... after five months of having a building site for a garden, I have bought myself some Christmas topsoil, and I'm itching to get seed sowing and planting.
My first job when I moved into my flat last August was to remove the paving stones in the back yard. Now, after five months of having a building site for a garden, I have bought myself some Christmas topsoil, and I'm itching to get seed sowing and planting.
I've already fished out my seed tin, and have various piles of seeds to sow in month order in the front room. I can’t wait for that steamy, greenhouse scent that will permeate the flat once seed sowing is fully underway. The front room will be taken over for as long as is necessary and I will be oblivious to any complaints.
First off are hardy annuals, such as Eryngium leavenworthii, which can be sown from February onwards under cover. I’ll also sow a few tomato seeds, though I find there’s little difference in cropping time between those sown in February and April. I’ll be trying out my new heated propagator though, so that could make a difference. The trick is providing seedlings with enough light, which there isn’t much of at this time of year. I’d start sowing now but I don’t want weak, leggy, light-starved plants.
I’ve never had a blank canvas for a garden before. It’s not a big garden, but there’s room enough for a few mistakes. I’ll be growing most plants from seed, and scrounging clumps of this and that from my mum, who is very understanding of having her established perennials lifted out of the ground and brutally divided with a spade. My bird boxes and feeders have been up for a while, but there’s been no sign of any birds (apart from a friendly pigeon), and I doubt there will be until I have grown sufficient foliage (and bought the all-important plum tree) for them to hide in. And it’s going to be a butterfly and bumblebee haven – full of single-flowered, nectar rich plants, such as cranesbill geranium, teasel and foxglove. Let’s hope the weather holds up!
Wishing you a happy, sunny and productive gardening year.
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