Out front

 Hubby takes care of the front of the house including our side entrance, this clematis has gone wild this year, flowering much lower and earlier in the season, the hope is to have an arch of flowers. On the other side we planted this philadelphlus last year, it was a small plant and it did not grow too much, this year its putting on loads of growth and hopefully at some point white flowers, we would love them to meet at the top and tumble into each other.

We spent an hour cutting back all the tall overgrown shrubs along our front wall, our neighbour planted everything next to the low wall on her side, it's all very overgrown way past the height of our roof, we now don't get much sunlight in our office in the mornings, at least we were working in the shade, it all encroaches into our space, so it needs sorting a couple times a year.

After all the rain the back garden is looking good, I chopped back the fleabane daisies they were going wild, they will grow back quickly. Just a few gaps to fill, I have loads of smaller plants not quite ready.

I love this time of year, seeing plants returning, growing our fruit and veg, only small harvest, enough to keep us happy, we try to keep to seasonal produce, which means we enjoy them for just a short while.

Our little people had a trip planned to visit their daddy, a short flight from Southampton airport to Netherland on Thursday morning, sadly George pick up a sickness bug which was going around school and is staying with us, daughter was really upset on leaving him, but cancelling the trip would upset his brother and sister. Friday morning he was better, sadly no way of getting on the trip, so we plan loads of extra special fun together. 

Hubby was not too happy with me, I'm still not 100%, family is everything, mummy will be back on Saturday, just waiting to see if I get his bugs.

Fruits

 I've been watching my raspberry plants grow, tucking them behind poles to enable them to grow up the back and on to the arches. One stem grew quicker and stronger, hum, not sure, checked on Lens (a plant identification apt) and I was right to be wary,  its an elder, rooted in from next door, as with every plant in her 'garden', its right next to our boundary fence, I can't dig it out yet, I cut it back and hammered a rusty nail into stem, in hope it stops it growing so fast and I will be able to identify which root to dig out once raspberries have finished.

The rest of the fruits are doing well, loads of rhubarb, hubby has made jam, we had loads in freezer from last year. I cut the blueberry plant right back, now loads of new growth, so few berries this season as they flower and grow on second year growth. My gooseberry is in its 3rd year, no flowers again, it was getting to a nice size, sadly all the leaves were ate, probably sawfly,  so I have cut it back to the ground, if sawfly is a problem I will dig the plant out. Only the rhubarb and gooseberry are in the ground, the blueberries are in a huge pot. 

Strawberries are growing, they are turning red, I love growing them in this tower so easy to water and harvest, I have a small pot in front of our garage another sunny spot, once the berries are finished I will move the pot. In the tower the right side always set fruit first, I do need to pop more bags over the green fruits. There is a dark red hellebore in front of the tower, I have loads of flowers in the bed. 

I have solved the issue of slugs and snails in this small raised bed, I have put copper wire mesh all around the wooden sides, so far it is working, these plants are doing well and no signs of being nibbles. 

The blackberries growing along the garage are filling out, loads of new growth, so again I'm hopeful of a good crop, it has been there for years, I do cut it back most years, it's a thorn-less cultivated one. 

We are eating new potatoes, lettuce and cucumber, strawberries, rhubarb and a few summer raspberries, no sign of the peas, beetroot is just showing and my carrots are very slow, the tomato plants are growing, my garden is a small space, I don't get big harvest. We both enjoy homegrown produce, nothing beats the taste of fresh vegetables. 

The promise of sunny warm days at the weekend is keeping us going, I managed to move a few flowering plants, totally the wrong time, they have grown too big and were crowding each other, I did trim them back and feed them, the wet weather helped them settle. 

Whilst it rains I stitch or read, nothing worth watching on TV, no photos from my sister from her big day, I did ask her, my SIL sent me a couple she sneakily took, they were told no photos. 

Lazy weekend

 I've been stitching again, working on the left side, I was over the moon to get the corner decoration and two pink flowers in place, loads of counting and checking, these set the working lines for this quarter.

My joy has faded, on the easiest part I have miss counted the darker stitches should be a straight diagonal line. It would be hell to unpick, so it has to stay it won't cause me issues later as the design crashes into the three tumbleling stars. 

5 university friends who shared a house receive an invitation to return to their university digs, no-one wants to return, but they are too scared to not go. Back to a time when their 6th member was murdered, they all have memories in various levels about that time. A brilliant book, I really enjoyed reading it. Book 36 read this year.

Her life is a mess, rather than facing the issues,  she goes to Corfu, looking for someone or something, and gets caught up in a sting. The red flags were flying all through the plot, but who did what, with a clever twist. Book 37 read this year.

I have read this author before, another great plot, this time it's a mans story, he falls head over heels in love, it's the real thing, quickly strange things start amongst his female friends, why. Things are adding up, but does 2+ 2 make 5. Book 38 read this year.

Between the relentless wind and rain I am not doing much outside, our garden is looking after itself, I will try and do some deadheading, in a dry patch, I have even turned down a visit to our favourite garden centre, I have never liked being cold and wet. Everywhere is so grey and dull, typical summer here.

