Snow in March

Well we were all amazed at the intensity of the cold & snow on 11th March, it was a shock. All the daffodils were just started to open & wham! taken down by snow! They all look a bit sad now, I had just planted up some pots as well with Primroses & A

ubrieta, bet they look sad now!

I did manage to take a couple of great pics of icicles though at my mums house, one of them had formed around a plant in a pot, that was because the icicles above were melting & then freezing again onto the pot below.

Lets hope things start to warm up!

Icicles formed around the plant in the pot

Icicles formed around the plant in the pot

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Please let Spring be here!

I really do hope Spring is waiting in the wings because the birds think it is Spring & so do the bulbs! It has been so damn cold for soooo long now, some sunshine would be appreciated!

I haven’t being doing much in the gardens as everything is in suspended animation at the mo, just clearing winter leaves, getting weeds out. The lawns desperately need a cut, but I think it is still a bit too wet, hopefully as it is due to get warmer next week I may be able to start a mow with the blades up higher.

To kick start Spring into action here are some pics

Lucy

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Snowy snow snow

BRRRR! Lovely ole snow has arrived, must admit although I can not get out there in the gardens it does look beautiful, & it is great going sledging with the kids and a dog, all very funny! The ground underneath is pretty soft though, it wasn’t really frozen enough before it started snowing & so the thermal layer of the snow just keeps the ground soft underneath.

Everything does look in suspended animation at the moment & beautiful so I shall add some snowy garden pictures. Just remember to knock off any heavy snow on branches of shrubs & trees to stop the branches from breaking.

Till after the snow,

Lucy

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January Gardens

Well 2012 is behind us & 2013 is starting out very mild, I see the bulbs are already poking their little heads out of the ground. I remember this last year & then it got cold in February so I wonder if the same will happen this year. The Hellebores are starting to show their flowers too, always a lovely sign & I have seen some snowdrops showing too. The witch hazel in my my mums garden always puts on a good show & I shall put some pics up of some traditional yellow witch hazel.

I wonder if this year will be mild/cloudy & wet as climate change seems to suggest – REALLY HOPE NOT!

Lots of clearing still to be done in the gardens ready for Spring.

Lucy

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Christmas Wreaths

Natural foliage with dried oranges/lime slices & cinnamon sticks

OOh christmas is nearly upon us and I am starting to make my Christmas Wreaths, if anyone wants one just e mail me, I am taking orders now. they retail at £35 are all home made & last a long time.

I am now tucking peoples gardens in for winter. Lots of leaves still blowing around, it is always best to get them off the borders & lawns, otherwise they just encourage pest & disease.

I shall do one more post before Christmas.

Lucy

lucy@lucysgardens.co.uk

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Spotlight on ‘Coral Spot’

On my travels about Sussex I have noticed rather alot of the fungal disease ‘Coral Spot’, must be due to our wet Summer & Autumn! I thought I would write a bit about it and provide a picture so you know what to look for.

Coral Spot is a fungal disease of woody plants causing branches to die back. Small coral-pink raised spots(pustules) form after the branch dies. Coral Spot often indicates that the plant has been weakened by other factors. It is prevailant in broadleaf trees & shrubs like Acer, Aesculus ( Horse Chestnut), Carpinus (Hornbeam), Fagus (beech), Juglans (Walnut) & Tilia (Plane). It is rarely found in Conifers.

The small coral-pink fungal pustules may be seen all year round.

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Halloweeeeen!

Happy Halloween from the garden!

Not the best of weather for trick ‘n’ treating but I shall carve out my pumpkin anyway, I already have some knarled looking gourds decorating the hanging basket by my front door. I have been mostly tidying up for customers, the leaves are falling at a much quicker rate this year & I think they will have all fallen by mid beg/mid Nov, I have noticed that one half of the trees have shed their leaves, and then the next week the other half has fallen. There also seems to be alot more moss around as well this year, more than likely due to the wet summer we had. I am wondering what sort of winter we will have, the weather centre says it will be a harsh Arctic like winter but we just don’t know. November is the best time to plant any tulip bulbs you have, they like it when the weather turns colder. Next time I will mention the tulips I will be planting.

Till then I leave you with a picture of Halloween decoration and Pumpkins!

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Autumn

Hi, well Halloween is nearly upon us & the nights will be drawing in but before all that I shall mention the lovely plants that are still flowering. The ‘Cosmos’ still look great, they will keep flowering until the first frosts if you keep dead heading them, same goes for the wonderful ‘Penstemons’ that are out. One of my favourite summer/autumn plants is a Hydrangea called ‘Pinky Winky’, it is a paniculata type Hydrangea and it starts off white, then turns a light pink, then as it approachs Autumn the flower heads turn an amaxing dark pink. So many different pastel shades on one flower and you can see the whole process top to bottom through the flower. I shall leave you with a picture of one. Next time my post will be Halloween based. If you are growing pumpkins be sure to cut back the foliage around the pumpkins so they can turn orange, they will not grow much more now.

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Autumn

OOOH Autumn has definately arrived with a bang! Very windy and rainy today so no gardening today, I must say the plants need a really good drink though. I did a planting job the other day and am glad the newly planted border will get a lovely watering in. Instead of gardening I have been thinking about Halloween & started making some wreaths for it. I am putting up a picture of one I made, a small one. It is for sale and if anyone wants one just contact me via the website and I will gladly make some more. Next Iwill make a lavender one and see what that looks like.

Happy Days,

Lucy

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Summer is nearing the end

Well we did get some sunshine in the end, whoopee! The flowers all look wonderful. Now is the time to start thinking about planting the veg patch for Autumn/Winter. Two of the best things to plant right now are Kale & Spinach. With Spinach you can cut tender new growth In Autumn and then leave it in the ground for the later growth in Spring.  Also you can plant onion & garlic bulbs now.

Flowers looking good now are Japanese Anemone, smoke bush, Cosmos and Caryopteris.

Lucy

 

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