The Romany Garden
Posted by RomanyRest on Aug 15 2008 | Comment now »
The B&B has been busy (which is good) and I’ve been wading through my Permaculture Design Certificate course with Permaculture Visions . Actual permaculture progress has consequently been slow. Fred bears the brunt of the yardwork as a result and new projects have been delayed, but the mulching efforts we made earlier in the year have made it easier to keep on top of weeding and the rain has made watering unneccessary. Turning half of the yard into a wild meadow has eliminated the need for mowing there, again reducing the workload.
Black-eyed susan in the wild meadow.
A few small projects are moving forward. My dream is to change a flat expanse of “lawn” in the front into a series of gardens separated by pathways.
Here, Fred is joining two new flower beds together, and this next shot shows how we have mulched an area we are calling the “shrubbery”, the tree nursery and the new bit of garden. It shows how the vision is starting to come together in one area of the lawn.
We’ve found a friendly retail store who now lets us collect cardboard boxes from them to use as mulch. Prior to us collecting them, one of the staff was taking them home and burning them which was a chore for them and also a waste. They also let us take pallets and other bits of firewood. Fred works in Montague one day a week, so he calls in on the way home from work to fill up the trunk with cardboard and wood and we move on to the next bit of mulching.
Speaking of Mulching, those old carpets which were in a friend’s garden for years and then came here have been moved yet again. We are using them to try to re-claim another 2000 sq ft of grass and we hope to use the area as part of a crop growing space next year. We would like to grow some of our animal feed and bedding ourselves next year.
The wild grapes and virginia creepers we planted against ugly, bare wire fences have made some considerable progress.
Wild grapes growing up the fence should produce grapes next year. (Our cultivated grape in the Mandala garden is full of bunches of grapes. The challenge will be keeping the raccoons away, they got them all last year!)
Virginia creeper and a ‘Polar Star’ rose from Brenda’s Garden. To the left of the fence you can see some of the 100 or so larch (tamarack) seedlings that we planted earlier in the year.
We’ve decided to revisit the Provincial tree and hedgerow planting scheme. We’ve been on the waiting list since we arrived here and this last spring we were at the top of the list for tree planting. We discovered that they only had a few species (predominantly white spruce) so we reluctantly decided to wait until they had more variety of seedlings. I’ve recently spoken with the representative from the Province and we’ve agreed to go ahead with the forestry reclamation scheme where we will get 1 hectare (including the wild meadow) planted with a variety of hardwood and softwood trees. This comes at the bargain price of $40 per acre and the Provincial workers do all the work as well, although we’ve specified no heavy machinery.
We’re also going ahead with the hedgerow planting scheme in other areas with a good mix of softwoods, hardwoods and fruit trees and bushes, all native species. Again, the provincial workers do all the work and this time the cost is 25c per seedling (another bargain!). They will be planted 6′ apart in 3 rows around the boundaries and will provide a mixed native ecosystem with protection and food for wildlife, also windbreak, protection and privacy for ourselves.
Both of the planting schemes will no doubt take a few years to establish themselves, but the benefits for the environment and for ourselves are numerous.
One of the sheep became besotted with me. She loves to follow me around and stands contentedly letting me tickle her! Unfortunately this can backfire. Yesterday she went a little crazy after not seeing me for a couple of days when I showed up she started running around like a crazed beast, broke the fence and chased around the garden at full speed. Usually she will run to me, but not this time, she seemed beside herself and didn’t do herself any favours because Fred is now saying she’s going in the freezer!
This morning we found that two chicks have hatched out from the black hen who has gone to nest in the shed. Last time she shared a nest in the coup squashed up with two other hens who all seemed to be trying to sit on the same eggs. They only managed to hatch out one chick and all three mothered it, but then all three made the mistake of leaving it in the coup alone where it was attacked by two of the other mothers and it didn’t survive. She must have decided that she wasn’t going to spend 18 days squashed up with the other two again and that this time she would raise her chicks alone. We are waiting to see if any more hatch out.
