Next on the long list of things to do was to focus on the flower bed, the border around the edge desperately needed weeding and digging ready for all the annuals that need planting out. There’s also a couple of edible vegetables that will be going in the flower patch and I wanted to create a little herb area too.
This area was originally used as a vegetable bed which was then going to be changed into a chicken run and then later changed into a flower patch. Once the chicken idea fell through I instantly thought of growing flowers, I am a huge flower lover and couldn’t resist squeezing some into my tiny allotment. The idea was to create a little haven for both me and the wildlife, somewhere to sit and be surrounded by nature when I wasn’t weeding. I started to create this bed last Summer and managed to dig a border around the edge and plant some perennial flowers there. These flowers consist of an Ox-eye daisy, Lavender, Verbena Bonariensis, Cirsium Rivlare Atropurpureum, Allium (Sphaerolephalon) Chamomile, Feverfew, Euphorbia, Chrysanthemum (Green Feeling) and a Geum (flames of passion).
I sowed a few annual flowers back in the greenhouse in Spring and some were ready for planting out. The Cosmos (Sarah Raven Pale Mix), Calendula (Indian Prince), Scabious (Tall Mix and Sternkugal) and Sunflowers (Mongolian Giant) were itching to be planted out so I simply dotted them around the flower border, making sure I saved a couple of each for planting around the pond.
I also wanted to incorporate some edible vegetables into the flower patch to make use of the space, there’s already two rhubarb crowns, an asparagus crown, a globe artichoke and an apple tree. I managed to sow some ‘Alderman’ peas and some rainbow Swiss Chard in the green house and they were ready for planting out. The peas will be growing up an obelisk and the Swiss chard will be dotted around the border as a cut and come again crop. I also planted up a little herb corner consisting of Mint in an old bucket, Chives, Yarrow and some Fennel. Whilst I was there I decided to remove all the baby apples from the tree, which practically makes me a murderer! In the long run though it will help to produce a healthy, strong tree as all the energy can now go into the root system rather then producing fruit.
In the centre of this flower patch is a wild flower mix that I sowed back in Autumn, it’s a low flowering wild flower mix by a company called ‘Meadow in my Garden’. I must admit that it’s looking a little tatty and the perfectionist inside me isn’t at all happy with it. I do keep telling myself however that it will take a couple of years to actually look its best, it needs trimming and self seeding to bulk itself up and the German chamomile needs removing. I guess I’m just very impatient, but so far I’m rather pleased with how it’s looking, plus I just keep telling myself that it’s going to look beautiful in a couple of years time!
