We've had some lovely weather :)

Oh the sun has come out to play over the past week and boy am I happy to say 'Hello' to it. We have even had breakfast in the back garden one morning - yes! it was warm enough - crazy I know!! Even Maggie kept running into the house, grabbing a mouth full of her favourite Bran Flakes, spitting them out on the patio and then eating merrily with us (Maggie LOVES her food and eats with great gusto)

The birds were brave and ate right beside us on our super multi feeder. Blue Tits, cheeky little Sparrows, our friendly Robin and recently 2 collared Doves :) I have also seen a Chaffinch but A. hasn't yet and it's a sore point, hehe. Remember to feed the birds, my lovelies - fat balls and peanuts are going down a treat here. I'm just waiting for the day when one of the Pheasants comes bounding in - that would be a sight, or the Falcons that live on top of the power station chimney; actually they might take Maggie off for lunch :O

So with the cherry blossom still looking lovely we have also had visits from bees and butterflies and it's a veritable Disney paradise out there (if you ignore all the building debris and rubbish). Yet another bed has been built and now is waiting patiently to be filled with soil. We have some of our pots round from Mamma  G's house (one of them had an evil snail on the bottom and we didn't realise until the next day and those tell tale sparkly trails - grrrrr I HATE slugs with a passion).



I know, they need watered, I'll do that in a minute!



We still have to plant our tulips in the cherry tree bed but they are looking very healthy and can wait another day. And apart from that, the celeriac seedlings are happy and the broad beans (crimson flowered - thank you Celia) are planted and of course being stared at every 15 mins to see if they've germinated yet - yes I am that sad. :)

We haven't forgotten about the Lottie, honest. I'll do a post from there after the weekend. It's just we've been doing housey stuff and WHY am I defending myself??? !

Namaste xx

Seeds and seed swapping :)

Oh dearie me we through out a heck of a lot of out of date seeds last week. Here is the carnage...oh goodness blogger won't let me post the photo - even it's ashamed!

Some were from 2009 - oh for shame! But compared to the number of seed we do have and the variety this was okay, through next year I reckon we'll be buying a lot more as the use by date on many of the ones for this year won't be viable for another season.

But this is where a cool new UK based seed swap website comes into play. Set up only very recently Seed Swappers is a cool new site where you can do exactly what it says in the title - swap seeds! Such a cool idea when you want to try as many different varities as you can without spending a load of money - just buy a few packets and share the seed with others and they can give you those seeds you have wanted to try and it's all just the cost of a stamp AND you aren't wasting lots of perfectly good seeds (like we did - see photo again *blush*).

Give it a wee looking at and there is a blog to go with it too, where the lady who set it up 'Splodger' will be talking about what to plant when. Plus, there is a Facebook page (where I am an admin) were you can keep up to date as well. I personally think it's a great idea and encourage you to take a look xxx

Wonderous news from the back garden

Andrew had a few days off and went mental in the back garden one of those days - he was so happy and now just look at it!! Joy, happy, happy joy, joy!!

So let's look over here first.

This is the very first bed that was made and now it has the beech hedglings in and a fabulous pleaching support erected around and above them. GROW you wee buggers!
In front of them we already had a Christmas Box planted and were all set up to get more gradually as they can be a wee bit expensive. But lo, Andrew walks into a large DIY shop and there these are all reduced and when Andrew took them to the till, hehehe, he got all 6 for £10. Good job.

Then over to the Cherry Blossom Tree and my isn't she adorable all in bloom :) Under planting this beauty is a load of Carex 'Comans Bronze' which all came from division of one plant in the allotment = free plants - yipppee. These are (hopefully) going to grow into little hillocks and have bulbs planted in between them. We already have some very healthy Tulips 'Queen of the Night' ready to be planted :)

You will also note that we have one of our bamboo's planted at the back of this bed. We've had this little fella for years and although he may look sorry for himself, having been in a pot and somewhat neglected throughout the whole moving house saga, I have a good feeling about him. With all the goodness in that soil (remember the worms and everything) I think, give him a little while to settle and he'll be super happy. This is a clump forming type called 'Fargesia' by the way.

Then tantalisingly over at the far corner is the new bed's foundations (eeeek!! so exciting, ) and just infront of Maggie, a strange big bucket full of cement (hummmmm?) but that's all I am going to say about that for now.

Okay, it's been a while but we've been busy :)

First off the SPUDS ARE IN! Hoorah. As tradition dictates the spuds are to be planted on St Patrick's Day and so that is where we were on the day, up to our eyes in good old lottie muck :)

We (and of course by that I really mean Andrew) chitted and planted these beauties this year:
early - 'Sharpes Express'
main - 'Maris Piper'

We went for a V shaped trough this year (on my recommendation so let's hope it goes well - eek!) and planted them out a good 30-40cm apart chitting shoots up of course. I love this method; so much easier to do than digging individual holes or using the black membrane stuff. You can see clearly where everything is and then just push the soil back over the top like a zipper. Done.

