Hope, Love and Computer gardening

Hello sweet reader; how are you? I fear don't ask enough or maybe ever and that has got to change. My wish is that you are all hopped up warm, maybe with a hot beverage and a loved one near by.

I am sitting here in my living room with my little dog and a decaff coffee (just in case you were wondering) and soaking wet hair - I just did the hardest thing - I just had a shower. When you have depression etc doing anything can literally be a battle and my mental health today is bad. And I mean BAD.

HOPE

Look! - Daffodils are starting to emerge, to poke their brave little shoots up into the world and face the harsh realities of the cold and rain and snow. I think the snowdrops are doing the same but the deck of the tea house was slippy so I didn't risk it. ANYWAY - signs of hope are appearing, birds are singing ever so loudly and thoughts are turning away from the darkness and into the joys of planning, planting and pottering. Even with a blackness eating me up inside, I feel hope.

LOVE

Last week Andrew and I celebrated 20 years of togetherness - something I never dared to hope for. He isn't fed up with little old me, he still loves me as I love him and both of us are looking forward to the next 20 years of adventures! (Light and dark by turn but always love.)

He made a book of photos from those last 20 years and it's adorable, I love it so much I can't describe it. We were meant to be Berlin but had to cancel as he was so ill with the cold but instead we had time in our pjs watching movies and napping; yes napping is one of our favourite things! And we stayed in Bullitt Belfast (a lovely hotel) and drank cocktails and had the best dinner ever and it was fab.

Shout out to Mamma G for looking after Toby!

COMPUTER GARDENING
It's still so very chilly and the weather is dreich and not looking up for the days ahead. So instead of being at the allotment (I wonder if I'll be able to find it - it's been so long, too long) we are looking at past photos, getting inspiration on Pinterest, thinking of what needs done, and even (I am embarrassed to say) playing Gardenscapes, hahaha. Gardenscapes is a silly game on Facebook where I am winning daft challenges to earn stars and then swap them for trades done to my huge garden - I'm on level 114 and it's looking fabulous, though no veg patch yet hahahaha.

Soon though we shall venture there to good old 24a with our garlic and our 'can do attitudes'. This my friend, is our 10th year as allotment holders and we plan to make it a good one :)

Love and Hugs
Carrie

(pt3) Three Day Weekend - Thanks St. Patrick :)

And so we come to the last day of the long weekend - the big day itself -

 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I started the day off as the ultimate Northern Irish domestic goddess and baked fresh fruit soda farls for myself and my lovely hubby. I had never done it before (I know, shame on me) but I felt I really ought to something vaguely traditional. Nana used to make these and plain ones and wheaten bread etc just automatically; in fact it was hard for her to put anything into ounces for anyone, she did it all by eye :) So I took her 'recipe', plus a couple off the Internet and melded them together to make my own. I'll share it with you tomorrow xx

P.S. Unlike most St Patrick's day food stuffs you find on the net - this isn't green, it hasn't any booze in it and is actually pretty yummy.

Then with full bellies and joy in our hearts we ventured forth, plotwise, not wanting to waste any of this precious bank holiday. We we sure there would be people there today and naturally you never get as much done with all the chat, but, lo and behold, only 2 people at the far side of the field and only a few in the other fields altogether :(

St. Patrick's is the traditional day to plant your potatoes here, so.... Andrew did it the lazy way this year and good on him too, none of this double digging lark etc. Ridges and furrows are the way to go, quick as you can say 'spud' and they are planted.
We have 3 types, left to right ~
* Saxon
* Kestrel
* Pentland Javelin

This is when it really starts to feel like a new year at the plot, this is when we genuinely get excited :) Talk turns to painting the shed again and doing runs to the dump, we get giddy about crop rotations and where our permanent new plants will go. Daydream about that first ice lolly and picnics in the blazing sun...This year we have no ready access to water! Only that which falls on the roof of the community centre (between 4 fields!) and what we can get in our own water butts - I can foresee trouble ahead, but we try not to talk about that.

I was at it again with the old de-shaming of 14b...I may be slightly obsessed by now. I got rid of that damned Carex ornamental grass which had produced over 35 good babies which also needed discarded (there were more than 35 but I gave up counting and just started to go feral and rip them up, kind of like an demented lottie ninja...) aaarrrghhhh

Oh and I found a rose bush :)

Andrew planted our brand new Blackthorn hedge-lings and more Raspberry canes (Glen Ample) where I had ripped out all the dead ones.

