A few years ago I made a raised bed in the front garden for strawberries. The alpine strawberries cropped well, but most of the goodness has now gone from the soil, as I haven’t mulched the area for a year or so. So it was time to dig everything up and turn the area back to grass. Luckily when I put the raised bed into place I put some black plastic down under the soil, this made the job of moving the soil very easy as deep rooted weeds such as docks couldn’t get a foothold. . The young, fresh strawberry plants have been dug up and moved into a new bed at the back of the house and self set poached egg plants have been dug up and scattered under trees and around the vegetable patch. These poached egg plants (Limnanthes douglasii) attract hoverflies in early summer and help to keep pests at bay.
With the weather being so dry and sunny recently we are well ahead of ourselves in the garden. Julie has been planting a mixed hedge at the front of the house. The plants are the leftovers from last year that are suffering in their pots. Some are evergreen such as Olearia and Eleagnus then there are deciduous shrubs such as Ribes and Elder. Together they will make a very attractive mixed hedge when they are established. The sunshine has warmed the soil nicely and this will stimulate the root development securing the plants into the ground, giving them a good chance of survival. Pot grown hedging can be planted at any time of the year but do establish better if they are planted now or in autumn, they shouldn’t need too much watering in now either compared to summer.
Horticultural.
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