My Container and Greenhouse Garden

My Container and Greenhouse Garden

A Tour of my Garden after a long Vacation

After being away on a five week trip I’m just now settling back into routine. Making handmade soap, giving soapmaking classes, catching up with customers, and also tidying the garden. We had house-sitters while we were away and fortunately they took care of my plants both in and out of the house. Still, there was a lot of weeding to do and preparation for the winter. I also thought it would be the perfect time to test out my new GoPro HERO Session and take you on a little tour!

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The flower patch needed weeding and clearing

One of the biggest jobs for me since I’ve been home is cleaning out the ‘Wildflower Patch‘. Planted up with perennials like lavender and rose bushes, I’ve sown the rest of the area with wildflower mixtures. Two years in a row I’ve done this and I’ve decided that I’d like a change for 2017. I’ll be having a think about what I’d like to see here.

In the meantime, I’ve cleared all of the weeds including digging up a lot of Creeping Buttercup. It’s one of the worst weeds I have to deal with. I’ve also taken down a lot of the Crocosmia foliage and taken away anything that will encourage slugs to hang around.

A quick look around the greenhouse

In my greenhouse I have a lot of potted plants, herbs, and cuttings I’ve propagated. There are also still loads of tiny ‘Yellow Currant Tomatoes’ to pick but the ‘Red Currant Tomatoes’ have seen better days. I’ll cut down all of the tomatoes soon and tidy up the trough planter they’re currently in.

The plastic GreenStalk planter that I have in one corner of the greenhouse is still looking great. I’ve had to trim back the sage but the strawberries, thyme, and oregano are going strong. If you’re interested in the planter it really is great but so is the pricetag. If you don’t mind buying something cheaper, I’ve found this one for a fraction of the price.

I really need to think of a shelving idea too – there are loads of plants just sitting on the paving stones inside the greenhouse. It makes it a bit difficult to move around when you’re inside.

I’ve been working on a new planter idea

Though I don’t think I’ve shown it on my blog before, I’m working on a new ‘Pallet Planter’ idea. This one has areas on the sides where succulents can grow and an open area on top. This year I’ve used it as a carrot planter since the planter has depth and is raised off the ground.

In Britain, carrots suffer from the pest called ‘Carrot Root Fly’. They fly within a couple feet of the ground and will lay their eggs on members of the carrot family. The maggots turn your lovely root veg into an inedible mess! The carrots I’ve pulled up from this planter are perfect though so no flies have been at them. Success!

I transformed an old olive oil tin into a planter

Earlier this year I took an old tin, banged some holes into it and then planted it up with succulents. It’s been a lovely little feature near the kitchen door ever since. Some of the succulents have had to be replanted in that time but others have thrived. Every month or so I’ll trim the vigorous ones and have a poke around the ones that are struggling.

The Sempervivums (Hen & Chicks) like the planter the most after the silvery-blue variety and the green one that trails from the top. I’m terrible at remembering the names for all of these succulents in case you haven’t remarked on that yet. What I do know is that all of them are pretty easy to take cuttings from and to propagate at home. That’s where most of my succulents have actually come from.

Strawberry Pallet Planters

Way back in 2012 I came up with the idea of transforming a single wooden pallet into a strawberry planter. My video tutorial for it has almost a million views now! The original still sits on the patio humbly unaware of it’s star status.

I built a second one and now the two sit side by side. This year they both got new coats of paint on the outside part of the slats and I’ve replanted them with new strawberry plants. Strawberries need refreshing every three years or so to keep up productivity.

Now on to the Allotment…

I haven’t been to my allotment garden since mid-August – literally the day before I went on holiday. At that time it needed some weeding and maintenance so I’m afraid to see in what state it’s in now. Tomorrow morning I’ll be heading up to look at the state of it and to see if there’s anything edible to take home. No doubt it’s going to take some time to get it all in tip top condition but I look forward to some hard work on the plot. I’ve missed spending time up there.

Original article and pictures take lovelygreens.com site