May has brought out all the remaining leaves and lush green growth is everywhere.The last trees in my garden to leaf up are the huge old beech trees and my aged apple tree. Once they have their coats on they seem to herald in the Summer.
This old apple tree produces over twenty bin bags of cooking apples. I can’t use them all so I leave half for the overwintering birds and share the rest with friends and neighbours.
I love this little stand, it holds some of my salad and herbs and it’s outside the kitchen door so it’s easy to pop out while cooking and gather a few basics.
The greenhouse is now packed and plants are spilling out….everywhere!
To cope with the sudden emergency, old tables and trolleys are pulled from the garage and loaded with plants…
On this old trolley I used left over tiles as shelving….a girl simply HAS to get a little creative to stay ahead of the game!
Even the top of this storage box has been called into play!
My two mini greenhouses are also packed to overflowing….and hundreds of plants have already been planted out. Oh don’t you just love the growing season!
Every inch of ground gets used, here I’ve planted some rocket and tomato plants amongst the fruit bushes….
And have popped some lettuce into this little border too! Each day I can now pick an array of salad leaves, rocket and spinach along with wonderful fresh herbs. I tell you what, home grown sure kicks supermarket produce into touch for taste.
I think it’s going to be a fantastic year for fruit, my pear, plum and apple trees are laden with newly set fruits…..which I hope survive the high winds we are having.
My potatoes, broccoli, carrots, peas, beans, garlic and onions are romping away, just the way I like it! And apart from greenfly and slug/snail attacks, garden beasties are keeping their distance. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
And finally….remember my latest hedgehog, Howie, the little guy who lost his spines??? Well, I’m DELIGHTED to announce that they are growing back! The vet decided to add a zinc supplement to his food which has worked absolute wonders in a matter of weeks! So once he is fully prickled up and taken off the zinc and monitored for a while he shall be released….how marvelous is that eh?
Thanks Susanne, this is the first time we’ve used zinc and it’s made a huge difference! He is a totally different hog. xxx
Your yard is looking gorgeous. I have never heard of a hedgehog losing his spines but so glad that little duffer is on his way to getting his back!
Fantastic news about little Howie, what’s a chap to do without a coat to wear! Love the creativeness of your seedling stands – my balcony and windowsills are pretty packed but the light’s not good so I’ve got to think creatively myself. Garden would be best but the slug population is in full sway – and without being able to water (no tap in the garden), I’d be fighting hot sun and winds! Sometimes I wonder why I bother … oh yes, I like eating fresh food, hahaha!!
Lol….oh a chap does need a fine coat and it’s lovely to see all those young prickles!
Ha! I know, sometimes you do question why you give yourself so much work and then you get the first harvests and it know it was all worth it! Hope you manage to find some space! Thanks Caro. xxx
Good to see Howie doing so well! Your hard work nurturing your plants is paying off. You have green fingers as well as healing hands and a caring heart for animals and all wild life.
Thanks Linda, I thrilled to see Howie with spines again, he looks like a proper hog now. I won’t have him too much longer…..ah, what a lovely comment.xxx
Lush and lovely ~ great results spilling over from your hard work! How wonderful the hedgehog is leafing out as well 🙂
I came across this, and for some reason, guess who came to mind?
Frank was a happily married man who had only one complaint: His wife, Myra, was always nursing sick birds. One cold November evening he came home to find a raven with a splint on its beak sitting in his favorite chair. On the dining room table there was a feverish eagle pecking at an aspirin tablet, while in the kitchen Myra was comforting a shivering wren. Frank dropped his briefcase and strode over to where his wife was toweling down the cold little bird. “Myra!” he shouted. “I can’t take it anymore! We’ve got to get rid of all of these da…” Myra held up her hand and cut him off in mid-curse. “Please dear,” she said. “Not in front of the chilled wren!”
Lol….it’s lovely to see Howie leafing out!
Oh….what a wonderful story….hahahahahahaha, laughing out loud I am!!!
My poor hubs never knows what he’s coming home too, yesterday it was four great tit chicks that I’m feeding every half an hour….one of his eyebrows is constantly raised….and he looks over his specs at me when I tell him to turn the tv down as it wakes the birds! Long suffering he is for sure!!! Thanks Glo.xxx
SUCH good news about Mr. Prickle-less! Hopefully he’ll get to return to the wild! The garden is looking beautiful – we just need the weather now! x
It’s marvelous to know he’s now back where he belongs! Thanks Scarlett.xxx
When I visit you, it’s going to be in the spring! Look at all that lush growth. And I’m so envious of your prolific veg and herb garden. Everything is looking perky and fresh and tasty. You’ll have to post recipes for what you do with all those herbs.
