Table, tomatoes, squash

A place to sit, veg to eat, propagation to marvel

Our new table has arrived! It’s been made out of beautiful chunky oak by Pinewood Designs. I wanted hardwood to survive outdoors in UK weather and oak can last for 10 - 20 years outdoors untreated, even longer if it is treated with wood oil. And of course, wood is sustainable because it can be grown and rots down naturally eventually. It’s also seriously heavy (four of us could barely carry the top on its own) which means it isn’t going to blow away in storms. We love it and we’re grateful finally for somewhere to sit.

Visually I wanted something extremely simple with no edging or details, just simple-simple beautiful wood. I’m writing this on it now and can’t wait for some proper warm days to write and draw outside.

This completes our patio area and the only hard landscaping we plan to do, the rest will be plants. Around the patio I’ve been adding new plants to surround the patio, planting shorter ground covers along the raised front edge so it will feel like we’re floating on plants. The young plants are still quite small.

Around the rest of the main garden everything is starting to establish now. We’re still a long way from being ‘full’ but these are the exciting times of starting a garden, having a play, filling gaps. Though I am trying to hold myself back from dividing too many plants this year. I’ve been guilty of dividing plants too soon over our first few years, slowing establishment down. So this year I’m trying to just let everything be. To build their energy reserves and increase in size.

So far, the alliums appear to be settling in very well, for some it’s their fourth year. Because spring was so wet, some stems were eaten by slugs but most have continued to flower. Meanwhile Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ and Astrantia ‘Buckland’ have been filling out nicely. The Astrantia in particular are really hitting their stride.

This corner at the bottom of the main garden is so far almost untouched from when we first moved in, I’ve simply expanded the bed out, adding the Astrantia and other plants in front of it. That said, I have planted a few things into it that I hope will add to the area visually in time, such as Japanese anemone, the alliums and Persicaria.

Outside the front of the house our herb beds have been an unexpected challenge! The reason is not hardiness but strong wind which snaps all of the shrubby rosemary and sage with ease. I’m trying a different, reputedly stronger stemmed rosemary this year. In the meantime, I’ve planted out cuttings I grew last year from a sage that was already here, increasing their number around the area.

Down in the polytunnel over the last week I finally planted the tomato seedlings into the ground. Which meant I did have to remove the beautiful opium poppy seedlings but tomatoes must. Their growth on hitting new soil has been rapid.

It never fails to amaze me how fast cucurbits and beans grow. From big seeds, roots and leaves explode outward in a matter of days. Another week or two and they’ll be big enough to plant out, when they have two to three true leaves.

Another plant that amazes me with speedy growth is cuckoo flower leaf cuttings. Place the leaves on damp compost and cover. A week later little roots appear followed by leaves and shoots of new plants. Soon I’ll pot these into individual pots to grow on.

Lower down, the hazel trees I coppiced are all reshooting with deep red shoots from the roots and stumps.

Last year I planted a wisteria to grow up an alder tree and I didn’t realise its rootball hadn’t expand beyond the pot ball all summer, and it dried out, killing a number of stems. Thankfully over winter, what was left must have finally rooted because it is now firmly in the ground and strong new shoots are growing.

Our allotment has been really slow this year, or I should say, I’ve been really slow on the allotment. It’s been so wet it’s been tough with the claggy soil and I guess, not so nice to be out there. Still, we’re catching up and a large bed of potatoes is growing very well indeed.

Our compost heaps can get so large I decided against trying to contain them with sides. Instead, I pile everything up on one side this year, to be turned into the other side next year. Hopefully as ready to use compost. With a bit of gentle turning and stirring in between to help the process.

The owl box Chris and I made is still empty, prime estate with a view across the top meadow for future owls. We put it up too late and any owls will already have found their spots. However, yesterday I watched fledging great tit chicks scramble and flap around as they found their wings. Unbelievably cute if nerve-racking while they were vulnerable on the floor. In the stable we have a nesting pair of swallows, which we feel equally very protective of.

Down on the meadow its year of the lush grasses, the incredible volume of rain and the high water table has sent them into overdrive. Yellow rattle is keeping them somewhat under control and I’ve noticed what seems like more vetch than usual on the way. Knapweed and ragged robin don’t seem to have expanded their tiny colonies this year.

A curlew just flew overhead calling, telling me I need to wrap this up and enjoy the weekend. I hope you have a good one too and speak again next week, when we’re promised the warm weather really will be back.