One of the ducks built a beautiful nest. OK it was out of my buckwheat, but I can forgive her for that. Unfortunately it wasn’t in a safe place and she had to leave the eggs when she went into her night quarters. We decided to put a couple of duck eggs under some of the broody hens to see if they will hatch out ducklings which the hens will then raise as their own.
It continues to be a learning process….
Wedding Anniversary
Posted by RomanyRest on Jul 31 2008 | Comment now »
This is a bit of a departure from my usual posts, a trip down memory lane for us and for anyone who spent the day with us 9 years ago, or indeed, anyone who’s interested!
Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. It hardly seems possible that 9 years could have sped by since that wonderful day in Caernarfon, North Wales when we ‘tied the knot’.
We married in a small gothic hall at the ‘Gwestyr Celt’ Celtic Royal Hotel and had the photographs taken at Caernarfon Castle. Many folks made a weekend of it and enjoyed the majestic scenery of the Snowdonia mountains and boat trips around Caernarfon and it was wonderful to have our family and friends around us.
The music on the day was played beautifully by Welsh Harpist Chris Knowles. It was a beautiful ceremony, reflecting our welsh celtic roots in words, poetry and music. We together lit a candle during the ceremony, which we now re-light at each anniversary.
Our honeymoon on the deserted island of Illauntannig off the west coast of Ireland was a memorable experience. We met Bob the fisherman on the Pier at Fahamore and he placed our luggage and water supplies into a currach which he towed behind his boat as he ferried us over to the island. En-route, Bob threw out a line and caught a huge pollock which was to provide our evening meal for the next two nights. It was delicious!
When we arrived we couldn’t believe the crystal clear blue waters and white sandy beaches. It seemed like paradise. It was quite an experience communicating with Bob each day on a two-way radio, although at that time we did have a mobile phone. Each day we walked all around the circumference of the 36 acre island, followed closely by the 13 bullocks who lived there and who seemed to like the company! It was great to spend the day pottering around the rock pools and beaches or marvelling at the remains of a 6th century monastery complete with stone celtic cross.
We didn’t mind being without electricity, a telephone, running water or TV. We enjoyed collecting driftwood for a fire in the evenings and sat in the sunny kitchen watching until the sun set and it was time to light the oil lamps. We cherish those memories of peaceful togetherness and of being at one with our island world.
After the island we toured the beautiful Dingle Peninsula and returned to Wales to begin our married life with fond memories of the “Emerald Isle”.
We have since been blessed to have our wonderful new home in Prince Edward Island, so we wandered around the garden today and took a few snaps around the place.
Roses in bloom for our anniversary! 
The “better than we could have ever hoped for” Mandala Garden:
“The Daddy” browsing in the vegetable plot:
Little Frankie (centre) with siblings and Little Blackie with her two mums:
Finally, one of the readings from our wedding ceremony 9 years ago, read by my sister Elaine - the words hold true today as then:
Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of its Love - Edmund O’Neill (1929)
Marriage is a commitment for life. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and an emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime.
Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend, confidante, lover, teacher, listener and critic, and there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child
Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger. Even anger is felt more strongly and passes away more quickly.
Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages new experiences and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.
When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words.
Marriage is a promise, a potantial made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfil.
B&B & Bees!
Posted by RomanyRest on Jul 19 2008 | Comment now »
It has been a beautiful summer so far, with the Mandala growing so well that it’s almost impossible to believe it has only been there 10 months. It produces beautiful blooms and jumbo sized vegetables! In fact everything is growing, from the vegetable patch to the baby chicks and we had our first taste of zucchini, new potatoes and broad beans this week. Despite the lack of rain, we got bumper crops of peas and strawberries.
Baby likes to sit on Mum’s back!
The Linden trees and Sally’s garden are buzzing with bees. Now I understand why the Linden is nick-named “the Bee Tree”. It seems as though the each Linden tree is itself buzzing as the bees busily go about their work. I wonder where they live and where the honey is!
