The turmeric project

I have to say this could be the proudest achievement for me. A friend had been posting articles on growing vegetables from leftover kitchen scraps and I've tried a few such as rooting spring onions and various salad leaves to some success. The one ingredient which is virtually impossible to find here is turmeric leaves. Fresh turmeric roots can be bought from the Asian shops but never the leaves. I have friends who actually hand carried the leaves from home (via a 12-14 hour flight) and freeze them for use throughout the year. So when someone said to me, why don't you try to grow the turmeric from the roots bought in the Asian shop it was light bulb moment. Could it really be that easy?? So I tried it and to my delight, out of the 3 pieces of root, two of them sprouted!! So now it's lovingly looked after, awaiting the day the plants get established enough for me to start plucking the leaves for consumption....hmmmm, can't wait to make authentic beef rendang which has always been missing that one ingredient!

The moment that had me jumping for joy,

Getting more exciting after potting!

 

 

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Anticipating the burst of colours

The plants in the garden are all busy making buds and I'm eagerly awaiting for it all to burst into colour. On the top is the clematis which is now just under 2 years but is growing well to cover the climbing frame or rather one side of the frame. Try as I might to encourage it to climb the other way, this plant has a mind of its own.

New to bloom this year are the chives, this is a £1 pot of chives which I bought 2 years ago for cooking and then I decided to plonk it into a pot outside because I saw a roundabout in town filled with chives that were blooming and I loved the look of the flowers. At least I thought they were chives! But was sorely disappointed last year when I didn't get any flowers and proceeded to chop the tops off and ate them! This year though, I'm glad I didn't yank the whole lot out, it started to grow again and I'm seeing buds ..YESSS!!

Chives, see the tiny purple buds?

Ok, I will ramble on about one more, the giant oriental poppy is also 2 this year. I have two plants, they didn't look like they were going to survive but produced one flower each. Hmmm..maybe that's what you get with the giant variety. This year though I'm seeing at least 5 buds each, growing fatter and fatter..so again YESSS!!

Giant oriental poppy

 

 

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The fruity ones

It's time to start working on the garden again. But first an inspection of new growth, these are the fruity ones. The good old raspberries are coming along and I think I've got these ones in hand, the canes have been going on for almost five years now. The gooseberries are showing some flower buds too, it fruited for the first time last year so this year will be proof that I've pruned it correctly if we get fruit again. The one on the left is the one to watch this year, these are black currants, they are now 2years old and so hopefully will start to fruit...fingers crossed for lots of delicious fruitiness this year!

 

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Year 4 1/2 of the garden

This morning after we finally got some snow laying, I went to check the garden and realised I missed doing a post on the garden year 4! So here is the garden 4 1/2 to make up for it. To be honest the garden was not too productive last year and I didn't spend as much time as I normally would in it. So on that realisation, there an itch in my fingers to work the garden well this year. Time to break out the magazine collection and start planning I think!

Some of the newbies from last year...the long looked for miniature rose and much used bay

 

 

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Roses galore

My oldest rose plant is producing an abundance of flowers this year. The picture above is the second flowering of this summer. The blooms are so many that the branches are bowing over. I should really remove some of the flowers else the branches will snap especially if it rains. But it seems such a pity to cut off the buds, besides I'm already having trouble keeping up with dead heading the ones that have gone over!

The present from the plant every morning, littered all over the lawn!

 

 

The fruity ones

I think it's finally safe to say we have gooseberries this year! [victory dance] .... Just can't wait for the fruits to ripen and I can finally taste them after 4 years! As for the others, the raspberry canes have finally flowered and the bees are doing their thing, hooray for bees! The strawberries are also coming along, I hope they taste great, need to keep an eye out for the birds though.

The first one gaining colour

 

 

Raspberries flowering

 

Another shot of the gooseberries

 

The first rose

The first rose has bloomed! This is the start of the excitement in the garden. I now have 5 rose bushes and all but one has got lots of buds on them. It's all poised to burst into flowers come the next few weeks and I just can't wait. I started with two plants, one a climber and another a bush. The climber as you know was cut down and removed as it was plagued with rust. The bush has grown over the last 3 years and the tallest branch is way over my head. It was its bush that has made me fall in love with the rose! So I now I have a collection of 5, no more climbers though.

