growing Archives ⋆ Rachel Bustin

Rachel January 21, 2016

7 Hints and Tips on Preparing your Winter Garden for Spring

Well it’s Thursday again so time for another 7 Hints and Tips post. This week I want to help out with tips on preparing your gardens for Spring. Being nearly 40 weeks pregnant at this time of year I am really behind with my Winter garden prep, so it’s going to have to wait this year. The upside is that I have all Summer off on maternity leave so I am sure I will have some spare time to get out and about in the garden.

So It’s that time of year, where we are all waiting for Spring to arrive. Now is the time to get outside in the garden on a dry day and start working on the garden preparing for Spring. If you get some work in now, you won’t be caught out if we get an early Spring. Here are my 7 Hints and Tips on preparing your Winter garden for Spring.

Tidy – Now is the time to have a bit of a tidy up. Clear up dead leaves and debris from around the garden, flower beds, boarders and patio areas. Remove any dead flowers that have been missed, prune bushes and shrubs before the first Spring growth.

Compost Area – Create a compost are where you can put all your garden waste. This could be one you have made yourself with a few pieces of wood, or a compost bin bought from your local garden centre. This is great for putting all your vegetable peelings and grass clippings.

Fix Fences and Trellis – Get the fixing jobs out the way so you have more time for planting in the Spring and Summer.

Garden Pests – Now is the time to remove and control pests around the garden before they get out of hand in the Spring. Remove hibernating slugs, snails and aphids.

Install Water Butts – I have 2 water butts in my garden and I couldn’t do without them. Not only does it save on the water bill during Spring/Summer but the rainwater is much preferred by some ericaceous plants such as Rhododendrons and Blueberry bushes.

Greenhouse – If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse (I unfortunately do not due to my garden being a hill so no flat areas for one!) I would suggest giving it a clean out before you start to plant your trays of seeds. This is so that any pests that are hibernating inside are removed.

Gardening Tools – Clean and sharpen your gardening tools, to not only prevent the spread of diseases but also to preserve their lifespan.

Hopefully these hints and tips will help you get a head start on your garden for Spring. Now I have sat down and written about these tips I have just realised I have a lot of work to do in my own garden!

Do you have any of your own gardening tips on preparing for Spring?

Rachel August 17, 2015

Summer Time in the Garden

Over the past few weeks we can all agree that the weather has been not quite ‘Summer’ weather. We have had a few great days of sunshine here and there, but when it has rained, well it has almost been like the heavens opened and flooded us all.

This mixture of warm and wet weather conditions has been perfect for gardens. As I walk around my parents garden and also my own I can see how all the plants look brighter, full of life – nature at it’s very best.

This photo of the perfect bee accompanied by the lovely ladybird, is one of the few shots captured around the garden. I feel there is something very special about this picture.

All of the following pictures are taken with just a camera phone. Some of which can be very good these days for capturing those precious moments.

This gorgeous pink rose is one of my favourite colours. The petals are very pretty and perfectly formed.

One the slope part of my back garden, this type of reed plant has started to grow all by itself. It fits in perfectly with my other shrubs so I have left it where it is and weeded around it. The type of soil in my garden is clay so its always wet most of the time, especially with our damp climate in Cornwall. I’m assuming that these conditions are perfect for this type of reed, hence it growing very fast!

This gorgeous yellow flower completely brightens up the garden – reminds me of the sun.

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of the gardens, you can keep up to date with future posts by following me on Facebook Twitter and bloglovin

Rachel xx

Rachel August 16, 2015

#MySundayPhoto 16/08/2015

Rachel xx

Rachel June 17, 2015

Summer Time in my Garden – Wordless Wednesday

Rachel xx

Rachel March 13, 2015

7 Hints and Tips on Caring for Cacti

I love cacti. They are such an easy houseplant to look after. It doesn’t matter if you forget about them, for a week or two. They will still be there when you do remember you have them.

Here are my 7 simple Hints and Tips on caring for cacti.

These are my cacti and succulents that live in the kitchen. I have grown most of them from other plants over the past few years. I have accidently knocked some of the sprouting parts off at one time or another, and with those parts I have stuck them into a bit of cacti soil from the garden centre and off they grow! They have grown into the most weird unusual shapes.

Here are 7 hints and tips on how to care for your cacti:

If they live inside like mine water them a little once week so they don’t dry out.
Cacti prefer well drained soil with a mix of grit, phosphorous and nitrogen.
Repot them once year if they are getting too big for their pots and to replace the soil.
When repotting protect your hands!
Use small sponge blocks to grip the cacti when removing from the pot.
Place them in the sun, for 4-6 hours a day (mine live on the windowsill).
You can then watch them grow and they might even flower occasionally for you!

I love cacti as they are perfect indoor plants for busy people. There are many different, shapes, sizes and types out there for you to collect, It can get very addictive!. Every year when we go on holiday to see family up in Derbyshire I mostly always end up finding a different type of cactus in one of the gorgeous garden centres up there to bring back home with me. I am running out of windowsill space!

Do you have any Cacti in your house?

If not do you have any other houseplants?

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