Bees In The LindenBees in the linden tree *__Louisa Cooke Don-Carlos. |
* from Poetry of Kansas
There is a hammock underneath the Linden trees, a place to relax in the dappled shade, and an old swing from one of the branches where one can sit and listen to the bees whilst the sweet nectar-laden flowers gently rain down.
Today is pouring with rain, the first for ages and we are glad of it even though it will cause the weeds to go rampant again! The warm, sunny weather up to now has given us lots of solar energy in the form of hot water, solar cooking, solar showers and heated the pool up to 90 deg F some days. We have enjoyed having a dip after a day in the garden.
Lush growth in the Mandala
The sound of the bees in the Lindens is described most beautifully on Bruce’s Log
A lovely article in Backwoods Magazine describes how to make linden tea, linden perfume and even linden chocolate! (highly recommended article).
The sun will not strike you there, I do insist,
Though it beat from its noonday height, and its direct rays
Should pierce such scattered shade as a tree bestows.
There, a cooling breeze is always blowing from the field;
There, nightingales and blackbirds their tuneful tales unfold.
It’s from my fragrant blossom that the timeless bees
Take the honey, which later ennobles your lordly feasts;
Whilst I, by my soft murmurs, can easily contrive
That gentle sleep should overtake the unsuspecting fugitive.
It’s true, I bear no fruit; but in my master’s eyes
My worth exceeds the richest scion of the Hesperides.
Permaculture Progress
Posted by RomanyRest on Jul 01 2008 | Comment now »
When we decided to adopt a permaculture approach a little over a year ago, we didn’t really know how things would work out but it just felt right. A year on we sometimes feel overwhelmed by the workload of caring for our B&B, animals and the 5 acres. When I say “overwhelmed”, I don’t mean that we resent it because it is a labour of love, but we wonder if we are making any progress at all or just mowing and weeding like crazy just trying to keep up. We recently went back over some photographs from just over a year ago and realised that we are making some progress after all and if we continue on permaculture principles there will be more and more productive or wild areas and less and less mowing!
I will be creating some new pages for the Forest Garden, the Perennial Bed, The Vegetable Patch, the Wild Meadow and the Tree Nursery and will try to create a new permaculture category for them.
For now, here’s some ’before and after’ pictures.
The Perennial Bed May 2007 and June 2008
Sally’s Garden - May 2007 and June 2008
The Mandala Garden
The Forest Garden Spring 2007 and June 2008
Stubble left over from barley & rye was tillered with the help of friends and then we re-claimed the rest with carpet mulch.
Look at the lush beginnings of a forest garden. We’ve said it before that a forest garden, which by definition involves trees, can’t spring up overnight, but it’s not a bad start. The only question is what to do with all that rhubarb? Notice the strawberries are interplanted with garlic (both seem to be thriving as a result), chives, borage, peas and spinach. There are lots of nasturtium seedlings coming through, and we hope that they will provide a spectacular living mulch (edible too!).
What Next?
We have a cardboard and carpet mulch scheme afoot to re-claim another 2000 square feet of “lawn” for later this year or early next year. Other plans include a rock garden and more pathways.
Should we ever feel discouraged we will look back on this post to re-confirm that progress IS being made and we shall continue to do so. Another page is going to be created, called “Lawn Reclaim” where there will be a tally of the square footage re-claimed, bit-by-bit, little-by-little over time until we finally triumph over the dreaded mowing!
The Daddy
Posted by RomanyRest on Jun 25 2008 | Comment now »
Now that the last risk of frost is passed we have completed most of the planting and are now tending our crops and hoping they grow well.
As well as the usual (tomatoes, beans, corn, pumpkins, peas, etc.) we’ve got some experiments on the go, including: Amaranth, chia, flax, aduki, mung bean, lentils, chick peas (garbanzos), mushroom logs, alfalfa, buckwheat, darlaine peas, dry bush beans (candy, black turtle, nez perce), jacobs cattle beans and sunflowers. These are in the interests of self-sufficiency, mainly to see what seeds and beans can be saved for winter use, winter sprouting and planting on again next year. We’ll keep you posted.
