windswept

larch

whitethorn

Murder!

A murder of crows fussing and cawing, then settling briefly...

Corylus 'Contorta'

  Twisted Hazel.

entrance

Thanks to a neighbour, I got the pier foundations dug out a couple of weeks back. I got some concrete in and will begin block work on my next day off, weather permitting. 

this piece of ground was all fill so we went down 4 feet or so to get a solid footing

grumpy frog

This frog was very displeased when I disturbed him in the glasshouse. Rather than hop away, he ambled around for a while with a grumpy demeanour. Eventually he hopped away in a disgruntled fashion. 

winter trees

These trees caught my eye as I drove along. It's a route I go along several times a year so next time I'll check what the second tree is.

beech

beech or oak?

ash

vegetable garden february

I've selected a spot for the vegetable garden. It's not the wettest patch of the garden, but not particularly dry either. The soil is quite hard and shallow, but maybe I can improve it. I aim now to grow mainly potatoes, onions, leeks and parsnips. Just the hardier veg to start with.

mother of invention

Necessity (or laziness) is the mother of invention. Not quite dragons den stuff, but I modified an old bobcat shovel today to fit on the forklift. It'll make the job much easier... and was a nice change from seedlings and plugs.

hawthorn bonsai

We sell hawthorn plants for hedging in the Garden Centre and about 5 years ago I planted a few up. They have developed fairly well despite a bit of neglect during the busy season. So far I've been just growing and pinching. I've it in mind to try and do a few windswept types, and a few 'fairybush' types. The latter are fairly common here, lone trees within fields, single or multi stems, with a wide bushy crown. I find hawthorn tricky as the fresh growth is very upright and strong. 

before

after

germination

These are the first seedlings of 2013, sown in mid January. They will be hopefully ready for sale around April & May.

flat leaf parsley

swiss chard

greyhound cabbage

wild rocket

snowy morning

We had a dusting of snow last Monday morning. Not very deep, but enough to call it a snow day.