Grow, listen and read

 I have my tiny net bags ready for the coming weeks, my strawberry tower is bursting into life, I kept a few more babies which are now good plants in more pots. These are the first two berries forming, the plants have loads of flowers, I find it very peaceful placing these bags over the tiny green fruits, they stay on until harvest, it worked very well last year, I had hardly any nibbled, I will leave some uncovered for the bugs and mice.

I have put my cucumber plant into a bigger pot using my own compost, which is not so dry as the commercial ones. Two of my tomato plants have flowers forming, the other two are still quite small, my lettuce are coming along. I am about to start my runner beans and peas, much later than previous years, I am hoping the later start will help against the slugs and snails. 

I think we may have issues with mice (wishful thinking) or rats (we had them before), Lilly has taken to this spot under the Acer, I have pots underneath which has been dug in, she sits here and watches for ages, I will check along the back for holes where they could be entering. Not the greatest of photo's, I took it from inside.

We had a perfect evening out on Tuesday, locally at Fareham Live, we sat for just over two hours listening to Adam Frost garden designer and TV presenter, I have a couple of his books and followed lots of his tips. Hubby was unsure but came with me, he enjoyed the show, it was Adam's last show of the tour, he is very easy to listen to and very knowledgeable, in the most friendly of ways.

I finished this book on Wednesday so it was added to last months reading list, another good plot read on my Kindle. Your new bride ask if her parents can move in for a couple of weeks on their return from living in France, they are strange from the start, but that's families for you. They don't want to leave, your wife is scared of them, what have they done. The plot builds to a brilliant ending, just a few chapters before the end of the book, what next, you will have to read to find out. Book 33 read this year.

Wednesday I met daughter in town, we had an early lunch together, it was a nice peaceful time, later I did more sorting in the garage, my bits are less than a third of the space and I've only been in there a couple of years, so not too much to sort, I ordered a storage unit from IKEA which should arrive on Saturday, my bits will be finished on Sunday. Hubby moved his bench and our fridge/freezer, everything has been sorted, loads of stuff has gone.

Thursday we had a couple of quotes to change the garage, one we accepted, the guy was lovely, local and well recomended, so we have until the end of the month to do our bit, we are both excited to make the change. We are able to make changes because we no longer store our garden furniture inside over the winter months, our new set stores quiet small and is great under a cover outside, so we are redefining some of the inside space.

Another couple of days at home sunny warm with that biting cold wind, I really hope the wind dies back and is not a feature for the summer. We are still very dry, one water butt is empty and the other two larges ones are going down quickly, we need rain, there is rain due in the coming days, but its not promised in our area. We have just realised it's a long weekend here, May bank holiday on Monday, makes no difference to us, other than we will stay at home on the Monday, local roads will be busy, we did a shop at Lidl and have everything we need for the coming days. 

April round up

 A bigger spend this month, I am using my stash for my cross stitch and knitting, but I required a bigger sewing frame, just a few plants and two pots for the garden, I also got the small water butt, my garden spend this year is way down, which is very pleasing. I also added the £20 for the plant hubby paid for.

6 Books read this month

I got my state pension increase same as everyone else this month, half of it was taken in tax, my tiny private pension puts me over the threshold. 

We had a mobile mechanic out to check our car, the gears were a bit stiff, he came well recomended, we did not want to take the car to main dealer, they would just swap out the gearbox, it's now much better, he did suggest we would require a new clutch at some point, we have decisions to make. No other big household spend, hubby was looking to renew our toaster, the top was marked, I rubbed it with a ball of cooking foil, now it looks like new, nice saving, saw the tip on TV. Our London trip was paid for last month, we did not spend much on the day.

I did sell a few of my spare ceramic pots, made £24, and reclaimed loads of storage space, the few left, I can keep.

No waste here, we plan to put our food bin out every other week, it will never be full, just getting into a routine before the hot weather comes.

My weight is no change, I am becoming more active, which should help, nothing more to say, I have been suffering with more bloating, so I am trying to avoid too many carbs, maybe I might have a better comment next month..

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.

In my hands

32 pattern rows completed, I'm still enjoying knitting this blanket, first row is my mixed coloured yarns, second row is plain coloured yarns, I've kept going in the cycle. The bottom still curls, hope I can sort that. I'm getting to the length I require if it is going to be used as a lap blanket, it's not wide enough for anything else.

My yarn stash is shrinking, this container is not so packed, I've been using all my small hand dyed shanks, this was the point of making this design. I'm still on my first 100grms of black yarn, all 4ply. The paper separates the yarns used in each row, ensuring I spread the colours throughout my knitting. 

There are loads of ends to sew in, I use a tiny rug latch hook, much easier and quicker, no threading yarn through needle eyes.

I have felt something was missing from my days, I do enjoy knitting and reading, my real passion is for cross stitch, last year I found a huge piece of linen, which I had forgotten about. I won't stitch it all, plans are forming for another mash up of designs, I love the challenge mixing everything up gives me, as always my starting plans are very loose, I adore this edging design, I already have made some changes to incorporate the flower motif I love, it will form the outer border, maybe a bit bigger that the original design and then have fun filling the middle. The original design can be seen here. 

I love this author, so far every book I have read has been great, a very different plot, she wakes up in a strange room, trying to piece the past few days, except to everyone else she is in a coma after an accident. I adore how she gives you all the answers in plain sight, and not until the end does all the bits fall into place. Book 31 read this year

I've had a couple of quiet days, I sat with the boys on Friday after school, whilst Molly had her swimming lesson, later daughter went out for tea with a few old work mates, both little ones went to bed and settled quickly. Saturday we had a day at home together, I did a bit in the garden, keeping on top of everything, later we both drove to daughters and shared a Chinese for tea, all three children ate well. Later at home another relaxing evening. Today I'm  doing nothing.

