Spending

 My cross stitch is pure enjoyment, I recently purchased this larger wooden frame, it holds the fabric firmer, plus I can stitch the whole width, which should be around 20" and square, so it will be one of my biggest pieces. For now I am focusing on the edging, this time I will do this design all round, I think I have a clever plan to ensure all the designs line up.

I saw this book and thought it might be helpful for me, my two veg beds are 1 metre by 2 metres, so I have 4 square yards to grow things in, it should help with companion planting, which I'm not so great at, got it second hand so saved money.

Another thing I have purchased this month is this small 50ltrs water butt, hubby will drill a hole in the top to help capture rain, I have placed at the back of the garden, it's not attached to anything. Once a month I feed my plants, often with a seaweed liquid, it's a pain to keep measuring for the many watering cans, so now I can fill this add the seaweed in one go and feed my plants, the liquid seaweed does not settle.

I got these two 3ltr planters from Lidl, they cost £4.99 each and will be perfect for tulips displays next spring, these are plastic and light weight, they look like the expensive ceramic pots. It's been a couple of years since I had new pots, I will mix them with existing pots to make the display. It's a shame they only had one size.

Sunday was tremendous fun, the children ate well, played outside and behaved nicely, its not always I can say that as they get older, they were very happy to be with us, we did not come inside until much later. Monday was housework day, we have spent most of the past week outside, just inside in the evenings, so how does the place get so dusty, its all clean now. Again I sat outside enjoying the sunshine, I've been reading, done some stitching, sadly no knitting. 

Yesterday and today hubby has been sorting his stuff in the garage, he is clearing some space and 2 shelves so I can move all my gardening bits. He put bits on marketplace and some sold, the rest with a load of junk went to the tip, I'm keepingan eye on him, I've already pulled out 2 items of mine he was about to throw out. I have gardening stuff I can take to local schools, I does feel good to be sorting this space, it's a first stage of an ongoing project.

This life

 Another good book, Lucas has writers block, so he goes on a retreat near to where he grew up, he's very interested in the lady owner, her daughter went missing 2 years ago, he tries to help her, that's when things go wrong. A clever plot as he looks into various people in the village, it twist and turns, I did not guess the ending. Book 32 read this year.

I'm loving this cross stitch, it's a bit repetitive at the moment, having said that, it's two designs I have mashed together both of which I love. I am a bit unhappy with the first pink flower where I stitched the bottom corner, I miscounted on the first try, so I unpicked it, the canvas was a bit messy, I have tried to stitch over my second lot of stitches, this is the best I am going to make it, I am really going to have to live with it. 

I have planted my bottle brush plant, I'm pleased with the look, it will fill this area with colour, keeping it in the pot and regular snipping will help keep it smaller, as Steve commented with the right conditions it can grow into a tree. The astilbe came out of the pot easily and is now planted in the side bed where it was originally purchased for, my astrantia is planted as well, just the french marigolds to go in. 

It's been 10 days since I last showed my peanuts, they are all doing well, loads of new growth, I have far too many seedling left, I have offered them locally in hope someone else would want to grow them. The two bags are staying inside the greenhouse, Molly's 3 will be planted in a bag and grown outside, just to see how they do. 

Thursday my shoulder felt slightly better so I decided to do a bit of gardening, I wanted to place my new plants, I am also moving plants outside the greenhouse in the daytime, so they are ready to go out soon. We walked to the village through our local park, the wind was still cool, I think we must be getting used to it, the park was busy as ever, we see more grandparents minding young children, often in the play area, and loads of dog walkers. The day felt much warmer, we opened the parasol to shelter from the sun.

Friday, another day at home, we are starting to sort the garage, I have my gardening bits in there, hubby has all his tools, countless pieces of wood (might come in handy one day) and things we will never use again, we are planning to move things around to empty the front section. I also sorted the huge cupboard under the stairs, moved a few bits around, removed a huge wine rack we no longer fill.

Saturday was sunny blue skies, we walked to the village through the park again, the gardens are all coming into bloom. Not much to do outside, sit and watch the birds, hubby is still feeding them, he is always cleaning their feeders, and their water spots. My few bedding plants are almost ready to go in the ground, they are spending days outside but back in greenhouse overnight, we have been frost free for weeks. 

I'm at daughters house, little ones were bathed, and both in bed, lots of cuddles, Will had a late shower and is watching something on YouTube,  soon he will be in bed, then early night for me. Tomorrow everyone is at ours for the first BBQ of the year, our garden is ready, we have loads of their favourite things to eat, weather will be good.

New life

My pomegranate is coming back to life, I love the colours of these new leaves, hopefully I may get a few flowers on it this summer, I moved the pot last summer and it does seam happy, no signs of any distress, before I kept it trimmed to a lower height, now I will let it grow, it will make a nice backdrop for the seating area, along with my herbs. This plant I grew from a seed, started back in 2017.

