AGS seeds and Gizmo arrive!

This week sees a new member to our ever-growing family/menagerie! Alot of you will be familiar with Monty our Border terrier x, well he no has an 8wk old little brother in the form of a Shorkie named Gizmo (he's a cross between a Shih Tzu and Yorkshire terrier). At the moment he's a ball of fluff but i'm sure he'll be a great working dog to have in the garden and, after all, he as good teacher in Monty!

I've been down the allotment this morning after fetching a couple of bales of straw and wheat for the chickens. I'm giving plot 1 up which i've had ever since i was at secondary school (some 12 or so years). Facing reality, we dont need the amount of land we have to keep us self sufficient in fruit and veg so it makes sense to give a plot up and let someone else have it who hasnt got anywhere to grow their own. Besides with work commitments aswell the time just isnt there to maintain everything- somethings gotta give as they say!

Luckily, its the idel time for moving fruit trees and bushes so i've taken some of the apple trees i want to keep and transplanted them to another plot and i've lifted a row of chives which i always find invaluable in salads and omelettes during late spring and summer.

Seed order came from Alpine garden society seed exchange yesterday so i put several lots to soak in water and a little washing up liquid, most notably the Genera Cyclamen which have a germination inhibitor on their outer coating that requires removing before germination can occur. Im sowing C. intaminatum, graecum and whiteae. Also, put to soak today are Iris suaveolens and Daphne albowiana. All those mention and most alpine species will need to be positioned outside exposed to frost and harsh conditions to imitate the sever winters they would otherwise encounter in their natural habitat. Then as spring comes the rise in temperature should triggger germination. Some species such as Paeonia will not show until the second year after sowing as they first through down a root in their first year before any top growth can occur.

Who knows what this mild, spring-like winter will do to these seeds i've sown?