Sunday 24 July 2011

Gardening.








A lot of farms have little or no flower gardens - or even vegetable plots. I suppose when a farmer has been working the land all day the last thing he wishes to do in the evening is work the garden .Luckily that is not true of this farmer who particularly enjoys his vegetable garden and takes great pride in picking the crops. When the peas are ready he will sit all morning podding them and then I will switch on our second freezer and freeze them for Winter; the same goes for broad beans and runner beans.

With the flower garden it is a slightly different matter. Friends who farm always say that their flower garden gets a "good do" in the Spring and then has to look after itself until the Autumn. I must say it always looks lovely when I go to see it, mainly because it is so closely planted that there is hardly room for a weed to grow.

This morning, having a couple of hours to spare and a lovely morning with it, the farmer and I both worked in our front garden all morning, I mainly cut back things which have taken over. Our clematis montana has used one of the climbing roses as a rambling post so it took me a long time to cut that back. Also the roses have almost finished their first bloom, apart from one old bush which is absolutely covered in blossom, so they needed cutting back to give them time to flower again before the Autumn. Then a good feed while the ground is a bit damp and that has given them a boost which I am sure they needed. Meanwhile the farmer did more strenuous jobs like digging up difficult weeds and trying to fight back the columbine (always a losing battle). Three barrow-loads later the garden was looking a little tidier and we were both feeling pleased with ourselves.

With silaging coming up there will be little time to work in it again for a few weeks, so it was a job well done. I have taken a few photographs so that you get some idea of what is flowering at the moment.

The plants are - the rose still flowering abundantly (don't know its name),crocosmia Lucifer, a very late forget-me-not hiding under a leaf, a Japanese anemone, a semi-wild sweet pea with a lovely scent, a poppy (self seeded), and Ligularia (much beloved of slugs and snails).

The weather here is beautiful today - just right - and I am going to try my home-made Frozen Yoghourt sweet at tea-time as a healthy alternative to ice cream.
The farmer's verdict will decide whether I make any more or not!

14 comments:

Elizabeth said...

I know why we remain (relatively) sane.
We garden, we blog, we have dogs, and we read.
All these activities require us to engage with the world
and contemplate it. Podding peas is good for the soul too.
I never knew what the orange flower was called. Never had it in the garden at home though it grew plentifully on the IoW.

Only going to be 90'f today.....

Pomona said...

Funnily enough, my father, a farmer, has always been the keenest of gardeners, and if not farming, is to be found undertaking heavy digging and pruning in the garden. Our garden is beginning to take on that late summer look, and I really should be deadheading ...

Pomona x

angryparsnip said...

I think that is the nicest way to spend a cool morning... when could I so enjoyed tending my garden.
Lovely photos as always.
For some reason I have always loved Sweet Peas and I am going to see if I can plant some next year. Must ask at the Garden Center.

cheers, parsnip

Heather said...

Your garden is looking lovely Pat and is obviously grateful for the attention you both give it. The Farmer is a treasure, growing and harvesting lovely vegs. for you. Hope he likes your frozen yoghurt - it sounds good to me.

Jinksy said...

A lovely bunch of flowers, ta! ♥

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Such beautiful flowers.
Love the pink ones especially!

Pondside said...

I think you must have had a wonderful time in your garden - such work is so satisfying in the sunshine. I did much the same as you, but yesterday.

Cloudia said...

Glorious Summer!




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Dave King said...

I does look brilliant, your garden. Very commendable, I think, that the farmer should put such effort into it. We use yoghurt as a healthy alternative to cream and/or ice cream, though it's not home made, alas.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the comments. There are still plenty of weeds in the garden - it is easy to take a photograph not showing them!

Re the frozen raspberry yoghourt - it was very nice but needs to be taken out of the freezer at least an hour before you use it as it takes so long to soften.

MorningAJ said...

I really MUST get out into my garden and give it a sort out. I sort of sat looking at it when I got home yesterday, knowing that I couldn't just do half an hour - so I never started. Yours looks great for the effort you've put in. I'm jealous!

Reader Wil said...

I have to cut dead flowers of my geraniums, for they have suffered a lot from the rain.

Loren said...

I'll admit to being a bit of a slacker in the flower garden, but I can't imagine not having a vegetable garden, even in the middle of a large city where land prices are intolerable.

Gardens used to be an intergral part of farms when I was growing up, though I suspect the wives maintained them, but I notice that they have fallen out of favor in recent years. Never could quite understand why. Driving a tractor or combine doesn't seem at all like weeding a garden.

Golden West said...

I've been feasting on frozen yogurt, too! I've found an easy way to sweeten it up a tad is a spoonful of fruit preserves mixed in - tasty!