Acer palmatum 'Katsura' throughout the seasons in Yorkshire

The year of 2023 and has been pretty volatile worldwide and is almost over but Acer palmatum Katsura just keeps on giving no matter what the year. I took this photograph of it, glorious and leafless in the sunshine, this morning. We've had so much rain this last couple of weeks that even Katsura looks happy about it. Below are photographs I took of Katsura during different months but do note that they were also different years so the size will be different and I suspect the weather at that time had much influence on the foliage. 

Acer palmatum Katsura, 26 December 2023

Acer palmatum Katsura, March 2019

Acer palmatum Katsura, April 2020

Acer palmatum Katsura, mid May 2019

Acer palmatum Katsura, late May 2018

Acer palmatum Katsura, July 2018

Acer palmatum Katsura, November 2019

THE LAST OF THE SUMMER RASPBERRIES

It is blowing a gale out there, thunder in the air, dark clouds looming. Needing a bit of fresh air, and it really is fresh here on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, I decided to pick the last of the Polka raspberries and the few straddlers that have not yet grown to edible size were sacrificed because I wanted to, and did, cut out the old canes from last year. Why? Because all this year's new canes, and there are many, will provide even more fruit this autumn - I hope. I double crop the Polka raspberries and it's a win win!

Polka raspberries with Vanilla Ice Cream

Last year's canes have provided pounds of raspberries this summer, so many that even someone like me who is greedy for fruit had to freeze some. There are about three pounds or more in big plastic boxes in the freezer. I have to say, I like the thawed out frozen ones just as much; they turn to mush, give a lot of liquid, and are just as good as fresh ones with vanilla ice cream, crushed meringues, and cream. 

EASY WAY TO HAVE A NICE LAWN

I only have a tiny lawn and so I have no excuse for it to be in a sorry state, however, the constant rain over winter had leached goodness out of the soil and impoverished it. A few  dandelions had taken hold and I chose to spot kill them with Roundup Weed Killer. I must have overdone it somehow, despite taking care, because I ended up with three circular bald patches. I like my lawn to be lush, weed free, gloriously green, and not too short. So, I did what I always do, I sprinkled plenty of lawn seed on it and when the seed had germinated and the new grass was growing strongly amid the old, fed it with Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food. I think it has turned out quite well, especially considering it is on a slope, and on about two inches of soil over lots of sandstone rock. Earthworms, of which I have plenty, keep the soil under the lawn nicely aerated. 

Lush lawn July 2023

Neighbours complain that their lawns are bald, weed-riddled, etc. It's not surprising; they aren't gardeners and they have guys who come along at fairly regular intervals, who cut the grass all weathers, in rain and scorching sun. They cut the grass when it is quite long and shock it into submission, then it dies and weeds and moss take over. One neighbour has his weeds and moss cut quite frequently! There is scarcly any grass. 

Although I have a balance problem, I can still manage with the lightweight Flymo hover that bought in 2010 and which still works well. I use it like a zimmer. It takes all of 3 minutes from turning it on to turning it off. I cut the grass when it feels dry and when it needs it; usually when it is a couple of inches tall. 

I cut around the stepping stones with long-handled shears when grass starts to take over. 

Grass is astoundingly resilient; one of life's survivors. I posted the below images in 2017 but I shall share again to demonstrate just how tough grass is. These are pictures of my lawn when workmen had finished erecting new fencing, and then my lawn only a couple of months later after nurturing the grass back to health. 

Lawn March 2017

Lawn June 2017

Amazing isn't it?

NIWAKI SECATEURS AND SNIPPERS

My old secateurs are about 10 years old now and despite my attempts at sharpening them they have a tendency to chew green wood rather than sever cleanly. I'll hang onto them but I decided to invest in some new ones. I discovered Niwaki, made in Japan. They have a shop in London and sell online from the UK. They are expensive but cut cleanly and are easy to use. I also ordered some snips; I've never actually used garden snippers for deadheading and extremely light cutting but have resorted to kitchen scissors, however these were quirky and highly visible which is a good thing. I misplace small gardening tools almost as much as I misplace my reading glasses. I have found both in pots and tubs at some point or other. 

