Cherry Tree

I think that it’s fair to say that although spring was late, it has been rather good and was soon followed by a lovely sunny Summer so far. I have quickly ran out of water from my recycled water butt and the lawn is looking rather yellow and dry but I don’t intend to water it since I know that it will recover as soon as the rain comes again.

My greenhouse is packed with tomato, cucumber and pepper plants which I visit daily to make sure that the cucumbers are climbing nicely against the twine which I have hung from the greenhouse ceiling. Tomato plants need to be staked regularly as they develop more flowers and fruits rapidly in summer and may collapse otherwise. I have 2 different grow bags, one of which is peat free and was purchased from B&Q. I have noticed that the 3 peppers in that bag aren’t doing so well as the other ones.

I have enjoyed the cherries from the half of the tree which I protected from birds although they appeared to be rather small this year. I have noticed some particularly big bumble bees flying around my fruit trees and shrubs and I have been wondering why.

This year I have managed to dig over and plant the whole of the garden which is now full of vegetables, fruits and flowers. Gardening has been very rewarding so far, what with the weather being so good and the crops coming on nicely, so bring on July!

Cherry Tree Survey

Taking part in the survey is easy and only takes a few seconds. You just need to enter the postcode of the area where you have spotted the cherry tree and give a few details about the type of cherry tree which you have identified. There are some guidelines on the website for people who are not sure about types of cherry tree. My cherry tree is a fruit tree from a Morello variety which I planted in my garden 5 years ago, and it looks magnificent at present (as you can see in the header of this website). But I need to remember to put a net on top of my tree to prevent the birds from eating all the fruits later in the year. Some birds like the black bird or thrush do manage to get in the net anyway but all is not lost.

By taking part in this survey you will contribute to developing a greater understanding of how changes in the climate may affect where and how trees grow as part of the overall biodiversity picture.

Garden Grapes

I planted my twig two and a half years ago in my south facing garden and I have trained it to grow along the top part of a white painted brick shed. I was amazed to see some healthy shoots sprouting from such a small and frail rootless stick.

I have always been told that you need to treat vines in order to avoid diseases of all types and get a good supply of grapes, in particular the Bordeaux mix is a must to prevent black rot. However I was curious to see if I could get a good harvest the organic way.

And I am delighted to say that I harvested about 8 pounds of grapes just before the first frost arrived a couple of weeks ago. A third of it was not quite ripe but it is ripening nicely at home next to the supermarket bananas.

As it was quite a lot of grape to store in so many punnets all at once I tried to make some jelly. I enjoyed making my first ever jam but I did not strain the liquid for long enough to give it a translucent jelly-like quality. Still it makes a nice jam which I have used with the big apples that I bake in the oven (cored & stuffed with jelly). Similarly I can use this jam in an alternative to gravy by mixing a couple of spoons with some white wine and add it to the tray used to cook my Sunday chicken in the oven.

If you are looking for a good grape jelly recipe I recommend the BBC Good Food website which provides easy recipes for beginners like me.

Strawberries in blossom

Strawberries are not that difficult to grow even for a gardening novice like me. I have a small patch where I cultivate the following varieties: Honeye and Cambridge Favourite, the latter one being my favourite variety indeed.

I have been a bit disappointed with the honeye variety which turned out to be not so sweet. One reason for this could be the origin of my plants which I bought from a local village fair as bare rooted home grown specimens.

I have also tried and enjoyed the following varieties: Royal sovereign strawberries (a popular well tried variety) and Gariguette (French variety).

My tips on how to grow strawberries

I planted my plants a couple of years ago and there are only a few tasks which I carry out each year in order to get a good harvest of strawberries:

1. Weeding in early spring:

This is important since the weeds will take out some of the nutrients which the plant will need to grow big juicy fruits. I also take this opportunity to remove any dead leaves following winter.

2. Feeding in spring:

A sprinkling of sulphate of potash around the area followed by a good watering helps maintain vigorous plants. I also use the sulphate of potash for my apple and cherry tree and this substance can allegedly be used as part of organic growing.

3. Straw protection:

A layer of dry straw at the base of the plants helps keep the fruits off the ground and prevents rotting which is particularly important if it is raining a lot.

4. Protect from the pests:

I have to remember every year to put a net around my strawberry patch to prevent the black birds from having a fiest at my expense. Otherwise I end up with nibbled fruits. Luckily I don’t have any problem with slugs but you may need to watch out for them too.