I am enjoying lazy days reading, guilt free whist not feeling great, the house needs cleaning, so much dust everywhere. We had a lazy weekend, stayed at home the whole time, it's nice to stop and do nothing after a busy few weeks, simple meals, food we love. My sisters days went well, it was dry when they came out of the church, yes she went for the full works, she was happy as was her partner, now husband, he is a bit under the thumb (Janice ?) I've not seen many photo's as yet. 

Washed out

 The weather is horrible, high winds, thunderstorms, hailstones, our garden has been battered, we have had a few coffee mornings in our sunroom with the doors shut, Lilly has often sat inside with us. It's very still and quiet inside, really enjoyable, the garden has not been damaged, just petals blown off roses and poppies. 

I pick strawberries every other day, the tiny bags protect the fruit, as does not growing them on the ground, there are enough uncovered for the bugs and small birds and mice. Another cucumber, again not full size, the plant seams very happy outside as does both my tomato plants. A few more sweet-peas, these are growing faster. We used the berries in an Eaton Mess, it was yummy. 

Last year I purchased 3 gaura plants, the white one planted in my side bed has not come back this year and one of the pink ones is looking iffy, I already have a cutting growing taken last year it's already in a pot, I'm not sure of these  colours, they just in water are growing strong roots, hopefully more plants. I adore these plants and their tiny flowers and hope to have more in other beds.

It's been a week at home, just too wet to go anywhere, Monday I did more pottery painting with daughter and her three, they all had an inset day off from school. Thursday we had our dental checks, we had planned to go into town, but just too wet.

Friday we planned a day out, we were both getting stir crazy from being inside so much, we did not stay out too long, neither of us get any delight in cruising arounds shops just having a look, it was a dry day. We decided not to hang around to have lunch out, later we sat in our summerhouse, lovely sunshine, out of the wind.

Our plans this weekend has changed, we were going home to Somerset, but my tummy issues have gotten really bad, I have a doctors appointment early next to week. My brother who we always stay with is also ill, which helped shape our decision, neither of us wanted to put on him or even get his bugs. My sister is getting married to her long term partner, she is not happy with me but it can't be helped, the journey is 3 hours each way and I'm just not up to it.

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.

I'm not going to say it...

 We are sitting out this heat wave, I do a bit of gardening first thing, I water later in the evenings, I have a lance on my hose, its a longer pole with spray at the end, allows me to water the base of plants without bending, this is when I am most grateful for a small garden. These roses are stunning, they change colour as they open, I cut it back last year so the flowers are lower. They hide the gap between the fence and garage, by the end of the summer they will reach the top of the fence.

I adore this bed, just 3 years old, these fleabane daisies are a froth of colour, the aquilegia behind are new this year, four plants, I'm happy if they propagate and I have loads more, my snowberry plants (2) are slowly growing and will fill out in time, my astilbe is in the middle and should shoot up soon.

I love pots you can give plants the correct environment to grow, Kirts grass hair is better than I imagined, I do like to have a few pots displayed together. Just a few of the pretty flowers here in our garden.

I will trim our olive tree, its full of blossom and getting bigger than we want, another tree we both love, we have had this tree since 2019, I feed it once a year and clip it often.

Another loved plant is my pomegranate, I started a seed way back in 2017, its been in this pot since 2022, it was moved to behind our seating last year, I've stopped clipping it and would like it to grow higher, its not a tree. I do have herbs in pots at both ends of the seating area.

I have been careful when purchasing new plants to remove weeds from pots before planting, I also prefer to grow from seed, which helps keep weeds at bay, so I don't have too bigger issue. I am pulling the buttercups from my back fruit bed, they are taking over, lesson learnt, they need space. In my side bed I have meadow rue, it's a pretty low green ground cover, all through the summer I am pulling it out, it spreads by root and can be a thug, I do like it around my big herb pot.

We did not see daughter and little ones on Tuesday, they stayed home, where they could play inside in the cool, George was going to have a sleepover, but he's not sleeping well, so we postponed it, whilst sad not to see them, we understand their welfare is always most important. I found sitting outside under the parasol with the slight breeze best, the morning temperature was 29°, as it got hotter we later went back inside.

Lack of

Energy, 

I've not done much sewing, the heat makes me tired in the evenings, that's when I make mistakes, I've not touched my knitting or read much, I find myself often sat watching wildlife, we are not sitting inside so much. I have been working on the left side, it's simple stitching, where I can see immediately if I have miscounted. 

I did manage to get into the kitchen and do some baking, cheese straws with tomato puree, bacon and cheese wraps using one pack of puff pastry, a no pastry quiche. I also made a few fruit scones, I had already purchased clotted cream. Hubby loves to bake so it's not often I get the chance, Will loves the cheese and bacon wraps, both daughter and I love my quiche, so everyone ate well, all savouries had cheese in so not for hubby, he got a couple of his favourite pasties.

We all love a freebie, these potatoes grew in my raised bed, I did not plant any this season, one must have been missed from last year, perfect in this hot weather. I still have 4 bags still growing, and some more sprouting potatoes to go in. 

Cute photos, scary how grown up George is now looking, Molly is not far behind.

