Some you win

 First pickings of strawberries, they were very sweet, there are loads more to come, the little net bags are working, I do leave berries on lower level open for the wildlife. 

First of my sweet-peas, all the same colour, I have everything crossed for another good year, the sweetwilliamsare home grown as well.

Just to balance things, my poor hostas, a dining area for snails I keep looking for them, I have given in this season, I will clear the top of the tub later in the year, clearing out as many as I can.

I have ripped out my broad-beans they were covered in blackfly, they are infected every year, for some reason this season they overwhelmed the plants, we did get one meal from them, none in freezer. I could get new plants but I fear the blackfly would come back.

It's not often I show the mishaps in the garden, I do tell you about them, I am OK with things going wrong, plants never returning, I never use chemicals, I'm hopeful as the years pass the eco system in the garden is balanced enough to save most things.

Water is always an issue, often we have long periods of dry weather, I do collect rain water but it's never enough, so I water often. Last year we missed the hose pipe ban, our local water supplier Portsmouth Water is good at amassing vast amounts of water. Yesterday the storms came, so gardens are now soaked and water butts are full again. 

Having a cat keeps other cats away, I do pick up after Lilly most days, locally foxes are a problem, hubby has blocked most entrance points, they can climb over fences luckily they don't here. We rarely see hedgehogs any more, occasionally mice, again luckily we not seen a rat in ages. Pigeons are a pain, I do net my veg beds.

Just being in the garden is so rewarding for both of us, these days there is less work to be done, so we practice the art of sitting and watching.

May round up

 Just one cheap ball of yarn for a pair of socks, nothing else for crafting, I'm doing very little inside, garden was another low spend month, we have not visited many garden centres this month, I don't record the bigger project spends which come out of our household budget.

2 Books read this month

The car has had a new clutch, it's 12 years old and mine, I purchased it new, I really don't see the need to renew it, it's a great size for the two of us, locally we only use it to go shopping, to daughters house or a garden centre, to go into town or Portsmouth we use our free bus pass. We trust the local mechanic, who works here, or in the case of the clutch took it to his garage at home. We have a good list of local trades people who we can call on, it's helpful as we age and hubby not able to do so much, plus their cost are way below any national companies.

The garage conversion cost was mainly the new doors, we did all the other work together saving loads, still cost involved as we made it look good, we did reuse loads of our own stuff.

I did get a few bits of clothing, I don't have a clothing budget, just trying to keep a low spend, the quilted jacket was a bargain not to be missed, I've already worn it a few times.

Again food waste was almost nothing, most of it went into my composters, which are working well with the added garden greenery. We do put a few bits into the council food waste bin, just stuff I don't compost, knowing our portion sizes help to stop waste, we only cook what we can eat.

We have dropped my portion size again, I have for most of the month avoided bread, biscuits ect, and potatoes, I am feeling much better for it, sadly the scales show no improvement.

New outlooks

 The new doors are on, the contractor was a local independent guy, who came recommended and did an outstanding job. The floor has been laid, we used gym floor tiles, deciding on grey rather than black, and purchased a bigger outside plastic rug for on top, which will arrive soon, both doors open outwards to keep the usable space inside.

The view looking out is much nicer, the old up and over garage door caused a huge shadow, I can still see flowers growing. For once I feel this is a proper patio.

Hubby popped up two shelves each side, allowing us to have a few bits out of the way. I got a few more silly signs, hubby knows how I like things to look finished. I've not had any input on his side, he got a small bathroom cabinet, I prefer my hamper, which has blankets in and the huge jar with a wooden tray as the table top. 

I hung my sunhat here as well, more convenient, handy should I want to wear it. I have suggested hubby hangs one of his in here on his side. My lovely trug is hanging here, it is beautiful, sadly I don't use it much, I have another I use, so often it has been in the way, here I can see it. The signs are hung straight, the angle of my photo makes them look off, most of these I have had for years.

The view from our seating area has improved so much, this left hand side of the garden is now truly part of the garden, removing the metal door makes the building look less like a workshop and more for leisure use. For now we are using my tubs for door stops, I did see some lovely wooden ones at £100 each, hubby has some nice wood, he will try and make them for me.

So now we have our sunroom, it faces to the sun most of the day, so on cooler sunny days this will be a perfect spot, on hot sunny days we can sit further back in the shade, on windy days we are completely sheltered. The first night it was finished we shared a bottle of Hawkstone cider and sat out until 8pm, it's been a perfect project for us both, it does feel good to have another space we can sit in, these days I prefer to be at home, and no matter what the weather is like we can be 'outside'.

I have promised hubby there is now NOTHING big left to do (fingers crossed) I truly have nothing I want to change, our garden is a perfect space for both of us. He has said he will paint the board just under the roof felt, the new doors make it look grubby.

The children's garden toys are all handy, hanging all the bats and balls up in the front corner works well, I have shown George we do not store the toys in the same place, hopefully he understands and will stay out of the back section, Molly already understands. 

Shades of green

The garden is looking good, I do like to see the structures in place in the veg beds, it all feels productive, In the flower beds I still have a few gaps after planting most of my young new plants, I am waiting to see what does come back, I have lupins growing which aren't ready yet, they are taking their time to grow. I do love all the different shades of green everywhere.

This raised bed is for lettuce and small salad bits, its easy to get at, I only cut leaves never the whole plant as they will keep growing. I have started a tub of mixed leaves as well. I have edged the sides with copper mesh to keep the snails away, the cover is rustic, it keeps out pigeons and Lilly. I cut the lower leaves which my neighbours chickens had as a treat.

My peanuts are doing well inside my greenhouse, I have very few plants left inside, even with the net curtain up for shade, the temperature inside has been baking. I did offer my spare 5 seedlings on marketplace, sadly no takers. I reset my thermometer inside the greenhouse on Sunday, the highest reading was 40.8° and the lowest 14.3°, I never shut the door in the warmer months.

A tale of love, obsession and beliefs, you meet the love of your life, she teaches you so much, she is a bit strange and then after 4 months together she disappears, what do you do, search for her even if her past is so secretive. A fanciful topic, a good story, I enjoyed the ending as it left you with questions. Book 35 read this year.

I have picked a couple of cucumbers, I'm not waiting until they are fully grown, I'm hopeful it will help the plant stay strong, we have tiny green tomatoes, all planted outside in a raised bed. We have been eating lettuce for a while and enjoyed our first new potatoes. I am going to pick broad beans soon. I did purchase 20 nice strong french marigolds from Tesco to add to veg beds, after a good soak they were planted later in the evening. 

I have watered the fruit and veg beds every night, as well as pots with flowers in, this heat is harsh on our plants, so many not used to dry weather, my water butt levels are dropping, not much I can do about it, I never refill with tap water, once they are empty, that's it. My latest small water butt is working well the water inside has liquid seaweed added, so much easier for me, just to pour some when needed, its tucked behind the garage so in the shade.

I have not been out much this week, I prefer to stay at home, I did pop to Lidl on Monday for a top-up shop, I've not walked to the village or the park, I get no joy being out in this heat. It got very muggy on Thursday afternoon, we had a few spots of rain, daughter was at a local beach and got soaked, we stayed dry.

Today we are back inside the garage the final bit of our refurb, we had the new doors fitted yesterday, it's all coming together.