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!