A day of heavy showers and wild winds in Shropshire, as the weather makes a mockery of the fact that this part of the country is officially considered to be suffering a drought. And so cold too! There have been as many night time frosts in April as there were in March, but with much lower day time temperatures than there were at the end of that month. No wonder seeds are struggling to germinate in the garden. The ground is simply too cold for them to grow.
I've just been replacing the fibreglass tubs on my patio, which succombed to the extreme frosts of the past two winters. The half whisky barrels I've replaced them with might not look as good, but they ought to last longer.
One of the advantages of raised beds of any sort is that they bring the garden to a height that is more workable for those amongst us who find it difficult to stoop or bend over to a flat garden bed. Another advantage is that the soil in them tends to warm up more quickly, so seed sown in them germinates earlier in the season than seed sown in the garden around. Use of a light, well drained compost in the container adds to this quality, but its benefit is offset by the fact that containers, getting sun, heat and wind coming at them from all sides as they do, tend to dry out more speedily in consequence. Plants grown in them need to be watered more often as a result and, because more frequent watering leads to nutrients being leached from the soil with more frequency, more feeding too.
In the garden look out for the locket-like pink and white flowers arching above deeply incised foliage of Dicentra spectabilis "Bleeding Heart" or "Dutchman's Breeches" which may be brightening up a container near you from May to July, if the weather ever warms up enough to allow it.
I've just been replacing the fibreglass tubs on my patio, which succombed to the extreme frosts of the past two winters. The half whisky barrels I've replaced them with might not look as good, but they ought to last longer.
One of the advantages of raised beds of any sort is that they bring the garden to a height that is more workable for those amongst us who find it difficult to stoop or bend over to a flat garden bed. Another advantage is that the soil in them tends to warm up more quickly, so seed sown in them germinates earlier in the season than seed sown in the garden around. Use of a light, well drained compost in the container adds to this quality, but its benefit is offset by the fact that containers, getting sun, heat and wind coming at them from all sides as they do, tend to dry out more speedily in consequence. Plants grown in them need to be watered more often as a result and, because more frequent watering leads to nutrients being leached from the soil with more frequency, more feeding too.
In the garden look out for the locket-like pink and white flowers arching above deeply incised foliage of Dicentra spectabilis "Bleeding Heart" or "Dutchman's Breeches" which may be brightening up a container near you from May to July, if the weather ever warms up enough to allow it.