The first one, cut and in full bloom!

 

 

Clematis on bloom

The clematis was the replacement climber after I had to remove the climbing rose which was affected by rust. I wasn't sure if it will take but looks like it's doing well. The flowers are larger than I expected as when I first bought it, it had smaller flowers of a lighter colour on it, seems like the soil has done something to it!

 

Can't keep mum on the gooseberry anymore!

At risk of causing the developing fruits to fall off, I can't resist but to update on the progres of the gooseberry. We DO indeed have fruit this year, on a daily basis I keep eagle eyes on the flowers should they show signs of not setting. Slowly but surely I could see the fruit start to develop, it's still a long way to go before they are ready for picking but this us by far the furthest and most positive I've ever seen it...still holding off on the victory dance, just in case!

 

Azalea in bloom

The azalea is now in full bloom. I just love it when the bush is fully covered in flowers, it's a shame that the flowers only appear once so no deadheading does help to give continuos flowers. The other bush is just catching up with some buds opening..... Just lovely!

The fuchsia one

Close up

 

 

Strawberry fields forever

Not quite a field but 3 strawberry plants in 3 pots! I've finally decided to plant strawberries this year. It's one of the first things the people tend to grow but my "I'm not doing it just coz it's the fashion" DNA kicked in and I haven't till now! The flowers are coming through now so there will be fruit soon...talking about fruits a quick sort of update on the other berry in the garden, I've been checking it everyday but I will not reveal what I see, in case I jinx it! Hahaha...

 

 

This year's vege plot

Finally on a Tuesday off,I managed to weed the vege plot and prepare the soil. Then this evening, the exciting bit, putting the seedlings into their permanent home. I hope the weather is not still too cold but really there was no room at the inn for them anymore. This year I'm trying all things new, for the first time there will be French beans, broad beans, runner beans and cauliflower! There is also 3 pea plants that sprouted from peas dropped from last years plants. And making a comeback, potatoes planted by mini me!

The top plot

Potatoes by mini me

 

 

 

Broad beans

French beans

 

Runner beans which looks very like French beans

 

Cauliflower

 

Peas

 

Tulips!!

The tulips are popping up everywhere! Some new ones, some olds ones ..most of which I've forgotten I've planted! The thing is tulip bulbs goes in before hard winter sets in, this is the time where the garden is bare and there's lots of gaps in the beds, so there is a tendency to go bulb crazy and bury them all over the place. Come spring, I've forgotten where I put them till they start poking out of the ground! I will also refrain from buying mixed bulbs in the future as all I keep getting is yellow ones and the odd 'other' colour one!

New yellow ones

Yellow ones

The three year old ones

Late ones just about to bloom

More yellow ones

Some white ones mixed with daffodils

 

 

Gooseberries or no gooseberries?

The gooseberry bush is becoming more than a thorny bush, it's becoming a thorn in my side! For almost 4 years now, I've been waiting for it to fruit. Last year I had flowers and was jumping for joy... Alas, I was celebrating too early as the flowers did not set and rapidly dropped off! This year again I'm seeing flowers, this time more than last year and it's looking different as well (maybe I'm just trying to convince myself it will be different this year). I have seen bees buzzing around, hopefully helping to pollinate the flowers and maybe finally giving me some fruit? Here's to hoping!

 

 

Waiting in anticipation

This morning I woke missing my garden...it's a dull morning but there is a sense of readiness in the garden. It's still early spring so frost is still knocking on the door and it's still not time to start working in the garden. Little spots are coming to life, making the wait harder to bear and I have had enough of waiting, probably a side effect of the longer days that we are getting...patience is the gardener's virtue hence patient I must be!

Muscari bulbs

 

 

Some other bulbs!

The pink alpine one!

Names are escaping me this morning!

Not even going to try naming it

Lastly the layered flower pot...looking good!