Better outlook

Our garden, this is our view from the outside table, we sit and chat, watch the small birds as they feed from the hanging containers in the tree. We have noticed they hop around the veg beds, hopefully feeding on any bugs, it's good to have so much wildlife in our space. The bigger birds always swoop next door, where she has an open tray bird feeder. 

The garden is a working area as well, laundry on the lines, gone by lunchtime on warm days, hubby packs the lines away after use, this back end of the garden is earning it's keep with harvest of veg to come. At the moment this is my favourite end, so much growing, the broad beans are swelling in their pods, soon be time for a harvest. 

This area along the fence we have not used for years, it's a sun trap, but sadly the flies and smells from next door keep us away. The water feature is new, it's a firepit with a solar fountain, I wanted a low feature, everything else is years old, we both love this space now. Once all the plants in the big tub start to grow the area will be full of colour. 

Being aware on how much I am spending in the garden, we popped to B&Q to get some cheaper plants, £32 spent, one plant almost half price, I cut part of a rooted section from a scabiosa, making a small free plant. Every plant was pot bound, the roots in each case tightly wound around the bottom of the pots, I released the roots and planted, I prefer plants being pot bound rather than weak roots. These have all gone into my side bed. 

I have cut back all the yellowing leaves from the spring bulbs, the bulk being in the long side bed, my composter is now full, but it does break down quickly, I could now see the gaps in the ground, most of my focus will be on the side bed this time, I have bedding plants to go in for a couple of weeks, then the bed should be done. Last year there were Salvis hotlips, but they grew far to big, engulfing everything, whilst they are beautiful, it's not what I wanted in this bed. 

I have twice this week slept over at daughters, she had booked a break in Bulgaria, which both daughter and SIL needed, the children were very good for me, we had loads of fun, I did not want them to cancel the trip and lose money. As the children get older they are easier to look after, not so much lifting, and they can play well together, I did drive back here for one day, on sunny days they prefer to be outside. 

I am on hose pipe duty most nights, ensuring the broad beans are well watered, along with other new veg plants, all the new flowering plants had a good soak. I was really please using my Hori hori knife, I'm always wary with knives, they do scare me, both my garden knives are tucked away in a drawer with my secateurs, the drawer is a bugger to open, it sticks all the time, which makes me feel they are safe inside. 

New this season

We are both extremely happy with our water feature, both in the look and the cost, we did not want to run electric to a pump, preferring not to see wires. This was sold as a firepit, I thought it would look good with water in, the stones I already had, pre-used on pots as a decorative top layer. The pump has black net around it and is tied underneath, with a stone placed to anchor it to the middle spot.

I saw this idea from a gardener I follow on Instagram, his pot was bigger than this, I wanted to use a pot we already had, already the middle plant is giving off babies, hubby loves these succulents, this pot is on our metal table, which allows good drainage, and will stay outside all summer.  

I got theses plant frames online, they were not as sturdy as I expected, hubby has tied them together, there are three here, this should give extra support for this climbing rose. In front is my pomegranate plant grown from a pip, I cut it back last year as it was getting woody, now it looks fantastic.  

Why are cloches so expensive, I have been looking for metal ones, but won't pay the ridiculous prices, I have nets but it's can be a bit of a faf to get them into place. In B&M this week I saw these, food protectors, 2 for £4,  not as tall as I would like but they work, I have a smaller one protecting my french bean plant. 

I have a few huge pots which needs digging out, I struggle to loose the sides from the pot, my garden knife is neither long or strong enough for the task. I have been hankering after one of these Hori hori knives for a couple of years, hubby went online and sneakily got the one I wanted, I am one happy wife and gardener. 

Everywhere feels so good when the sun is shining, I'm outside most days, I have potted on all my seedlings, mainly flowers and a few herbs, other plants are in the ground, I have re-sown my peas, the pigeons nibbled them back to the ground, I have used a different pot, and placed in an area we can see. In the other pot I will plant a courgette, not my favourite veg, hopefully home grown will make me love them again. I moved both hosta's down to our seating area, I have a spot which is in shade most of the day, once the flowers are over I will move them to the back of the garden and put a begonia there. 

We popped to our local town, just a few decent shops left, TK Max, Next, B&M and Waterstones, we don't normally go on a wander around and get bits and pieces, but it was fun for a change, we had lunch out, very brave after our last 10 days. I dropped off a birthday gift to a friend, we had a lovely drive along the water front, Stokes bay and Lee on the Solent, beautiful blue skies, it was nice just to slowly drive through, we do live in a wonderful part of the country. 

Thank you for all your recent comments, May is a challenging month, 1st Monday of month, we said goodbye to Grace, 2nd Monday sat talking to doctor, hubby's kidney failure, very scary, 3rd Monday, sat in garden in sunshine, wondering what the hell we have been through. I've always bounced back, I hear my mum's voice in my head, 'get on with it', but for once I needed time to reflect and process everything. 