Nothing much doing in the garden, I have planted my two tomato plants in a raised bed, along with my cucumber, my peas are soaked and in the ground. We are eating lettuce, our 1st cucumber and a strawberry, broad beans will be ready to pick soon. I have put a net up in the greenhouse, the shade does help with temperature inside.

Sunday was so very hot, the little ones spent most of their time playing on the sunroom floor ( I know it's a posh name for the garage space), they were very happy and out of the sunshine.  We vetoed a BBQ, just too hot, so the little ones had nibbles and we had salad with loads of sides, we will be eating leftovers for days to come. For us a perfect family day.

Monday daughter stayed home so children could play inside, hubby was out in afternoon, so I had a quiet day, mainly inside keeping cool. Tomorrow we are having daughter and little ones, they asked to come again, we won't do a BBQ, just too hot, we plan to have a main meal here so daughter does not need to cook later. Wednesday they are with Grandpa and Grandma, half term is a great week for them, both the little ones were tired so a restful week is perfect.

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post, our new sunroom is being used and enjoyed daily.

It's sorted

 Our work in the garage is finished, it took loads of sorting, four trips to the tip, the bigger back section is tidy, we both have our own sections, now everything has it's place again and we know where to find things and hubby still has loads of wood (just in case).

I am really pleased with my second IKEA storage unit, I got 6 of the shallow trays, giving me 4 shallow and 1 double in each carcass, plus 2 of the deeper ones stacked beside. Plenty of useful storage along with two bigger shelves. The top shelf which I can't reach is all hubby's bits, stuff we want out of the reach of the little ones, my feeds and other bits are on the shelf below, still out of reach. 

 The partition is useful for my hanging hand tools, and a few other bits, this space is so much better for me, I can get to everything much easier, at the top is an old rusty rake which belonged to my mum, I ready did not want to pass it on, so I cut the handle and pinned it up there. The four horse brasses belonged to my older brother something I like to see in here. The bin is now on my side, I don't need to access the bigger storage much, so it's sensible to have it there.

Hubby built the two partitions, just a frame with tongue and grove on the front, I had chose green stain for here, but decided I liked it bare, we decided to paint the brick, we already had white masonry paint. I have loads of daft signs on my side, hubby will add bits to his side. The children's garden toys are here as well. For now we will use our loungers, which can be folded if we need the space. 

It's a very sunny spot and perfect on windy days to sit inside, we had ideas to knock the garage down and remove my greenhouse and build across the back of the garden, the estimates were eye watering. The second bonus, I am beginning to struggle with the up and over door, the smaller door was taken out by previous owners. 

We are both happy with this reconfiguration of the space, its nice to look at, which was important, it catches the sun all day, whilst sheltering from the cold breezes, if we sit further back we can be in the shade. Once the new french doors arrive we needed to decide on flooring, we did think of coir or jute, which is expensive so we have ordered so gym flooring interlocking mats, easier to cut and we can use our rug on top. We both have electrical sockets, Alexa works in here as well, unexpectedly our wi-fi reaches outside. 

We have used this space over the hot weekend,  it's nice to have another space to relax in, I'm behind on my veg beds, it won't take long to catch up, I need to get used to working in this heat, plus I won't plant out anything until the temperature drop to their normal levels.

I have no idea what day it is, the little ones had an inset (no school) day on Friday, so far I think I'm on my third Saturday, not that it matters to us. They will all be here later this morning, lots of laughter in our space.

Oops I done it again

We went to Lidl for shopping so we don't have to go out over the coming bank holiday weekend, and this acer fell into our trolly. I did not know I needed another one, it is beautiful, the leaves are different to my others, I lied to hubby stating I had just the spot for it, at £9.80 it did not break the bank.

Here by the steps to the greenhouse is my trio of acers, there are three different colours here, I trim it all the time to keep the steps clear. These are my favourite,  I love the different shades of green.

This acer is the star in our garden, purchased in 2008 for just 99p, it looked like a dead twig, but I knew it would grow back, I  gave it some acer feed this month, I will need to cut the front back later this year, so I'm hoping it thrives through the summer.

 George is not wanting to wear his school uniform, the school is very understanding, on the last day before half term, he decided to wear his top from his pj's, school shorts, mummy's hat and tassels from curtains, his teacher said he looked cool. Molly also has her own individual style as shown before.

This is our westher forecast for the coming week.

It's half term, so we are expecting little people to visit, we have stocked up on their favourite snacks and ice pops, probably have a BBQ or two as the weather is playing nicely. 

Hubby has to finish sorting his area of the garage, like me he does not like things just shoved into spaces. I have veg beds to sort, digging out the final cabbages, making the bed ready for two tomato plants, I have soaked my peas and they are now on wet kitchen towel, those which sprout will go straight into the ground, my runner beans are sown, a bit late which is OK. I am picking lettuce leaves, the cucumbers are getting to a nice size and I have tiny fruit on the tomatoes.  My flower beds are all looking good, I have a few gaps to fill on the side bed, and room for home grown bedding plants in the square bed. I do need to purchase some french marigolds, my seeds all failed.