I made a lovely herb garden which surrounds the front of the house and in it we have sage, thyme, peppermint, spearmint, pineapple mint, bee balm (bergamot), oregano, dill, salad burnet, chives, lemon balm & borage.
We’ve been eating from the garden since May, and currently are enjoying spinach, chard, red russian kale, black (dinosaur) kale, mangetout peas, salad burnet, summer savoury, chives, rocket, radish, lettuce, coriander, parsley, mizuna, lamb’s lettuce and lamb’s quarters (a ‘weed).
So, who is “The Daddy”? Well, it’s Big Rooster’s new name since we are the proud hosts to (so far) five yellow chicks and one black chick (how cute is that?)!! Some of the girls are still on the nests so we are hoping for more. The first chick was born 20th June, two years to the day since we lost my dearest Dad, so we’ve called it ‘Frankie’ (fine for either a girl or boy) and whilst this might not seem like a grand tribute, we know that Dad would have a big smile about it. ‘Mum’ to four of them is letting me help with the feeding whilst we both try to keep the others at bay to give the little ones a chance at the food. ‘The Daddy’ is sitting up high on his table, crowing with pride!
Remember those shy, timid lambs? Well, two weeks on, if they spot us they come running and leaping towards us, feed from our hands and follow us anywhere! Just shows what a difference two weeks can make.
A Wild Meadow
Posted by RomanyRest on Jun 15 2008 | Comment now »
Three Lambs arrived last Sunday into our adapted shed/barn. They are very timid and fearful and we couldn’t do much with them in the first couple of days because they panicked every time we went anywhere near. After a week they’ve become more inquisitive and less fearful and I’ve had two of them eating from my hand, although they still panic at any sudden movement. They will also follow when called, especially if we have a little feed bucket in hand!
“What have you got for me??”
These babies were born in February, and up until now have lived their lives inside a barn and haven’t seen the outside world, sunshine or grass. Up until now, that is. At first they were alarmed, but quickly realised that grass was edible and delicious! Before too long they were frolicking around doing little lamb leaps in the air, which we took to mean that they were happy with the new arrangements.
We had purchased a solar-powered electric fence to contain them and to protect them from coyotes, but I was apprehensive about using it, not wanting to see them getting shocks from it. We have now decided to put them in with the hens and ducks and went back to the agro co-op to exchange the electric fence for sheep wire. At first there were a few chaotic moments when the sheep went running, sending the birds scattering in all directions, but now things seem calm and serene as they all learn to live together peacefully.
The ducks in their paddling pool with the sheep grazing behind.
The fences have needed some considerable re-inforcement following an incident mid-week when the sheep managed to escape and ended up on the swimming pool deck! We managed to avert a disaster and got them back without one of them falling into the pool, but not without a little anxiety on our part.
We have built the lambs a straw bale shelter to protect them from wind & sun, but so far this has been completely ignored by the sheep and used as a play climbing frame by the hens.
We’ve planted some new trees this week:
two red oaks (hoping to replace the one we had to chop down), two green ash, two white birch and 60+ larch (tamarack).
Plus more shrubs, vegetables and flowers.
When mowing the lawn, I discovered an area where there were some tree seedlings trying to establish themselves, including white spruce, birch & mountain ash, so have decided not to mow this area so that they get a chance to grow. It might look a bit of a mess if the grass grows tall, but I shall try to make it look more attractive by constructing some wattle fencing around it (when I get time!).
Mowing has become an almost daily chore. We’ve reduced the impact on the environment by purchasing two manual push mowers, but there is a huge area to cover and it’s awfully hard to keep up. I’m currently making two signs with the wording “Wild Meadow” as we’ve decided to give up trying to mow the far field and want to see how natural regeneration of woodland will take place. If we can do it without it turning into too much of an eyesore it will encourage ecological diversity. I will probably describe the progression back to woodland here on the blog, although it will be slow I assume.
