Saturday 12 May 2012

The Sun Has Got His Hat On . . .

Hip hip hip hooraaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy . . .

After having rain, rain & yet more rain, which seemed to last FOREVER, it was lovely to have a BEEE-OOO-TEE-FUL day today :o)

I took advantage of the sun & managed to finish planting out the veggies. Although they're still quite small, I now have everything I sowed in the greenhouse out in the veg patch.  If it all grows - & survives the snail attacks - I shall have a lovely supply of fresh salad & veggies for summer & autumn. Any surplus will be put in the freezer to see us through the winter.

I also made up some pots with marigolds, pansies, gazania, cornflowers & Scottish wildflowers. I've still got loads of pots to sort out - get rid of weeds & old compost etc., but they'll have to wait for another sunny day AND some new compost.  I feel a trip to the garden centre coming on :o))

Everything is so green & lush after the rain & wandering around the garden, I took some photos that show  Mother Nature doing what she does best.


 Apple blossom on my cooking apple tree - pale pink & white, so delicate & beautiful.


 Bluebells, which seem to get more abundant each year. I don't know where they came from, but about 3 years ago, I discovered a couple of plants that hadn't been there before. Now, I have clumps all over the garden !!


 I love the colour of this wallflower - it's like peaches & cream :o)

I've had some lovely coloured tulips this year - vivid red, yellow, orange, deep pink & this beautiful red & cream colour. Planting bulbs in the rockery with Grandson 1a last autumn really paid off this spring :o)

Aquelegia - one of my all time favourite flowers :o) When this lot are all open, it will be the most glorious sea of colour, from cream to lemon, from the palest pink to deep pink & from burgundy to a purple that's so deep, you'd think it was black. 

 My veg plot :o)  It's chock-a-block with courgettes, runner beans, lettuce, onions, leeks, turnips, carrots, swede, radish, beetroot, spring onions, cabbages, parsnips, peppers & tomatoes. I hope the peppers & tomatoes do OK - I've only ever grown them in the greenhouse before, so this is a bit of an experiment :o)

  This year, I've planted the veg closer together, in the hopes that it will help keep the weeds down. I don't really expect it to work, but I live in hopes :o)  In a couple of months or so time, I'll be able to start harvesting the fruits (& veg !!) of my labour. Can't wait !! There is nothing better than eating your own homegrown produce - the taste really is much better than that bought from supermarkets & the good thing is, you don't really have to have a big plot of land. For example - salad crops can be grown in pretty much anything, even window boxes :o)


The raspberries, blackberries, red currants, blackcurrants & loganberries are really coming along. If the crop I get this year is anything like last year, I'll be happy :o)  The rhubarb is surrounded by raspberry canes that burrowed underground, but I leave them for the birds. That way, we all get to sample the fruit :o)

We're still officially in drought, here in the south east, but I hope we start to have nicer, sunnier days.  Farmers & gardeners need the rain, but we also need the sun & warmth to help our gardens grow :o)
I hope it's lovely wherever you are :o)  Have a great weekend.



4 comments:

  1. Your garden is looking great :):) I will inspect it myself on Wednesday!! I spent most of yesterday and this morning sorting out my pots, they are all done now, the garden is still full of weeds though!! Hope you have a birthday tea planned for later?? Please say Happy Birthday from us all, thanks :) xxxxx

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  2. Looks good. Today has been great I actually have been to a BBQ col.d but goood fun. Yor tomatoes will be fine. I am envious you are growing raspberries, I love raspberries. DON

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  3. Looking really good & fertile Pat .. There was an article on the One Show about Bluebells .. They told you the difference between the British Bluebell - & the invasive Spanish one .. On the British Bluebell - the flowers hang down, and are all on one side of the stem, their pollen is Yellow - and they smell gorgeous .. The Spanish one, the flowers don't hang down, they are more round & open, the pollen is a pale blue & they don't smell .. And of course - they've bred, & produced a Hybrid .. The flowers are a mix, the pollen mostly a pale blue, but can be a watery creamy blue, and they have a faint whiff of a smell, nothing like the true British one .. We had British bluebells at our last house, it was one of the things I hated having to leave behind .. At this time of the year, they were fabulous, and sitting out there in the garden was just wonderful ..

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  4. Don - until 2 or 3 years ago, I didn't like raspberries :o) Funny how your taste buds change as you get older, isn't it ? Only real problem is, the raspberries are invasive. They keep tunnelling under the ground & popping up where I don't want them !! :o) I've managed to pull a few out & the bigger ones I've put in pots in the greenhouse. They're growing well, so I may plant them back in the fruit cage next year :o)

    Sue - I didn't know that :o) When I get the chance, I'll go & have a proper look & a sniff at my Bluebells & hope they're British :o)

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