Right, what happened at the weekend ?

How time flies when you're having fun (but back to work). I've been meaning to update this for days now, but the fresh air of the weekend and then the mugginess of the office has wiped me out for the past few nights.

So .... what did I do, let's put the tape on fast forward and see if we can't get through everything in five paragraphs or less ! (some hope lmao).

In no particular order :

Thursday afternoon, they let us run away at lunch time, so with the sun in the sky and a shovel in my hand, I made a concerted attempt at breaking up the borders trying to make the cricket balls of clay more like marbles. Lot's of people suggest smashing with a rake but I can get to grips with this approach. Instead, I just a chopping action from the back to the front of the bed, with the spade turned towards me bringing all the balls that won't break immediately to the front of the bed, where I pick them up off the path and throw them to the back. Repeat process until fine tilth ! lmao. Did this a couple of times at the side bed and then cheated and threw two bags of multipurpose compost on top where I'm going to sow some poppies and other wild flowers and annuals. On Monday, I planted out some marigolds, probably too early so out came the cloches. I used the entire stock in the shed so have gone on the scrounge for more !

The sun went in of course on Friday and was quite cloudy and chilly, but I got some Meteor Peas, Hestia Dwarf runners, Courgettes Defender, Astia, Black Beauty and All Green Bush (the Astia and All Green Bush have romped away and are through and out of the propogator already), and sowed another couple of short rows of Chantenay Red Cored Carrots in the bath. THEN I spotted that the Early Nantes in the bath are just coming through now !

Saturday (according to the diary but I actually don't remember it) the sun shone all day ! Did lot's more digging in the side bed and central border. Also worked on the front border and sowed: candy tufts, love in the mist, forget-me-nots, lemon zest calendula and some Lasy Daisy asters free with one of the mags. So that's the front bed done. Also planted out Mum's Acanthus Mollis which I hope will prove to be as purple as I've seen pics of. The grass needs a cut but all i had time for was to dig up some dandelions. Just hope the rain holds off till the weekend and I'll do it then.

Sunday returned to cloudy and chilly. So I satisfied myself by sowing three different varieties of Morning Glory, all of them purple or black: Purple Haze, Star of Yelta (from Georgie), Knowlians Black (from another v. kind A4Aer who's name slips my memory ! :-( ) the pictures on the packs look stunning, and I can wait for them to flower ....... but a long while away yet.

Sowed some more Lemon Zest Calendula in trays for the back garden, Brachycome and Limnanthes douglassi (still can't get to grips with these botantical names - so Swan River Daisy and Poached Egg Plants) from Trixibelle (I think - oops). I WILL have bees and butterflies this summer ! I WILL !






The lily house is going mad ! I've done nothing for these poor plants at all cept the occasional bit of water, but inside and out of the g/h they are just sprouting like mad. At least I have the g/hs to protect them this year when we have the odd mad hurricane !



The fruit garden is coming along and I've stuck some netting up over the blueberries(and currently a dead currant stick and the rosemary bush). The ends are still open so I hope it will allow the bees but discourage the birdies from getting in there. When I'm outside, I'll lift it up totally to allow the buzzing ones greater access. Must admit I'm impressed with the buds on the blueberries. Both varieties (Chandler and Sunshine Blue) have plenty of buds, one a pinkish tinge, the other blueish. The gooseberries are showing lots of green growth too, so no doubt I'll swap the rosemary for them at some stage. The only reason the rosemary is under there is to stop the perspex panels flying out when it's windy !! The arch in front of the fruit cage is destined to be for the sweetpeas. Both Lishka and I reckon this should provide some lovely natural shading for the g/h!

Right onto the toms ! They're bloody everywhere ! I've discovered during the week that Supersprout's Pineapple Toms are a potato leaved variety (which made me even more confused that usual), but everything is just going bonkers ! I tried to pot some up today (the pineapples being most important this year - Supersprout would never forgive me if I didn't get a decent crop). Actually I don't think she'd mind at all, she's not the type ! but it's important to me to raise her babies as she would like. Whatever else I give away, I won't be parting with my pineapples.

Biscomb's Muchamiel and Tres Cantos are going great guns. Quite a change from the sunny shores of Spain to the grey old west of Scotland, but I live in hope that I can replicate a bit of the med north of the Wall.

The skidded Tigerellas have recovered and are growing well. I'm running out of big pots fast, so have no idea what I'm going to pot up the aubergines or the rest of the toms in to be honest.

God forbid I should actually have to go and buy some bigger pots ! That really would go against the grain.

Right I think that's enough for tonight. Will try and get up to date tomorrow.

In between the panic, this is great fun but so much still to do ! No news about the lottie yet. No word from the secretary either ! Bad show if you ask me. I still haven't written it off totally, but I'm not at all sure that my wrists would stand up to a full lottie ! I've already decided that next year, onions will be surplus to requirements. My over wintered ones really haven't taken off as I hoped, and they're so damn cheap that it seems silly to give over masses of land space to them (although there is still the front lawn to dig up ;-P).

We'll just wait and see. If the plot offered looks like a wilderness, I'll think twice, if however it's beautifully manicured and well worked then it would be churlish to refuse. In the meantime Kay Pee's Plot is keeping me nice and busy thank you very much, and there are alway more pots to be sown.


Lishka's runty garlic is putting on a considered performance. i slung in a couple of Red Baron onions just to share the space.

Cut my first crop of salad leaves today, and had them with a few radishes and some bland old supermarket toms together with some grilled salmon for tea. Just the simple act of going out and carefully cutting just enough for something you're going to eat then and there, makes the whole escapade worthwhile.


Oh lordy ! nearly forgot the most important bit ...... the A4A gals carrit trials. Here is the treasured bucket ! No cheating now eh girls ??

Right, enough blethering. What I've missed tonight, no doubt I'll catch up before the next episode starts.

Moral of the week: never under estimate the amount of compost or pots that you'll need !!

T'ra fellow plottees !

xx