Fred made a mini-wagon for the gate to sell our jams and a few crafts. We placed it under the apple tree which was smothered in blossom this year.
Little Rooster
Posted by RomanyRest on May 31 2008 | Comment now »
Rooster antics have kept us entertained over the last couple of weeks. Big Rooster definitely has the advantage of size, but Little Rooster proved himself to be quite clever and agile and that sometimes gave him the edge.
Big Rooster’s favourite black hen often jumps the fence. She doesn’t go far, just likes to assert her independence and strut around ‘outside’ for a while. One day, Big Rooster chased Little Rooster so much so that he jumped the fence (no problem for an agile little chap like him). He wasted no time in making advances to black hen whilst Big Rooster looked on, quite literally ‘hopping mad’!
The next time Big Rooster chased Little Rooster he managed to get quite a speed up, completely forgot his objective and soared over the fence in pursuit. Of course, Little Rooster wasted no time in nipping straight back into the hens and promptly had his pick of all the girls. Once again, Big Rooster could only look on in frustration and anger. And so it went on.
It was worrying that Big Rooster wouldn’t let Little Rooster share the coup at night and he decided to sleep underneath some old windows propped up against the shed wall. We couldn’t coax him out and the first night, and even though we secured him as best as we could, I could hardly sleep that night for worrying about it.
Most of the time Little Rooster was chased out of the hens area and began to spend more and more time with us and became more like a pet. Yesterday we tried our level best to get him into the shed (which is currently being prepared for the arrival of the sheep) which would have been a safer place for him to sleep, but he just wouldn’t have it, running off and squawking loudly as though we were doing him some terrible disservice!
Even though I am familiar with the concept of the ‘pecking order’ I can’t say I completely understand the balance of power in the barnyard and how it can change. Both of these roosters and the bantams once lived all together (seemingly harmoniously), but somehow, in the process of moving them here, the dynamics have altered in such a way that the small rooster was completely banished from the flock (and by the hens as well as the larger rooster).
I suppose you can guess what I have to tell you. Last night nature took its course and something managed to get into the small gap in little rooster’s den. All that is left is feathers, and I have to confess to having shed a few tears this morning for little rooster. Partly because it was sad how he was alienated from the flock (and he actually did seem sad) and partly because we didn’t manage to figure out what to do to save the situation.
The next thing is to ascertain just how much noise Big Rooster makes in the mornings to see whether we can keep him or must give him away. I intend to sleep in one of the B&B rooms for one night and in the cottage for another in order to assess the noise level. We don’t want to let him go as he is a good rooster and does look after the girls well (and they seem to really like him). He takes them to food and lets them eat first, he’s always on the alert for birds of prey and he takes an active part in the egg-laying ceremony, crowing like crazy afterwards as if to say “look what I’ve produced”!
Last week I was upset when we came back from town to discover that one of the ducks had hurt her leg. My experience with hens is that a broken leg pretty much means it’s the end of the road. She was lying on her tummy and couldn’t move, but as each day has gone by she has recovered and is now back to full health. They are getting a little more used to us, though still very timid, they are now brave enough to approach us when the feed bucket is in hand. They look so sweet splashing around in their little paddling pool. This week we tried duck eggs for the first time and made delicious scrambled eggs with chives. They were lovely and not at all ’strong’ in flavour as they are often said to be.
We’ve been working hard on the garden, vegetable plot, mandala and lawn-mowing. Lawn mowers continue to break down on us, but we are just about managing to keep up.
This is the Mandala end of May with lots of new plantings and seeds in there, just waiting to spring into action (we hope!). I am going to put this onto the Mandala Page (see list of additional pages on the top right hand side of this page) and want to try to post one each month so we can have a visual record of progress in the Mandala.
