Worthing and District Allotments and Gardens Association

Friday, 31st July

Took a little break there and went over to France for a few days to visit some old friends. These French villages have some cracking markets with a lot of local produce on display and some of the local drinks aren't bad either. While I was over there we went to see the old house and gardens of Christian Dior in Normandy where he grew up. I wasn't all that interested in the house, I must admit, so resisted the temptation to pay the €6 entrance fee and I may have also dropped off for a few minutes during a screening of a recorded interview with one of his designers (in French) but I enjoyed the gardens and the view out to sea. This standard plant in particular attracted my attention but I've no idea what it is. Can you help? There's a close-up shot too. If it grows in Normandy it might grow here.

                               
                    standard shrub                                     close-up                                                  formal pond

Sunday, 26th July

Beautiful day for going to the allotment yesterday, so that's what I did. I hadn't been down for a few days and the weeds had certainly taken advantage of my absence and a bit of rain. They were everywhere, bindweed, couch, thistles, dock, groundsell, all the old favourites. I spent the first half hour just hoeing, not a job I love but this time I only decapitated 2 onions. The runner beans were a bit of a disappointment too as they seem reluctant to climb the poles and I had to tie in quite a few, not easy with gloves on although you'll be glad to know my fingers are on the mend. Other good news: I picked another ice cream container of raspberries when I thought they'd finished; the summer cabbages are ready so I picked a couple; there was also a handful of runner beans which was a real bonus as they're only about 2 foot high. Things certainly happen when you take a few days off and I expect one or two of you will be playing catch-up over the next few weeks after a holiday break. For those of you not going away, remember: Pub Night this Tuesday.

Friday, 24th July

I picked our first courgette today. I know you might think I'm a bit behind but that's me, I'm afraid, somewhat behind everybody else. Except yesterday evening, when I led a group of a dozen other souls on a walk up and down Ferring Rife then over towards East Preston and back along the seashore to the Bluebird cafe. What a lovely way to spend an hour or so on a lovely summer's evening.

Not such a lovely job has been the removal of some lily beetle grubs from my lilies. I thought I'd caught all the bright red beetles before they had time to lay their eggs. Evidently not. The grubs are pretty (wrong word!) easy to spot as they are always at the join of leaf and stem or under a leaf   and they cover themselves in black poo. Lovely!

Another tedious job I've been keeping up with as best I can is the removal of sideshoots on my cordon trained tomatoes. The picture shows where they appear on the plant. If you don't remove them the plant grows all over the place instead of straight up. I have got some tomatoes at last but only green ones so far. Behind again!

Finally a plea for help. Some years ago I collected some seed heads from plants at Ventnor Botanical Gardens and sowed them when I got home. They've thrived but can I remember what they are? Of course not. Here's a picture; can you help?

                         Mystery plant, leaves at base, spikes 2' to 3' tall

Monday, 20th July

I succumbed at last and sprayed my runner beans - but only with soapy water, no chemicals. The organic bunch tell me it works because it coats the insects with something that stops them doing something. Well, it might have been a bit more technical than that but it'll do for me. Other than that gardening activity has been rather restricted as you can imagine but I'm hoping the stitches come out tomorrow. Actually they're not stitches, they're little white strips across the cuts holding the fingers together so it shouldn't be too painful, thank goodness. Not that I'm squeamish or anything - just a low pain threshold. So I've been filling in my time with things like geting my hair cut, filing, paying bills and going out for Sunday lunch. Actually that last one wasn't too bad. Hopefully I shall be back on the plot by Wednesday, wearing gloves again, I expect, and then Thursday it's the dentist's. Whoopee!

Friday, 17th July

Last night represented a bit of a departure from the norm for me. I had been invited out to a skittles evening in Slindon. I hadn't played skittles for years and I was rubbish then so it was something of a surprise when I won a bottle of wine for Best Bowler of the evening. Our team also won the prize for best team name so a pretty good evening all round. But that's not all - there was a barbecue as well. Good job there was cover because the heavens opened, it thundered and lightninged and was generally pretty wet. Still this didn't spoil anyone's evening especially mine, even though I did feel a bit of a twit wearing a latex glove from time to time. (more later)

This morning it was back to the plot although there weren't many people around, only one apart from me. It was a bit draughty and last night's rain probably put most of them off. I was there to pick the last of the raspberries and tie up a few errant canes and slow-learner runner beans who needed some encouragement to go up the poles. It was very difficult tying knots with gloves on, very slow. So what kind of idiot bowls, eats barbecued food, picks raspberries and tries to tie knots in string whiile wearing a glove on his right hand? I'll tell you: the same kind of idiot who's doing his best to keep clean the dressing on his right hand that the nurse put on after three of his fingers had a bit of an argument with a guillotine that did not want mending! Slows your typing down too!

