Western Isles Gardening
February and we have a week of sunshine!
January was a total wash out in the Western Isles, with rain most days, leaving the garden more like a swamp. It was so dark and grey that I didn't feel like sowing any seeds, but now the sun is out I am ready to get going.
 My greenhouse has a new roof and is washed and ready for action and the temperature in there today was 52°F! It is just nice to be in there with the sun pouring in through the windows and out of the biting wind. I did do a bit of potting up of plants that have grown out of theirs. It is so satisfying to see them all spruced up and ready for a spurt of new growth.
 Already my windowsill is full of little seed trays, so far I have sown, Aubergine, sweet peas, cosmos, lobelia, thyme, artichoke, and busy lizzie, as soon as they have germinated they will go into the greenhouse, with the protection of glass and fleece if it is likely to be frosty.
Other seeds to be sown this month are, peas, lettuce, cabbage, carnations, aquilegia and alyssum. That lot should fill the greenhouse nicely!
One of my on going projects is to pave my side garden, a good thing to be getting on with while its too wet or frozen to do much in the garden.
If you are still planning your vegetable garden it is a good idea to remember to rotate your crops, so as not to rob the soil of its nutrients.
So, if you grew peas last year put in cabbages this year.
Last years potato patch...this years peas
Last years cabbages....this years carrots.
If you have poor drainage in some areas here are some plants that will tolerate moisture and help drain it at the same time.
Oxe eye daisy, primroses, bergamots, comfrey, ramsons, angelica, elecampagne, horehound, anise hyssop, marigold, mint, parsley, tansy, woodruff, wormwood, potatoes, celery, celeriac, peas, petunias, forget me nots, godetia, lobelia, lavetera, impatiens, foxgloves.
Happy gardening to you all.
Ela
Callanish,
Local horticultural groups or gardener's clubs can add details of meetings etc to the garden page - email webmaster.
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Peaches, grapes, tomatoes and other salad crops are
grown on The Poly Croft on the Isle of Lewis
Visit the web site for growing tips and location details of the most North Westerly vineyard in the UK... |
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The wildflowers in your
Western Isles garden
can indicate what plants
like your soil, will grow well
Western
Isles Wild Flowers
If you have any
garden tips or
experience you would
like to share
Email the Webmaster
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