Cutting Grass

Why am I still cutting my grass in November? I thought it was meant to go to sleep over the winter - but with the warm weather still its growing like anything!! I even had a man round asking if I would like him to cut it - only £12.00 front and back!! Said I would do it myself. I apologise for not writing in my blog for a while - I've been really busy - I've gone back to work (after 13 years of looking after my Mum) and I've also started a college course - Diploma in Administration. Well you will laugh I am training to be a Secretary again (was before I had my children) and my job is in the Butchery counter of Tescos. Well guess whos now a Bronze Butcher!!! Yep passed the first test last Friday - I keep giggling to myself at Mum's face would have been at me being a Butcher!!! Any meat anyone.......!!! What with two exams next week in Text and Word Processing just where the future lies no one knows!
You know I used to think that working in a supermarket was only for those people who couldnt get any other job - or Mums just filling in time whilst their kids are at school - well I apologise - my feet are k******!! I take my hat off to all you men and women - they earn their money - it is not an easy job and some of the comments you get well...!!! People can be quite rude - I had to weigh the same two pieces of meat 6 times until two old dears decided which one to have (there was only 6p difference!) it didnt bother me but the queue behind was not amused!! Lets just say the man behind decided for them and even offered to buy the bloomin bit if they would just get a move on!! You do have a laugh - I think you have to but its just standing for 6 1/2 hours that my poor feet arnt used to!!

Getting ready for winter

Ok its raining outside what do you do to get ready for winter? Look for catalogues and buy lots of seeds ready for next year!! Nothing better than to plan what you are going to change/do next year. Try something new, a plant or seed you've not tried before - and when it comes up share with others... even have a competition to see who can grow the biggest!
The roses have been cut back for winter - if you leave them too big they will suffer from wind-rock and next year instead of having the roses at nose height they will be too tall for you to smell them. Cut back a third and then in the spring when you see the new shoots cut back further and then hopefully your roses will appreciate it. Any banana skins can be chopped up and spread around the roses - this adds potassium which helps them to flower next year. A good spread of muck or home made compost and the rose will be happy for the winter - Good luck!!!

Hailstones

Ok it was hailstoning yesterday - fine all of you that live in Scotland but here in the South of England thats all most un heard of! My son went running out into the garden to collect them and currently they are residing in my freezer!

The water butt is now full - one nights worth of rain and the downpipe did its job collecting the rain from me and my neighbours roof (we are semi-detached!) so am really pleased.

I finished off all the odds and ends from the veggie patch - courgettes (in an omlette) and the carrots and runner beans for Sundays dinner, so now the patch looks a bit bare - some cabbage and sprouts have gone in, and a few bits and pieces left (lettuces, and peppers mostly) but to be honest it was quite cold last night and I dont think they will last much longer. The worms have moved into the shed for the winter (as long as they dont actually get frost on them they will be fine) and the bananas have got covered up (when it goes below 5 degrees I start to worry) and also the brugmansia which has been really slow this year - I've got flower spikes but not much to look at and if it keeps getting colder I wont get any flowers this year (normally you would have them by now) Still I'll take some cuttings just in case.

New Plantings

I've been sorting out the veggie patch - using up the beetroot, runners, dwarf beans and generally having a good clearout! The beetroot was lovely - really red fingers afterwards and even no. 1 son enjoyed it (although the girlfriend looked horrified that he was going to eat it and couldnt even be persuaded to try some!!)
If started planting up the cabbages and brussels for over winter (just in time for Christmas day hopefully) the idea is just to keep topping up the squares with fresh compost (mixed with a bit of the worm compost) - hopefully it should give them a bit of a boost. The cue's are getting bigger in fact its hard to keep up with the courgettes - one did manage to hide itself and become a marrow! but a neighbour said it was delicious!! You know I love courgettes but when they become marrows I'm at a lost (my neighbour said she stuffs hers with sausage meat and then bakes it - will have to give it a go).
Its been a funny few days here - sun and cloud but no rain (the water butt is finally empty) still I'm not really complaining I seem to prefer the cooler weather than a really hot heatwave (you dont want to do anything except sleep!!)