Sunday, 12th July

Well, we've had a drop of rain at last but today it's back to blustery sunshine. I have been to the plot in the dry bits but just for a little maintenance work really, carrying out repairs to my raspberry supports, new wood, wire and string. It's when you want to get rid of the old stuff that you become aware that the bins have finally gone. I've left my rubbish bagged on my plot for the time being but when I get a bit more I'll bring it home and let our binmen have it. The other thing to bring home has been more raspberries - they just keep coming!
This afternoon my wife and I took advantage of the warm sunshine to visit the gardens of Palatine School and Oak Grove College. The gardens were open jointly as part of the National Garden Scheme and the same ticket got you into both gardens. We went first to Palatine School in Palatine Road which is where the younger children (up to 11) go and we were shown round be a very friendly young man (11 years old) who explained the gardens to us.

      
Entrance to the school                              The large pond                                             Recognition

A 5 - 10 minute walk took us to Oak Grove College in the Boulevard and we were again shown round by a very helpful and knowledgable young guide. Oak Grove College caters for pupils aged 11 - 19 and they have earnt themselves something of a reputation in the horticultural world. It's easy to see why.

                   
                 Our guide and O for Oak Grove                       The Quad                               Red "Big Draw" Tree

And it's not just horticulture they're good at. There's chickens, orchards, vegetables and art to be seen in the grounds.

The pupils must be very proud of their schools and I expect their schools are proud of them.

For an earlier feature on the two schools click here. (13/07/08)

Wednesday,8th July

Blackfly!!!! I went to the allotment yesterday morning and my poor old runner beans were covered in blackfly, the worst infection I think I've seen. A neighbour told me even his spinach was smothered in them - blackfly with Popeye muscles, that's the last thing we need! Is this the worst year for blackfly you can remember? It is for me. Anyway 45 minutes of finger and thumb squidging later I decided they looked a bit better but my fingers looked a right mess, a mucky blacky brown (and it took ages to scrub off when I got home). As I'd started giving them a treat I decided to carry on and hand-weeded them. I was going to water them as well but the weatherman had promised rain so I decided to pick another basket of raspberries instead. There had been a couple of black clouds go over but no rain and I had been on the plot for a couple of hours so I then decided to give the plot a good watering as the weatherman had obviously been lying. I went home and we all know what happened in the afternoon but that rain would never have materialised if I hadn't just watered my allotment.

Today I've kept away from the allotment and pottered in the garden, potting up some sunflowers amongst other things this morning. I daren't put them in the ground because the slugs and snails would gobble them up in no time; they always do. Then this afternoon I went for a walk - too much work and no play..............

Monday, 6th July

Bit of a change in the weather today. First it was drizzly dull, then dry dull, then sunny (when I put out the washing), then dull again but all the time windy, very gusty. And to think, only yesterday afternoon I was enjoying a cream tea in the sunshine with a few friends in the vicarage garden. Bit of a gardener our reverend and a member of our Association and attender of Association dinners but so far I have been unable to persuade her to take part in the show. Apparently weekends (the show is always on a Saturday) are something of a busy period for vicars and the like. Still the scones and cream were very nice and the photos here show her garden is quite nice too.
Sadly my garden is not looking brilliant; sadly because I had entered it in the Association's Best Front Garden competition. The lack of rain has really told and the lawn, which is the main feature of my front garden, is looking a yellowy brown rather than the verdant backdrop to my planting that it is meant to be. Ah, well, you can't win 'em all.
I have been doing some more planting (leeks, courgettes, nicotiana, etc.) in my back garden along with the daily watering (and I bet I'm watering again tomorrow just like today despite the promise of rain) but tomorrow - or very soon - I must get on with blackfly squidging again. When we were picking raspberries the other day I couldn't help noticing that the little beasties have made a comeback. War is declared.

Friday, 3rd July

Bit of a hectic week by my standards, starting with the flower show on Saturday, walks on Sunday and Wednesday, out for a meal in Chichester Monday evening - oh, bit of a bonus: we were walking past Chichester cathedral when we heard this terrible racket, sounded like some poor creature enduring an agonising death, but when we looked up there was a pair of peregrine falcons, the first time I'd seen them apart from on the local telly - Pub Night Tuesday (quite a large jolly gathering again), a meeting Tuesday evening ......anyway you get the picture. I was grateful for a quiet night in last night. And then it rained. I think it was more rumble than rain because the allotment wasn't very wet when I went up there this morning. I was sowing more carrots as those purple things were a dead loss. I've also put out all my squash and courgette plants now and I've grubbed out the underperforming strawberries in my own garden and replaced them with winter cabbage. Apart from that it's been more of the same - weeding and watering and I'm looking after a neighbour's garden while they're on holiday. Glutton for punishment.