As we ease into mid-May our gardens are well and truly bursting with spring energy, full of colour and life.
For me, the weather’s been a bit grey, cool and gloomy, which the young plants I’ve been growing from seed haven’t really appreciated.
They are desperately seeking a bit of sun and warmth to really get them growing.
Waiting to plant them out
It’s not enough to dampen my spirits though with my enthusiasm levels still at their maximum.
And how could they not?
My wee glasshouse is packed full at the moment.
This year’s tomato and cucumbers are planted up in their grow-bags, module trays of half-hardy annuals growing on waiting for me to find the time to plant them out.
I’ve also got crammed in my summer display hanging baskets and containers, which I started off weeks earlier to get them a head start.
I’m still waiting for the warmer weather before it’s safe to put them out.
I don’t know why as really it can be a faff.
But I find amusement at this time of year at the antics we have to go through in the glasshouse.
Plants jostling for position
Constantly moving plants around inside to create more space to grow as many plants as I can in there.
Then the ones that are getting bigger are being taken in and out of this protective growing space each day so to acclimatise them slowly to the tough outdoors.
I’m doing the glasshouse hokey-cokey as I like to call it!
Going through this annual ritual is a key process in hardening off our plants for the outdoors.
The foliage of young and tender plants are soft and wouldn’t be able to cope with a night of frost.
It’s important we bring plants out during the day before tucking them back in at night for a week, prior to planting them in their final positions for the summer.
Obsessed with weather forecasts
As gardeners we become obsessed with the evening weather forecasts, more so at this time of year, checking out if the area where we stay is going to be shaded green for mild temperatures or a blue colour telling us it’s going to get cold.
I’ve set up a new weather station for my garden to keep a record of temperatures.
The air thermometer gets set approximately 1.5m/4ft from ground level, so it’s worth noting if the figure on TV is saying a night time low of four degrees centigrade, then there’s a good chance it will be one or two degrees colder at ground level.
These are the nights we need to put on the covers of the cold frames that are protecting our plants or if already planted, cover them with horticulture fleece just for a bit of added safety.
The last thing we want is to lose our plants after all that hard work growing them. With our climate slowly changing it’s getting harder to predict but traditionally we used to say that from the beginning of June we should stop worrying and let the garden party begin.
I still work to that date today.
I also find that point in the year is when we can just let out a huge sigh of relief.
There’s been lots of sweat and tears over the last few months to get to this point but now we can just relax and start to enjoy it.
Garden celebration at Scone Palace
There’s no better way to do this than by having a gardening celebration and that’s just what’s happening on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd June at Scone Palace when they will be hosting their annual Garden Fair.
The one main thing that us all us gardeners want is plants, and that’s what we can get from some of our country’s top local garden nurseries and centres.
Amongst those that will be there are Macplants, highly knowledgable family growers of alpines and ferns.
But most excitingly for me as this is where one of my interests lies at the moment.
Ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials many of which we won’t find in the average garden centre.
Chelsea medal winners Binny Plants will also be there, amongst all their other quality plants they have.
I’m hoping they’ll be bringing some more of their peonies like they did last year.
Kevock Garden Plants, Elmlea Plants and The Plant Nursery are just a few others of those attending.
Talks not to miss!
This year will be a programme of talks on both days.
One I won’t be missing is that from Ally Mitchell of Ocean Plastic Pots who has started a business crafting plant pots from washed up plastic found in our waters.
More of this please as we strive to live our lives and garden more sustainably. The most exciting addition to The Fair this year is the new garden design competition.
After submitting designs for a 2.4m x 2.4m plot earlier in the year, 10 finalists have been chosen to compete.
Helping gardeners across the country make the most of there space is a skill and it’s great to see existing, student, community and amateurs will be displaying their talents.
What a great time of year this is for us gardeners.
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