Niwaki secateurs and snips

Information for secateurs from Niwaki website

Drop forged and hand finished in Yamagata (Standard and Small) and Sanjo (Large), Japan, our ‘double yellows’ are the perfect combination of refined craftsmanship and every day usability. Tough carbon steel holds a mean edge, the chunky catch at the bottom and the strong spring gives a reassuringly simple functional feel, and the yellow grips show up when you’ve left them somewhere in the garden (or you can remove them for a more traditional look.) ... Japanese steel is hard and sharp and can be more brittle than some people are used to - it will chip if abused. 

Apparently the Japanese like to use Camellia oil to clean their gardening and bonsai tools and I have read various good reviews about it, so I have some on the way. A little will go a long way. 

I found the snips a bit tricky to use at first. The way I was holding them, I kept nipping my finger but I've got the hang of it now and the way I hold them now is actually easier. 

Information for snips from Niwaki website

Brilliant floral scissors, combining the traditional ikebana style form with ergonomic resin moulded handles and fluorine coated blades. Perfect for cut flowers in the kitchen, greenhouse, conservatory and garden, and will handle a bit of woody pruning too if you end up off-piste. Index finger outside the handle, in the little indent.

MIGNON DAHLIAS ATTRACT POLLINATORS

This year, for the first time, I have grown Mignon dahlias in my garden, all in the pots and tubs which I chalk painted and transfer decorated this year. I tend to dedicate my garden borders to plants which are hardy and overwinter in the ground. Mignon dahlias flower prolifically and as fast I dead-head them, more keep on coming. I ordered a variety of colours but ended up with just white and yellow which actually work well in my garden design, if you can call it a design - I do tend to let the plants rule. 

Bumblebee (Common Carder Bee - Bombus pascuorum) on yellow Mignon dahlia

The open flowers of this type of dahlia are a great attraction to pollinating insects.

Bumblebee on white Mignon dahlia

Yellow Mignon dahlia

Note the gentle hoverfly has, unlike bees, short antennae and big eyes. They also only have one set of wings and do not sting. They are a gardener's friend. 

Hoverfly on yellow Mignon dahlia

INSIDE A SMALL GARDEN ROOM

I had my 9 x 7ft garden room built in 2017 and began to fill it with a clutter of things. Of course, I had to have a comfortable chair and a place to put my feet up and relax. I would have liked a small sofa or a chaise longue but in a room that size there is limited space, so I chose the 'New York Swivel Rocker' in a neutral colour and a matching stool/footrest - I can be on and off my rocker in comfort. There is also a side table in acacia wood, a large round cream-coloured marble table (it weighs a ton!) where I can do artwork or write. The small cane chair at the table was rescued years ago from ending up at the tip. Mats for dirty feet are the washable Hug Rugs and the roller blinds are by Hillarys. 

I wanted to have flowers or a plant in the garden room but the extreme temperatures ranging from below zero to stiflingly hot would kill any plant life so I chose some jolly and vibrantly loud artificial flowers. There is nothing really quiet in the garden room, except me. Ornamental things are moved around from time to time and but the metal goose remains on the table and has become a regular feature. It even ended up in a bit-of-fun painting. 

Marble table and bits and bats

There's an unused 'Artina Wooden Artist Easel Napoli – H-Frame Painting Easel' leaning against the left wall. It's a beautiful easel as it has four feet, a bottom shelf, a drawer, and is fully adjustable - perfect for someone like me who has a balance disability and a tendency to knock things over - but it is such a bother for me to put up that it is now just part of the decor. I hang quirky things off it, like the Swinging Hedgehog, the heavy bronze Climbing Man...

a mask and a tin lizard. When I lived in the tropics, I shared my home with small green lizards which used to hide out behind the mirrors; they are excellent mosquito eaters and were very welcome.When I saw this in a gift shop, I had to have it. 