Ok - Guess who let son loose in the garden!! Yep me - I asked if he could help trim a hedge - never again - 6 black bin bags later!!!! I now have a hole along my fence that is about 6 ft long!
He said "it looked messy so I kept going until it looked right!" Yes....
Well now, I've decided to fill the gap with some roses (especially for my Mum) - one in particular is called " My Mum" isnt that lovely? Its a deep red patio rose and then behind it is a taller t-rose called "Benjamin Britten" from David Austins collection again deep red chosen by my younger son - and in between I've planted loads of Lillies - again Mum's favourites (she couldnt have them in the house because of her Asthma so would have loads out in the garden) - can you see a pattern developing - so now its "Nan's place".
Also, I'm after a little bit of advice - Mum was cremated and her ashes interned in a cememtary which we have ordered a stone for. You are not allowed really big plants so I'm after a little patio rose which will happily grow in a pot - any ideas? If anyone knows of a mail-order or local nursery to me (Portsmouth) I would be most grateful. Thanks

Queen Elizabeth Forest

We took 16 children from our estate up to Queen Elizabeth Forest yesterday - got a few looks and some thought us utterly mad but I tell you what I loved it. My boys are too old now to want to go and do mad things (especially if Mum decides to embarress them!!) anyway, it was great they loved it. Right up at the top they have lots of climbing, balance equipment all made from wood in the shape of animals, then we had a picnic and took the long walk back down the hill - some of the kids were rolling down it was great to see the smiles and laughter (until they found the rabbit poo!!) and at the bottom we came to a big pond. The Park Ranger organised some nets and trays (to put your finds in) - we found dragonfly larvae, mayfly, newts, fish, snails and some really odd bits that no one could identify. The kids didnt go in which I was glad!! and the animals were put back in safely! then we were given some card with a line of double sided sticky tape and walked along a path to the far field - the kids made their own bookmarks with all the different petals and leaves - considering we all walked the same path not one bookmark was the same!! Then on to the field for more games (being blindfolded and lead by a 9 year old was quite an experience!! - we had to feel the trees not just looking but there was some big patches of nettles!!) and then back to the shop and home. They got off the mini-bus with lots of smiles and tired faces so I think they enjoyed themselves!! Just got to think off the next trip now and try to persuade some more Mums to come along. Ohh and the pictures guess who forgot to take her camera!!!!

Gardening by the Moon

You may have noticed I've added a moon to the blog this is because I am fascinated by the fact that some people garden by the different moon phases - the findings that I've been reading about seem to work so I thought ok lets try it and see if it works (cant be that difficult can it?) - you just download a years moon chart (google moon chart and download it free) and it gives you ideas on when to plant what e.g on August 19 - 21 you can plant leaf crops. I think it lies in the water table in relation to the moon - if you have tried this please let me know how you got on? Thanks

These are the baby sweetcorn (the sort you stir-fry) I'm really pleased because the tassles are beginning to show - wont be long now - you grow them in a block because they are wind pollinated.
No comments about how rude and prickily the cue is please!!! but it is the second one from the same plant!! So well pleased with it.
Good old nastursiums - they have been coming back every year with no help whatsoever from me! They are so full of sunshine and joy, they just make me smile and you can eat the flowers!! (bit peppery but nice in a salad).
Its been a funny week - sunshine and then rain. I'm sitting here looking out at the garden the wind is blowing like mad, the trees are dropping bits all over the lawn(hum...) but there is not a thing I can do - its chucking it down!! Still hopefully next week it will brighten up a bit the weather forecasters say - we shall wait and see! I'm taking a group of kids from our estate to the Queen Elizabeth forest on Tuesday for a bit of bug hunting and pond dipping and generally get them off the estate and use a bit of energy up running up and down the forest trails - should be a good laugh as we are taking a picnic too - some of them hardly know a thing about plants so its a good way of teaching them without them realising! Last time we found some lovely little alpine strawberries - the first time they had seen real strawberries not from a supermarket!! (You'd be surprised what some of them come out with!)

