My garden’s going through a bit of an identity crisis, slowly morphing from a vegetable allotment into a fruit farm. Not only is the herb bed being sacrificed to accommodate a few freebie raspberry canes kindly donated by the other half’s father but one of the tall veg beds has also undergone gender re-assignment to become home to 4 blackberry plants. Imagine picking these delicious black beauties from the comfort of your own back garden rather than scrabbling about in hedgerows where every sod and his dog has probably pee’d on anything not higher than your average toddler.
To prevent the other half employing a couple of dodgy looking mafia types to guard his precious F1models, I’ve raided all my Christmas £1 garden centre vouchers to splash out on 2 different varieties – Oregon Thorn-less and Loch Maree. The look on the Haskins cashier’s face when I presented him with a wad of about £50 vouchers would have curdled custard. What a hoot!
Judging by the way blackberries grow out in the wild, I’d expect them to bed in quickly and do what they do best, ramble all over the chicken wire and bamboo tepee that I’ve provided for support. To protect from frost, cats and aid moisture retention, I’ve topped the soil with some small bark chippings. Now as always, it’s time to sit back with a cup of tea and wait till summer.
Here’s a picture of my lovelies enjoying the winter sunshine in their new home.
No comments:
Post a Comment