Frosted Dahlia

Though the foliage may be dead the tubers which lie under the soil are perfectly fine. I cut back the foliage leaving a short length of stem and remove as much soil from around the tubers as I can.

Dahlia tubers

I then place the plant in a pot and cover the tubers with dry compost leaving the stems uncovered. This worked for me last year so I am happy to repeat the procedure.

Tucked into bed for the winter

Each pot is placed in my greenhouse alongside the other tender plants I overwinter there. An electric fan heater keeps the temperature just above freezing and I will not water the Dahlia pots until next year. If the compost gets wet the tubers will rot so no watering until the first green shoots appear in Spring.

The greenhouse

If the tubers survive I will plant them out in the garden once there is no chance of frost and there will be colour once more. Something to look forward to during the dark days of winter!

Dahlia 'Smarty'

From the right going clockwise: P. ‘Charity’, P. ‘Snowflake’ , P. ‘Lady Plymouth’ and P. crispum ‘Variegatum’.

Variegated Pelargoniums

But outside in the garden all is dark and gloomy. A camera flash is needed to illuminate this fading flower.

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'

Thanks to Katarina at Roses and Stuff for hosting Blooming Friday.

Visit her to see more Blooming Friday contributions.

Before.

Big allotment (May 2009), before weeding

After.

Big allotment (May 2009), nice and tidy

At the back we have a decorative flower/shrub border by the fence. In front the allotment is divided into four plots which are rotated yearly to keep disease to a minimum and to preserve the viability of the soil.

From the back;
Plot 1 – Onions, Garlic and assorted vegetables
Plot 2 – Potatoes
Plot 3 – Broad beans and Sweetcorn
Plot 4 – Empty as it is being prepared for Brassicas.

Meanwhile, the small allotment at the bottom of our garden is also filling up. I’ve just planted out 3 Courgettes (zucchini) and 1 Squash in the middle bed.  I need to put up cane supports for French and Runner beans in the left bed.

Small allotment

Then we have the greenhouse which is full of Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Chilli Peppers and Aubergines waiting to be organised. I need to remove the staging on the left so that there is more room. Some pots will be moved out into plastic “mini greenhouses” during the next couple of weeks. I hope we  have a hot summer so that the fruits will ripen quickly.

Pots in the Greenhouse

Finally – a tiny garden! My salad hanging basket by the kitchen door. It has done really well and I’m very pleased.

Mesclun salad leaves

Everything is looking good so far. No doubt there are pests and diseases over the horizon but I’m looking on the bright side for now!

Chimonanthus praecox on December 20th

This shrub, which originates from China,  grows to about 4 metres high (13 feet) and it takes a few years before it is mature enough to flower. The flowers appear on bare branches. For me it usually  starts flowering in November and continues into early February. It is at its best at the moment (late December).

Chimonanthus praecox

The flowers hang in clusters and are vaguely bell shaped but with long narrow pale yellow petals and a reddish brown centre. They are waxy looking and almost translucent.  Above all they are intensely fragrant, and it is an advantage to have them accessible so you can appreciate the smell. A branch can be cut and brought indoors where it will fill a room with its sweet scent. The flowers can are often used in pot-pourri and to make perfumes.

Chimonanthus praecox

Although hardy in the UK (hardy to USDA Zone 6) the flowers can be damaged by frost so a sheltered position is better. If there is a downside it is that the bush is rather average looking once the foliage appears. It would be best to put it where something else grows nearby to provide interest for the rest of the year. Alternatively grow a climber over it (which can be cut back before the Wintersweet blooms). Although it can be pruned this does result in far fewer flowers. Mine has not got enough space which is a shame as I am forced to prune it regularly. On the upside I can reach the flowers easily!

The greenhouse, now full of tender plants for overwintering. Cosy!