Summer has finally arrived!

The Sun has got his hat on..... (ok I wont really sing!) finally its 31 degrees here and I've been out cutting the grass and deadheading the roses. Ok I can't really moan at the rain, everything has been growing at such a pace this year.

The cue has been growing - just when do you pick it though? Too soon and its not sweet, too late and its bitter - still I think its nearly ready!!The garden has been coming on a pace - on the left you can see the baby sweetcorn (its the sort that you stir-fry in chinese meals rather than the big cob sort). Also I've has several meals from the runner beans and the little french beans are growing too (thought they would be taller but they fit into my square foot garden a treat)

Just for Margaret, the Mummy Datura is growing - I can see little flower spikes forming so won't be long. You can see the new patio that no. 1 son has built (say no more!!!) his girlfriend is on holiday and he was bored!! - lets just say I don't think he will make a builder!

Finally, you can see the Square Foot Garden in full - it has certainly grown well this year (with thanks to all that rain and now sunshine!)

The Sun is shining!

Yes, finally the sun has come out and its stopped raining - my heart goes out to all the gardeners whose poor gardens have been completely covered in flood water.
I've been out today just tidying up - do the edges (too wet to cut the grass) and deadheading and weeding.
We ate our first cabbage (savoy) and carrots which were huge! I think I might have left them a little too long. The cucumber is growing so wont be long!!! (Few rude comments have been expressed at how prickily it is!!)
I am going up to a local nursery tomorrow to buy a rose for my Mum (a nice dark red one which she loved) it must have a strong scent (I dont believe roses should be grown that dont smell - whats the point!! - still thats another argument I have when I go to a florist!!) I'll look at the David Austin roses as I believe they are some of the best for disease resistance and the shape and smell - so fingers crossed!

SAD NEWS

I just thought I would let everyone know I had some sad news on Tuesday 17 July - my Mum sadly passed away. I am totally gutted - I know its been coming for a while (I've looked after her for 13 years) but still its my Mum. Strange coincidences have been occurring though - she passed away at 6pm thats the time she used to ring me every night, also the man doing the service is called David Steven (my two boys names) and when we went to put the announcement in the local paper Mums name came up on the receipt - of course the lady was mortified but I thought Mum would have curled up with laughter that she had paid for her own announcement.
The hardest thing at the moment is that of course my Carers money stops after a month and they want me to get a job within that time (how? the last time I worked was before my eldest was born - he's now nearly 17!) so I thought I would go back to college and train up back in office work (used to be a civil servant) and it will give me a bit of time - everytime I speak about my Mum I just start crying - wouldnt look good in the work place would it! Mum was my life and my best friend - I am going to miss her soo much.

The Sun is Shining

Its been a lovely day here today - finally out and done all the silly little jobs (weeding - how come they always grow well even though you dont feed them!!!) and generally having a tidy up and deadheading things.

The datura is growing, I've sprinkled some night scented stock round the base - we have a bat that comes visiting especially when the datura was flowering and I thought that the night scented stock might encourage some insects for the bat to eat!

I also thought you might like to see the little potatoe that came out of my compost pot bag - isn't it cute - it seems rotten to cut into it - pity its not valentines day!!

July 2007

Its the 8th of July and I'm amazed at how my garden has produced so much from such a relative small space. I've had Broccolli (about 5 dinners worth), beetroot (loads!), mangetout, garlic (about 20 cloves), shallots (again about 40), loads of lettuce, radishes, potatoes and strawberries.

Failures - yes one quite big one - tomatoes do not like being in close contact with other veg. I've put in 4 tom plants and each one had succumbed to blight - wether its because I've grown potatoes (same family) and its been very warm and damp (the blight love it) I've just not succeeded (oh well we all get things wrong sometimes!!) The ones in the hanging baskets are doing fine!