I mixed loads of flower seeds and sprinkled them into these two bags, I used these for cut flowers last year, I also have freesias in here as well, most of the seeds should do well it's a warm sunny spot. This for me is proving a successful way to start seeds, the bags protect them from the worse of the weather and snails.

I removed six lupins seedlings from the above bags, I love to grow them, sadly they never return after their first year, these will be useful to fill gaps. The tray at the bottom of photo I have completely forgot what seeds I have sown, I checked with Lens, it can't make it's mind up, could be forget-me-nots or cornflowers, its a case of wait and see.

I also planted some bulbs, liatris spicata, they have tiny flowers on stalks, I put two packs in the back of my square bed last year and nothing grew, so once these are bigger they can go out.

My hubby purchased a plant for our garden, it was market day on Wednesday, the plant stall is good. I made comment I loved these bottlebrush plants and one would go in my pot, which is in a sunny sheltered spot, I had just popped my astilbe in it, but I can place it elsewhere in the garden. As I was deciding hubby paid the man, I'm happy with my latest addition. 

I have been out most days looking for snails, I know where they hide, catching them early helps my crops, I do have beer traps I can use, for now I search by hand, there are not many weeds, I have them under control for the moment. My cucumber plants is growing well, I have 4 tomato plants, hoping for a good harvest this year and loads of lettuce plants at various stages.

I have also purchased another astrantia, it's a pink flower, I do love these plants, I want to dig out my penstemon, it's too big for the spot, plus last year there were hardly any blooms, I also got 20 french marigold plants from B&Q, my own seeds failed germinate. It's truly naughty to purchase more plants, I have plenty growing in the greenhouse. 

It's been a quiet few days, I have hurt my left shoulder, I've had problems since 2010, when an operation left me with nerve damage and a weakness, all I can do is rest, which is not so bad with the sunshine, I do wish the very cool wind would drop, it's nice to work outside but still cool to sit for too long. Today they have promised the wind will disappear, I have high hopes, I have a few jobs to sort in the square flower bed.

Thank you for your kind comments regarding our garden, whilst I do most of the work these days, it's a space for both of us, our refit back in 2023, was the final stage, ensuring its a much easier after 17 years we have done all the hard work, we know what grows here, I am an organic gardener, I use no chemicals anywhere, watching the wildlife gives us as much pleasure as seeing the blooms. I don't regard anything here as work, I'm happiest with a set of snipps in my hand, either deadheading or keeping things in shape.

My peaceful place

 April is a great month, so much new growth to be seen on all the trees in garden surrounding ours, making a colourful backdrop, our Magnolia is now filling out, I adore this tree, happy we keep it smaller. My red acer had a hug dead spot on the top right had side, I have cut all the dried wood away, it now looks lopped sided, I'm trying to convince hubby it needs a huge trim. 

My fleabane daisies are coming into flower, I have been tucking all the bulb leaves under the new growth, I won't cut them back as they are mainly hidden. My astilbe in the middle is growing back, I have popped the rusty frame around it, it's not really needed, I just love the look. I have 4 aquilegia's along the back, they will show soon.

My square bed is all sorted in the back section, my forsythia is thriving in this new spot and fills the corner, in the other corner I have planted my Chinese witch hazel, it was potbound, a neighbour has hers in the ground and its doing well. I do have space at the front for other plants, this bed again is how I wanted it. I put an astilbe in the big pot, I purchased it as a tiny plant, its now a good size.

My side bed is still full of bulb leaves, I will leave this bed for a few more weeks, I can see loads of plants returning, soon summer plants will dominate, for now I can let the bulbs die back and gain strength for next year. My bunting is years old, it's faded and dirty, I will remove it, I can't decide if I should make another lot to go up, I have had coloured lights here, they never last too long, humm, might look good bare.

There is almost nothing to do in this ornamental front section, it is how we like it, this is going to be a year of enjoying the space together, my greenhouse is full of plants, not sure where I can put them all. I can get dirty finger nails in the veg/fruit section, with the bonus of loads of lovely fruit and veg and of course my greenhouse. I did pop some spring pots under the red acer, something has been digging in them, so I will move them to the back section of the garden, I still have some space there. 

Since one of the huge elderflower trees has shifted in our neighbours garden, ours is now getting more sunshine, it is making a huge difference to the space, in time it will grow back and cast a huge shadow, the others are taller than our own magnolia tree.

Sunday we did nothing, it was another dry sunny day still with a cool breeze, we ate lunch outside, I did water the pots, again they were bone dry, I sat and did cross stitching for a few hours, such a restful day, the little ones played in their own garden so daughter got some relaxing done as well. Monday I did some housework and then outside again, enjoying the lovely weather.

The mornings and evenings are still cooler here, the days full of sunshine is very welcome, it's been a long wet winter, and I am more then ready for summer, even if I have to water often.