National Garden

More of the National Garden has been enclosed off. Today, the lake enclosed off.

Not once have I found work taking place. Today, early Saturday afternoon, work taking place.

Today a hot sunny day. More like October than mid-November.

I took a rest in a shady grove.

I hear parrots, rarely seen.

Today, a parrot landed on a dead branch and started cutting through the branch. It then bent the branch to snap it off. Clever. The parrot flew off with the branch. I assume nest building but is this not the wrong time of year? Climate change?

Tidying the garden

I would have mowed the lawns on Sunday, but still large brown patches and did not wish to exacerbate the ill effects of the coronavirus vaccine. I did a little tidying and felt very tired.

Last night, dusk as light failed, filled in bare patches in the lawns with compost, seeded with grass seed, raked away moss.

This morning, continued the raking. Dug over where should be potatoes.

Tiring work, was not feeling too good later

Tomatoes first of the crop

Picked yesterday afternoon, the first of this year’s crop of tomatoes.

first crop of the season #tomatoes #garden pic.twitter.com/5r7i3bJZOn

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) September 5, 2022

Heavy rain

Early hours of Sunday morning, the last day of July, heavy rain.

There must have been a fair amount of rain, The soil was like dust, Sunday wet for a couple of inches down, but dry below.

A terracotta pot, the plate below, full of water. This usually only happens in the winter.

But still too dry to spread compost.

Today, the surface dry.

July 2022 driest July on record.

Two weeks ago, the hottest day on record, 40.3C.

Tonight, or at least early hours of the morning, more heavy rain forecast. But it is going to take a couple more nights of heavy rain for the water to penetrate deeper.

Sunday, a couple of Seven District takeaway cups tossed on the compost heap. Picked up from Picnic Social last week.

garden pic.twitter.com/Bimw2J5r4M

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) August 1, 2022

compost heap @SevenDCoffee takeaway cups #coffee #compost #garden pic.twitter.com/DbL01TBKBa

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) August 1, 2022

Mowing the lawns

A couple of weeks since lawns last mowed. To be pedantic, 14 days.

sweet peas #garden pic.twitter.com/UqeFegNCmX

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

sweet peas #garden pic.twitter.com/Guy0t7BRAg

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

daisies #garden pic.twitter.com/du8EAZa2yJ

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

apples #garden pic.twitter.com/dSZyTn5TxO

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

apples #garden pic.twitter.com/0Wm1VtkK5X

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

red rose #garden pic.twitter.com/2GccyTvcNi

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

red rose #garden pic.twitter.com/hqkR0cWrAR

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/6N0HtpZU0q

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/L7SwuAo3Xu

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/HvRm2mZTbf

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

white roses #garden pic.twitter.com/FWVFsrJIwD

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) July 4, 2022

Usually this time of year, lawns would be mowed more often than once a week.

Lack of rain, very dry, grass not growing.

Lawns are not looking good, marginally better than before I mowed. They need rain, lots of rain.

Last week the gardener cleared a bed. I took the opportunity to plant out plants that needed planting out. Soil very dry, to the depth of a trowel.

Gardener had placed all that he had dug out on the compost heap. I dug out. Temporary in old compost heap. Forked and aerated the compost heap. Will now add back little by little.

Runner beans are in flower. I need more beans growing.

Planting out sweetcorn tomatoes squash courgette

I picked up sweetcorn plants yesterday, other plants a few days ago.

Yesterday the gardener cleared a border, cut the hedge. The ground cleared, somewhere for the plants to grow.

Digging down the depth of a trowel, I could not believe how dry the soil, more like dust.

Each hole filled with compost. Dug out again, plants planted.

Then watered in. Watered around the plants to soak the dry soil.

Mowing the lawns

Drinking Tia Maria on ice until the sun came up. Awake at seven, could not get back to sleep, decided to get up and mow the lawns before it got too hot.

A very hot day, 30C. Highest temperature 33.7 in Suffolk.

Before nine, a cool breeze blowing.

By midday, too hot to garden. Nearly three hours in the garden. Mowing, hoeing, watering, fork compost heap, plant out a sweet peepr.

I have never tried growng pepper. An F1 hybrid. Usually I do not grow F1, the seeds are sterile, or do not grow true. I never save the seeds from peppers, let alone try growing from seeds. An F1 hybrid may be more suited to the climate. All they had in the greengrocer.

A soak in the bath.

On a hot day, hard work, followed by shower of a bath, remain cool for a couple of hours.

Stepping out into the garden like stepping into an oven.

Mowing the lawns

A couple of hours, mowing the lawns, hoeing, planting out courgette plants.

Apples appear to double in size each week.

Two courgette plants should have been planted our weeks ago,. Holes dug, filled with compost, hole dug for plants, then back fill with soil and compost, spread around the plants, water in.

Birds pulled up grass, created a hole. Filled with compost last week when lawns mowed, grass seed sowed on Tuesday, covered with a little more compost today.

I am now stating to find more compostable coffee capsules when I dig into the old compost heap. Compost well rotted down, but not the compostable coffee capsules. I have not encounterd any compostable coffee cups.

Three runner bean plants growing, starting to climb the poles without my help. Not very successful germination rate. Or were eaten.

Mowing the lawns

Third cut of the season.

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/OkinIaP9CA

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) April 17, 2022

Only mowed last Monday, but a pleasant day, therefore mowed the lawns.

Tulips in flower, including black tulips, bluebells come into flower, fruit trees in flower.

Forked compost to lift and aerate.

Mowing the lawns

Second cut of the season. Rain expected Tuesday.

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/7akxe8h3V9

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) April 11, 2022

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/dmQ5WJkLHY

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) April 11, 2022

female blackbird looking for worms #bird #blackbird #garden pic.twitter.com/zUZbXne7Xe

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) April 11, 2022

mowing the lawns #garden pic.twitter.com/ovOdpNDeF5

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) April 11, 2022

Female blackbird digging up worms, not bothered by me.

Forked and lifted up compost heap. Pleased to find large numbers of compost worms. Was this because I had transported from two other heaps?

I ached all over, but at least was not feeling rough later. After effects of coronavirus?