And my welcome sign ...

Around the walls I have Benaya ceramic tiles which are bright and cheerful, and also some framed artwork which I created from chalk paint and rub-on transfers on wooden boards, finished with a UV protective lacquer and no need for glass. 

My garden room has to be a place that puts a smile on my face. It's strange but when I have shown it to others, when they have been inside, they always say without prompting that it has a lovely atmosphere. I agree. It has. I think that is because it is small and not exactly sparsely furnished. It's cozy. When the sun shines it is warm and bright, when it rains it's alive with the sound of raindrops hammering on the roof. 

I lived for a long time in the Caribbean and one day I was on a beach when some Colombian friends I was with picked up a large chunk of broken-off coral (coral skeleton) which they found rolling around on the shoreline. How such a heavy and solid thing, it must weight 3lb at least, had broken off I don't know. They wanted me to have it as a reminder of them and I (legally) brought it back to England with me. It sits on the side table next to my chair, a memento. 

End view of Pillar Coral skeleton

Pillar Coral skeleton(Dendrogyra cylindrus)

The below hand-made candle holders are very unusual and I believe they are from Mexico

The End

BEST TIME TO PICK RASPBERRIES

Unlike some fruit, raspberries do not continue to ripen once picked. One problem with shop-bought raspberries, and why they are often lacking in flavour, is that the growers have to pick them before they reach full ripeness or they will not survive being packed, transported, put on shop shelves, and being further handled before they reach the point of being eaten. When growing your own, the best time to pick them is the stage where the raspberries are about to fall off the cane with no help from you. You can easily identify this stage because the edible part of the raspberry (the 'drupelet') starts to come away from the core (the 'receptacle'), as shown below. 

Polka raspberry separate from its core

They also start to darken when ripe, achieving a slightly bluish kind of red. Leave picking too late, and you may well find them as mush on the ground. 

At the moment, I have a glut of raspberries on old canes from last year and this is just the summer crop, more will arrive on this year's (new) canes in autumn after I have cut to the ground the old canes which have finished fruiting. 

Raspberries take up such limited garden space and yield so much. Furthermore, I have never known grubs or bugs to be on my canes despite the fact that I do not spray them EVER. They do, however, get rust disease now and then but that has not been a problem. They have also been known to be affected by white drupelet disorder but, again, not a problem. 

Polka raspberries, ripe for the picking

And finally...

Bowl of raspberries

These below look like a painting but they are not, they are the real thing.  

Polka raspberries and Vanilla ice cream

CHALK PAINTED TERRACOTTA POT WITH BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES

Another pot decorating project was this terracotta pot which I painted with a custom mix of Annie Sloan chalk paint to which I applied various brands of rub-on transfers. The bird transfers are 'Rare Birds' by ReDesign by Prima. 

Chalk-painted terracotta garden tub

Chalk-painted terracotta garden tub

The band around the rim was actually some sticky tape used in craft work and, as it has been lacquered over, it will stay in place. 

BEES LOVE PENSTEMON HEAVENLY BLUE

It has been such a long time, years, since I used my Canon EOS 6D camera that I have quite forgotten how to work it. My eyesight isn't the best for this job, with or without my glasses, and I have to rely heavily on the camera to do a good job. Further, I had great difficulty figuring out what settings to use, then it wouldn't take photos on auto. Even so, I think I managed to get a couple of decent shots of the delightfully humble bumblebees enjoying Penstemon 'Heavenly Blue', the only penstemon I have left which has survived our winters here on the Pennines of West Yorkshire.

White Tailed Bumblebee on Penstemon 'Heavenly Blue'

The bumblebees kept bombing me as I encroached upon their air space with my camera. It is a good thing that they are more nervous of me than I am of them. In 50 years of gardening, I have never once been stung by a bee even though I once had one in the palm of my hand when I was dead heading spent flowers. I had a beautiful shot of one in flight; well, it would have been a beautiful shot if it had been in focus!