Things are growing well in the vegetable plot and come 10th June when risk of frost is passed, we can plant all the tender stuff like zucchini and beans.
We are currently harvesting (and eating) spinach, radishes, lettuces, mizuna, parsley, coriander, chives, salad burnet, oregano, mints, balms, lovage and rhubarb (first batch of jam already made!).
Last week the hummingbirds came back from wherever they have over-wintered and it’s yet another sign that summer is on the way.
Newcomers
Posted by RomanyRest on May 17 2008 | 4 Comments »
Some of the experiences we have here are poignant, some funny, some heart-breaking and some a peculiar mix of all those things.
Two ducks and two drakes came to live here this week, very sweet but extremely timid so far. The hens were like that at first but now come charging towards us whenever they see us or hear our voices, so hopefully the ducks will soon feel less nervous as it’s heartbreaking to see them so fearful.
We learned that it wasn’t a good idea for ducks to have a stagnant pond so we got them a childrens’ paddling pool instead! It means we can easily clean and refill it and they look so cute drinking from it or taking a dip. It’s a temporary measure until we figure out what else to do.
Two other new arrivals are causing us some headaches. We finally relented and got two bantam roosters. Firstly, there’s the worry that they might wake the B&B guests too early, secondly the larger rooster picks on the smaller one so it disappears every night and won’t go into the coup with the rest. That means he’s outside early in the morning and his crowing can be heard more clearly. He’s also at risk from predators. So far the B&B guests thought it was great and all part of the country B&B experience.
We’re trying to think of suitable names for big and little rooster, so if anyone has any ideas please add them by pressing the comments button below.
Little rooster seems to get picked on by the ducks too, so I don’t know how it’s all going to end up, we’re just hoping that some kind of harmonious barnyard hierarchy will ensue before too much longer.
When we first put the new birds in with the existing ‘flock’ there were some spectacular fights! Firstly one of the Rhode Island Reds and big rooster had one heck of a showdown with chest feathers puffing up and much clashing of chests. Later the same happened with the boss black hen and one of the male ducks.
At the same time (and I don’t want to be too indelicate about this) the roosters and hens were clearly extremely pleased to see each other. Boss black hen likes to jump the fence everyday and parade about in the garden. She doesn’t go far, just loves to assert her independence. Well she soon jumped right back in again when she saw that rooster!!
We recently took the winter screens from the screen room ready to paint the frames and put the summer screens back into place, thus leaving the windows open for a while. Straight away a pair of dark-eyed juncos moved in to begin the process of building a nest in there. Fred was out at work so there was nothing I could do except try to discourage them, but they seemed unperturbed by my presence and were happily coming and going all day, perching on the bicycle handlebars, the table and the french door window frames peering in at me! I hated the idea that their work would be wasted as we had to replace the screens and then they wouldn’t be able to access their nest. Fred was very assertive when he came home, replacing the screens immediately and blocking the juncos’ access to their nesting site. I would have been dithering about trying to justify not putting the screens back at all, but that would have prevented us from using that outside room at all this summer without the screens (because of the mosquitoes). I was glad he made the decision but it was awful seeing those cute little things trying to get back in, but all isn’t lost, as I saw them building a nest in the garage roof this morning.
Wandering Bantam
Posted by RomanyRest on May 11 2008 | Comment now »
I’ve been busy alternating between planting and painting.
This time of year can be tricky for planting, since we can still get frosts way into June. The general rule of thumb seems to be not to plant out anything tender until 10th June but that things can be started indoors or hardier things can go outside once the soil is workable.
Polytunnel
I started the polytunnel a few weeks ago, once the ground had unfrozen in there and it’s now fairly safe from freezing. The first crop of peas, spinach and chives is growing nicely in there and I’ve planted melons, mangetout peas and marigolds directly into the ground. We also have lots of seed trays going with celery, leeks, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, celeriac & pumpkins.
