Sowing seeds and cutting the grass

According to Gardener's World, now is the time to sow sweet peas. I don't have much success with seeds as a rule - I'm not good at looking after them and the slugs enjoy them a little too much - but I have managed sweet peas in the past, so thought I'd try them again.

The first task was to clear out and re-cover my miniature greenhouse. This is next to the shed at the end of the garden. The old cover had split across the top. I use the greenhouse to protect things from wind, rain and squirrels. The front panel can be opened with two zips to allow access.

The sweet peas I sowed are an old-fashioned variety called "Cupani" which are small and highly scented. I have been saving some loo roll centres which can be used as pots to provide a deep root run, which sweet peas like. I put six together in a big pot for support and filled the whole thing with compost.

I only had enough John Innes seed compost for one pot so I filled the other with Westland multi-purpose peat-free compost. I put one seed in each tube about an inch deep. It will be interesting to see if there is any difference between the types of compost. I sowed the left over seeds in four small pots and put them all in the mini greenhouse.

 

I don't have a lawn, so am spared the drudge of maintaining one. I do have a number of ornamental grasses, both in the ground and in pots, and they die off in the winter, leaving dead stems, which are quite ornamental in the winter sunshine, or covered in frost. At this time of year, they begin to re-grow from the base, so it is best to cut the dead stems off and tidy them up. This is a selection of my grasses in pots. They look a bit sad now, but will look better once they start to re-grow.