After much pondering, I decided to plant the accidental fruit trees in the courtyard, for now, anyway. It turns out I have seventeen trees, not eighteen, a far more manageable number…..NOT! Seventeen trugs and bags of compost were bought and bins and bins of top-soil from a local Buy Nothing group were acquired. I cut …
Everywhere there be herbs. In the greenhouse, in trays spilling out of the greenhouse, more trays, and even more trays than shown here. They seem to multiply daily, not that I’m complaining. Many are still tiny due to the slow germination this spring, while others are flying up, such as the mugwort. Wheelbarrows are bushing …
Read more “Herbs, herbs, herbs and an unexpected challenge.”
After a totally dry April, it’s rained most of May. Today we actually got a glimpse of the sun, but it remains very cold here. Many seeds are yet to even germinate and those that have are growing very slowly, especially the kale and leeks. The herbs are beginning to fill out in the wheelbarrows …
Little Lotte is finally beginning to fill out. The potatoes are up and the broad beans, onions and garlic are romping away. Lettuce is potted up and beetroot and brassicas have been planted out. The seeds have been painfully slow germinating this year, I can’t recall such a slow start to the growing season. I’d …
Red, pink and white blossom are exploding right now. This clematis montana, growing through the honeysuckle, is just beginning to open. The scent of vanilla is delicious. It’s been a strange old winter this year, I’ve lost several clematis and even a potato vine, all of which have previously been indestructible. It hasn’t even been …
Another big job I’m always glad to get out of the way is a thorough brushing of the courtyard. It takes forever as there are pots and containers simply everywhere that all need pulling out. It sure is backbreaking stuff! Again though, when it’s done it’s just wonderful and I can now enjoy the space …
There has been an explosion of blossom and new growth, a little later than usual, but so welcome. The apricot has finished flowering and fingers are crossed for fruit. Now the plum and damson are flowering and the cherry and apple are close behind. It’s surprising the blossom has survived the sudden change in the …
Prevarication was finally abandoned and the dreaded task of painting the kitchen began. Without a doubt, it’s the worst room in the house to decorate as there is stuff absolutely everywhere, but it’s all well used and enjoyed so I’m unable to part with any of it. There are glasses on units, ornaments on shelves …
Last year, as an experiment, I sowed supermarket fruit stones and pips; apple, plum, peach, lemon and orange. It was hard work getting a lemon pip as the majority of lemons were pip free. I was surprised to see the apple and peach germinating, I would’ve thought the apple and plum would have been up …
Each year I leave most of my Armageddon taters in the ground to re-grow, but now there are far too many of them crowding each other out, so hubs is kindly digging them up for me. A third of the taters will be replanted as they’re ready to romp away having grown strong shoots, the …
