Back to the nursery this week, getting back into the working routine and getting up for the school bus was uncomfortable, it's still dark at 7am and feels way too early to be up after time off. Still I'm raring to go to get on in the nursery and start the winter tidy up ready for opening at the beginning of March. There is so much to do and I want to make the most of dry days in case the snow comes back.
I started the great garden tidy-up at the entrance of the farm where I created two new borders a year ago. These are stuffed full of tough perennials that will provide colour and interest all year. At the moment there is no sign of anything once cut back, but there were brave crocus popping up. These are some of the two thousand Val, Dee and I planted last autumn. You can read about creating those borders in this blog February in the Quirky Bird Gardens
The other big job at this time of year is weaving the willow that runs along both sides of the wildlife garden. This is woven into a hedge about three feet high giving us a boundary between the cafe and nursery. This year I am increasing the height by about six inches and filling in the gaps between plants with excess rods of willow cut from last years willow growth. Once done it looks lovely with all the different colours of willow woven together and I find the task therapeutic and relaxing. It also lets light into the cafe and opens up the gardens. It's also an easy and cheap way to create natural boundaries in the garden and can be woven into many patterns or heights.
I also started to tidy the nursery gardens this week, starting with the stream garden. Here I have made use of one of the farm streams to make an interesting and colourful entrance to the nursery. By planting damp and water loving plants and some plants who's roots will knit the bankings together and stop the soil being washed away I have placed plants in the environment they will do best in. There are spring flowering Epimediums, summer Iris, Astrantia and Primula then grasses for autumn interest, to name but a few of the plants here. Once I've cut everything back and weeded the beds, they get a top dressing of our own compost, made in the nursery from all our organic waste and old compost. We do the traditional method of turning after 6 months into the next compost bin, leaving it for another 6 months before emptying it into bulk bags until it is required. So this compost is at least 12 months in the making. It makes a huge difference to our clay soil over time, being taken down by the worms and worked into the soil over the year when I hoe. I'm waiting on new mini hurdles being delivered to replace these tired ones which have done just about three years there.
You can read the Quirky Bird's top tips for tidying the gardens here
I've created a new page on the nursery website to highlight the wild flowers and native plants we sell. We have an ever increasing ranger and you can see them growing in the wildflower bankings in the nursery through spring and summer. You can see the page here: Wild Flowers
I grabbed a sunny half hour between showers earlier in the week to tidy my alpine troughs. The didn't need much done, mainly all the fallen leaves from the trees picked off and a few plants cut back. It's all part of the garden tidy up for spring.
So there we are, no school, no outdoor work, no day out for this week. If you have lots of snow or only a little, enjoy it but stay safe and warm. It's a time to nestle down, wrap up, read garden books and blogs and dream of spring and better weather.
Have a great week.
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| Crocus beginning to pop up in the entrance borders of the farm |
I started the great garden tidy-up at the entrance of the farm where I created two new borders a year ago. These are stuffed full of tough perennials that will provide colour and interest all year. At the moment there is no sign of anything once cut back, but there were brave crocus popping up. These are some of the two thousand Val, Dee and I planted last autumn. You can read about creating those borders in this blog February in the Quirky Bird Gardens
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| Starting the willow weaving |
The other big job at this time of year is weaving the willow that runs along both sides of the wildlife garden. This is woven into a hedge about three feet high giving us a boundary between the cafe and nursery. This year I am increasing the height by about six inches and filling in the gaps between plants with excess rods of willow cut from last years willow growth. Once done it looks lovely with all the different colours of willow woven together and I find the task therapeutic and relaxing. It also lets light into the cafe and opens up the gardens. It's also an easy and cheap way to create natural boundaries in the garden and can be woven into many patterns or heights.
I also started to tidy the nursery gardens this week, starting with the stream garden. Here I have made use of one of the farm streams to make an interesting and colourful entrance to the nursery. By planting damp and water loving plants and some plants who's roots will knit the bankings together and stop the soil being washed away I have placed plants in the environment they will do best in. There are spring flowering Epimediums, summer Iris, Astrantia and Primula then grasses for autumn interest, to name but a few of the plants here. Once I've cut everything back and weeded the beds, they get a top dressing of our own compost, made in the nursery from all our organic waste and old compost. We do the traditional method of turning after 6 months into the next compost bin, leaving it for another 6 months before emptying it into bulk bags until it is required. So this compost is at least 12 months in the making. It makes a huge difference to our clay soil over time, being taken down by the worms and worked into the soil over the year when I hoe. I'm waiting on new mini hurdles being delivered to replace these tired ones which have done just about three years there.
You can read the Quirky Bird's top tips for tidying the gardens here
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January plants in the stream garden, Pulmonaria rubra 'Ann', Juncus patens ‘Carman’s Gray’, Epimedium pinnatum ssp. Colchicum and Petasites japonicus var. giganteus 'Nishiki-buki'
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I've created a new page on the nursery website to highlight the wild flowers and native plants we sell. We have an ever increasing ranger and you can see them growing in the wildflower bankings in the nursery through spring and summer. You can see the page here: Wild Flowers
I grabbed a sunny half hour between showers earlier in the week to tidy my alpine troughs. The didn't need much done, mainly all the fallen leaves from the trees picked off and a few plants cut back. It's all part of the garden tidy up for spring.
Just as I was beginning to make progress in both the gardens in the nursery and at home we've been snowed under, literally. As I write we have about six inches of snow, and it's still snowing on and off. School buses are cancelled and police are advising necessary travel only. From the office window at home I can see traffic moving along the main road, but much less of it and much slower. Our wee side road is still white. So that means more time to get paperwork, seed orders, newsletters and signage made, printed, designed and so on.
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| Bracken thinks the snow is far too deep for nursery dogs |
We spent a lot of last year building new gardens, our wedding garden and getting married! This year it's back to basics. As well as updating the website over winter we've been designing lots of new signs and information boards for the nursery and gardens. This will help visitors and customers find their way round and find the plants they are looking for. We will have lots of information available on tricky areas of the garden, specific plant groups and of course I will be on hand to give advice about the best plants for your garden.
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| Snow views from the back garden at home |
So there we are, no school, no outdoor work, no day out for this week. If you have lots of snow or only a little, enjoy it but stay safe and warm. It's a time to nestle down, wrap up, read garden books and blogs and dream of spring and better weather.
Have a great week.
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Find out more about the nursery here - our web site: www.quercusgardenplants.co.uk
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