Our winters are relatively mild here that I’m not too worried about frost damage although disease and pests can be a problem if they decide to hang out in the warmest spot in the garden. Good ventilation helps keep disease to a minimum and I’m carrying spiders into the greenhouse in the hope that they will eat all the nasties that the Carnivorous plants haven’t polished off. I do like spiders (except the one that insists on building a web across the doorway into the greenhouse). The spider in the picture is so named because it carries its eggs in a sac under its abdomen during the breeding period.

Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis) on an Agave

The tender plants can now relax and some of them continue to flower in the extra warmth. These flowers are a rich velvety red.

Pelargonium 'Ardens'

Some just want to show off their foliage.

Solanum pyracanthum

Last of the Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers waiting for removal

Once the plants were out I washed the glass inside and out and rinsed it off with the hose. Note to self – do not stand under the roof when spraying water, it ricochets back on a person in a very shocking manner.

Greenhouse all clean and shiny after its wash

Then came the installation of the bubble wrapping. This adds extra  insulation. A sheet has been cut to fit each pane of glass and secured with drawing pins as it’s a wooden greenhouse. I calculated that I used 150-160 drawing pins. If I hadn’t been writing this post I wouldn’t have thought about it – but now I have I’m shocked! No wonder my thumb was feeling the strain by the time I finished, and my back for that matter. Finally the greenhouse staging was installed along with the fan heater.

Bubble fabric in place and also the greenhouse staging

The two Chilli peppers ‘Krimzon Lee’ look a little overwhelmed with all the emptiness. That won’t last for long. Tomorrow I’ll start filling it up.

There are 14 tomatoes, 5 sweet peppers, 4 chilli peppers and 2 cucumbers. They are all in large pots with canes for support where necessary. One of the reasons I stopped growing bush tomatoes inside was lack of space as their foliage is much more bulky than cordons. I’ve also got my first flowers on the tomatoes – I do so love tomatoes!

Here are two of the heritage tomatoes I talked about in an earlier post. I mentioned one of them “Yellow Submarine” looked like a pale green aubergine seedling when it first appeared. I then discovered this was a potato leaf variety. As you can see in the picture “Yellow Submarine” on the left looks quite different from the more common tomato leaf on “Yellow Queen” on the right. It will be interesting to see if the foliage is more prolific than the usual sort. It’s the first time I’ve seen a potato leaf variety.

As if greenfly wasn’t irritating enough I realised my ‘Silor F1′ cucumber seeds had failed. I really love the short (12cm) all female cucumbers. The taste is superb and they are such a handy size. I swear the smaller size improves the taste. The downside is that these seeds are expensive and you only get five of them. This year they haven’t germinated despite being indoors in a heated propagator. That’s two seeds wasted so I’ll have to try again. Honestly it’s like handling precious stones! Luckily the ‘Marketmore’ cucumbers have germinated ok. They may not taste as good but they are far more reliable.

Here are the peppers, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, courgettes and cucumber plants in the greenhouse. It looks very tidy doesn’t it?. That’s because most of my my tender plants are now outside. As we are having some work done on the house they can’t come up near there as usual. Instead they are scattered about in various spare corners of the garden or huddled on a table next to the greenhouse. Fingers crossed for no more frost.

My pepper and tomato seedlings are doing very nicely in the conservatory. I’ve got them sitting on a heating pad. I hope we don’t get too many dull days – it can be a problem when they grow taller and strain towards the light. I do take the covers off during the day to let in more daylight. I sometimes wonder if it’s worth investigating a “daylight” growing lamp. It would have to be portable , not take up much space and be easy to remove when I don’t need it.

How I wish I had a second greenhouse but that would mean losing part of the garden and that’s a no no. Mind you I have got a cold frame and that’s very handy for the more hardy seeds. I can’t use the greenhouse at the moment. It’s still lined with bubble wrap and is heated to keep it frost free. It holds my tender plants including my pelargoniums and carnivorous plants. When the tomatoes are big enough I’ll have to be ruthless and empty the greenhouse to make room for them. Fingers crossed for a warm spell when that happens.