Love the trolleys full of plants and tiles covered in plants. You’ve certainly made use of everything available. How does it all survive with the winds, I’ll never know.
Curly cat looks happy, too. How is the blue-eyed cat?
And hurray for Howie!
Ooooooh…..yes! You must come when the cherry blossom is out, then we can picnic under the trees in our straw hats and frocks!!! What fun we shall have, and of course you will cook some of your fab dishes!!!
I use herbs in almost everything, omelettes, fuscilli, spag bol, soups….spinach also goes in everything. My favourite salad is mixed salad leaves, rocket, spinach with chives and parsley, with a little olive oil and chilli flakes. Yum!
Luckily for me, all the tables, trolleys and mini-greenhouse are sheltered against a wall, so far so good.
I have been leaving food each week for the blue-eyed cat, but I haven’t seen it for a few weeks, I do hope the poor thing is ok, it always looked healthy though.Thanks Anne.xxx
I haven’t nearly the amount of herbs you’ve got and still don’t use it all — especially the mint. But, of course, everyone who’s growing mint has too much!
Aren’t chile flakes wonderful? I find myself tossing them in lots of things. Poor roomie.
I must confess to adding chili to almost everything I can! Wonderful stuff it is. xxx
It must be wonderful to have your own apples. An apple is one tree I would love to add in future. The herbs and greens near the house are a great idea. I have thought to do that myself, but have yet to get around to it. Maybe before the months end I will pot some herbs up. I am so delighted that Howie’s spines are growing back! I hope he continues his recovery!
Oh I would get an apple tree, they do really well here and even my little ones bear fruit, you just can’t beat picking and eating a fresh apple, they taste so much better than supermarket produce.
It’s so handy having herbs close, I have a large herb garden in the front and I tend to dry the herbs from there…..it’s lovely to just pop out and gather herbs even in pajamas! It’s lovely to see Howie doing so well, I was beginning to lose hope!! Thanks Jennifer.xxx
Hi dear Dina! So nice to hear that Howie will be alright 🙂 You did for sure a great job!!!
I love to see all your pictures: the apple tree is huge! We did very little in our garden, didn’t have much time jet… but we shall get the work done next week end! Hugs 🙂 claudine
It’s fantastic news re Howie isn’t it, soon he shall go back to the wild, lovely!!!
Here’s to you getting time to garden, thanks Claudine.xxx
Even Howie is putting on a spring coat! You work wonders with those little hogs. :o) I love that you have veggies everywhere! I threw some lettuce seeds into a pot and they’ve sprouted but are still small. I just hope our hot weather tomorrow doesn’t fry them!
Lol….yes…Howie has finally gotten a new spring coat….and it’s even better now!
Oh….here’s to your seeds NOT being fried!!! We have lovely sunshine today as well….summer has arrived, long may it continue! Thanks Casa.xxx
wow it IS all growing and bursting out isn’t it! Wonderful! And I now realise how big the trees are in/around your garden. all looks lovely and fruitful and everything.
It is good to see everything bursting out everywhere – especially after all the rain and wind and grey skies at the beginning of the year… seems really astonishing to see all the lush greenery at last! Most welcome it is though.
So glad to see the hoglet is growing his spines – that’s wonderful!xxxx
Now y’see all those trees….well they are all in the garden, some are in the front, then the ones over the fence are in the back….you should see the mess when the leaves come down, it takes me months to rake them all off the lawn!!!
Oh….the greenery is a feast on the eyes isn’t it…and we even have sunshine today!!!
You should see Howie now, his whole body is covered with small spines….you can use Zinc for the foxes too….it’s great for dogs and cats …..if you want to get some on the internet for the foxes I’m using…VET-AMIN+Zinc, it’s a multi-vitamin and mineral dietary supplement, you just spinkle a little on the food. Thanks Arose.xxx
Re the foxes…. well I was telling a neighbour about it and she told me off because apparently another neighbour was doing same thing with jam sandwiches… and I’ve not seen the foxes in ages… but the neighbour says there is a mother with cubs not far away so maybe we have been feeding different foxes after all… there were just loads round here… you would see them trotting down the road by the bus-stop all mangey….but not seen any in a while so maybe they are better…. as I understand they only walk boldly around in the daytime if delirious with the mange… so at any rate… between the lot of us maybe they are recovering and no longer wandering about in daylight etc…xxx
Well hearing that the two of you are curing foxes and they are no longer wandering around in the daylight has absolutely MADE my day!!!
I am so jealous, we don’t see foxes around our garden….I saw one when I first moved in but never another since.