Finally I try to change the plants every 3 years and since I practice crop rotation, I intend to find a new spot for the new strawberry plants in my English garden. You can also grow strawberries in special terracotta strawberry pots with the additional benefit that it looks good on your patio.

Green Almonds

I missed the almond tree blossom but I was delighted to see that the tree was full of newly formed green almonds.

The apricot tree has also finished blossoming and I could see a few small apricots amongst the green leaves. Unfortunately one of the main branches appears to be dead and will need cutting probably in the dormant season. I am a bit concerned about this dead branch since I also found an unsightly 2 inch grub which you can see on the picture below. It was nestled underneath a rotten mimosa tree stump which I dug out to clear some space.

I think that this type of grub feeds on cellulose and therefore is prone to weakening trees.

French Grub

My nectarine tree which I only planted last November seems to be growing well despite the cold and wet weather which we had during winter. Trees are an important feature of my French garden since I am aiming for a low or no maintenance garden (since I am not often there to look after the plants).

Casualties happen however and I was disappointed to see that my bougainvillea didn’t make it through winter. I did protect it with a special garden fleece but I made the mistake of adding some newspaper sheets at the base of the plant in an attempt to protect the roots from the cold. I think that my bougainvillea did not appreciate the cold wet newspaper treatment so it’s a lesson to be learned about frost tender plants and bushes.

Tulips

My tulips are all out including the bulbs which I planted back in autumn in containers along with pansies grown from seeds. In turn, I have also spotted a few butterflies including the lovely red peacock butterfly.

The rose bushes are growing new leaves following the spring pruning which I carried out earlier in the year (I must remember to give them a good feed!).

Moving on to the vegetables, the broad beans are growing slowly and have a few flowers but I wonder if it is too early? The salads in the cold frame have grown well and overcrowded the area which definitely needs thinning (as you can see on the picture below)!

Overcrowded Cold Frame

The cherry tree is in full bloom as seen on the header of this website and the apple tree is just about to blossom. And while I am looking at the fruit trees, I notice that the redcurrant and black currant bushes are currently adorning many clusters of flowers. Like last year, I will have to compete with the birds to get a handful of fruits!

The lawn is looking good as I gave it a bit of a cut and lawn care over the week end.

Finally, the weeds have taken over the flower borders, so there is a lot of weeding to be done. Any volunteers out there?

You may be fooled into thinking that everything is ready to grow and burst into bloom. But last night we got a nasty frost and my neighbour who had left his tray of lobelias just told me that they got hit badly by the frost.

Cherry Tree Buds

So today I only planted the broad beans which I had started in the greenhouse to fill in the gaps in my line of broad beans, where quite a few are missing since the broad beans were damaged during our cold winter. I also planted out the garlic which I had left in trays during winter. And finally I cleared the area for the sweet peas, and strenghtened the bamboo canes and the structure as a whole.

I have noticed that the Berberis bush is about to blossom. It is a prickly but lovely bush which carries deep coloured orange flowers which attracts bees. Similarly full of bees is the rosemary which is in full bloom too.

Finally, my cherry tree is just about to burst into bloom as you can see on the picture above. By next weekend it will look like my header (at the top of the page), soon to be followed by some fruits.

Apple Tree

This country used to be a major grower of apples of all sorts but due to many reasons (cheaper exports, supermarkets demands…) we now mainly ship in standard varieties from abroad.

And yet there are so many delicious different varieties to choose from. Personally I would recommend that you make sure that you plant a local variety of apple tree. Not only because it has more chances of growing well in its local environment but also it’s part of our heritage and the chances are that your local varieties will include anything but the standard bland tasting supermarket apples.

Apple Blossom

If you are looking for a good fruit nursery I recommend Ken Muir which is located on the Essex coast but as mentioned above you can order trees easily by post. Our apple trees came with a one year guarantee, a free instruction book on how to look after your fruit trees as well as a customer telephone number to call for support. The staff at the Ken Muir nursery was very helpful and I felt assured that I was buying quality apple trees. We had our first few fruits last year and I am really looking forward to the blossoms this spring. We chose the following apple varieties for their taste and provenance: Chivers Delight and Fiesta apple tree.

So come on, bring back the good old British apple in your garden!

My top tip: if you are unsure about which apple variety to grow I recommend going to Apple days events which happen in autumn most years. The Cambridge apple day event, for example, usually includes tasting a wide range of apple varieties which you do not normally find in the supermarkets. This should help you decide which apple tree to plant in your garden.