White Tailed Bumblebee on Penstemon 'Heavenly Blue'

I used to have this particular penstemon in a border at the front of my home but it was becoming straggly and the border in much need of improving and changing, so I dug it up, pruned it, and transplanted it into a newly decorated large terracotta tub.

CHALK PAINTED KOALA BEAR POT

Of all the pots and tubs I have painted for my garden and indoors, I think this Panda one has to be my favourite. My preference is not just based on the decoration but that it goes so well with the Jade Plant (crassula ovata) that I have in it and which I have had for many years. Although it never makes a lot of roots, the drunk is getting thicker and thicker. I keep it indoors most of the year with frequent trips for it into the garden for some sunshine. The small crassula you see in the pot are cuttings which I will eventually move. I want to try something different with them, yet to be decided. 

Decorated terracotta pot

Although my Jade plant has never flowered, I used to have one many years ago at another home in a south facing conservatory. When Jade plants bloom they are covered in tiny white starlike flowers. 

The terracotta pot was actually a broken one which I fixed with adhesive and lightly covered the polyfilla which I lacquered inside and out before painting over the outside with Annie Sloan chalk paint. The 'Panda Sweet' rub-on transfers are by ReDesign at Prima. 

Decorated terracotta pot

Decorated terracotta pot

Decorated terracotta pot

A SMALL GARDEN OVER THE YEARS

It's nice to look at images showing how my little garden has progressed over the years since I moved into my home in October 2009. There was no garden as such back then, just grass, intrusive shrubs and a bench. Apart from things like patios, shed, fencing, garden room, hose, awning, and fixing hanging basket brackets to walls, everything else is my work. As a disabled gardener with a balance problem of over fifteen years, I can't say it hasn't been challenging but the satisfaction of having done it all myself is worth the scrapes and bruises. 

Below, December 2009.  Two months after moving in and a new shed has been erected on a concrete base. Neighbouring shrubs (left) have encroached by several feet and will need to be cut back.  The other neighbour's shed is shown on the right.  There is no fencing at all on the boundaries, no privacy, nothing against which to plant climbers, and that clothes-line pole will have to go.

2009, December

Below, January 2010.  Neighbouring shrubs have been cut back and the boundary fenced.  It's looking very stark but tidy and clean.  The shed looks to be in the wrong place now the fence has gone up and the shrubs hacked back.  It is cutting off sunlight to the left of it in the photograph and it seems like a waste of space.  The white plastic bags are filled with loamy compost as neighbours or occupiers of the property must have been dumping garden waste into the corner of the garden for years.  When the builders came to erect the fence, they had to dig out what they thought was just earth, piled up in the top left corner; but I recognised it for what it was and had them bag it all up.  It went onto my borders in time.

2010, January

Below, February 2010.  Old narrow and mossy path along the bungalow wall removed and a broad patio area put down which has been very worthwhile.  At the top of the garden, the shed has been moved onto a new base, opening up the garden and allowing more sunlight into that top left corner.  The old base has been extended into a patio area for table and chairs.  But the grass has suffered terribly with builders' feet.  The clothes pole had to go.  Useful as it might have been, it was in the way.  I could have used it to hang baskets from, or grow a climber up, if it hadn't been stuck in such an awkward place.

2010, February

Below, April 2010.   A nice spot for my marble table and chairs.  Eventually, I had to move them down to the patio close to the bungalow because the neighbouring trees were shedding onto the table and causing problems. Still, a lot of work to be done. Solar lights can be seen at ground level at the base of the fence in narrow borders. The original grass is reviving but still poor.  It was soon to be covered with a fine layer of topsoil, reseeded and nurtured. 

2010, April

Below, May 2010.  The borders, left and right, have been widened and the roses, that I so love, and other climbers planted.  The lavender didn't survive the harsh winter.  The grass now looks like a lawn and Alfie, my Ragdoll cat who is 11 months old in the photo (now 14) is patrolling his territory. 

