I bought more sweet peas

A little flashback to last year's sweet peas, because the seeds are hardly visually interesting

It's now two months since I sowed my first sweet peas for this year, and somewhat surprisingly given my track record with these tricksy plants, a fair few are still alive.  Last time they featured on here my seedlings had just had their growing tips, who were happily growing away, ripped mercilessly out by moi.  It felt very wrong and even though I know this is the done thing, I did expect what was left to wither and die in protest.  But the barbarity of my activities had the desired effect; we have bushiness.

I have high hopes that at least some will survive being transferred from the relative luxury of the garage into the cold harsh world of outside.  Unfortunately that time will come to them all, the question is when.  I am aware that you are meant to treat your sweet peas like your men: treat them mean, keep them growing... or something like that.  However Im not sure they would enjoy a good frost so I can see myself having to nip out there every night to tuck them up in bubblewrap.  How tedious.

The time has come I feel for my second sowing, and the moment to admit that I have bought more since my last sweet pea post.  Yes more sweet peas, because eleven varieties are not enough apparently.  Doing my previous sweet pea posts it occurred to me that what was sorely lacking amongst my chosen mix was a nice dark berry shade to really round out the colour combinations.  Well of course this schoolboy error had to be rectified immediately so straight onto Sarah Raven's website I went.

One variety would have done, but no, I bought four.  Its a case of once I start I just don't seem to be able to stop.  In my defence they are all distinctly different colours, although it is still unjustifiable.
So from Sarah Raven I bought 'Black knight' and 'Almost Black'.  Spot the theme going on here.  Im pretty sure I have another plant called Black Night, might be a scabious... Anyways Almost Black is the darker of the two being like a blackened purple, like the purple of a bruise.  It should contrast nicely against all my shockingly pink and frilly varieties. Black Knight isn't remotely black, I would describe it as a dark claret, or the colour of red wine.

The third new variety isn't technically new.... more displaced, shall we say.  I have so many seeds that I actually forgot I had bought some.  It was only while sorting through them about a week ago that it came to me that I had definitely bought seeds from Sarah Raven in the past.  Not a clue where they might be though.  An hour's search later revealed them to have been sitting about four feet from me when I had the revelation.  Amongst this bonus hoard was Barry Dare; an absolute shocking pink.  Wouldn't believe Im not much of a fan of pink from my sweet pea choices would you?!  But a nice surprise even still.

One of my current seedlings, alive, not in focus admittedly, but alive

Lastly I bought Cupani; a mix of claret and purple.  Small flowers, big smell has this one apparently, and the most closely related variety to the original wild sweet pea of sicily.  Completely 100 per cent did not need this one but was having an 'oh throw it in' moment.
I sowed them in exactly the same way as I did previously, soaked them overnight and then two to a pot.  Although think I got a little confused so may have sown four Barry Dares and none of another variety!

50 packets of seeds

Thompson and Morgan, Mr Fothergills, Suttons, Eagle Sweet Peas, Sarah Raven, and this is not even all of them!

I named this blog 'basically its growing' because that essentially is what plants do.  Except in February, when basically nothing is growing.  I haven't shared what I have been up to for the last couple of weeks because my gardening activities have ground to an absolute halt.  I have no indoor bulbs, my narcissi are resolutely refusing to appear yet (not that I blame them, its freezing) and it’s still a bit early for sowing seeds on any great scale.  So I thought I would take a little blogging break to get my life in order.  I did use the time wisely though to book a little city-break so it was worthwhile.

I have also used the time for another activity; preparation.  Can never be too prepared for the growing season ahead I think, otherwise it catches me unawares and while im considering getting my seed packets out my neighbour is already potting up seedlings.

My main method of preparation has involved just one activity; buying seed.  Oh have I bought seed!  I need to be held back, pinned down, my debit card plucked from my hand and a seed catalogue smacked around the face (I would have said Thompson and Morgan's but Sarah Raven sent me hers the other day because I signed up to get money off an order and boy, is it thick).  I counted the other day; 50 packets.  That’s 50 packets not including the seed I collected myself last year, or the numerous packets left over from last year that are still good to be sown.

