin, wetted, squashed, and stirred. Months later, gardening alchemy has transformed it from waste to new earth. At the bottom was the most gorgeous soil. It even had worms which are now back in the soil. My own natural earth engineers. Who cant be charmed by worms when you find them? They may be small but they are industrious, churning through the earth.Pushing old soil up, and new soil down.

To the left is the kitchen window border, also newly covered with compost. The forsythia is enormous to the left, the cottinus with its rich colours of red and burgundy is in the centre. On the right hand side is the euonymus green and gold. The newly planted pinks are by the cottinus. The pieris fire mountain is next to the pink.
My two japenese maples are sat in the pots. I need a sheltered place for them. I love the tree's but they are totally unsuited to a yorkshire garden on a hillside. They need peace, and tranquility in a zen garden..
Tomorrows garden jobs will be cut the grass before it gets too long. Plant two hundred spring bulbs. Drink lots of coffee whilst doing that. After shoveling compost and transporting it I need a bath. Ha,ha its a smelly job, but i loved it.

Clay,Veg and Herbs

I got out today into the garden late.however I was quite industrious..

It seems strange preparing beds for next year now.I guess when i go back to work it will be less easy to get out.If i sort as much out now i can relax later.

The bulbs are not yet planted.I wanted to sort out the front window border for revamping.

The square border has been weeded and dug, and looks reasonable with hosta's, busy lizzies, and late blooming anemones.Im thinking of some winter pansys or primroses in here.When the frost strikes the border will be thinned out.The soil is nice now, cloddy but moist.Everything is growing well.This years lesson: Mulch!The sun dried out the top three inches of soil so it was more desert than yorkshire.

The front window border has been transformed.Out come the evening primrose, summer bulbs like glads but smaller, pink plant, and goodbye to the ratty snapdragons and Oxalis.The light faded so i left the digging and adding compost untill tomorrow.I think I will also layer the top with cardboard to stop the weeds getting in.I need to work out how to raise the level of the soil.The water must go straight down, leaving the clay soil hard and not very good.No matter what i put in there it has struggled.This will be the eight foot by four foot veggie border.I want something to stick in the ground so the soil is raised.It will have loads of organic matter mixed in to try to retain the moisture.Once the veg are planted and growing i could mulch it.I read in Blackberry wine the guy laid old carpet between veggie rows to keep the weeds out.

The Chaenomeles has been dug up and potted.I have not see one quince fruit.Other tree's i have seen have got loads on.I will replant it somewhere...

The space vacated by that has been dug up.I want to extend it sideways so i can have a herb garden by the fence, near to the kitchen.I will try uncle toms method to grow seedlings then plant them in the newly dug area.I found a huge BRICK which was embedded in the clay.This needs lots of organic matter to try to retain moisture.The quince tree has not done very well there at all.

The cactus have been repotted and brought inside.It was too wet, and i threw some away that had rotted.They are in the bedroom now.

I will take pics tomorrow.Pictured is my peach flowered Gladiolus before it keeled over in the rain.All my glads are at sixty degree angles to the soil.Will sort out more garden tomorrow.

Pyracantha, GQT, and Apple Strudel

I made Sallyanne traditional scottish short bread, and today I made an apple strudel. Home made filo pastry. It has just come out of the oven and smells divine. It just needs to cool down slightly, and be dusted with icing sugar.
It rained loads today. Everything is looking lush and green. When I went out shopping I noticed loads of Pyracantha, or firethorn. (lifted pic left!)
Last night I actually listened to an episode of Gardeners question time. It even had the famous Bob Flowerdew. His voice does not match his photo at all!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/
One of the questions was about Pyracantha. I googled the plant names as they mentioned them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyracantha
Its been running for fifty years, but the podcast was the first time i listened to it. Sallyanne has real player which my now defunct laptop did not have...
Whenever you find a name of a plant you suddenly see it everywhere! I also saw a smokebush with the wispy flowers outside a fastfood place when i was shopping.
http://hcs.osu.edu/hort/plantlisting/C/Cotinus604.html ,I checked mine but alas no flowers!
Tomorrow will be a good gardening day.If its dry I will trim the grass.If its wet I will do the other chores.Moving plants from the front window border to the back.That needs digging and compost added to it.That is next years veggie patch!
I have two hundred spring bulbs to plant. The daffodils are enormous, the others were small. The only spring bulbs i want to shop for tomorrow are bluebells and tulips. The range was limited at the shop. Or quicker gardeners have already bought them all. At least i have broken my spring bulb duck, as long as they get planted...
My silver birch tree's leaves are turning yellow. The summer is drawing to a close, and Autumn is creeping upon us. I wander if there is a set date that summer ends and autumn begins?
More musings, and garden reports tomorrow.

Long border Shot.Abysinnian glads, Nasturtium second coming, and Lavender.Three of seven dwarfs looking on. 

Anemone on October Sunday 

Sunday shopping and dinner

I finally went bulb shopping. Light bulbs for our house, and spring bulbs for me. Its been a grey, windy, rainy kind of day.
I went to B&Q today, about five months since my April visit. Oh my gosh, its like a sweet shop for plant lovers. Everywhere you turn there are gorgeous plants. House plants and cactus, multi colored heathers, chrysanthenums, Heucheras (gottta go back to buy these!!!!), winter primula's, Pyracanthus, late flowering roses, bare root roses like my sunshine and frosty morning, Dusty millers...Thats the ones i can remember...
I searched for some spring bulbs, and searched, and searched. Finally i found some bulbs. Daffodils and Narcissus, large crocus, Aliums, and some Hyacinth's which are scented.
I bought Sallyanne a small house rose plant, with peach/orange flowers. Alas they are not scented but it looks divine!

Pictured is Sallyanne's rose. I have over two hundred bulbs to plant. Eeek, they were supposed to be easy gardening.Once they are planted they are i guess.Then i will have something to look forward to, and bloggers can expect flowering pics earlier than this year.As i said before i normally miss the bulb boat and remember about November..