Just looking

 Whilst I love our garden, 

I do love to see pockets of colourful joy. 

Just spots where you stop and enjoy the moment

Soon the tulips will burst into flower, 

I only grow them in pots, they rot in our heavy clay soil. 

It has been a very windy few days, our garden has not had any damage, we keep everything low and the leaves are not formed on our trees yet. The huge elderflower 'plants' next door always takes a bashing from the wind, one has gone over and now at an angle away from the fence, which gives our magnolia tree some space, makes our space feel lighter. 

I do love huge pots, where I can mix plants to allow flowers throughout the year, and use different compost to grow plants which would not grow in the ground, the pots hide bare corners, end flower beds, and soften seating areas, hubby laughs at me as I do love to dress our garden, not too much. This year I have very little to add to this space, it's just a case of waiting for the plants to return enjoying the space we have created.

Inside

 My knitting is growing, I love the look, I have no use for another blanket, I have a few crochet ones, I will check them and maybe discard one. I have completed 17 pattern rows and used half of one ball of black, so I can do up to about 70 pattern rows, I still have plenty of coloured yarn left.

I have read books from this author before, another great book, I do love a good thriller, 3 couples all on holiday, all very different, thrown together when a woman is murdered, past lives catching up with them, lies, back home and things are still strange. Book 26 read this year.

I chose this book as it was free on my Kindle, same police officer as in previous book, a fall from a balcony, was it an accident, and why are all the new mums acting so strange, with a good insight into how the police follows through a case. Book 27 read this year.

My last magazine arrived this week, I won't renew the subscription, I have 24 copies saved for reference, I do like this practical magazine. Most of the free seeds were gifted to local schools.

17 years ago, we decided to have wooden floors in our hall and main living area, slate in downstairs bathroom, vinyl in the kitchen and laminate in our office (3rd bedroom), there was already tiles on our en-suite, these days my knees and back complain after washing them. So after a search through countless steam floor mops, we got this Shark, the two round pads spin and work together to scrub the floors, with three levels, super easy to use, every part of me is happy. This is not an ad, just my views on an item which works well for me.

It's been cooler and dull this week, so housework was done, I also got a new handheld steam cleaner, I used it on my clean shower, it got to places where my cloth could never reach, spring cleaning is going well here. For once nothing aches, I was able to do more in one session.

I did pick George and Molly up from school on Tuesday, daughter attended Will's school, his class had a project they wanted to share with parents, both little ones were good in my car, after tea mummy went back to their school for parents evening, Molly's teacher gave her a glowing report, Molly loves school and is doing well, she is still only 4 and has done so well. Georges teacher was happy with him, he is on his own path, different from his peers, he does try, but he does like to play as well. Again daughter was very happy, we chatted for ages, having 3 happy children makes her life much nicer, for now Will has stopped playing up in the mornings. 

I have picked up bugs again, George has a cold, he is a cuddly boy and loves his nana, I'm hoping I can shift the bugs quickly, I'm cold and tired all the time, yesterday was a lazy day and should be the same today.

Glasshouse

 I've cleared the plastic greenhouse cover away and moved the frame back to use as shelves, this space is busy at this time of year. I need to try and clear all the fallen leaves from the back of the greenhouse, it's along our neighbours fence and a struggle to get to.

My peanuts are growing, I have ten plants so far, which should be enough, they will be grown in two bags and kept here inside the greenhouse, they need a hot sunny space. Molly wanted to start some more, they are shooting, when she next comes here we can start them in compost.

I have loads growing, I snipped the growing tops off my sweet-peas, they are now filling out.

More guara cutting in hope to have loads of the wonderful plants, on lower shelf is fleabane daisies for daughters garden. I have sown some saved french marigold seeds as well.

My daffodils are going over, I have cut the heads off them and have tied some of the smaller bunches, it's important to allow the leaves to die back on the bulb, this process gives the bulb their energy for next year. I have bluebell and camassia buds showing, the colour keeps coming. I shall move some of the pots with bulbs in as they go over, they live behind the garage the rest of the year. 

We have picked the first of our rhubarb, made a crumble with apples, we both enjoyed it, it's always the first harvest of the year, it is an early variety, I have a wire ring around the crown, which I fill with fallen leaves, they protect it through the winter and once broken down nourishes the soil.  

I got some stone (pebble) edging to cover my pond sides, the stones are small and I was worried about the 'glue' used, so I have used them elsewhere, I really do not want to damage the ecology of the pond. 

Days are now dull, the wind is much colder, so the garden seating stays covered, I still check the garden every morning, watching the separated plants growing in their new spots. Hopefully the better weather will return soon. 

Lazy days

 We had an us day on Thursday, firstly in our local town we did some pottery painting, both deciding to decorate a mug, hubby had no idea what to do and looked in their corner of aids to decorate. I do like his, he is very pleased.

I knew how I was going to decorate mine, I took loads of Q-tips to make dots, mine does look busy, will have to wait and see how it turns out, I forgot they had the fineline colours, which would have made it better. 

We also popped into Waterstones, I still had a gift card from Christmas, the gardening year is a book to add notes throughout the year, it has space for 5 years of notes, each month has 5 pages allowing a weekly entry, I will start it on 1st of April, the wildflower book was very pretty and a complete indulgence for me, I only had to pay £3 for both books.

Another new author, I enjoyed this clever book, another story where the outcome is hiding in plain sight, after a horrendous marriage and the death of the husband, she starts to engage with village life, making new friends, but at home in her cottage strange things happen. Book 25 read this year.

We had planned lunch out on Thursday, but we were not that hungry after having a mid morning coffee and cake, so we came home and had an early evening meal. I spent time outside in garden, not doing much, just enjoying the sunshine. Friday we did some other end of town shopping and popped to daughters house, Molly had her swimming lesson after school, George had ran around the last couple of times creating havoc, so we sat with the boys whilst mummy watched Molly swim. 

Saturday more time outside, I planted a new grass in Kurt's head, the last plant died, hubby has drilled a couple more drainage holes, the wind is still cool. Sunday was another day of rest, more laundry was done, I sat at watched wildlife, there are loads of butterflies and huge bee's this spring, The small birds are nesting, Magpies hover hoping to get to their nest, I always make a noise when I see them to move them on. Having very little to do in the garden is very new to me, I'm not good at sitting still. It's gotten much cooler this afternoon and cloudy, shame, it was nice whilst it lasted. 

We both needed a few of rest days, each suffering with back ache due to the tasks completed on Wednesday, we have had a couple of early nights, we are now both awake at 6am, a bit too early for me to get up. I'm feeling rested as is hubby, sometimes you have to avoid everything and look after yourself. Luckily George is behaving a bit better, daughter took them to the park for 3 hours to play with their friends, so a great weekend all round.