THE GLASS COLLECTOR: Indoor Gardening

For several years now, I've been noticing the abundance of vintage glassware on the treasure trove shelves of Charity Shops. I'm normally drawn in by the lure of secondhand books and multi-million dollar movies on DVD to be had for as little as 5 for a £1. There's something very naughty about watching a blockbuster that cost 40 million to make for just 20p. Yesteryear's glassware is often overlooked, but if you take the time to explore, there are still pieces with plenty of sparkle. But what do you do with it? One use I've found for the plethora of inexpensive cut and pressed glass fruit bowls that for decades adorned the center of various tables and sideboards, is to use them as planters.

I guess you could say it all started with the purchase of the vase below. I knew instantly when buying it (for the princely sum of £1) that it was old with its very obvious Art Deco design. A bit of research online told me that it was called 'Greta,' designed and produced by the German glass manufacturer Walther & Sohne in 1934. Perhaps a poor man's Lalique as it was mass produced in a range of colours, but it is still and unusual, attractive vase. These exchange hands today from anything between £25 - £75.

I haven't been able to trace this one below, maybe it is modern, but it is of similar manufacture to the 'Greta' - pressed glass, part frosted. Squat and with a very wide neck, it is perfect for hyacinths and other bulbs.

I have several others in the works (mainly bowls) in the Summerhouse, planted with an assortment of seasonal bulbs (Blue, Dutch Irises, White Allium neapolitanums, Snowdrops, etc. The idea is to have a selection of table centrepieces to be rotated as they grow & bloom by season. Much more ECO friendly than cut flowers, the beauty of it (apart from the attractive, inexpensive glassware) is not having to watch it being devoured by slugs and snails. Please note that some plants are toxic (Lilies, especially) so always check before planting indoors if you have pets.

GARDEN: The Summerhouse Path & Plant Update

 After spending July up a ladder giving the pergola a fresh coat of paint, the following six weeks in August & September were busy putting in the path from the end of the patio to around the Summerhouse.

Smashing out the humps

Rubble Trouble

The raised areas of the old path were pulverised and reused as aggregate for the sub-base of the new path.

Luckily, I had previously bought the sandstone slabs (300 x 300), a few years before, so once lockdown was lifted it was off to the builder's merchant to get sand and cement.

Hop-scotch

I didn't want a particularly wide path as I wanted to maintain the area around the apple tree as large as possible for lawn.  Cats like to eat grass to help with the digestion of hair they ingest while cleaning themselves, and I took out the grass to put in the patio... There is a distinct rake to the path for the rain flow to drain into the grass area.

A month later

I'm really pleased with the finished result. The advantage of hard landscaping your garden with paths and patio areas is you no longer have to trudge through wet grass or mud whenever it rains.

The Grass will be greener on this side

The remaining area has been levelled and sown with grass seed.  Unfortunately the neighbourhood cats, of which there are many, are under the belief that I've made a communal toilet for them, so poop patrol has become a regular occurance.

Almost Zen like

 

There is also a long narrow, around 18 inches, wooden plant bed (not shown) to go alongside the trellis as I wanted another vegetable bed to grow more french beans.

View from inside the Summerhouse

 

Where's my grass?

 Plant Update

The French Dwarf Beans were a success and very easy to grow. Unfortunately with only five plants there wasn't much of a harvest but did get to eat homegrown beans three times. Next year, I shall aim for around 20-30 plants to maximise the yield.

The other plants have come along nicely but starting earlier next year is really a priority as these are still either too small or not ripe.

One of the pickings

Bell Pepper

 

 

 

Chilli Peppers

The vine tomatoes, sown from seeds of a shop bought tomato, have been interesting, however I won't be growing these next year.  My neighbour has a tomato which is only a foot high and each plant is crammed with fruit - at least 50 tomatoes per bush.  I shall be planting from those.

The line of vine...

tomatoes

Sadly they are still green but one has finally turned red, or maybe it's just bashful...

Fried green tomatoes?

Last but not least, the pear tree which is now in its fourth year is proving its worth.  Thank you, Maria :)

A Lovely Pear

GARDEN: Summerhouse Plant Shelf

What better way to spend the time during the Covid 19 lockdown than trying your hand at growing a few vegetables.  This is a first for me as I've never had the time before, or was always too rushed to remember things like watering and plant nurture.  Now, for multiple reasons, seems as good a time as ever.

To adapt the Summerhouse with this in mind, I decided to put up a plant shelf as somewhere for seedlings to grow as well as for my cactus and succulent collection. This was made out of surplus timber that was lying around, which is also a great way of using up materials. Larger plants can always be stood on the floor.

Great light and greenhouse temperatures.

Handy as a drinks ledge too!

Having managed to procure some Dwarf French Beans in this time of seed scarcity, I was surprised to see them germinate so quickly. In all, about seven days and the first is breaking through the soil.

There's something lurking just below the surface

 

 

Somewhat as an experiment, I scooped some seeds out of one of the more expensive variety of vine tomatoes, dried them on a paper towel and then sowed them a few days later.  I am absolutely overjoyed to see so much activity in such short time.  To date, I have around a dozen seedlings.

Vivacious vine tomatoes - no holding back

Due to the explosion of vine tomatoes seedlings, my next venture were the seeds of an almost spent Bell Pepper that was lurking in the fridge. I'd read that the more riper the pepper the better chances of success. I am still waiting to see if they germinate, and if they do prove fruitful it goes to show that you need not look any further than your kitchen to find things to grow.
 
My trusted companion, the Pepper kitty, didn't seem so impressed.  I think she would have preferred if I'd invested my time and energy in chickens.

Look into my eyes...Chickens

 

COURTYARD: A YEAR LATER

OK! So my blog is like the Twilight Zone where a whole year disappears! 

Six months ago I lost all my photographs & other work when an external storage drive became corrupted.  This kind of made me blue and reluctant to spend as much time on my computer as I normally would and as a result this blog was neglected.

However, on almost the anniversary of my year long absence, I am back! 

Needless to say work has continued regardless of the lack of blog entries.  So I thought I'd pick up from where I'd left off... Spot the difference!

The uneven red paint on the brickwork from the previous owner has now been replaced by Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry paint in Plymouth Grey which blends almost seamlessly with the concrete grey block paving.  There is a path down the center which still needs to be resurfaced but that will be a job for next summer.

Almost finished

Doorstep still needs to be cast

In the Moroccan planters are a nice selection of winter flowering evergreens: Cordyline australis at either side of the door; Skimmia Rubella; Azalea and lastly a tiny Viburnum tinus.  I'm sure in the summer there will be some additional Geraniums to add a splash of colour.  

Trellis corner

Spotted Laurels are excellent plants for shadey corners. I also have my experiment in propagated bamboo transferred from the main garden - most of which died but then started to grow again. There is also a pot of Osteospermum which is partially hidden by the conifer in the black pot.

Spot the gas meter cabinet? Painted and perfectly blended.

In addition, there is also a useful doorstep herb garden is six smaller planters:  It's very handy to grow your own Mint (for Mojitos); Parsley; Thyme; Rosemary: Chocolate Mint and Chives.  Herbs are very easy to grow and can readily replaced with fresh supermarket potted herbs when the plants begin to get old and woody (Rosemary & Thyme).

Doorstep Herb Garden

THE ALTERNATIVE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

My Jubilee bank holiday weekend is being spent laying down and cementing in the garden path.  There is still a lot of hard landscaping to be finished in the garden, but the garden is coming along nicely.   Year Two in the Garden of Anxiety and lots of plants are in bloom and the roses are running rampant.

Keeping on the straight and narrow

Rose mish-mash

Poundstore roses

Rose profusion

Big fluffy Pink ones...

and Orange ones

and Cream ones

These start off yellow and fade to cream

Sambucus Nigra is just starting to flower

Ceanothus 'Skylark' poking through the trellis

Clematis

You can never have enough climbers.  Incredibly useful for adding height to your garden if you have limited planting space for large shrubs & trees.

Pot bound Rhododendron has flowered

The Garden Keeper

I'm not a big fan of garden ornaments, but instead of gnomes we have this little fellow.  We call him the Garden Keeper or Caretaker and like to think that at night he comes alive and in our absence takes care of the garden for us.  I'm not sure what the bowl is for - watering plants; picking snails?

He currently lives in the undergrowth, between the Japanese Maple and Bamboo.  This shady border, when the path is finished, I'd like to develop more into a Zen garden with stones, ferns, etc.    

SPRINGTIME IN THE GARDEN OF ANXIETY

It's amazing how much everything has grown in just 10 months, especially the box hedging around the patio which will be pruned next month.  There have been some more additions to the garden which is beginning to look fuller.  I'm also trying to introduce more varied foliage colour and shape - although there is still a long way to go...

July 2011

May 2012

Phormium tricolor, Escallonia Iveyi & Choisya Ternata

Clematis Cardinal Rouge & Weigela

Rose Trellis

Dicentra & corner of Rose Trellis

Sambucus Nigra