happiness on the plots

Forget any and all of the glumness I spilt forth in my previous post as this past weekend it was all change; sunshine, sustained hard work, planting out, a picnic and bed making :) It was all go and we really did feel better about the place. I mean look what we parked beside for a start off - a heap of steaming manure almost as tall as Andrew :) Again I wonder at my scatological self, once an allotmenteer - good quality manure is deeply treasured, gross but true!

So here's how things stand at the moment on 24a (minus a photo of the leeks which are still going strong). We have new lovely little parsnips, carrots and beetroots, the broccoli is in glorious flower now and attracting the first bees I've seen this year and the spuds are coming through nicely and look healthier than I could have hoped for.

At the top of the plot we have an abundance of blueberry flowers, gooseberries (not photographed) and apple blossom. Everything seems healthy so far and plans are in place, in Andrew's mind, for a fruit cage to cover the blessed blueberries - I rather like to have a few this year *shakes fist at birds*!

Also the first of the brassicas were planted out and covered in netting right away - so far so good, nothing has touched them.

Over on 14b there is further evidence of happy plants and I can not tell you how relieved I am that all the asparagus crowns sent up their first spears. Sweet little geums are bursting through with dots of bright red, the poppies this year look like they are going to be spectacular and our blackberry bush is already showing signs of a bumper harvest to come. It's all just so positive, I think I may explode.

I've been steadfast keeping on top of the grass cutting and thus making the plots safer for me to walk around. As we only have a little rotatory hand pushed mower it's been hard work, I even got a huge blister this time which is only healing up now (Thursday!). It's worth it though, keeping those bingo wings at bay, working the core muscles and not tripping quite so much :)

And WOW! look at the new bed for my cut flowers, all edged and the soil greatly improved. It's time to plant out and direct sow in there now, eek! My dreams of a patch that just screams colour looks like it's getting closer. There will be another path down the right hand side of this bed and the original (now perennials only) flower bed will get edged too. 

I have other exciting news but I think you've had to absorb enough in this one post already :) Instead I shall leave you with this lovely dandelion seed head photo (NOT from our plots, haha) and make a fervent wish that you are all having a better time now that June is around the corner. 

Love and hugs

Carrie