We have been growing squash for many years and love cooking with them, especially the butternut type which have a lovely flavour.
The problems come when they trail all over the ground, some reaching great distances. The fruit first has to be found, the large leaves do a great job of hiding the fruit.
The early green colour of most fruits and indeed the mature colour of many varieties is a great disguise amongst the green leaves.
Many varieties will mature to a range of orange and red, indeed some blue too.
It is important to raise the fruits on a brick or some straw to keep them from being damaged, causing rot.
This however provides a lovely plate for the slugs to both hide under and to come onto for a nice squash dinner.
For several year we have been experimenting how to train the squash up.
No real solution until this year, success at last!
In May, with the help of friends, we constructed a frame using old fruit cage poles and attached jute netting across it.
The plants needed at bit of encouragement to climb up. tying in for a bit. But then, up they went. The fruits hang down through the net, over the slope, keeping them clear of slugs and the sun can shine on them helping the fruits to mature.
We are asked to garden for wildlife with bug hotels, plants for pollinators.
Keep the grass longer and encourage all area to welcome the wildlife.
We do all that and are blessed with lots of birds, butterflies, insects and other pollinators a plenty.
We have a high wall around the garden so thankfully we do not suffer from attacks by badgers, rabbits or deer.
We do have to protect some groups such as a fruit cage for the soft fruit. Covered raised beds for strawberries. Insect mesh on brassicas to keep out the cabbage white butterfly and pigeons.
But Sunflowers?!
We had about 8 lovely sunflowers this year, growing well and looking great.
Then overnight they were attacked by squirrels. They removed and took the flower heads of all but one, I expect that will go tonight!
I always leave the seed heads over winter for the wildlife, but these were still in full flower.
The frustrations of gardening!
Towards the end of July each year, one of my favourite fruits begin to ripen in the walled garden.
When we bought the house and garden there was an enormous Brown Turkey fig against the south facing wall. Each year we have had lots and lots of lovely juicy figs.
I took a cutting from the fig which had rooted itself in the ground and I now have another fig on an east facing wall in the fruit cage.
These plant do need controlling a bit with pruning in June and July to prevent the new growth from getting too long.
Last year the one on the south wall had grown so much that it was blocking the way into the greenhouses, so a rather drastic prune was required over winter.
Last week I picked the first ripe fruit from the smaller tree in the fruit cage, it weighed a whopping 77grammes, then picked 3 more equally large this week.
Plenty more to come over the next 5 or6 weeks
The garden is just over an acre, with many different areas including the vegetables and flowers, shrubs and trees. I have also put various art works in the garden, some I made myself, stone carved owl, willow hare various constructions made from old clay plant pots. There are also others artists work from the local potter, a galvanised leaping hare, a huge metal cow parsley and the latest, a wonderful cuddle seat made by Nik Burns.
Last week a new experience. We were videoed in our garden, I was talking about 5 of my favourite areas in the garden, I could have included at least double that!.
The video was to promote the wonderful gardening trousers from Genus. I bought my first pair six or more years ago and have worn them almost everyday since. I now have several pairs, different colours and summer as well as winter ones. Soon to be on you tube and instagram!! a slightly scary prospect.
This weekend is our open garden with the NGS another chance to show others our garden.
Each year we grow garlic, planting the tiny cloves in October.
They do like moisture but not drowning or they will rot. This year we grew Provence Wight garlic and elephant garlic. This is not a true garlic but from the leek family, but looks like giant garlic bulbs. A much milder taste than normal garlic.
The garlic should be ready to harvest when the leaves turn yellow, this is in June, much earlier than the shallots and onions which were also planted in October.
With the very wet winter and alternate days of very hot then much colder weather this Spring/ early summer , we wondered what they would be like.
It was a good harvest, decent sized bulbs and the elephant garlic are the biggest we have ever grown.
We probably should have harvested a couple of weeks earlier as many of the cloves are separating but they will still taste as good.
A funny year so far in the garden, Some plants were very late coming in to flower and then raced through the month. Lots of blossom on the fruit trees were successfully pollinated and are now developing fruitlets, but others did not get pollinated so no fruit this year on the apricot and some cherries. The weather must have been too wet on those days so the pollinators stayed away.
Stand out flowers this months were the Bearded Iris. They obviously enjoyed the wet winter and have been flowering throughout the month. A wonderful display but now time to cut down the flower stalks.
It is several years since I last divided the plants, time to do so again .They tend to grow round in a circle and the middle bit dies out. In a few weeks I will dig some up, transplant some around the garden and others can go on my charity plant stall.
I love this time of year for all the colour in the garden and countryside. The colours are actually always in the leaves but can not be seen...