Vegetable Patch
In the last two weeks I’ve planted things outdoors that I hope can withstand the odd frosty night: Peas, kale, yukon gold potatoes, russet potatoes, red & yellow onions (500 sets so far!!), summer savory, winter savory, shallots, bunching onions, carrots and broad beans. We also risked the bean roots from last year. This is an experiment I’ve been wanting to try for years, i.e. to dig up the pole bean roots, store them in sand over winter and re-plant them in the spring (I’ll report back on whether they grow again). I’ve started another rhubarb patch here (not that we really need more rhubarb!) interplanted with walking stick kale (for sheep fodder and just for fun).
Mandala Garden
2 & 5 year-old asparagus crowns, parsley, parcel (cross between parsley and celery), carrot seeds (red, purple and white!), chives, garlic chives, japenese bunching onions, welsh bunching onions, first lot of outdoor leeks, lavender, violas, asiatic lilies, bee balm, sweet williams, hollyhocks, foxgloves, catnip, lemon-scented catnip, echinacea, yarrow, st. John’s wort, spiderwort, penstemons, gladioli, lovage, marigolds, alyssum, cosmos, maximillia, blackberries and climbing red spinach (with reindeer supports!).
Forest Garden
The garlic has popped up from the soil, interplanted with the strawberries and raspberries, as have the daffodils and bluebells which I planted around the fruit trees. The idea of that is the soil is rather too rich in nitrogen in the spring for the good of the trees so the bulbs remove some of the nitrogen. As the bulbs come into bloom (hopefully to co-incide with the fruit blossoms) they also attract pollinators to the fruit trees. Later, when the trees need a little more nitrogen, this is supplied by the lupins (nitrogen-fixers) planted at the base of each tree. The trees are then protected (from borers and such) by a clump of chives planted at the base of each. Well, that’s the theory anyway!!
We’ve added a different type of raspberry cane, one which bears fruit later than the usual raspberry, has a larger fruit which is dark purple in colour (sounds more like a loganberry, but we’ll see when they fruit).
Yesterday I had a very lucky find and managed to get a hold of two Jostaberries. These are a cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries and provide wonderful berries which we used to have in our garden back in Wales.
Also planted in the forest garden this week: garden sorrel, true french sorrel, feverfew, welch red bunching onions, one highbush blueberry (I don’t think one on it’s own will do well though) and another gooseberry.
For colour and beauty we’ve planted a very hardy and (claimed to be) vigorous rose called ‘Polar Star’ which is hardy to zone 3 and should thrive here.
Perennials
The following were planted last year (throughout the garden) and seem to have survived the winter and started growing again:
32 Rhubarb plants, 100 currant bushes (with another 100 or so cuttings looking like they’ve taken), approximately 250 strawberry plants (which came from the initial 75 planted last spring), 50+ raspberry canes, highbush cranberries, service berries, pear & apple & plum & cherry & chokecherry trees (about 2 of each), gooseberry bushes, wild roses, silver maple, red maple, red osier dogwood, elder, hawthorn, grape, wild grapes, spearmint, peppermint, lemon balm, bee balm, chives & pineapple mint.
Home produce so far
Coriander, parsley, baby spinach, chives & Mizuna (not a lot, but not bad for May!)
In between planting I’ve been painting the verandah, the new front steps that Fred made and the verandah deck.
Fred has been working furiously to complete the solar pool heating installation, replace the screens in the verandah and rear screen room and prepare the shed in readiness for the sheep.
(Click on the first picture to see Fred at work!)
Last Wednesday morning we noticed that one of the bantams had disappeared (counting them is tricky as they keep on moving!). We searched around and didn’t notice any feathers (which probably ruled out a fox or coyote) so everyone came to the conclusion that it had been snatched and carried away, possibly by an eagle. It’s sad, but it happens. Even owls have been seen to snatch fowl and carry them off. Anyway, this morning Fred told me, “here’s one for the blog, guess who was waiting for me this morning when I went to open the hen house?”. So our little friend had decided to come home after a five day absence!