I do not need 50 packets, I certainly do not have room!  Im thinking either the lawn is going to have to make way or a little subtle gardening in a neighbours patch may have to happen.  I wonder how the council would feel if I stuck a few sunflowers in the verge outside my house?..   Being as I have no greenhouse either the car may have to give up its space in the garage for the cause.  Not that Im suggesting I will be planting in there, but it is required for mass germination.

I think I have continued to frivolously purchase packets with scant regard for space and time constraints as an outlet for the frustrated gardener in me, cooped up indoors with nothing to do but exercise my flexible friend.  Definitely when it comes to potting up and planting I will regret my decisions, just like I know im going to regret those 40 gladiolus when they turn up soon.  Such a nice idea but in reality a whole world of pain is packaged in those 40 corms.

I know life would be considerably easier, albeit more expensive if I bought plants rather than seed, but for me growing from seed, or do I mean exterminating, is half the fun.  I won’t go into where I bought them and the individual varieties now as that would be information overload, but it is safe to say there will be a lot of seed sowing round these parts over the next few months so stay tuned for that.  I plan to start stuffing them in with earnest from now on as I went and got my seed compost last weekend, exciting times!

A sunny walk with a Robin

A camellia.  A little dog-eared but still beautiful.  I just love that crown of yellow stamen balls of pollen

Last weekend somebody put a plug in the rain and stoked up the fires to produce a beautiful day, cleaving its way unexpectedly through the endless misery that has been the British winter so far.  When you hear that the weather in the UK is bad, they aren't lying.  Misery.  Three solid months of mornings when you wake up and look out the window and think 'eugh'.  Needless to say on this one glorious day I was out of that door like a shot, no second invitation needed.  I planted a few seeds and then set out for a little walk round my nearest National Trust property Wakehurst Place.

Seed heads in the light 

While it felt like Spring was in the air, it most certainly hadn't sprung as the trees were bare and the scenery a tad bleak.  Nice, but bare.  Even still the golden sun warmed the cockles of my little heart, and I managed to get a picture of this little guy!

What a breast.  Very impressive

Isn't he gorgeous?!  I spotted him in the middle of a bush hopping about and immediately whipped out my camera for a snap.  Almost as if in response to me stuffing my camera in the bush he sat nice and still, giving me the perfect photo opportunity.  Only the camera wouldn't focus and the panic was creeping in as the inevitable moment that he got bored drew nearer, and still it wouldn't focus.  But at the last moment I got him in all his glory!

Imagine this heading towards you and you don't have any bread to give them...

There were a fair few birds about actually.  Down by the bottom lake people were being accosted by flocks of ducks that powered across the water like mini speed boats towards any likely suspect who might have a pocket full of bread.  I did enjoy watching a pack of 25 ducks like a little pack of billed bullies muddling around a lady's legs.  She was stuck like an island surrounded by a sea of webbed feet and feathers.

There were of course a few flowers here and there, including this crazy number.  This is a Hamamelis, or a witch hazel in lay-man terms.  I just love the way this plant flowers.  Middle of winter, bare branches and then these luminous yellow explosions like zizzy legged spiders clinging to the branches. I love anything that doesn't flower in a too ordered way. untidy is good in my book.

I thought these were rather pretty as well.  There is a whole field of crocus right next to the entrance that doesn't appeal to me particularly, but these were covering a bank above a pond on either side of a set of stairs.  With the light in the distance I thought they looked as pretty as a picture.  It is lovely being able to put up pictures of bright colours like purple, rather than onions and soil for months.

Colour! 

I will definitely be returning to Wakehurst before long as it has such great spring plants that mainly aren't out yet, but this little taste of Spring was a welcome glimpse of the end of this misery.

Narcissi bulb roots

Its pictures like this that make me long for summer, colour, intrigue, delight...