They have set up a fox rescue at the shelter now so I am all excited at the thought of seeing foxes close up…maybe even cubs!!! Not that I want them to come in mind….but if they HAVE too….xxx
Do you find that the birds will eat your apples when you put them out? They don’t seem too interested when I do that. The squirrels, though, are another matter, but I’m not too eager to feed those guys.
Our blackbirds devour apples, and when their chicks are about a week old they feed them apple too….do you have blackbirds?
Lol….your squirrels do take the lions share for sure. Thanks Jason.xxx
Oh, Dina: How glorious it all looks, and I so love your painted accents, too! I wish I had as many plant stands: they sure come in handy, don’t they?
Your art for making life sparkle and living it joyfully sure shine through these heavenly photos: Yay, you!
We’re catching up, too, finally. Have had a lot of rain, which is wonderful, but we need more dry days to get out and rearrange, plant, etc. Phillip is such a great sport about helping me move and redesign, so that helps. We completely overhauled a big garden this past weekend. Good to look through the rain and see it drinking in the water and…becoming. 🙂
Thank you for this inspiring post and all you do to keep the world green and growing. 🙂
How wonderful to hear that you have a new garden to tend too, it’s always so exciting starting afresh, I re-planted my back last year and I’m astonished how quickly it’s all coming together, weeds and all!!! I shall look forward to seeing pics of the poppies you were talking of buying….they are my favourite plats, so fleeting and delicate but so very beautiful.
I’m glad to hear the weather is improving, you have had a really late spring, here’s to some golden days!
We have a lovely sunny day today and all the flowers have come out to celebrate, in between feeding four chicks every half an hour I’m having a ball potting plants on….what would we do without a place to grow things eh….thanks Kitty.xxx
Another splendid post…garden looks wonderful….:yes: FULL of Wonder! A lot of ‘input’ by your helpful hands….;) Penty to savour.
Pleased to see Howie getting on so well. Enjoy Summer! Hugs! xx
Thanks Bushka, I always feel that a garden is filled with wonder too, each day there is something new and delightful to see. Howie is now almost completely recovered which really is fantastic.xxx
Marvelous indeed! Using all nooks and crannies properly 😀 such a beautiful garden and glad Howie is doin fine 🙂 Why are those things (handcarts?) chained to each other?. :)XXX
Thanks Vahid. Howie has almost completely recovered now which is wonderful news.
The carts are chained together to stop people from stealing them, some people will take anything! Chaining them together makes it a lot harder for someone to walk off with them.XXX
It’s all looking good, and you’re obviously going to be rather busy over the coming weeks.
That’s good news about Howie, who certainly looks much better now he’s getting his spines back.
Happy gardening. xx
Thanks Flighty, this is always such a busy time, but a very enjoyable one too. You should see Howie now, he no longer has any bald patches….so back to the wild for him soon.xxx
Fantastic pics. Must be a great time of the year for you.
Thanks Peter, oh this is a wonderful time of the year for sure, filled with so much promise of good things to come!xxx
I’ve been doing the greenhouse shuffle too over the weekend, everything seems to be shooting up at a rate of knots. I think you’re going to be very well fed over summer with all those seedlings. Fantastic news about Howie, glad to hear he’s prickling up.
Thanks Jo…it really is a shuffle for sure isn’t it? We do get our money’s woth from our greenhouses, where would we be without them. Having fresh salad each day is fantastic, the taste is unbeatable. Just need a few tomatoes and spring onions to go with them now! Ah yes….seeing the hog prickle up is wonderful, he’s certainly taken his time!xxx
What a great array of plants. It is so nice to see so much greenery and new growth at this time of year, hopefully you’ll get an equally good harvest to show for it.
Thanks Jenny, I have a feeling that it’s going to be a fantastic year for fruit and veg….fingers crossed.xxx
Oh, Dina…how does your garden grow???? Beautifully I can see and great news about little Howie. Just goes to show that with the right love and attention….all things can be healed:) Have a beautiful Monday and week ahead. xxxx
Thanks so much Janet. It is the best news Re Howie, I must say I was begiining to think his spikes would never grow back. Have a lovely week with your friend.xxx
How fantastic is your garden looking! I am in the same situation as you struggling for space I have been waiting before I plant anything out but I need to start thinking about it soon although it has turned a bit colder now. Great news about Howie amazing what a change of tactics will do. Have a good week.
Thanks Elaine, there is never enough space at this time of the year is there, I’ve planted lots out and still have no room. Isn’t it wonderful to think Howie hog can go back to the wild….smashin’ that.xxx
What the wood pigeons con’t steal all the baby fruitlets. Really pleased for Howie.
I have asked the woodies to leave my fruit alone, and am feeding them with all sorts of delicious foods to tempt them away from the trees! I am really thrilled to see the improvement in Howie, looks like he will be released soon. Thanks Sue.xxx