A tour of the grounds...

You've got to love the British weather; I managed to get sunburnt arms only yesterday whilst sat reading in the garden, yet today we're back to grey skies, persistent rain, jumpers and the central heating back on.

I've not usually been one for posting heaps of piccies on here but inspired by Delcatto's recent post of potting activity, I thought I would share some photos of what's been going on in the garden over the last few months. You may notice a theme of gardening on the cheap...

Firstly let me show you the trees, starting with a hazel tree actually grown from a nut and currently standing a couple of feet tall














Next along is a blue spruce, actually bought from a garden centre, but on the cheap as I chose to make a project of it rather than spend 40-odd quid for a more fully grown one













Then in the corner is the first apple tree, a Cox's Orange Pippin. This one actually had one apple on it when I bought it so I know it worked at the time.













Currently the tallest in the garden (although looking a bit weary at the moment) is an oak tree. Affectionately known to the family as the Zoe Oak as it was grown from an acorn planted by my Dad around the time my niece was born 10 years ago. Transplanted from Mum & Dad's garden late last year, I'll feel happier when it reassures me that it has survived the journey.








The second apple tree is a Spartan, predominantly picked because it fruits later in the season than the Cox's. Once they are both settled, between here and Mum and Dad's garden we hope to enjoy a few consecutive months of free apples.











The last tree in the garden is a Calfornian Giant Redwood. OK, not quite so giant yet (approx 2 feet tall) but this was grown from a seed planted by Dad around the time my nephew was born nearly six years ago. I share similar concerns here as I do with the oak, that this may not have endured the transplant & journey too well, but time will tell I guess









My last "trees" are from my attempt to emulate Dad's success of growing trees from seed and resulted from my planting the contents of some dried and emptied pine cones. Currently reaching the dizzy heights of approx 4cm tall, there are two survivors from a considerably larger number of seeds.










Along the long border of the garden, are a dozen or so boxwood shrubs, all grown from cuttings taken from the front garden and therefore, falling nicely into my preferred price range












Meanwhile... back in the greenhouse...

Rather than dig out a herb garden I opted to buy ten planters, loads of seeds and a couple of plants. To date, only the plants have shown any signs of growth, but it's still early days yet.












In fact, the greenhouse crops have yet to really show any signs of success. Having planted two lots of tomatoes, peppers and spring onion seeds, it is only the latter that have started doing anything and will shortly need moving to more substantial pots











There are a couple of other pots in the greenhouse which I've planted out of curiosity. Firstly a ginger root this weekend (obviously nothing to show you yet) but one of the garlic cloves has certainly sprung to life












My hopes are pinned on all of these to start producing some shoots soon.















Finally, is the Kiwi Fruit plant I bought for a couple of quid last year, largely out of curiosity to see whether they could be grown in the UK. The picture here would seem to suggest not...