I'm in hubby's bad books, do you remember the fun the little ones had with the confetti balloons, they loved them when they popped over the Easter weekend, it's rained since then and now we have predominantly red and blue dots on the paving. Me saying I thought it looked pretty did not help at all, I suppose they should fade in time.

Day trip to London

Neither of us had been to Canary Wharf, in it's heart it's a modern space so many huge buildings, walking along the water edge was very peaceful, loads of places to sit and enjoy the space, other spots had original buildings, the Dockland museum, which we did not enter this time was lovely red brick. Everywhere you went there were sculpture of all kinds, a beautiful fountain with a seating area and very few cars.

Just a few landmarks, the top two are sculptures made from discarded stuff, one from electrical circuit boards, the whale from household plastic bits. The silver thingy caught my eye and the big yellow duck, just because I liked it.

We walked through the Crossrail place roof garden, it was much bigger than we expected, we both loved it, such a peaceful place to be, loads of places to sit, I did love seeing the tops of the buildings through the roof, which was open in places.

The weather gods were good to us, the sky darken a few times, but no rain, it was warm enough to wear a light jacket, a perfect day for walking, hubby recorded over 14,000 steps, so a good workout for our knees, today I do ache a bit, it's worth it to have such a fun day out. 

George loved talking to me on his bedtime call, Nana on a bus, he was so excited.

We had been chatting regarding another visit, hubby suggested we try a day trip using National Express (coaches), so we caught the 8.30am bus and the 6.30pm return journey. We sat reading for journey, about 2.30 hours, the coaches are very comfortable, and much cheaper than the trains, which often are cancelled and replaced by bus journeys. Our route stops at Portsmouth and Gilford, by passing loads of towns, sadly on the return journey they changed the route not going into Gilford but calling into both terminals at Heathrow, putting 40 minutes on our journey. Next time we book we will have to check which route preferring to take the shorter journey.

We both agreed we would do a day trip again, we had our early evening meal near to Victoria coach station, in a small Italian restaurant, we found it last year on our trip, worth the second visit, and handy to relax so close to where we needed to be, we both prefer to visit smaller independent places to eat.

Veg

 My broad-beans do not look as good as in previous years, I am hoping more shoots will form and then flowers and beans, I will dig out the leeks, which again are small, I have plans for this bed, I want to cover the ground to warm it up. Another free potato plant in the front corner, every year I have managed to leave a tiny spud behind.

This bed has done better over the winter months, I harvested carrots and cabbages, the onions will stay again for at least 6 to 8 weeks. I already have my plans for the summer in both beds, runner beans, peas, tomatoes and a cucumber plant.

I have earthed up my first early potatoes in these two bags, and I have planted my second earlies in another two bags, I have carrots in two large pots and shallots in a huge tub, I hope to start another bag of carrots soon.

I am having success with my peanuts in the greenhouse, I have 3 small plants in each bag, I still have 5 more smaller plants and in the square pot Molly's are growing. These bags will stay here they require heat and light all through their growing season. I am going to try to grow a couple plants outside as well.

I have lettuce started in my raised outside bed and under cover in the greenhouse, I have spring onions and radishes coming through. I have started two different tomato plants as well. My runner-beans and peas won't be started for a few weeks, unless the weather becomes warm again. I aim to grow more salad leaves this year, my neighbour won't accept payment for her fresh hens eggs, I am planning to provide her hens with fresh greens every week whilst I can. 

My winter veg was very mixed this time, I won't grow leeks again as hubby does not use them so much in his cooking, just for soups. Brassicas take up too much room in my small garden, I will still grow a few, so far I try and keep these beds full through the cooler months. 

I can't wait to be growing in the veg beds, the rest of the garden is full, I have a few more grow bags to utilise, its a good start to the new season.

Tulips

 I fell back in love with tulips a couple years ago, I do grow them in tubs and love them, pops of colour. These were the first to flower and were new last year.

These were new this year and stunning.

I did not plant many bulbs last year, I have plans for a bigger display next spring, so far the wind has not caused too much damage, they are not playing to well, the flowers are popping up one at a time, so no big burst of colour here. 

The tulips in this pot are blind again, not one flower bud, its a shame as they were lovely frilly colourful blooms, the giant snowdrops looked good and soon the fleabane daisies will flower, so all is not lost.

These are special and a few years old, all fake, I do love a display inside to cheer us.

In the past couple of years I have only purchased 'named' brands of bulbs mainly from garden centres, but it does not seam to make any difference, my failure rate is still high, especially in the second year blooms, I am aware tulips blooms often fail to return in following years, also often I get a completely different colour than on labels. This year I will purchase from a different suppliers, if you have any trusted sites please share them with me.

Daughter came with children on Sunday, Molly is a lot better still not eating or drinking much, she did join in playing with George, she has missed the start of the new school term, and will be off a few more days. She has suffered eczema, rashes and sore patches all her life, she can't have any traces of dairy products, she is still under hospital care trying to sort all her allergies. Thank you for your kind comments on my last post, it was scary to see her so poorly, it was the worse attack she has ever had. 

We have a busy week ahead, so I'm resting when I can, not much to do in garden, the greenhouse is full, all doing well, I plan to sow more next week.