2010, May

Below, July 2010.  What a difference a couple of months can make.  The garden area now looks more like a garden with roses flowering in the borders.  I bought a mini-greenhouse which is next to the shed, and it comes in very useful for overwintering the more tender herbs and for storing pots over winter.  I invested in the hammock/swing which I love so much; it actually drops flat into a double bed!  You can see potatoes growing in bags and a tomato plant lapping up the sun in its pot, placed on the lawn temporarily.  Stepping stones have been inserted into the lawn to try and spare it from wear and tear.

July 2010

Below, May 2011.  A wider border has been dug out next to the top patio area. It was a killer for me to do. A man I hired to dig the borders had simply flicked over the turf and taken the money so I had to do it myself but the soil is full of rocks; no wonder he ripped me off.  The hammock/swing and the mini-greenhouse have been moved around as I found it far too hot sitting on the swing when the sun was out, and moving the greenhouse and swing means that I have far more room on the patio for growing things. 

2011 - May

Below, July 2011  I'm amazed at the changes between May and July. In fact, so amazed I h ad to double check the dates in the Properties section of the images. Of course, I have to share the credit with Mother Nature who really is Earth's best gardener. The lawn is starting to look good too. Although my garden doesn't have the traditional 'cottage garden' look, it is a mixture of ornamental plants, vegetables, and fruit (raspberries and loganberries planted against the back fence).

2011 - July

Below, August 2011  I cannot believe how wonderful the lawn looks. It's like a mini bowling green. It's great to look back at it all. I gave up on trying to grow vegetables when a Vine Weevil invasion in later years destroyed so much. 

2011, August

Below, 2012.  Unhappy with the limited space within the south-facing border (left as face the top of the garden) which gets most of the garden's sunlight, it has been widened and curved to facilitate more plants.  The soil was heavy with clay and there was a lot of sandstone rock (I think a dry-stone wall must have been levelled at one point in the past and soil spread over it) but spent compost from containers, baskets, etc which contained healthy plants, has been incorporated so it's quite rich now.

2012, widening the borders

Below, 2012 the shadier border still gets plenty of sunshine and the plants in it are tolerant of partial shade. The honeysuckle - Lonicera periclymenum Scentsation - is putting on a fine display and provides red berries in the winter. It became a permanent feature. 

2012

Below, 2012. Plants are taking over not just the borders but in hanging baskets and trough on my home's wall. The photo was taken from the comfort of the hammock/swing. 

2012

Below, July 2013. An electronic awning worked by remote control has been fitted above the kitchen window to give some shade on the sunniest of days not just to me but eventually to ferns which I planted at a later date. A new storage box fits nicely behind the gate and holds all the pots and bits and bats of gardening stuff leaving space in the small shed for other things. A hosepipe reel and outside tap have also been fitted to make life easier. 

2013

Below, 2014, panoramic view of garden. For a couple of years nothing changed much. The lawn is looking good. 

2014

Below, 2015 - panoramic view of garden very similar to the year before. The honeysuckle has taken off and my neighbour tells me she is enjoying the fragrance of the flowers which blows her way due to the direction of the prevailing wind. 

2015

Below, April 2016. I am no winter garden and I thought I would share a photo of how different it looks in winter, so bleak, when almost everything is dormant but it is spring now and there are tulips and daffodils, and scatterings of primroses blooming. It was hailing at the time of the photo which is nothing unusual on the Pennines of West Yorkshire at this time of year.  

2016 April

Below 2017. Massive changes took place this year. The old fence (which had started to rot and blow down) replaced in March with concrete posts, gravel boards, and fencing panels that slotted in and are easily replaceable. I shouldn't ever need to entirely replace the fence again and the choice of 'shadow panels' where the panels are staggered allow the passage of both air and light while retaining privacy.

2017 March

Below, in June 2017 I designed a custom-made garden room which was exciting to do. It is only 9ft x 7ft, has a fibre-glass roof so that it is resilient against the weather, birds, and anything else which might cause it to perish. Although I never had heating put it, it has insulated walls, double-glazing with UV filtering glass, and is of solid cedar so that I never have to paint or treat it in any way. At the same time, I had built a mini-shed to fit a small space and the old one taken away. I asked the guys permission to take their photos as they assembled the garden room which was made offsite. They kindly protected my lawn while they worked. 