Suddenly the rain cam in and we had to rush around gathering everything up - where did that massive cloud come from?? I guess when you have your face in the soil you don't notice the sky as much. So there aren't any good leaving photos from this day :(

But I shall give you one more - Maggie's face when she sniffed my wee dram of whiskey at the end of the day, haha..

That was one brown post! More colour next time :)
Hugs and love

(pt2) Three day weekend - Thanks St. Patrick

Sunday 16th March ~

We've never done any of the twee and commercialised stuff to do with the St. Patrick's holiday and with an allotment now, we always have our own plans. Belfast has a crazy big St. Patrick's Day parade on today but, no thanks, it isn't even the big day. It amazes me how everyone else around the globe seems to make such a big deal of it, green everywhere (St. Patrick's colour is blue), four leaf clovers (lucky in Irish but he is identified by the three leafed, normal clover) etc. Plus where did this need, this urgent need to get drunk come from? Is it a diss on what it means to be Irish??

Ahh, sure.

We had FIRE! There was a lot of deeply rotten, moldy and diseased wood around our two plots, coming on 6 years that is bound to be the case. We really didn't want it near to the precious soil and new life we were cultivating. (Fear not, there are still piles of wood and slates etc for bugs, but this stuff was bad.) It needed to be eradicated and though it lots like a huge angry fire, that's just due to close ups and there wasn't any wind and Andrew was by it at all times and what I am trying to say is - this was needed and we were safe about it. It was also beautiful :) The middle picture shows all the dead stalks from the Jerusalem Artichokes too, so great too tidy that area up and it really bolstered the fire. (I contributed them)

Along with this going on, I was on 14b and having a very emotional reaction to the cherry tree bed. That's not a sentence I ever thought I would write, haha. Maybe it was due to the horrendous low I went into late on Saturday night, maybe it was because the cherry blossom is my moniker, but this bed needed my full attention and love.

Written in shed, in notebook ~ 'I can't quite explain it, it was therapy, there were too many emotions. But I suppose, chiefly amongst them was the need to get rid of that crap; clearing out, destroying it - it did something similar for my soul. I didn't want to give up'.

I have a sense that turning this mess around and making something productive and beautiful with it will do me no end of good. It's going to be an 'easy maintence' half plot with fruit trees, bushes, rhubarb and asparagus in it - things that like to be left alone. Plus it is where my cut flower border is going to be and I am serious about this time, really good dahlias, roses, echinacea, sunflowers, poppies etc, flowers that make my heart sing and will brighten the home too.

Just a little example of what I was talking about in the last post - getting those blasted weeds out by the root and all :) Squeeee - it makes me happy.

This is more the thing that gets Andrew to squeeee inside. A man's well rotten horse manure and compost bins are his Kingdom! Haha - Though, honestly this stuff has been fantastic and not a single whiff of anything nasty :) Is it wrong to love horse poo and kitchen scraps so much??

So this was the state of things at the end of day 2 around our plots

Maggie in a 'I've got a bit of biscuit suck in my cheek' pose ~ 14b coming on nicely, check out the path :) ~ dead gnomes

Plus we decided to take a dander before leaving - there wasn't anyone else there, we had the place to ourselves again! The council has put in a bridge and path to connect the local community to it's community centre, just above our plots. The path isn't great but the bridge is fab - cool idea!

The Conservation Volunteers know how to lay a hedge ~ catkins ~ hubby xxx ~ pretty flowers on a bush planted in the hedgerow ~ daffs in the hedgerow ~ me ~ the new bridge

And so endth the second day of the long weekend's gossip
love and hugs

Three day weekend - thanks St Patrick (pt1)

Saturday 15th March -

We visited Mamma G and Maggie got a cuddle and kisses. Those are her daffs too and look at that sky = gardening weather!

Then we went and got a few bits and bobs, such as these new flowers for 14b (and much more than this photo shows) and a new kettle for the shed - hurrah!! Hot drinks are back :) Now we can warm ourselves up after facing the N. Irish winds - bbbrrr.

* I strongly believe in buying flowers and even some vegetable seeds in these discount shops. Not everything has to come from a great nursery or a named supplier. We regularly get things for next to nothing and they turn out to be just as good. If you aren't looking for a certain type - I say go cheap and you may be very surprised. For example our spuds last year came from a nursery and some from a pound shop, different types but both extremely abundant when harvest time came.

