Now I have lots of space to put the seeds but am constantly worried about the tender plants outside when we  have a frost. So far they have survived and next year I will not be so impulsive. Here they are up by the house, covered with fleece. As I walk by I can here them grumbling “Why do we have to sit here instead of in our warm greenhouse”.

Tender plants covered with fleece

Inside the greenhouse all looks well. On the ground you can see my electric fan heater which keeps the greenhouse frost free. I have had it for over 15 years and it has served me well.

Seeds and seedlings

Here are the Tomato and Chilli Pepper seedlings.

Tomatoes and Chilli Peppers

The Digger’s Brassicas – Kale, Cabbage and Sprouting Broccoli. I like to eat them but tend to leave the growing to him.

Brassicas

The rest of the seeds include Squash, Courgettes, Herbs, Lettuce, and various Flowers.

Assorted seeds

I also have some cuttings mostly Pelargoniums and these Penstemons. I bought a few new Penstemons last year and wanted to make sure I had replacements if I lost any over the winter. As it happens the original plants survived so now I have even more!

Penstemon cuttings

How I wish I had two greenhouses :-)

Tomatoes are red like Rubies.

Tomato 'Bloody Butcher'

And while they may not be as priceless as Rubies they are much more tasty! I love growing them.

Tomato 'Bloody Butcher'

‘Bloody Butcher’, a heritage tomato with a name very unsuited to a vegetable – but easy to remember :-)

Visit Katarina at Roses and Stuff to see more Blooming Friday contributions.

Last of the chilli peppers

For more Wordless Wednesday posts visit here.

Tomato 'Sungold'

Fruit you can pick for free in the wild.

Blackberries

Freshly baked goodies.

Flapjack

And best of all…a wonderful garden to view…

Beth Chatto Garden

…which also has a nursery full of mouthwatering plants :-)

Nursery at the Beth Chatto Garden

All are very hard to resist!

Visit Katarina at Roses and Stuff to see more Blooming Friday contributions.

Tomatoes, Chillies and Cucumbers

For more Wordless Wednesday posts visit here.

Insects:

Those you like….

Vanessa atalanta, the Red Admiral butterfly

….and those you hate.

Aphids

Flowers:

The exotic and showy cultivated flower….

Passiflora caerulea (Passion Flower)

….and the simple and restrained wild flower.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense)

Vegetables:

Large vegetables….

Orange Pumpkin 'Rouge vif- D'Etampes' and green Winter Squash

….and small vegetables.

Peas and Mint

For more Blooming Friday posts visit Katarina at Roses and Stuff.

Have a good weekend.

Chilli Peppers – Our Summers are fairly short and there is no period when you can guarantee that one week of sun will be followed by a second. Despite having a greenhouse I am still having trouble getting Chilli plants into full production as they seem to reach maturity just as temperatures drop. I never have a huge crop. In some years I have sown seeds in mid March and sometimes  mid February.  Some varieties take ages to germinate and others take even longer. This year I am trying mid January in a heated propagator. I have planted double what I actually need. Please let germination be quick. Please let us have a real Summer.

Chilli 'Bulgarian Carrot'

Salad Leaves – “Sow every two or three weeks for a continuous crop”. Hmm – as if that ever works for me. Even when I remember to sow the seeds erratic germination and pesky slugs throw that continuity right out the window. This year I am sowing in pots and planting out instead of sowing directly in the ground. I am also going to sow directly into large pots raised off the ground and positioned near the house so that at least some of the lettuce/endive/chicory/assorted leaves will be under my beady eye. Every 3 weeks I am arranging for  Google Calendar to send me a reminder  to pick up that seed packet and get moving. Here’s hoping that 2011 will be “The Year of the Salad Leaf”.

Lettuce

Root Crops – I like beetroot but not a mountain of it and this year I will try to get to grips with the concept of “Sow a  little…and often”. I must remember to thin the rows if very crowded. This also applies to Turnips and Radishes.

Beetroot 'Chioggia'

Annual Herbs – Last year was a disaster as the Dill, Basil, Summer Savory and Sweet Marjoram germinated and then either bolted into flower (Dill, Savory, Marjoram) or grew a little and then sulked when the weather turned cool (Basil).  This year I will sow more than once. They will be in pots near the house and I will do my best to create a Mediterranean environment.

Bush Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Perhaps if I play them one of my Greek music CDs they will think they are on a Greek island.

A Greek CD to set the mood

Seeds in greenhouse

I am not blogging or commenting as often for some reason – I do apologise.  I could blame The Web Designer and his wife J who moved in with us while looking for a new house. They have found one but it needs a lot of work so naturally they prefer staying on in more comfortable surroundings.  In truth it is lovely having them here as they have taken on a share of the cooking (hurrah!) and J has shown a talent for making scrumptious muffins (yum!).

Nor can I make much progress in the garden this coming weekend as I have been tempted by the garden bloggers’ get together at Malvern. The Digger and I are looking forward to the Malvern Spring Show and meeting people who have so far only existed in cyberspace.

I have a plan of campaign.

• I will not buy too many plants
• I will learn something about garden design that I can apply to my own garden (extremely unlikely but I live in hope)
• I will not obsess about expensive garden features and sculpture that I cannot afford
• If I take my sunglasses the weather will be sunny

Ready for the Show!

Plants brave the open air

I then started potting up tomato seedlings and noticed that the pot in the centre had six seedlings instead of the expected three. Hmmm! Then  I found I was missing a pot for my Tomato ” Black Sea Man”. Where had those seeds gone? I was sure I had planted some.

Tomato seedlings

Gardening blooper number 1 – Oh no…I had planted two varieties in one pot. Duh! Now I won’t know which is which until they grow bigger.

Do we really need any more?

Seed catalogues and Seed packets

Probably not – but we will be getting some anyway. The temptation is too strong to resist.