I cut a heck of a lot of grass from around the beds (about 5 buckets full; Andrew needed to sharpen my shearers half way through!) and we used this as a protective cover over the newly planted potatoes. In time this will of course become hay and keep the heat in like a big cosy eco friendly duvet.

It was a happy sight to see so many caterpillars and worms and a ladybird but lordy bless us all why oh why could St Paddy not have gotten rid of the darned slugs at the same time as the snakes!! I hate them so much and sorry to my plot neighbours but at one stage I got really peeved and threw them all over the place as hard as I could and they are probably in your soil now *blush*. Though Dougie you escaped as I wasn't up that far :)

It was cold and rainy but we had the whole place to ourselves which was a great way for me to get back into the feel of the place. As I do this more for the Ecotherapy (by that I mean it does feel like therapy and makes you mentally tired just like a talking therapy session) aspect than the pure joy, it is hard for me but I'm glad I did it. Next time will be easier too.

There was also a little bit of the old seed sowing done :

• mixed lettuce (which is under a mini sun tunnel)
• peas 'kelvedon wonder'
• beetroot 'blotardy'
• and leeks 'lyon 2 prizetaker' and 'musselburgh'

Andrew fixed the dodgy downpipe into the water butt - hooorah! I love gaffer tape (never thought I would write that! hahaha)

And here is a photo of one of our guerrilla daffodils planted last year ;)

Happy Days :)

I'm okay again :) so let's catch up

When I think of what has happened in Japan and the surrounding area I feel foolish and selfish for being so depressed, so overwhelmed by life and anxious. I know I have an illness, I fight everyday but god do I feel stupid today. This post is a distraction from those feelings, a bit of 'normality' in the media world just to help me see that life goes on regardless. My thoughts are of course with any and all sufferers in this world but for me, well, today ironically has been good so far and dare I say it?...I kind of feel ok. And I am not going to feel guilty for that.

So catch up time from the lottie and the back garden and life in general.

It was last Saturday that we ventured to the plots, it was a failed attempt at getting some work done. Both of us were thinking about our back garden the whole time and how it was more important to us at the minute than the allotment which we don't see all the time. We dandered round talking about how we ought to do this and that and then I took a couple of photos and Andrew got the wheelbarrow. Who were we trying to kid??! We know eachother so well that both of us knew what the other was thinking so....we attacked the manure heap, filled two big bags and hoicked them into the car and left. Sorry lottie.

prettiness in my flower bed



Definitely not looking good PSB





worms - hello friends :)



We drove straight to the nursery and bought grit and compost and then went home, feeling happier and funnily full of more energy as we were now going to do something we really wanted to do.

I worked super hard - wow!!

Here is our little back garden now - we're going well, it's very clay-y and heavy soil to move but boy it is worth it and now the gorgeous cherry tree is in place, well, a garden is emerging. Maggie had no interest what so ever and slept the whole day on the sofa, she still shuns the 'garden' as she doesn't really do muck, haha.

Oh and did I show you the jar of rhubarb and ginger compote Andrew made?? :) It was so good and there is loads more in the fridge and in the ground waiting to be given the same treatment - hooorah and yummmyyy!

This weekend we really do have to go to the allotments and get cracking - the spuds need to be planted on St Paddy's day!!! Plus we now have our dining area sorted out and the seed potting up can begin in earnest now. Oh lordy - I manage to get rid of loads of house moving clutter and now the whole place is going to be a greenhouse substitute! I just have to laugh..

And here's that wee tete-a-tete out in the front garden, makes a delightful change from the cement and dust and builders everywhere -

Enjoy your Friday and may the weekend bring a smile to your lovely little face xxxxxx

cherry blossoms in the garden :)

Just for you (especially Diana) - the cherry blossoms are opening in the garden = smiles xxx

The barren soul

My heart is gripped in a vice; my mind is confused, addled and disjointed, thoughts come and go again like the ebb of the tide. I am not well.
The back garden is going on at a steady pace; the allotment lies there untended but with promise; there are stunningly beautiful, delicate blossoms on the cherry tree, now planted in her own raised, walled bed.  There is a random little tete-a-tete that has survived the housing development and is showing her bowed, shy, yet joyously bright tiny head in the midst of the trampled grass and dust of our equally tiny front garden.
But I can't even work out how to get myself from this spot to the cameras, from there to the leads and do the uploading, to show you these things that ought to be making me happy. But which are not.
I have hit a wall, fallen down a well, had a smack to the face with a large shovel. This morning I felt ok, good even but at 12.25pm I crashed and I can barely cope.
I don't know what to do. But I needed to talk, to cry out for love from this vast world so full of people yet so filled with loneliness. I guess I just want you to know I am here.