2017 June

Ecotherm classing, top quality cedar (I asked them to be carefully selective which cedar they chose), and uPVC window frames holding UV filter glass; hence nothing inside the garden room fades from the sun's rays and I am protected from the rays too. 

June 2017

Work on the garden room is almost finished and the protective fibreglass was put on last. We were blessed with fine and dry weather that day. 

June 2017

I was left to finish the inside of the garden room. The workers had put up a high shelf all around it for quirky my quirky ornaments and suchlike, then I set to painting the panels and ceiling with a 5 year guarantee bathroom emulsion which protects it from the danger of fungus during colder, wet months. At the back of the garden room is guttering and I arranged for the water to drain off the roof and into a water-butt at the side. The tap on the water butt is left open so that the escaping water actually waters the plants which are in a dry spot at the base of the fence; the wind and drain generally head towards the opposite fence so those plants are well watered by the weather. You can see the dwarf James Grieve apple tree in its pot is providing a good supply of apples. 

June 2017

The garden room reminds me of a Japanese Tea House and I love how it looks when the double doors are open although they rarely are. I had special thermal roller blinds made for the windows and doors and I stuck hummingbird stickers onto the glass, not just for aesthetic reasons but to deter birds from flying into the glass when the blinds are up. The pink flowering plant you see is Thalictrum 'aquilegifolium'.

June 2017

Below, 2018. There are no major changes to the garden except the dwarf James Grieve apple tree that was in a pot has now been planted in the border in front of the garden room. 

2018

Below, 2019. Again, no major changes except an RSPB bird bath has been added. The birds and squirrels tend to drink from it which is not quite the idea of it but they must use it as they please. However, I do wish the Wood Pigeons would stop pooping in it as I keep having to clean it out. The only bird i have ever seen bath in it is a magpie, just the once. 

2020 - Collared Doves on the washing line waiting for me 
to throw seed on the grass. 

Below 2020. The image was taken from under the awning above the kitchen window, a cool place out of the sun. This is the time when my blog came to a standstill for over two years. Starting with the outbreak of Covid, the world started to go crazy and I became reclusive. My garden became my port in the storm and I had my Ragdoll cat Alfie, and plenty of wildlife to keep me company. It's so peaceful when children are in school and lawnmowers are not to be heard. Then, all I hear, is birdsong. It's so healing. 

2020

Below, 2021 and now I pretty much let the garden do as it pleases. As I age, the garden matures. All I do is pull out the occasional weed, mow the lawn, and give a quick prune to anything that it is getting out of control. All healthy trimmings go in the compost bin which provides some excellent garden compost now and then. Otherwise, the garden tends to itself which is how I planned it. Kinda. This is a rather distorted image which makes the small garden room look smaller than it is. The Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Katsura', on the left is growing well.

2021

Below, 2022. The dwarf James Grieve apple tree is amazing, yielding several pounds of crisp and sharp apples each late summer; I really look forward to them as you cannot buy this variety in the shops. Unfortunately, it has developed canker on its trunk so I have treated that by chiseling out the canker and coating it with Provanto Arbrex Seal & Heal in the hope it is cured. A couple of years ago I planted an Egremont Russet apple tree opposite to the James Grieve; as yet it has not yielded much but maybe in time it will do better. If it doesn't, it will be removed and replaced.  

2022 August 

Sadly, a few years ago, I had to get rid of all but two roses as I kept getting injured on them when I lost my balance but now there are the Japanese maples, lilacs, and so many other things taking their place to make up for it and I still have the roses New Dawn and Wild Eve which give me little trouble on the fence alongside the compost bin in the shadier border. Both varieties of rose tolerate some shade.

New Dawn

Wild Eve

Below, 2023, the most recent development is a bird feeding station  which I turned into a support for hanging baskets. 

2023

2023 June 22