Spring update - Gardening and Enjoying Nature.

Visiting some new calves earlier today after a farm visit with my family

As well as being a serious dedicated musician and songwriter, I do love many other things. Horticulture, gardening and permiculture are my way of unwinding and being at one with nature. Giving my ears a chance to reset from all of the music I write, play and record,is also of great importance and I recommend my fellow Steemian music friends do similar.

Hello my fellow horticulturalist friends and welcome to spring! We've seen some record breaking temperatures here in England this week with the Mercury topping 28c in some places. We had a sultry 25c here in Derbyshire which is in the East Midlands of the country. We're landlocked here and are 2 hours from the nearest coast.
Anyway, back to the garden where it has sprung to life this past few weeks!

I love to grow fruit and veg, but also enjoy propagating plants and cuttings to enjoy their flowers and foliage.

A tulip bud bursting to open and display its true beauty.

Pansies are one of the easiest and most hardy of our annual flower varieties. I prefer to call them perennials though, as they self seed year after year and morph into a kaleidoscope of wonderful colours after our bee friends have cross pollinated them.

I've really got into bulbs over the past few years and find them to be really Hardy and over winter really well. I put plenty of leaves and crass clippings over them in their pots at the end of aurum. This a table a duvet and keeps them nice and warm for an early spring bolt!

*Planting Asiatic lilies (Lilium asiatica) in the landscape provides the earliest lily bloom. Asiatic lily care is simple once you’ve learned how to grow Asiatic lilies. The secret to beautiful, long-lasting blooms is learning the right way to plant Asiatic lilies. You’ll be rewarded with colorful and bountiful blooms on this prized perennial.

How to Grow Asiatic Lilies
Scout for a location and prepare the soil ahead of time when planting Asiatic lilies. Information about the Asiatic lily advises planting in a sunny to partly sunny location. At least six hours of sunlight is necessary for the Asiatic lily plant. Soil should be well-draining, which may require the addition of organic material worked in several inches deep. If you already have rich, organic soil in the area where you’ll be planting Asiatic lilies, make sure it is loose and well-draining to 6 to 8 inches deep. Bulbs of this lily should never sit in soggy soil. Work up sandy or clay soil by adding organic, well-composted materials. Peat moss, sand or straw mixed into the beds before planting Asiatic lilies improves drainage. Soil should drain well but hold moisture to nourish the growing lilies. Information about the Asiatic lily says they prefer soil to be slightly acidic as well. Planting Asiatic Lilies Plant these bulbs in fall, a few weeks before the winter brings freezing temperatures. This allows a good root system to develop. Bulbs of the Asiatic lily must have the winter chill to produce big blooms. Plant the bulbs three times as deep as the height of the bulb, with the flat end down, then mulch lightly to retain moisture. In spring, plant short annuals around the lily bulbs to shade them. Place in a location away from browsing deer; Asiatic bulbs are edible and deer will do just that if given a chance. Asiatic Lily Plant Care Fertilize your plantings for optimum bloom. If you have followed the steps above, the organic matter in the soil gives your plants a good start. You can top dress with slow release fertilizer as well, or feed in early spring with fish emulsion, worm castings, compost tea or a nitrogen plant food. When buds appear on the Asiatic lily, feed with a high phosphorus food, or bone meal, to make blooms bigger and last longer. Fertilize in limited amounts, as too much fertilizer, even the organic types, can create lush green foliage and limit blooms. Proper care of your Asiatic lily bulbs goes a long way in creating a beautiful display.*

Our lilies in full Bloom last year!
We won't have to wait too much longer to see their beautiful display! They're the envy on my neighbours.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Planting Asiatic Lilies: Information About The Asiatic Lily Source

Another new favourite of mine is the Japanese Maple or Acer Palau - This sapling was grown from seeds that I collected a few years ago.

With so many different sizes, colors and leaf shapes, it’s hard to describe a typical Japanese maple, but without exception, these attractive trees with their refined growth habit are an asset to the home landscape. Japanese maples are noted for their lacy, finely-cut leaves, brilliant fall color, and delicate structure. Continue reading to learn more about how to grow a Japanese maple tree.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Japanese Maple Care – Learn How To Grow A Japanese Maple Tree Source

Some of the most important nature you can have in your gardens are - Bees 🐝 ladybirds 🐞
Spiders 🕷️Birds 🐦 and earthworms.
I make upcycled garden products that encourage these VIP's to visit and stay in our garden.

This bug hotel was made from fallen tree branches and bits of old scrap wood from a skip (dumpster)

Birds are such beautiful and serene creatures. Myself, Mrs C and our nippers love to watch them go about their business and use these houses that I made last year.
We have blue tits, house sparrows and swifts that visit constantly throughout the year.

No garden is complete with some bird feeders.

My Tomato and strawberry plants are doing really well after our cold snap last month, and other veggie plants have successfully germinated too which was a relief. We did lose quite a few seedlings though.

I grow our strawberries in these handy grow bags with prevents pests from devouring their sweet flesh!

I'll leave it there for this week as there are so many jobs to do this time of year. Lots of prepping for seedling transplantation, compost and worm separation.