Look how happy Maggie is and how shiny our new wee kettle is :) The sky was blue but there's usually a nip in the air, hence the jumper and need for tea. Earl Gray for Andrew and Three Mint tea for me...you are always welcome by the way and sometimes we even do coffee, plus you'll always find a biscuit or two :)

Okay, ready to go. These are the weekend's 'Before' photos. The 24a one will not shock anyone but I have until now, resisted showing you the unbearable shame of 14b. Maybe I should explain? Blush! Last year we decided were going to give up this plot and just sort of forgot about it, thinking we shouldn't waste anymore time there. The plots around it are so terribly neglected that the weeds from them had invaded ours and simply - we were miserable. But, during the winter we had ideas flowing and not enough room in one half plot to accommodate them, so.... It's an ugly duckling ready to bloom :)

Andrew kept going on 24a, getting rid of the last of the chard and mooli which had gone over and mulching everywhere liberally with horse manure. There were a great deal of times that I could have sworn that he was just standing there, doing nought, but I am assured in my heart that he was planning, always planning ;) Haha. 

Though it is true.... Had there been anyone else down there they may have thought he was a slave driver, but there wasn't, not a one in our field and the others looked empty too, to be frank. Kind of makes you mad...

Yes! I tackled and sort of conquered/ made a dent in 14b; got rid of the dead raspberry canes and I honestly don't know how many massive thistles and dandelion plants, not to mention the grass that had conquered the beds. Is there much better than getting the whole root of a weed out in one swift movement? :)

I did enough work to get really excited about and even lament home time; though I was exhausted and sleeping standing up. It's been a long time since I felt that strongly about the place and how we (Nature and I) were nurturing one another. I felt such love for my plots, my wee pieces (literally) of Eden.

The Allotment Gardens as a whole are a damnable shame and to my eyes, a failure. Poor infrastructure, lack of commitment, still poor access and a real need for strong leadership and rule reinforcement! I could rant for days but I shan't, instead here are the 'After' photos for Day 1 - I believe Maggie was quite happy with our progress :)

Hugs and love
LOADS more to come :)
Your

Carrie x

Smug yet humble (pt 2) plus autumn raspberry tips

Reflecting on Friday....looking towards the future.... as the clocks spring forward this evening! (*edit - sugar that's only in America)

Wow, this is part 2 of my 'smug yet humble too' post. What a huge moment is was for me, yet as I commented in that post, it doesn't look like much to everyday people who don't have my particular problems (physical and mental). Never mind. I still feel good about it. And thank you for the encouraging comments, they make me feel like a champ. This was first of many walks to that sign and back and I can build on that - oh check me and my positivity out!!

I couldn't go today so the Hubby has gone off to cut back the Autumn Raspberries* alone whilst I rest here and try to gather myself up for a trip to Belfast and maybe a visit to a nursery. We need a little pop-up greenhouse and I need to get started on my cut flower bed - oh yes! buying tubers and bulbs :)

Later there is going to be some seeds sown and a clear out of the home shed...spring has arrived and we need to get into gear! 

* Those 10 celeriac seedlings from Friday have become...65!

* The 3 little daffs are in flower and ohhh yellow is such a happy colour!

For now let me leave me with this, one of the best poems in the world and one that sums up how I have been feeling under the reign of winter - well *blows raspberry in winter's face*...I made it and spring is here - hurrah!!

* Pruning your autumn raspberries * 
 - Be brutal, you want loads of fruit this year too so cut those old canes right down to ground level!
- You should have your canes arranged and growing with supports. We have ours in a straight line with supporting wire tied across them at regular intervals. Tie any new stems to these wires as your plants grow; do it lightly with twine so as they grow they have freedom to move a little in the wind and not snap = disaster!
- Cover the ground with fertiliser of your choice and use loads of our dear friend - well rotted manure as a mulch.
- Never let the soil dry out! Raspberries are very thirsty and need water to make them extra juicy ;) Ummm raspberries eaten from the cane in the warm Autumn sun....heavenly


Hugs

Getting stuck in :)

Is there a better way to work off those extra Christmas calories than getting stuck into the Lottie? Well, considering the fact that the weather was fine, dry but cool though not cold and there was a complete and utter lack of any other people around the plots my personal answer would be ~ no, no there isn't.