I thought I would also show you how easy it is to grow potatoes in a compost bag - take one old compost bag and make holes in the bottom for drainage. Add about 3 seed potatoes (around March time), every time the green shoots appear keep adding compost - when about 3/4 full and all danger of frost has passed let the potatoes grow. I used first early called Charlotte which is a salad potatoe. Yesterday I harvested them and this is what I got.

Its getting bigger! The brocolli head actually looks like brocolli! (As you can guess first time growing it!!)

and yes (Margaret) the Datura is growing also, up to waist height now.

Not bad considering it was left outside all winter with just a fleece jacket and some straw around it - you can see the old stems have been cut down now - they are hollow inside - great for ladybugs to over winter so I dont cut them down until late May to give them a chance of survival.

The Climbing courgette is coming along great too - was a little doubtful but seems to be growing up the oblisk without too much help and I've got some babies growing!

I haven't stopped today! Cut the grass and done the edges (do you cut the edges first or last - I never am sure just that if you cut the grass first you can see the edges better!) then cut some of the hedges round the garden - they were getting a bit tall.
On Friday I went to a garden show (Stanstead) which was really good - lots of plants to buy!! and a talk with Anne-Marie Powell all about Chelsea which she has presented this year. I also got to ask her about Garden Rivals whether they really do a garden in a day and she said you bet they work from morning till night - 5 days a week so its not just one a week its 5! She said that was 7 years ago now and there is no way she could do that now. Anyway, planted some plants that I brought and then generally tidied up. Hot today 25degrees!

Early mornings!

I was up early this Sunday morning and took my breakfast outside - I think I've forgotten that even on a housing estate it is so peaceful and quiet early on in the day. The birds were doing their dawn chorus and the spiders webs glistening in the sunshine - it was lovely.

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Tour of the Garden June 2007

And just for Margaret, a photo of my Datura - this has survived the winter with a fleece jacket and straw over the roots. Not much to look at now but this will grow to over 6 foot in one season and the flowers will be nearly a foot each - bright yellow and smells devine in the evening (attracts the moths - which the local bat loves!)

With of course the veggie patch. Quite a small garden compared to some but its ideal for me (although I'm getting to a point of wondering where to put the next plant!!)

Now the view from the back garden.

I thought I would give you a quick tour round the garden- starting with the front garden - Dads's roses and a lovely double red poppy.

Then the view of the whole of the front garden from the path.

Hi, just recovering from a night of really heavy rain and high winds - thought my little greenhouse was going to go flying! In fact I got up this morning and really didnt want to open the curtains - although when I did it wasnt too bad - few petals from the roses all over the place, lots of leaves and some branches, but nothing a good sweep will fix (when it finally stops raining I might be able to get out!) Of course being a Bank Holiday I should have expected it!
The boys have been wandering about - we're bored! and the half-term hasn't even started yet.

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Its Growing - May 07

The beds are just bursting - so much is growing - I have harvested some Mangetout, lettuces and radishes. The Broccolli in the background has just gone berserk!!

The bird bath is covering an old cherry tree that was just getting too big for the garden.

I have been amazed just how quick things have changed in a couple of weeks - everything is growing at an amazing pace must be all that sunshine and now rain!!

Its Growing!!

At last it looks like something is moving in the garden and the veggie patch is looking more how it should!!

As you can see the herbs are in the front, and a strawberry pot which have flowers (Flamenco - unusual pink flowers). The Garlic, Shallots, Beetroot, Sugar Snap Peas, Cabbage and Broccolli are all doing fine. The carrots and spring onions are sticking their noses up but are still quite small.

The lettuces are doing well - already harvested one!! You have to still watch the frosts but its been uncovered from fleece for the last two nights (as long as it doesnt go below 5 degrees you are ok)

The boys even brought me a scarecrow - well you can't grow veggies without one!! I will own up to buying a cat scarer - thought I would give it a go - just dont fancy veggies with cat calling cards!! It seems to be working one cat jumped up on the wall and then jumped back down again - it makes a high pitch noise which you are not supposed to hear but apparently the boys can (anyone under 25 has better hearing) and its like nails on a blackboard!! Just remember to switch it off when you are working out there as the battery doesnt last long (you can get mains converted which I will do now I've seen it working).
Sorry havent blogged for a while - couldnt get logged on. Still now I can hope you can see how I progress throught the summer!!

