OMG it's cold!

I'm officially fed up with winter now....it's been frozen for nearly two and a half months and even the Snowdrops are looking dismayed. I don't think I can remember a winter quite as prolonged and without respite as this. Sadly there have definitely been some casualties along the way, the Anemones planted optimistically in October have almost all rotted off and still the Sweet Peas are looking dreadful. You've got to keep you're chin up though as it goes with the territory of working alongside nature. I'm sure there will be some pleasant surprises along the way as well doom and gloom.

Yay, hooray the new website for The Walled Garden www.thewalledgardenatmells.co.uk went live this week, we had lots of fun integrating Paypal as a safe and efficient mode for customers to pay for their bouquets. Hopefully it proves to be smooth and easy to use. I almost feel like I have birthed a new child.

At the moment I'm clearing and tidying all the beds in the garden and planning a 100ft rose garden with the view to becoming self sufficient in roses. I have to admit to having rather a wary relationship with roses, generally feeling that they are inhabited with a malevolent spirit intent on causing pain and injury to everyone and to me in particular. In precisely the same way that if there is a stinging nettle within 6ft of my location I am guaranteed to get stung if I find myself anywhere near a rose I end up lacerated and with tears in my eyes. However due to their unutterable beauty and the glamour and romance that they lend to any arrangement and also to their longevity of season I am willing to work on our relationship problems.

Looking at the long range forecast it seems as if these tundric conditions are set to remain until the end of February which means that March will be almost terrifying with its force. There is very little point in starting to sow seed until it has warmed up by a few degrees, at which point everything will go crazy and demand attention. The wait is almost painful.

At least the greenhouse is tidy..the Cornflowers( in shades of blue, black and red) are looking great and I've taken advantage of some of the brief interludes of above zero degrees to plant them out thereby leaving some space for the new seeds as they come along.

Two weeks until opening.....OMG indeed!

Brrrrrr and Happy New Year

Well it's well and truly Winter out there now and having taken a couple of months off over November and December it felt great to get back to work today. The soil was as hard as rock with Do Not Disturb etched into the frost and the Garden was full of Blackbirds fluffed up against the cold , squabbling for birdseed. Although this weather is breathtakingly beautiful I hope we can get some digging done soon.

New Year's Resolution...to update the blog more regularly. Late summer slipped through my fingers last year and it all got left behind so this year I'm going let you know what's flowering at the beginning of each month and post some pretty pictures. I'm really looking forward to this year in the Walled Garden...all of the excitement of last year but with less of the nerves

Sweet Pea Disaster (almost) We very very nearly lost the whole crop this year due to some particularly hungry field mice. The October sown seeds were completely scoffed with one very cheeky mouse family making a nest in one of the empty pots. The devastation wasn't discovered until mid November which didn't leave much time to order new seeds..hrumphh and get them germinated and slightly grown up before the weather turned really cold. On last inspection they were still intact but looking rather vulnerable to sharp teeth and cold nights so fingers crossed they make it through.

Plans Afoot and Opening Times....We'll be open for businesss from the 1st March for online bouquets and at the Walled Garden for Plants, Flowers and Teas . Flowers can be delivered to most of the UK from Tuesday to Saturday and this year the Walled Garden will be open from Wednesday - Sunday 10am to 4pm daily. We will be launching a brand new website for the Walled Garden next month so watch this space.......