In the Kitchen Garden, recent weather has been mixed with rainfall near average. There were quite a few frosts, none severe, -5.3°C being the lowest grass temperature.
The fruit tunnels. Not much to do till the spring except clean the polythene. Most of my pruning is in summer to restrict growth as space is limited. All fallen leaves were collected to avoid disease.
Polytunnels. Most crops are now past though there are still some broccoli, turnips and chard.
The outdoor veg. I only grew a few sprouts and leeks this year and they are ok though there is some internal browning in the sprouts. Mice ruined lots of beetroot so I lifted those that were still good.
For more plant details see - This month in the garden at Ardtornish
Wildlife. I saw little grebe and goldeneye on the loch but little else. I have seen eagles on a few occasions, albeit briefly.
Bird feeders. The cold wet weather and very short days have seen the consumption of peanuts increase greatly this month. Robins, shy a month ago, now fly to me when I open the door. Blackbirds, still shy, call from cover, waiting for me to go so they can feed. I have seen sparrowhawks flash by on several occasions but do not know how many feeding birds they take. A male ended up in my leanto glasshouse by the front door so I took a few photos before he flew off. Sparrowhawks ambush their prey at great speed and I have had close encounters on several occasions as I walked round the corner to the house. Fortunately, their reactions are much quicker than mine.
Here are some of my recent photos. Fuji S100fs
Left to right and top to bottom:-
"The Ardtornish Garden" by Faith Raven includes a short history of the Garden, with photographs of the people who have owned it and of the people who have worked in it and of the plants they grew. It describes the changing colours of the seasons in the Garden and how the work of the gardener has to fit in with the difficulties of the climate. Take a tour of the Garden using the detailed maps and see some of the best view points and the most interesting plantings.
Priced £10 including p&p "The Ardtornish Garden"
1st February, 2012.