I long for summer, or even spring, that would be fine too.  How I wish I could be picking armfuls of flowers and wandering around barefoot, dirt between my toes.   Instead its February and its snowing, loathsome.  I was of the opinion until Sunday that January was the worst month of the year, but I have since changed my mind; February is foul.  Im filling my evenings with online shopping, not clothes or shoes thankfully, but seeds.  I think I am under the illusion Im going into production come the summer with the volume I keep buying.  But they haven't turned up yet, so lets talk roots.
Im not intending this to be an earth shattering post.  I was merely interested to see what the roots had got up to on my narcissi bulbs, especially as the narcissi were so firmly anchored in that pot.  Plus one of the main advantages as far as Im concerned of growing in pebbles rather than bulb fibre is that it is a lot cleaner, so I had to have a little dig around and see if that was true.

On pulling up the narcissus a whole knot ball of roots appeared, pebbles gently cradled in their pasty arms.  Even though I have now seen them I still don't understand how they held so firm.   A good shake and all those pebbles were freed.  However the clear downside of this method is that all the pebbles then needed gathering up, which was fine, and it was freezing outside, which wasn't.  Absolutely bone shatteringly cold.  The pebbles were a little grimey, but not covered in mould or anything.  Funnily enough I didn't choose to wash them right at that moment, instead stuffing them in a bag and losing them in the shed for a month or two until I can wash them in comfort.  So yes, this is a cleaner method than bulb fibre and if I can find a clear glass vase and nicer narcissi I will be repeating it again next year!
Hopefully I will be able to get out into the garden tomorrow and get some seed sown, or look at bulb noses peeping through or something!

Fuchsia round up 6: Checkerboard and Hawaain Sunset

Checkerboard: Checkerboard is an absolute favourite of mine and one of those that I am sure to miss now that I am outing with my vast collection.  If you have read my previous fuchsia roundups something may have occurred to you.  Checkerboard is not my usual type of girl as there is not a frill or a ruffle in sight.  You'd have been forgiven for thinking that I may find Checkerboards' skinny blooms uninteresting having favoured a slightly fuller figure in the past.  But as with anything over time, tastes change and where as my attention was once captured by ample frills, in the last year or two its colour that has been doing it for me.

If you are looking for intense colour, then Checkerboard is one of the finest in my opinion.  It is also the only fuchsia I can think of that actually looks better in bud before it comes properly into flower.  The buds hang like gem coloured pendulums, bright, simple and sophisticated.  The buds have a really long 'tube', yes its the technical term apparently, which is bright red with an absolute pristine white bud end (not the technical term).  The red tubes actually rather remind me of strawberry laces.  Thats a rather plastic looking dark pinky red sweet for anybody not in the know.  Even buried amongst my masses, these buds sing out.

When these little buds of joy do open, they are still little lookers, even if I personally think their best moment is over.  There is no explosion of ruffles, no sudden pouf of petals, the sepals merely peel back to form a white star around a very small skirt of bright red petals.  This is a perfect mixture of refined form and refined colour, I love it.  Maybe it might survive the cold after all?....

Hawaiian Sunset: Its funny, looking back at a little note I made when I took photos I was rather surprised to see it said "Hawaiian Sunset: chuck".  I had just been admiring how nice it was and yet my judgement on its' future was swift and un resolving.  This unoffending dark pinky red fuchsia had to go.  Why? I ask myself.  The answer lies in the adjective I used to describe it above: nice.  Hawaiian Sunset is nice; it isn't amazing, its not the best thing ever, its just perfectly ok.

Unfortunately for Hawaiian, nice just isn't enough to cut it in my garden.  Space in the borders is at an all time premium, the lawn is already under threat from my spade and thats without taking into account the forty gladiolus bulbs that will shortly be wending their way to my doorstep.  Even if I wasn't throwing out my entire collection I would be disposing of Hawaiian.  I only have room for plants that grab the eyeballs with both hands and say 'hey! look at me, am I not wonderful?" or give the nose a solid honk while on your way past.

There are things about Hawaiian that I do rather like.  I enjoy the fact that the stamen are exactly the same shade as the petals and remain encased within their frilly caocoon, refraining from poking their heads out as other varieties do.  The colour is also very pleasing, but other than that I find it unremarkable in size or structure and could possibly, if asked, list ten others I prefer.