march in the garden

We’ve just gone whizzing past the end of March, so it must be time for a garden update! Pop over to the Patient Gardener‘s blog and join in yourself!

That first picture up there doesn’t look that much different to February (which, I seem to remember, didn’t look that much different to January – hmm…). Except some of the stones have been cleared off the path, and you can see a sneak preview of a little project I’ve been occupying myself with…

The terrace is looking a little more lived in – the pots are full, with daffs (which are just ending now), sweet peas, and an apple tree I grafted at a workshop last weekend. That splash of green to the right of the terrace is lemon balm, poised for takeover of the entire garden, it seems.

It’s been rather warm of late, and the garden in general is looking quite parched, but the willow hedge is still doing well! I can’t believe I was still planting it at the end of February – look at it now! You can just about see a gooseberry bush in the middle of the picture there – I’ve not had a single gooseberry off this in the 3 years I had it, but since it came from Poundland, I’m figuring it needs a while to get going. Fingers crossed for this year…

The garlic is looking good too!

I’ve not successfully grown garlic before – I’ve planted it, then entirely forgotten about it, or it’s been buried under a mass of geraniums and I’ve not found it again. I’ve no idea whether it’s got enough room here – I suppose we’ll find out. I’m kind of wishing I’d planted a bit more now.

This is one of my pots of sweet peas on the terrace. I do so love sweet peas, and I’m hoping I can keep these ones alive long enough to flower. My imagination’s running away with me, thinking of sitting out there with my tea, surrounded by sweet peas. I don’t think I’ll ever come inside the house again.

(You’re probably wondering about those mugs. I painted the one on the left, the one on the right came from Tesco. Both are cracked and chipped, and just too gorgeous to throw away. I have no idea what to do with them, and they’d been sat on the windowsill for too long, so for now they’re mingling with the sweet peas. I suspect they’ll stay there all summer – that’s the way things go round here).

You can see how parched the poor soil looks. I really must get some sensible ground cover going next year. Look at that rhubarb though! We’ll be eating that soon I hope.

I split this bit of the garden into four with little upturned trellis edging – not for any good reason, it just feels a little more manageable this way, and gives me a better idea of what I’m planting and where. I’m going to have to find a better way of sticking the mini fences into the ground though – they keep blowing over.

Oh! And this is the new project…

Half finished, of course, and a half baked idea to boot. I wanted a cold frame, and I had a big pile of stones – and so we have possibly the world’s first dry stone wall mini-greenhouse. Yes, the walls will probably fall down (although they haven’t yet!). Yes, there are lots of holes in them (I’m informed that making some kind of cob from clay soil is the answer to this – an experiment for another day). Yes, the windows need cleaning, and sanding, and painting, and attaching to the stone in some way, and are, in any case, rotting and will no doubt fall apart, but I like it! So for now, it’s staying.

What did March look like in your garden?

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