Just a Quick Post

Cleaned out the chickens. Did you know chickens don't like nettles?? I didn't either until yesterday when I was reading another blog!!

Got another ( yes another) new plant through the post yesterday, all potted up



sweet isn't it!!! But look what it will be like



maybe not this year but possibly next! Woooo Hooo!

Look new fronds on my tree fern



and last but not least, on one of my new plants



can you see....... flower buds....... on the new brugmansia...Yaa hoo!!!

Right off to get the tools ready for the dismantling of the greenhouse.

Bits and Pieces!

So what have I done today mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

got my hair done, took Tori to school for a history exam and whilst there we picked up all her art work.
I want to share with you my most favourite pic that Tori has done, if I have my way I will snip this out of her book frame it and hang it in the lounge, I just love it!



Boy was it humid this afternoon, but I put all the garden rubbish into bags, got all my cardboard and plastic recycling boxes and managed to squeeze it into the car then went to the tip.

Oh yes and had a go at knitting with 4 needles



which was awkward but I did it, I'm not sure I'm holding the needles right, no doubt I will find out soon enough!!!

That is the sum of my day!!! I will probably be making up for it this weekend though, so don't expect many posts!!!!! Why? well the lady I brought the brugmansia from is retiring and she has offered me most of her stock for a silly price, so we are of on a 'jolly' to collect it and probably take over her brugmansia propergating business!!!!! Good job I am getting a bigger greenhouse, supposed to be dismantling and collecting that tomorrow!!!! I think not, hubby has to work again!!! I'll get him to phone them tonight

Jungle Artwork!

Pushed on with the jungle garden and apart from a wooden border and mulch I believe its finished, take a look at the left hand side....






I know this last part looks a bit bare but that little plants should hit 8 x 8ft!! ( we hope!)

the coal bunker side




the view straight down the middle




It has alot of growing to do, but as hubby won't let me move the jungle to the bottom, (its not often he says no, but when he does he means it). We both agree that we probably need to move a couple of the coal bunkers to the end of the left hand side, then I can plant some large leaved plants to hide the right hand bunkers better, and give a better jungle feel.

But..... I reckon once everything has grown and looks really great he might understand why it should all go to the bottom of the garden! Where we could fit some really big leaved plants in!!!

A mosaic of Tori's artwork, which we saw last night.

Less Energetic today!

I ran out of green paint :o( but never mind, I found a few less energetic jobs to do round and about the garden.



so I did some pinching out. You can see my first lot of flowers, tomatoes soon.



This year I put them in pots. The green thingymejigs on top aren't cheap (3 for £19.99 I think) but they are brilliant, because it gives the tomatoes a bit more 'root' room and the water gets directly to the roots. I always put a layer of gravel on any exposed eart as it helps stop them drying out so quickly!



I only have three in the green house this year, I also have about five planted out in the veg patch and also three in my mini greenhouse in a special tomato growbag!

My cucumbers really slowed up during the cold weather but we have fruit again



The peppers are quite slow also, this is just one of them....



I recieved a parcel this morning which I am very excited about, do you remember my brugmansia from last year. I have been after some new ones. It has taken me ages to find ones that aren't white. As you know I love white in the garden but hubby says we need colour! Well he's going to get it because I have got one of these



which as you can see I have forgotten to put gravel on!!! But it will soon (hopefully) look like this



they are also very difficult to come by! Because the lady I bought it from is retiring she also sent me a cutting of one of these



how lucky am I!
Right got to get ready to go to an art exhibition, a chance to see my daughters art work, I hope to have some pics for tomorrow!!

All 'Green' Crackered!!!!

I dug out both the fennel and angelica, boy was it hard.



One of the roots



Then I decided to paint the fence on the patio, not a job I enjoy, but the end result encourages me to carry on!!!




but then carried on




and on




now my back hurts, but don't tell hubby.

Please remind me when my neighbour replaces the fence, not to paint it!!!!

Turned out to be a Lazy Day!

Saturday was indeed a lazy day, apart from washing that is! It was so hot I couldn't face doing any work in the garden, so cleaned out the chickens and that was about it!

Babs the broody hen is now back to normal, after I sorted her out. I tried everything from chucking her off the nest, to dunking her in cold water. It got to the stage where none of them where laying, and I thought to myself drastic action is needed. So went to the omlet forum to read up on what I should do. So I made an enclosure, with the chicken netting at the end of the run, used an old plastic table to give her shelter, gave her food and water and turned a plastic box on its side for bedtime shelter and put her in there for 2 days! This cooled her down and she is fine now! Funnily enough, the Omlet forum seems to think this is the cruel way to deal with broodiness. To be honest I think its far better than dunking them in water and forever chucking them out of the nesting box!

We have a pair of thrushes, we haven't had any for years you can just see the back end of Mrs Thrush in this pic behind the terracota pot



I sadly must admit to using slug pellets, but they are now in the bin, fortunately I haven't used any since all of the rain so Mr & Mrs Thrush should be fine, I must find something to save my lettuce and beans though! I also found a toad in the compost heap, how the heck he got in there I don't know but I left the lid off and hope he got out. We haven't had toads either for years and years, so I must be doing something right! Or was it all the rain we had this winter??

There is a rare plant sale at Lackham College today, so guess where we will be going??

The veg plot is struggling this year, I can't believe how long things are taking to come through or even grow. The amount of compost and stuff that have been put on three of the beds, should have things romping away, but sadly not!

The onions are all top and no bulb!




The victorian peas are pathetic



The trail of tears beans are............. well take a look


and these where the ones the escaping chicken didn't get!!!

The sweetcorn and gem squash are being eaten



On gardening programs they say you can plant and eat things within 6 weeks, well not in this garden!! All hedges are trimmed right back, there is nothing that is overhanging and since we have had the apple tree in the neighbours garden trimmed back I thought things would be on the up!!

Maybe I'm just too impatient, I mean it is only just June!