We (and that includes Maggie for about 30mins before she started shaking - not working makes you feel cold!) had a fab time yesterday and even though the plot was water logged. We managed to feel the joy and just get excited with ideas and plans for the future; plus the bulbs are coming up :) Spring is on her way people; let's dance!

Here are a few wee photos I just feel like sharing. Okay, it is weed infested all over again, the water has made the place a swamp and I couldn't even face going over to 14b BUT it was also great conditions for getting some weeds up roots and all and gave us an excuse to try out our new coffee mugs and visit the Gleno shop for hard landscaping supplies......

  .....Andrew also dug up, split and replanted the 24a rhubarb over onto 14b. The roots and crown on that beast = wow!!! Again, seeing the new growth was so fabulous, a real kick in the butt to my mood which always gets worse in the depths of Winter. Haha - I laugh in the face of you Depression.

Love and kisses - we're going back tomorrow and have great plans to work extra hard. Could someone remind me to get my new music uploaded onto my MP3 player for the event? Thanks xx In return I have photos of Christmas dinner I have to share, Andrew did us so proud and there was homegrown and homemade food and drink ;)

Boys a dear, I'm a sleepy girl

I've just woken up! I know, it's getting close to 2pm! Now I was up earlier and fed Maggie and had breakfast, checked e-mails got washed and dressed - you know, the usual. Then I sat down to read my book and lo and behold here I wake up, book on the floor and I've lost time, hahaha. Thing is I'm trying really hard to keep my eyes open still, I wonder if the whole matchstick thing works?

I was looking at the last batch of photos I took at the lottie over the Easter break and found some you might like. Random I know but I thought I'd keep my wee story but Rowallane Gardens for tomorrow.

First off, the weather was so terrible here that the electric poles came down all over the show (lucky we weren't affected) and it took the gallant Northern Ireland Electricity repair men a good few days of putting the mess right ( poor loves out in all weathers up high ladders and what not). But on the up side Andrew found these on their way to being dumped - they're off the very top of one of the said poles, he wanted the glass too but it was broken. They're a bit odd to have at the lottie but we like them - answers on a postcard as to what use they could be used for. Or maybe they are just art - there for our enjoyment....

We took a dander round; as I showed yesterday Andrew had been seed planting like a mad man earlier that day so there was little left to do. Well, that's not technically true - I should imagine a really mad man would scatter seeds liberally all over the place and maybe eat some and put the rest in his ears....Andrew put out small amounts in perfectly straight rows and labeled them etc = not quite mad.

LOOOK!!!! ---drum roll---- PSB! Yes we have some little spears of the elusive purple sprouting broccolli! Bask in the glory with me... No I haven't pilfered someone elses and placed in amongst our leaves, nor have I painted a green spear purple, this is real and I am going to eat the whole dam thing myself in one mouthful to see what all this bloomin' fuss it about. I shall report back in due course.

Then as this blog is never all about 'proper gardening stuff' I have to show you Bill's beautiful border of mini daffs and Colin's new little Jack Russel puppy - aaawwww.

Hugs and kisses and through the sleepiness I am feeling better today - yipppee.(Thank you to all who left lovely comments about my photography in a gallery post - it's starting to sink in I think; there's a quiet little glow around my soul, it's surely helping me.) Maybe I needed sleep, maybe I need more sleep. Umm let's think about this, conquer some of the mountain of ironing, proof read a new archaeology book or have another nap which may be of great benefit to my mental health.... ;)

Wonderful Lottie

Well, when we got back to our lovely Lottie I was so pleasantly surprised. The only thing that appeared to look neglected were the Parsnips, but their leaves were due to die back and had been for a while, so that was no shock. Hoorah, for A24a!

So there was bad weather when we were off enjoying ourselves in Poland. But I was proud to see it hadn't put people off too much. The Plots were looking pretty much improved! More on that tomorrow. Ours just needed a general tidy up and weeding. The Marigolds also had to go - a sad day actually as there isn't a lot of colour on our plot now and they were my wee babies. But Good News is that in their place I have my bulbs coming up - ah, the circle of life!

Another happy surprise was the amount of rotting the new compost bin had gone through in only a matter of weeks. It was absolutely full to the brim, now you can see how much it was shrunk compared to the other bin behind it. Hoorah! Although I was a little annoyed to see this wee blighter poking through one of the other bins, ah nature, it will always win.