We spent the first part of half term in Wales and my morning walk down to the village bakery took me past hedgerows bursting with purple foxgloves, ferns, red campion and sunny yellow buttercups. I was guilty of overusing the word ‘lush.’
Now we’re home, there may be fewer ferns and foxgloves (and glorious glimpses of sea), but lush is still the word that keeps springing to mind. Along with slug-fest that is.
I’ve been hardening off lots of seedlings in and alongside my cold-frame and before we went away I was in a rush to plant them out. Some have fared better than others during the rainy days we were away; courgettes are doing fine, whilst French beans have been munched away so only their stalks remain.
I’ve been loving wandering in the garden and across the fields in the gentle after-rain warmth, enjoying the feeling of freshness and the shimmering droplets of water caught by ladies mantle:
Slugs and snails have been similarly enjoying a wander around my garden. Salad leaves are being munched and the peas are nibbled as fast as they appear:
Blackcurrant, redcurrant, gooseberry and raspberry bushes are heavy with fruit, inspiring me to dream of summery puds to come over the next few months. The rain is plumping up the strawberries well too.
Weeds from the field next door are also enjoying the great growing conditions but the comfrey I’ve planted along the field edge and around fruit trees is giving the weeds some fierce competition. And adding lots of nutritious layers to the compost heap.
Even with all this growth, there are still some bare batches. Namely, around Ruby’s tree-house. We’ve cleared quite an area of nettles and docks and, inspired by our Welsh hols I’m thinking of encouraging more comfrey, ferns and red campion to spread wildly in the area behind the tree-house and around the pear tree.
In the meantime, I’m loving the colour elsewhere, and very grateful as much of it is accidental – from self-seeded calendula to splashes of orange poppies (that have kindly picked a spot next to nicely clashing purple aliums), chop suey greens that were meant to flower last Autumn and walking onions that choose their own places to roam.
Joining in once again, with Lizzie Moult’s fab Garden Share Collective.
Slugs are a big problem here after the rains on the Oregon coast. After the rains stops I run out to the garden with my “slug mobile” to whisk away those pesky things. Your garden looks lovely!
Thanks Cheri and I’m intrigued by the idea of a slug mobile!
I love the colours of the Californian poppies against the chives and alliums in your garden – and all of them are, of course, bee-friendly plants. I fear slugs will be a major problem this year after the mild winter. I use nematodes to help keep them at bay but even so I’m still anticipating some plant losses.
The bees are loving all the comfrey too and I think you’re right, we’re going to have slugs around for a while. We lifted a piece of wood and found a toad today – hoping he’ll give us a help with those pests.
The slugs and in particular the snails have been a great problem here too after such a damp spring… if I ever find a way of deterring them I’ll patent it! Looks lovely and LUSH in your garden!
Thanks Cathy & yes, please keep me posted of any miraculous slug deterrents you come across.
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It’s beginning to sound like slugs are taking over the world… so many of them this spring. But your garden is looking really colourful – it must have been nice to get back home and see all the new growth and flowers.
It’s always great getting into the garden as soon as you’ve been away & seeing what’s changed isn’t it – at this time of year, even in just 5 days so much seemed to have happened. If only the slugs hadn’t been on the rampage!
Loving all the colour in the garden, again this reminds me to get some flowers in for spring time. I use crushed egg shells around plants for the snails and slugs they don’t going over the course surface.
Thanks Lizzie & yes, must remember to keep a few eggshells from the compost & scatter them around my most precious veggies.
I think lush is the only word to describe your garden! Love all of the self-seeded colour. I’m losing the battle against the slugs this year too, so disappointing after all of the time sowing and potting on for plants to disappear over night!
Lovely to hear from you Alex & I know, it’s so disheartening to see plants that have been growing & nurtured for ages vanishing over night isn’t it. Definitely the French beans that are suffering most here, I’m starting to think we won’t actually eat any this summer. At least the broad beans are growing.
By the time I arrive in UK in July, the last of the foxgloves are just clinging on, single stems dotting the verges. I long for that lushness right now.