Now that all my seeds are sorted out into some sort of order, I can now start getting my garden into order too. It is a bit of a mess at the moment, after being away for ten days and then being ill when I got back home. Now that I am starting to feel better, I’m getting out into the garden again and pottering around. Today’s post is all about what I have done and seen in my garden this morning.

My broad beans are generally growing well at the minute, although I have seen a couple of ‘pests’ on there. The first is this caterpillar. I’m not sure what species of butterfly or moth this caterpillar belongs to, but it would be interesting to find out. I’ll do a little bit of research later on, but I am hoping to see what butterfly appears later on in its life cycle.

The other resident ‘pest’ is actually a few of the same species of bug. Again, I’m not sure what it is yet, but I’ll research what these are too. There is also the fact that these little bugs don’t seem to be doing much damage at all, they seem to be hanging out more than anything. They may not be a ‘pest’, just a happy part of my garden ecosystem.

At the start of last month, I did do some seed sowing, which included the following seeds:

• Cornflower ‘Classic Fantastic’
• Poppy ‘Pandora’
• Spring Onion ‘Evergreen Trident’
• Bee Food Mix
• Onion ‘Red Marksman’ and ‘Amposta Purple’
• Broccoli ‘Waltham’ and ‘Green Sprouting’
• Cauliflower ‘Mini’
• Calendula ‘Double Red’

Most of those seedlings did germinate but most faded before they could get anywhere over the last few weeks. The seedlings that did grow well and seem happy are the following:

• My brassicas-I can’t tell which is which at the moment, but I do have several that have done well so far and it looks like a couple of different types there.
• One Calendula ‘Double Red’ has survived so far. I’ll be happy to see some red flowers in my garden.

I did pot all these seedlings into a couple of pots cleared of dead plants earlier in my gardening session. They will likely need to be potted up again at some stage in the future, but this should keep them happy for a while. They were split between two pots.

My three cacti need to be potted up over winter. They have grown so well over the summer, that they will be much happier in new pots and potting mix in the coming spring. I will leave it until August, the last month of winter before I do this, as these cacti won’t grow over the next few months.

While my dahlia plant is no longer looking its best, it does have a floor bud that is now opening up. I’m happy about this, it has such pretty flowers. Once it is fully open, I’ll share a photo for some autumn cheer.

My nasturtiums are again growing really well. Over the summer, they were sat there trying not to bake in the heat we have had over the summer. Now that it’s a bit cooler, there is such a lot of new growth. In the photo below, it seems quite happy to grow through other plants.

While I have done a little bit in the garden, there is plenty of work still to do out there. I have a provisional list ready to go, but that will carry on being a list, as gardening is never finished! Here is my list for the next few days:

• As I have to grow everything in pots because I only have a patio, my patio area needs a good sweeping up. It is very messy at the minute, so this job is first on my list.
• I also need to decide what seeds I am going to sow over the next few weeks-my list is ready to be put to use in helping to decide what I sow, bit I want to try and use the out of date and open packets first, before I open any more.
• I also need to get some gardening supplies. It’s mainly some more potting mix-some for my veg and flowers, some for my cacti and some seed raising mix. I am aiming to get that this weekend so I can sow my seeds when I can around life.

That is my gardening for the day. I haven’t done a huge amount today, but I want to keep a record of what’s happening in my garden on here for myself, as much as I want to share it with others. I have also got some enthusiasm for gardening again, and want that to be used for my benefit, rather than just doing it for other people enjoy while I’m at work!

Written on 16/04/26