Ok - kept the grass but added some herbs along the front to soften the edges! - Couple of sages (got to help with wisdom!) a thyme (lemon - great with fish), some parsley (flat leaved) and a couple of lavenders (cos they smell nice!!!). Put a weed mat down and gravel on the top. Also put in a few more stepping stones - otherwise the grass is turning more and more into mud! Really pleased things are gradually growing - just can't wait to get planting! (Another month or so and the frosts are finished) covered up the beds last night as it was still a bit chilly but the weather has been beautiful all day - bit of back ache tonight - nothing a good hot bath won't fix!!!

You can see the new grids laid out - it was plastic electrical conduit (what ever that means!) - I drilled holes in either end and then just used wood screws to keep them in place - they will stay there all summer which will make it easier to see where each veggie will go. At the back on the trellis are the mangetout peas which have gone in, and the garlic and shallots are already shooting up (about 2 inches, not bad as they only went in on 17/2/07!). The garlic won't be very big this year as it should have gone in the Autumn as it needs quite a long season, but I am looking forward to it anyway!

I've decided to keep the grass round the beds as the birds are enjoying it - I reseeded it yesterday to give it a boost as we have been walking on it quite a bit and yes the birds must have thought it was their birthday - down came the blackbird and robin straight away!!!

Couldn't resist showing you my "Red riding hood" baby tulips that came out today - they are so pretty and delicate!

Now you can see the raised beds once they have been painted! and covered in netting to stop the local cats! The bed on the right shows what "square foot planting" is all about - build your bed then mark out each square foot - I am trying to get something stronger to mark out the grid - in the book (by Mel Bartholomew) he uses old venetian blinds but can I find any? Not in any skips I see!! Once you have marked out your bed you then plant a different crop in each square so if your clever you can confuse things like the carrot fly by planting onions in front!

You can just about see a bamboo trellis that I've made to grow mangetout peas up - they were lovely last year nice enough to just pick and eat straight away or you could stir - fry them - lovely!!

I still don't know whether to gravel the front of the beds or leave the grass? What do you think? Gravel would be easier but I have a bird table and lots of birds coming into the garden (robins, blue tits, blackbirds etc) which feed from the table and drop seed! and eat worms from the grass which they wouldn't be able to if I covered it in gravel. Anyway, any ideas would be most welcome!

Still untidy! I have painted the outside of the raised beds and put netting over to stop the local cats doing their bit! Once the banana comes out from its fleece wrapping it should look a lot better - especially when I start planting (can't wait!!) I am so looking forward to eating fresh veggies even No. 2 son has been asking when he can plant something (even more amazing when you consider he normally only grunts at something!)

This is what the old patio looked like - just pots and bird bath etc now it looks like this!

Square Foot Planting

I have started a Square Foot Garden in front of the shed in my back garden - the space was just covered in lots of pots and it gets the most sunlight.

It didnt take long - my two sons helped build the boxes and then using an American guy's book (Mel Bartholomew) put in compost, peat and vermiculite. Then over the top of the frame you put a grid and just plant in the grids. One plant per square foot - depending on the plant e.g radishes x 16, cabbage x 1.

I'm really looking forward to eating my own veggies this year.

Winter - yuk cold and wet for most of the time.
Lost the arch that went over the door and round some of the back wall in the gales the other day - 6 black bin bags and two bonfires later! My fault though I had a rose, honeysuckle and a passionflower on it - over 10 years old so cant complain really!
It just looks so bare now - still thats part of gardening - change - I just dont like being overlooked from the other houses (I live on a small housing estate) and have been used to quite a bit of privacy!
Hopes for this year - to start a proper veg patch. Keep meaning too just lack of space!