A couple of days ago it was time to get those leeks into the ground. I used the "hand plough" to make furrows, put a plank down on the soft soil so that it wouldn't compact to badly. Dibber at the ready. I punched a hole into the bottom of the trench and the bride dropped in the leek in. To the side, I have been watching my Limnanthes seedlings become larger and larger. Now then, across the middle path, in the flower garden, the Himalayan Poppy (Meconopsis) is showing its colour. What a beauty it is. At its feet I have Corydalis and Heuchera and Arisaema. It looks nice ion the late afternoon sunlight. It has been moist here the past few days, tomorrow it is supposed to be warmer and I need to do more plot cleaning. I MUST get into the bees too.
It never ceases to amaze me how much you grow on your allotment and how efficient you are at the jobs required. I don't remember if you have ever said, but how long have you been gardening at this scale? The blooms are gorgeous, the blue of the Poppy is stunning.
My Himalayan poppies are quite a bit behind yours. Plenty of new green leaves but no sign of flowers yet. I think all this wet weather is holding things back here. Good to know you've got your leeks all planted up and that everything else seems to be doing so well on your plot.
Hey there TONI--I have been gardening at the gardening allotment club for going on 17 years or so. I used to have another whole garden, but when I started doing bird conservation and bees I found that I did not have the time for a second garden, so I gave that one up two years ago. Now it is just the one combined flower and veg garden of 235 m². Glad that you liked those blooms. Thanks so much, DONNA. Hi EILEEN--thanks for your comments. It seems odd that I should be ahead of you over there across the channel. We've had some pretty bad weather here too of late. Yes, I was glad to get those leeks in before the rains began. Thank you CHERYL.
Hi there, Cayuga--Yes, that is true to a degree in that if you buy such a plant and plant it they do not always "take" as do most other plants. There is, in my experience a modicum of luck involved. What indeed IS difficult is raising your own plant from seed. The Meconopsis is very difficult to do. I have tried several times and only once did I get the seeds to germinate properly...and then my cat ate them! :twisted: Gurrrrrr. It involves placing in the coolerater for a number of weeks, then taking them out for a time and back into the coolerater and then back out and in a covered germination tray..... Thank you so much, NETTY. I saw the process more as a challenge than actually something that I wanted to do to get 20 or 30 new plants...but when that awful cat of mine devoured them---I threw in the towel. I had gotten them to germinate and that was enough. I shall not do it again even when the cats have passed. The bottom line is that I WILL buy new plants and try to get the new plants to take and bloom...but that fussy busines with germination...no.