Gentle times

My pond section is becoming really colourful, with aquatic and rockery plants, I wanted this area to look lovely and be able to look after it's self. I think of it as Grace's pond, she loved to drink from here, always preferring rain water.

My hosta's is almost there, 2 huge flower heads coming, excuse the mess behind, everything gets moved to this working end of the garden.

I can't remember the name of this tiny flower, it does need dead heading, very pretty in the small pot, there are loads of buds forming, so plenty of flowers to come. 

So many blooms returning, I love this rose, the buds are very dark and they lighten as they open, this bloom has a yellow streak. My mum's peony, stunning colour. Lupins are throwing up flower stalks, I have no idea what colour these will be. 

Some of the best flowers are on fruit, herbs and veg, here, Strawberry, Rosemary and a cucumber plant.

The past few days have been about rest, calm and gentle times, the opposite to how the rest of year has been. The house is clean, I did top to bottom when hubby was in hospital, the garden jobs neglected, I've been exhausted too many times in the last few months. Meals are simple, using what we had at home, I think my mind has to heal as well as my body. We have a simple rewarding retirement together, which was shattered so quickly, frightening swift the changes. 

Hmm................

I enjoyed this book, she writes a good plot, again slightly different, I guessed who done it, with a twist in the middle, but not how, so a clever revel at the end, a really enjoyable book. Book 28 read this year. No crafting again I can't concentrate on anything for too long. 

This tiny bulb in my small apline dish is Weldenia Candida, I purchased it last year, whilst not expensive, it cost more than I would normally pay, I loved the blooms last spring. I hoped it would survive in my alpine dish as there is no drainage holes, just plenty of gravel, so I am overjoyed to see it again this year, it has one flower every day, which only last for just one day, last year we have 14 blooms, you can see the next bud below the flower. 

Peonies are one of my favourite flowers, so again this time of year is special, this plant came from my mum's garden, this is the 2nd garden we have planted it in, only 5 buds are going to open, I think I might need to dig around and remove some of the roots. I hope to find a yellow one this spring, I have just the perfect spot of it. 

This camellia was purchased last year, I had thought at one point the buds would fail, but it has been blooming for a couple of weeks. It's my first time of growing one, in a tub as our soil is not right conditions, whilst it's flowering it's near the front of the garden, later I will pop it to the back. 

I deleted my extra comments of the last post, as from Thursday hubby was unwell and got worse each day, Monday we called 111 and the doctor made an appointment at our local A&E, he was seen at the time given and taken straight to a cubical, he was suffering extreme diarrhoea, loads of test were done, his kidneys were playing up, so they kept him in. They have stabilized his kidneys, and on Wednesday we got the results, he had Campobylactor food poising, the infections doctor came to speak to him when I was visiting, hubby knew about the bug he had, as it was part of the H&S food handling courses he ran for years, the doctor was impressed, it was his first time of finding someone who under stood the bug. We think we know where it came from, we had lunch out last week on Tuesday, hubby had a cold chicken sandwich. 

I got an secondary infection, so I too have been unwell, we both have lost days, mine has started to clear up, and hubby is looking much better, he had been in isolation the whole time, his room does have a window, so it's not to bad. The hardest part was coming home to an empty house, something I have not done for 45 years, having said that I was still feeling unwell, so I went straight to bed. 

Yesterday was a long day, hubby was told they would allow him home, that was before lunch, his antibiotics arrived mid afternoon, so it was a case of waiting. I visited in hope I could drive him home, but just before 6pm there were no signs of any consent for him to leave, so I drove home. Luckily we live just 20mins drive from hospital, I sat at home waiting to hear from him, he came home later last evening.

The garden is not being touched, I did manage to water the veg and greenhouse once, and netted my pea shoots as the pigeons were eating them, I might have to sow some more. I'm having a social media break this weekend, we are doing nothing, loads of rest in the sunshine.

This year so far has not been nice to us, we are hoping things turn for the better very quickly. 

Veg post

 My broad beans pods are filling out, soon we will get our first harvest, much earlier as these were planted late last year. I have nipped the tops off, as I want all the energy going into turning the numerous flowers into pods. I have some blackfly, but I won't do much about it, I am organic so I don't spray, maybe Northsider , Dave can give me a few tips. 

My second raised bed is going well, the runner beans are now at the top of the willow fence, my broccoli is looking strong, and I have both beetroot and parsnip seedlings showing, I have some marigolds I want to pop in this bed, to attract the bugs away from my veg. There are a few potato plants which I did not plant, left over from my Christmas crop. 

The last minute peas are now doing well, they are all looking strong, as are my potatoes in their bags, I am really hopefully to have some small but tasty harvest from this new section. The potato bag in the front will need another earth up, and then it's a case of watch and hope. 

The last place outside is this raise bed, now my salad bed, lettuce are doing well along the middle, these were purchased as plug plants, there are a mixed salad leaf and a baby salad leaf in the front, both grown from seed. At the back radishes and spring onions are showing, we have had our first harvest of these lettuce, just cutting the leaves and allowing the plants to grow. 

My carrots in both buckets are doing well, these are still in my greenhouse, along with the horseradish root I planted, I've used an old chicken poo pellet container. I have also got tomato plants and cucumber plants, they are all doing well, as is the numerous herb seedlings. My greenhouse is in full production at this time of year.

Saturday more flowering plants found their way into the ground, mainly in the old herb bed, I now have pots for seedings, again flowers, should be full of colour this year.

This week

 It's been a week of getting by, we had George on Thursday, which was wonderful, except, he has Downs Syndrome and does not like change, therefore he searched the whole house looking for Grace, daughter was worried, but I found it helpful, in a strange way. He will do the same for the next few visits, Molly was at nursery.

I have spent loads of time on my computer, I have finished my 2022 book, it is ready for printing, I have started on 2023, it is time consuming but fun, a great way to look back on my simple life. If you want to know more, click on My books on my side bar. 

I have struggled with this book, I know it's me, I'm not in the mood to read, but I need to do anything rather than sit here and feel sorry for myself. It's a good plot, old friends on a wedding week break, what could go wrong. Well loads, it was a huge book, 564 pages, Book 27 read this year.

Today is special, 40 years ago hubby and I became a couple, he moved in with us, (me and two young daughters) and started our lovely journey together, our 40th wedding anniversary is in a couple of years, we had to save to afford to tie the knot. We are not doing much, it's a normal day, laundry is on the line, it's sunny and no rain due, I will be outside, I don't have much to do, but will spend all day outside. 

I am wearing sandals and long shorts, I am fed up of being wrapped up, I will need to change later as it cools down, but for today I can hope May is giving us some nice weather. I did not realise until last night it's a bank holiday here, which makes no difference to us, we never go anywhere at the weekends, preferring to go out in the week, when places are not so busy. 

Flowers

 I have planted loads in this bed, 2 lupins, a white aster, hollyhock, foxglove, delphinium, scabiosa and a penstemon, most purchased as nice sized plants, I moved my red rose from this bed, it was not thriving. This is a deep bed, so with all these new plants I am hoping for a busy tall back section, I have calendula for the middle section and bedding plants for the front. I planted a big daisy last year and I'm hoping it will grow again this year. I also got a saxifraga with tiny white flowers, but I cut the plant in half, they are in my greenhouse for now. 

I put the red rose in the middle of my new back flower bed, I can see already it is growing, I dug out a lavender and a hellebore which I have not planted, it's small, I don't need it so I will pass it to my sister along with a pieris, which I had in a pot. I have ordered 10 small plug plants, Erigeron karvinskianus Profusion, or Fleabane, which have tiny pale daisy like flowers, I want them along the front of this bed, should fill the space and look good, they also self-seed and return each year. 

I finally spent my gift card from my last birthday, so more plants for the garden, some seeds and lettuce plants, my lettuce seedlings are still a bit small. We went to 2 local garden centres, I had £40 for one and £10 at another.

I'm going to try and grow horseradish, I got a couple of roots, only hubby eats it, so I don't need much, but I do need a cheap bucket to grow it in, like mint if put in the ground it spreads. We also go a couple packs of half price gladiolas, hubby will plant in his front garden, he loves the tall blooms.

I am moving away from loads of bedding plants which need to be replace twice a year, summer and winter, perennials and shrubs are more widespread in my garden, I often get them early in the season and grow them on to a great size before planting out. Bedding plants will always fill gaps and add colour, but not so many, I'm looking for less work in my flower beds. 

Plants in the greenhouse are starting to move out, I still have seedlings and tender plants in there, I have planted most of the small plants I grew on, purchased from the village pet shop. I have one cucumber plant ready to go outside, I will wait a couple more weeks, the other plant is not dong well, I will sow a few more seeds. My 3rd tomato plant is growing, I thought I had lost it, but with a bit of care, it's surviving. 

Thank you for all your kind comments, I am keeping busy in the garden, finding things to do, hubby is so kind to me, understanding I need some time, Grace had a huge chuck of my life, she was my lap cat and it's hard to sit still, she won't be forgotten anytime soon. 

Loss

I have seen something similar made by an Instagram gardener who I follow, hubby chose the sempervivums, they will grow and fill this pot, as soon as the rain stops I will pop it on our green metal table, I am reusing this pot I've had for years. 

Monday and Tuesday were bright sunny warm days, I did not enjoy much, sadly Grace's health declined over the weekend, and we took her for her final visit to the vets on Monday morning, leaving without her was heart breaking, so the house and garden feels empty. On 5th May she would have been 20 years old, earlier this year I did this happy post, knowing her health was failing. 

I am missing my pretty warm lap cat, daytimes are not to bad, but evenings are sad, she always curled up on my lap for most of the evening.

We took Purdy to the vets in March, so now we have an empty home, I have decided not to look for another cat yet, we have a few trips planned and we should look at having our oak wooden floors re-varnished. 

Using John Greys words, both our girls heard my voice and my smell as they drifted off, I was cheered when I read his words after losing Purdy and they were again in my head with Grace.