Higgledy Garden
  • About Higgledy Garden
  • The Higgledy Garden Shop
  • Ben’s Blog
  • Growing Guides
  • Seed Sowing Guide
  •  
0
Your cart is empty. Go to Shop.

The Boat Garden Update. Sunday 15th April.

First Mate, Flash.

In my seemingly constant quest to make my life more difficult, some of you will be aware that I am attempting to create a cutting garden on my narrowboat, Casper. The first four months of the year see me knee deep in seed orders and sending parcels out to all the classy flower growers in the UK and the Continent. This is the first year I have accomplished this on a 45ft boat with a one-year-old hunting hound as my only source of assistance. We have survived The Beast From The East…we have come away unscathed from the surly postmistresses of the Oxfordshire villages…even having to swim across the freezing canal to rescue Casper and Flash who had decided to drift off to the other bank did not dampen our ardour for this life afloat. The winter has had its challenges but now the sun is wiggling her hips, most of my customers have received their seeds…and it is time for me to pick up the pace with regards my own flowery projects.

The plan for the boat garden is evolving as it goes…but here is the general gist:

*The garden will be planted up into 20 of so builder’s buckets. Higgledy is moving toward being as plastic free as we can. (We have never sent any parcels which weren’t 100% compostable) But I am continuing to use plastic products that we already have. Buckets are not so light that they will get blown over and not so heavy that they will be difficult to move. When we are travelling the buckets will be moved to the foredeck and into the cabin where Flash will keep an eye on them….or not.

*I have sown all ten varieties in my ‘Casper Collection‘. I have sown all my varieties of Sweet Peas. Today I shall be sowing more annuals…frankly I find sowing seeds in the spring sunshine somewhat addictive. Annuals are my thing.

*The plan is not to have all the buckets on the roof in the style of a roof garden but instead have the sweet peas trailing down the side of the boat from the roof….and the other annuals growing up from buckets placed against the boat on the towpath (as long as they are not a hazard to other towpath users of course) My gleaming vision is that the side of Casper will be totally covered in flower plants and the passing towpath maidens will swoon themselves into my composty arms.

Our floating home and workplace.

*The garden is very roughly a six-month project, running from the spring equinox (March 20th…..when I sowed some Sweet Peas) until the Autumn equinox. The plan (This is where it gets interesting) is to sell enough flowers from the boat from the middle of this point, the Summer Solstice (You’re probably thinking I’m a Druid) to pay for the diesel needed to propel Casper along our wonderful waterways. Casper doesn’t use much fuel…we gently chug along…

My buckets garden a few years back, when I was based in Cornwall.

My method has been to sow seeds into three-inch pots and keep them cosy in storage boxes in the cabin while they find their seedy feet…then as soon as they have germinated, the box gets moved onto the roof. I sowed up one box of annuals on the April 5th…another box yesterday (14th) and I will sow a final one today. This will give me far more seedlings than I can use but I’m sure it won’t be a problem to rehome them.

Sweet Pea ‘Charlie’s Angels’

In total, I hope to have somewhere in the region of sixty plants…not loads…but enough to keep a Benjamin shaped thing happy for the summer.

I will be keeping a record of developments and will post a blog every Sunday morning.

It is not too late to sow your seeds….you can sow right through into late May. All my seeds are of course available in the Higgledy Seed Shop.

Kindest regards

Benjamin Higgledy & The Fantastic Mr Flash.

PS Please share with your chums if you think it would be interesting to them by clickifying on a button below. Thank you.

If you have any questions then please ask away…you can find me onTwitter or Facebook.Should you wish you can join ‘Club Higgledy’ (see the right hand side bar).

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
The Boat Garden. Update. 25th March 2018. The Boat Garden Update. Sunday 22nd April. #Heatwave

Fresh posts!

  • Why Higgledy is limiting available stock to 75k packets per year.
  • Eight Months At Bluebell Cottage Nursery.
  • Sowing Sweet Peas In Autumn And Winter.
  • Why you should be sowing Hardy Annuals in late August/early September.
  • Autumn Sowing Of Hardy Annual Flowers.

Sign up for the newsletter!

Once every two months, I send subscribers a discount code or an offer for a heavily discounted bundle of seeds. You won't get inundated with emails... I'm far too lazy for that sort of caper.

Possibly old and musty

  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
© Higgledy Garden 2020
site by santa ana limited
Privacy Policy

Join Us

Once every two months, I send subscribers a discount code or an offer for a heavily discounted bundle of seeds. You won't get inundated with emails... I'm far too lazy for that sort of caper.

Join the chat on social media

Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter