Tiny starts

Soon it will be seed sowing time, these are new variety to me, I always like to try new things, most of my seeds are started from February onwards, as are these. I have always had great results with Wilko's seeds and roots, I haven't the space for too many plants. 

I have to start my sweet peas, I had a great success last year for the first time, so again I will soak the seeds for 24 hours and then leave them on wet kitchen roll until I see shoots, then they will go into long root holders in the greenhouse.

I have taken 10 cuttings from my fleabane daises, I need plants for daughters garden, hubby made a raised bed along her side fence, she wants to fill the bed to look the same as mine, I did scatter loads of flower heads over soil in a covered propagator last autumn, there are tiny shoots forming. If I have plants left over I want to pop them along the base of our back fence.  

I have left most of my seeds in the garage, putting off getting them out as it is far too early, most packs came with my subscription Kitchen Garden, which I won't renew next month, I have kept the magazines for reference, they go into more detail than gardening books. I have 26 issues here in this drawer, plus a few other magazines. Most of the unwanted seeds I gifted to our local junior school.

This is my least favourite time of the year, everywhere is dull, grey and dismal, I do get outside in the garden for short periods, and I pop to the greenhouse a couple times a week, I want to be doing things but it is far too early, so I sit and wait, no plans to keep me occupied. Normally I craft, cross stitching or knitting, but neither is calling, I have been reading, my latest book is slow, I really need to decide if I want to know who are the bodies and why they were murdered, it's a good old police based plot, or start another book. I was hoping for a needle felting class, sadly the tutors mum is poorly so the classes are suspended for now. 

I'm so bored I have done all my housework, not my favourite task, I do love to see everywhere clean, we are not untidy, we live in a hard water area, so bathroom gets a wipe down after use to stop the build up of limescale, making it easy to keep clean. Hubby made two soups, carrots and coriander, pea and ham, which is this weeks lunches, and chocolate brownies for our treat.

We have not been out much, rain in January is cold and uninviting, we wrap up to walk to the village trying to avoid getting wet, drive to our local Lidl's for a bigger shop. There is nothing we need or want, so I see no point to going out, our town has shrunk, just a few nice shops, our local outlet is all outside so no fun on wet days, as is Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth. It was nice to have some sunshine on Tuesday,  still really cold.

Whatcha doing?

These socks have been in my kitting work bag for over a year unfinished, pure laziness, they were not alone I had two other pairs there, all three pairs are now finished and these this week will be winging their way to a new home. The design is mine, I have used left over yarn from other hand made socks, using 4 different shades and the multi coloured

Another good book, a simple task leads to a discovery, you know you are adopted, but now you have a huge new family, with secrets, should you dig deeper. A plot with a double time line which worked well. Book 6 read this year.

I have often said the buds on an amaryllis when opening look alien, this bloom is dark red, I can't wait for these loud blooms to show themselves, my hyacinth is in circle photo, I do not know what colour these blooms will be, they are forming. January is a good month for inside bulbs, I do love to watch their growth, the hyacinth bulbs will go outside in garden once finished. 

I spent some time outside, my main job was to cutback the fleabane daisies in this bed, I did the same last year, keeps them at a tidy size, you can see lots green new growth at the base of the plants. Now I can see the spring bulbs shooting, I also removed 3 clumps of primroses, which were completely hidden, they are now in new spots, they fell apart so I had 5 plants.

Saturday was dry, sunny and not too cold, an hour in the garden pleased me, I managed to weed my side bed, the weeds are tiny and easier to pull, soon spring bulbs will cover the bed. The bed above is looking a bit ragged, my two snowberry plants are doing well, I will cut back the right hand side to allow the other newer plant to grow so they match size. Hubby renewed the wooden perch on my fork handle, I've never seen a bird on it, but I do like to see it. It's a bit like Triggers broom (Only Fools and Horses), the handle was replace a while ago and now a new perch, it belonged to my mum, so it is years old. 

Molly brought home a reading book with words in on Friday, already she knows them, she was very excited to read to us, all three children have a love of books, just like their mummy and me, Will has been unwell this week, he rarely has time off school sick, so they had a lazy weekend at home, George is happy to be together with them all. 

Not forgotten

I do like this author, another great book, just a mum collecting her daughter from university, only she is not there, she has dropped out and told no-one. Mum tries to track her down with surprising results, a brilliant read, Book 3 read this year. 

A new author to me, this was set in USA, two girls are taken, one escapes quickly, it's a year later, one girl is still getting to much attention, the other is forgotten. A series of events sends the older sister of the missing girl on a path, she is collecting information, can she find what happened to her little sister, this book kept me in the dark until almost the end, brilliant read. Book 4 read this year.

I enjoyed the previous book so I stuck with the same author, as a documentary creator you help innocent people to be freed from jail, its noble to go through evidence and have experts find errors in court cases. This book walks you through a perfect case, it's all going great until it isn't, what next. Book 5 read this year. 

A while ago I had this pebble painted, it's my Grace, the artist has made a perfect image of her, just a small simple thing placed beside my desk, I smile every time I see it. I recently asked the same artist if she would create Frankie for daughter, again it's a perfect image, daughter loves hers as much as I love mine. Oh to have the talent to paint such beautiful lifelike images. 

My 1st amaryllis bud is about to open, the second bud on the same bulb has started to grow taller, the 2nd bulb has a tiny shoot forming, as does one of last years I have back inside, so these huge blooms will give me joy, the red one should open first. 

We did pop out once this week to daughters side of town, met her in Dunelm for a coffee, nice treat, hubby got the couple of bits he wanted, then on to B&M, not my favourite shop but a few bits we needed including cat food. In both shops we saw, Christmas items on sale, January sale items, Valentines day bits and Easter eggs, what a mixture, we walked by it all, I did get a pair of wire brushes, which I can use for my needle felting, I am planning a new project. 

Once again I have asked hubby for smaller portions, they were creeping up again, he is now cutting back on what he cooks, in our last food shop I did not get any treats, chocolate, biscuits or crisp, hubby has made his first homemade cake of the year, this time a lemon drizzle using the lemons we already had. I have already shifted the few pounds I put on in the final weeks of December. I hope to be able to walk more, but at this time it's just so wet and I really don't want to be out getting cold and wet. 

January blues

 More weird things happening here, firstly the strange inside tree has gone, she spent a day packing everything away, I still have no idea what it was for. I did have a new toy which was under it with other colourful things. This is my favourite place to be inside.

Something mad happened this month, we had white cold stuff falling from the sky, not like rain which I hate, it did not last long, I loved it, I don't feel the cold, so I played outside for ages, the squirrels were running around everywhere, I sat in the tree watching them.

They got me this new toy, I do love a ball, this one has a mouse inside, which I can't get, BUT it makes a strange squeak when I play with it, I don't like the squeak, she keeps trying to encourage me, I hope she can make the squeak go away.

The little ones on their visit were sad earlier in the month, I could tell, I played close to them, they wanted to stroke and cuddle me, I'm not good at cuddles, but I let them. Molly drew me a picture of my brother Frankie, I did sit on their mum's lap, I've never done that before. 

I found a brilliant new game, every night he gets his clean clothes out of the walk-in wardrobe, so one night I snuck in waited a short while, the light went off, THEN I pounced out of the doors, great fun, sadly they did not enjoy it as much as me. He now checks every time to ensure I'm not hiding. 

Recently it has been non stop rain, so I sit on a rug by the patio doors looking out at the garden, often she stands beside and agrees that she is missing being outside as well, she has promised me the lovely sunny days will return.

A garden year 2025

 Hellebores gave early colour, these were my blooms in January, I adore the dark red almost black bloom, so many different shades.

Spring bulbs in pots were a success in February, I have loads of vintage clay pots, the cyclamen were still blooming. 

March and my triple acer was in full leaf, it's in a shady spot and looked glorious, plus my azalea below, so many things in bud. 

It's April and there were so many different flowers in bloom, loads of colours for late spring. 

The first picking of fruits, strawberries, it's May and summer was on its way, it was to become the best year for berries, with bumper strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. 

My first successful year with sweet peas, sown way back in beginning of the year, plenty to pick here in June, again I had a bumper crop, picking blooms most days. 

July is begonia time, I adore these blooms, they produced flowers until the frost arrived, most are grown in pots off the ground. 

 

These fleabane daisies had bloomed for months and look really good, they will stay green the whole year, August the garden is full of so many different flowers. 

Zinnias and asters are the stars in September, so many different styles and colours, plus my favourite begonia, full of orange blooms.

I always think of primroses as a spring flower but every October they bloom in our garden, I have them in 6 different spots. 

I grow veg all year round in the two raised beds and loads of bags and buckets, November had all the over winter veg looking good.

In December you can see the skeleton of the garden, bare trees, and shrubs, our fake grass gives the impression of everything tidy, this is the time when I am thinking of any changes.

Just 12 views from my garden year last year, I choose mainly flowers for their beauty, I did grow plenty of fruit and veg, I hope for another great harvest year, can you feel the sunshine on this wet grey day.

I love every part of our garden, any tasks are made easy by the layout, not too much stretching and bending, most of the flower beds have shrubs for structure and perennials filling with colour. The fruit beds are sorted and require little work other than cutting back and collecting harvest. The veg beds and bags keep me busy, if I am not working in them I am planning what will follow, no space is left empty for long. My herbs are all grown in pots, I don't have so many ornamental pots, as they break (most are terracotta), I don't replace them. 

I hope you enjoyed my little look back at my garden in 2025. There were many more photo's I could have added but I did not want this post too long. Just a break from all this cold weather, with loads of colour, now time to think of seeds, firstly sweet-peas.

Outside

 The pond area is looking good, the grasses work well, I love the tiny cyclamen infront, I can't see this from the house, my cider pot blocks the view. It's always lovely to pop here, there are primroses and hellebores in flower in the fruit bed, pretty pops of colour.

Whilst I was cutting back the old hellebore leaves to let the buds show, I found another almost black flowering hellebore, so I have two plants which is pleasing, I think I moved the parent plant to my square garden from the black pot. I do have two other pink plants, which the shoots are a bit later.

When we were in Lidl's last week, I picked up this trio of hyacinths, I did not get any bulbs last autumn, I'm using my hand painted pot, after they have bloomed I will pop them in the garden.

A couple of weeks ago, I cut back my gaura plant with white blooms, I popped 4 bits into water, so I'm pleased to see roots on two bits, I have read these plants don't live for years, so I will regularly take cuttings.

Friday was wet, all day, just steady rain, we did not go anywhere, Saturday was blue skies and bright, so I had an hour in the garden, I tied my broad bean plants higher up their stakes, I cut a small cauliflower and thinned some smaller carrots for lunch today. I cut a scrappy cabbage for our neighbours chickens and I raked the paths between my raised veg beds, I have a special plastic rake which makes the job so easy. Next I went in my greenhouse, which was nice and warm, checked my plants, re-potted a couple which were out growing their pots. It was warm inside, so I lingered long than necessary, soon I will start my sweet peas and other seeds, the new growing season is starting. The ground is still frozen so I can only sort stuff for the greenhouse. 

We have nothing planned for today, we are expecting rain all day, it does feel slightly warmer this morning. I am still reading, this time from my kindle, and I have started knitting another pair of socks, I prefer it when my hands are busy.

Blooming

My first amaryllis has two buds on, this will have bright red flowers, I can't wait for them to bloom. I have a second white one which has started to grow, and a couple more old bulbs which only have leaves so far.

I have left out my silk flowers from Christmas, 

I do love to see blooms, these all look real and add much needed colour to my room, tucked back far enough to look good.

I struggled with this book at the start, people on a aeroplane, lots of different characters, it felt very bitty, but it was worth sticking with it. This author has good and bad plots, I have before given up on her books. Would you want to know your future, when and how you will die, what will you do with this knowledge,  give in or fight it. Huge book 485 pages, book 2 read this year.

Hubby has been chasing the delivery of our new air-fryer, following the courier Evry, once the parcel arrived at the local hub, it sat there not moving, finally he contacted the seller, who did some checking and sent another parcel via DHL, which arrived the next day. Our plumber is due to replace the mixer bar on the shower next week. Wednesday hubby was using his desk top computer, it frozen and then shut down, it's too old to be repaired, so we have our local guy building at new model and retrieving as much data as he can. Hopefully that's the 3rd thing to break in the past two weeks. Pricy start to this year.

We are not doing much, my WI meeting was postponed last night because of the weather, I did pop outside earlier in the week and skidded all around the icy patio, it was pure luck I stayed on my feet. Even hubby has just hunkered down, it's warm here, we have everything we need. It rained most of Thursday not as hard as we expected, overnight the rain and wind was heavy. This morning is grey skies more rain and wind, but not so strong, our gardens are alright, no damage, I just hope where ever you are you are safe, dry and warm and have electricity. I've not spoken to my brother, I sent him a message, he has electricity and is home.

Thank you for all your comments regarding my printed blog books, just a couple things to think on, firstly you work at your own pace, the book remains on your computer until you upload it and then payment is required for the printing, secondly I always wait until there is a good offer, normally 50% off or a smaller discount with free shipping. the company send regular emails, not too many to be a nuisance, I always aim for November, at the moment there is a 40% off deal on offer. 

Just a sprinkle

 

I don't get to show snow photos often, normally it completely misses us, it stayed around for just one day. Not enough to call it lying snow, it is extremely cold here, we are popping the heating on for longer, I wish our electric wood burner was a real wood burner, just imagine being toasty infront of real flames. Last year we got fans for the top of two radiators, which help the rooms feel warmer, the small bedroom has not had any mould in the corners this year, which is a relief. 

Storm Goretti is due in our region tonight, we are not under any weather warnings, just heavy rain and gales, but there is snow where to warm air meets the cold front north of us, I am keeping everything crossed we just get rain, being so close to the coast helps with our weather. 

Grandchildren had fun at home outside, all three hoping for more snow, they have settled back into school, last night's bedtime was good both the little ones were worn out.

We are not doing much, too cold to be outside, I do check the garden and greenhouse, not opening the door, everything is as it should be. I am reading a huge book, it's been a struggle as there are so many people in the plot, but I trust the author and will keep going. 

In hardback

Steve was asking about my blog books which I print through Blurb, The template for books is free to use, just download it, payment is only when you send the book for printing, I always use a photo book style. 

With my first book the printers had a template to allow you to import your whole year to a book format, I found it very hard and would only import a month at a time, each photo was a full page, which I did not want, as on average I have 4 photos per post, and I wanted each post on just one page, as you pay by the number of pages it made economical sense. I do find it much easier these days as I input the words into my created text blocks and then each photo, keeping everything away from the pink sections, over the years it has got much easier as I have created a system which works for me. I don't add any comments, just my post.

 I do ensure all the tops of the pages are level, the side line up, I am a neat freak, then I check the written content, having to change a few words here and there to make them flow better, then spell check and image resolution to sort. I then read through twice, just to be happy. I always choose the same covers and paper quality, so the books match as much as they can, when I read through once printed I do find at least one small error, but that's OK as I am only human, and nothing should be perfect. 

The cost of the books have not really changed much, always waiting for a good discount, Black Friday in November is always good, they allow you to print as many copies as you wish, I only ever print one copy. My last book purchased last November was with 50% off so I paid with postage £65.20 with 189 pages and hard cover no wrap. They are very quick to deliver, never waiting more than a week.

Doing at bit of maths (so very me), I worked out on average it takes me about 6 minutes to complete the post into a neat template normally on one page, so in 2024 I have 179 post so importing took me about 19 hours. The editing I do in 3 sessions, taking anything up to two hours each time. Therefore I think each book takes about 25 hours to sort, most of the work can be done over months, an hour here or there does not feel to busy. 2024 is now finished, just 2025 to do.

I have done other post in more detail here and here or click on the link my books.

I do love these book a real indulgence for me, the younger grandchildren like to see their photos in my books, I also love to pick up a book and read, they are also a very quick reference point when I want to remember when something was done around the house and garden. 

Now is the perfect time to stop printing them, we see less of the children now they are all at school and all the major changes inside and out have been done, I do aim to keep blogging which I love, I also can be found on Instagram, my Facebook page I no longer use, I do check it to see how nieces and nephews are doing. Who knows I might relent and print 2026, but I'm not planning too.

Cold spell.

 We have so far missed most of the snow, we had a sprinkling over night, loads of frost every morning, with the low sun loads of spots stay white, the front of the house is the sunny side. Every day we have bright blue skies and sunshine, looking out it's brilliant, not so good once outside. This is much colder than we normally have at this time of year, which is reflected all around the country. 

 This yellow weather warning map covers most of UK, not covering the south coast, which is where we live, I have everything crossed we avoid the worst of the weather. In previous years we have missed the snow, we have no appointments in the coming week, so we will stay in.

I am keeping a check on my Olive tree, it now lives in a very sheltered corner, they are hardy to about -5° we have had this plant since 2019, I rarely cover this plant, I am keeping a close eye on it, so far it's OK. The rest of the garden is just left, whilst the frost are about it is best not to touch anything.

Meanwhile in my greenhouse the temperature is doing OK, I do not heat inside, it's in the sunniest spot in the garden on a raised base, which always helps with winter inside temperatures. I cleared the setting on Saturday, so these figures are for the 24 hours, it got down to -2.7° and was highest at 31.3°, both acceptable for the contents. 

I have not knitted any socks for a few years, which is a shame as I do love knitting them, I am wearing my homemade ones, much warmer for my feet, I am also wearing a few extra layers, our heating is working well and we try to keep the house between 18 and 20 in the daytime. We are not doing so much, so we do sit down more, which then makes me feel colder. 

We do try and have a short walk most days, wrapped up warm, my duffle coat is the warmest, with a scarf, gloves and knitted bobble hat. Our park is still busy, its a lovely place, the children's play area is always in use. Working on my computer is good, its the sunniest room in the house, my 2024 book is coming along nicely. I try and sort some of my crafting stash most days, there are loads of card bits to get rid of, I am keeping some bits for Molly to use, she does love crafting.

Meals are simple, I have a few bits of cheese left, I have enjoyed having so many different ones to try, there are hardly any chocolates left, I did not get too many this year. Our Christmas cake is being enjoyed, its not so dry now, must of just been one small section. 

Traitors is back on TV, along with Pottery throwing down and we love 1% club. There are a few new series we are starting to watch. I mainly read, not doing any crafting, I am searching for a cross stitch, nothing yet has fired my imagination. 

Hibernating

 I love this author, she always writes a great plot, the story has two main timelines with a 3rd added for a short while, not at all confusing. An historic disappearance, a new issue puts Dani back in a place she wants to forget, I could not put this book down. First book read this year.

I am back working on my 2024 book, just a few more post to put in, then loads of edits, I try and check everything twice, should soon be ready for printing, I am happy to wait for a good discount. I have already set up the template for 2025, this will be my last book to publish, all the grandchildren are now at school, so less photos of them. I will have 15 books covering 16 years, that's enough, plenty for me to look back on quiet times.

We are eating my Christmas cakes, it feels slightly dry, not overcooked, I think it was too near the radiator fan, whilst it was getting its brandy soaks. It still taste good, but not as moist as previous ones.

I spent most of Friday with daughter, her younger cat was found by a neighbour, he was the brother to Lily, he had no marks on him but had died in the night, needless to say she was very upset as were the children. Molly is trying to process everything, but with so many questions, George does not understand and Will is not saying much. They came to us on Saturday, it was good for them all to be away from their home, Lilly had loads of cuddles. Sunday is going to be a lazy day inside, again no snow, heavy frost and very cold.

Locally everyone is very happy the work creating the tunnel under M27 at J10 has finished a day earlier than expected, the motorway was reopened early on Saturday. The dry weather helped as the contractors were able to work non stop, watching their progress on Facebook, with loads of drone footage has been very interesting. So our little village and local town are back to normal traffic, it was busy and loads of drivers taking risk in how they drive on our roads.

I'm still full of cold, getting these bugs twice in just a few weeks has been hard, hubby's back is much better but he's still in pain. Life is getting back to our normal, laundry has all been done, house is clean, well just don't look in the corners, I have been outside in garden and greenhouse, not much to do, it's cold and frosty here but no snow.

2026 please be kind.