An late night trip to the lottie

Just for you guys (cause I love you) I made A and Maggie come with me for a walk up to the Lottie on Wednesday night to see what was going on. Why have I waited until Saturday afternoon to write about it?? Well on Wednesday evening just after we got home Mamma G fell and hurt her ankle and we spent the whole night in A & E, the whole night people, 7 hrs to get an x-ray!!! But at least she is okay - just a very bad sprain.

So my sleeping pattern (bad at the most normal of times) was really messed up and coherent blog writing has seemed too hard. But here I am, better late than never, all fulled up with coffee, sugar, Maggie licks and the sweet smell of horse manure wafting in through the patio windows :)

It literally takes 10 mins house door to shed door and this was the utterly glorious sight that greeted us at our plot - you now all know about my lust for Tulips so as you can imagine this was a happy sight. And even these little baby ones - aren't they adorable??

Look at the Rhubarb plants; they've gone nuts and need to be eaten NOW, not that I am complaining. (But A PLEASE make more compote, I feel that if I write it here maybe you will, your selective hearing in 'real' life seems to filter out my requests, hahahaha.) We had to remove the flower spikes that had formed so as the plant would keep on putting energy into these big bad boy stocks - yummm; but whilst I knew they had to go I really would like to see what a rhubarb flower looks like.

Oh dear look at the weeds! This is my flower bed on 14b (which at the minute says 4o on the sign as lots of the mosaic fell off with the frost, ahaha). After I took the photo A started to weed away, hahaha - his pride got to him but I'm showing the photo anyway, it's all honesty here! And those these look like weeds they are actually our lettuce seedlings - yippeeeee and here are the broad beans - hoorah!!! Finally it feels like Mother Nature is caressing the earth and giving of herself through sunshine, warming the soil, little showers instead of downpours and quiet whisperings to the world to wake up.

The fruit arch is doing so well, I must remember to take a photo of how the trees are starting to meet eachother at the apex. They must be happy; so much growth and lovely fresh green leaves and look at these beautiful pear blossoms and the apple blossoms on the family tree in another part of the plot. (See it was getting dark but I wanted to take photos just for you).

 

I'll write soon - the garden is looking fab and A is working away on it right now :)

Trip to MALVERN ~ #1 The Show itself

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself but it would seem it's just me, I didn't get it, I didn't think the show was terribly wonderful and full of inspiration. I'm telling it here as it was for me, as with everything you are free and indeed encouraged to find out for yourself.....

Pros -
** The parking was free and super easy, really the whole event was organised to a T and really couldn't be faulted at all. Although there were a heck of a lot of people there, it never felt too crowded and that's saying something coming from me (one who hates crowds).

One of the greenhouses Andrew needs in his life.

** The main show tent was fabulous. We were there on Friday, arriving at 11.30 and leaving at 5.30. We watched a good few shows and bits of others. The lady compère was fun and could talk for Britain - she was lovely. The Three Men Went to Mow painting skit for charity was brilliant! I kept realising I was grinning inanely AND the best man won (James, with is masterpiece of fingerpainting - bold, colourful and innovative; I voted twice for his piece). I also witnessed Cleve holding a chicken that much to everyone's surprise laid an egg straight into his hand. The 3 of them (James Alexander-Sinclair, Cleve West and Joe Swift) really are utterly lovely and instantly likeable.

** The Recovery and Wellbeing Garden  (by the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust) won a Gold Medal and was People's Choice on Friday. Here's some pics; there's chickens in the black shed and the tiles were handmade by the clients of the programme but nowhere did it mention how incredibly beneficial to mental health such an activity as their allotment programme is - it was just infered by the title, which most people hadn't bothered to read, they just knew it as the 'tile one'....

 ECOTHERAPY ROCKS!  I was so desperate for Ecotherapy to be shown off at the show (a lot of exhibitors and sellers had no idea what it is!! = I must work harder!)

** Oh, the craft and food halls - yummmy. It was very lucky that we didn't bring much money with us and that the ATM machines were empty. Plus there was the issue of us flying home and all those silly restrictions; so many things were too fragile, too big, too expensive or indeed smelly  (cheeses and meat products etc) to put in our suitcase. But the talent of those in the 3 counties is amazing and boy can they make great sloe gin and damson gin (I was given lots to try - for medicinal reasons of course).

** Everyone was super duper friendly, even before the tipsy fruit drinks.

** Exquisite flowers and plants were everywhere in the main floral tent. Oh you couldn't move without falling in love with something else. Of course the tulips and acers were stunning the socks off me. We really couldn't bring any plants home so looking at seeds was the next best option. What we desparately wanted had sold out but we got contact details :) Plus I now have a love for alpines.

** Food prices were a little steep but was of excellent quality and that kind of makes up for it. Everything organic and locally made, so even that big chocolate brownie Andrew and I shared must have been healthy - right??

** The Meet@Malvern bloggers - were polite and friendly. I got big hugs from the lovely VP, Helen and Karen. It was funny to see fellow bloggers as it is hard to put a face to names such as Happy Mouffetard or VP for example. Though many (and I was told this myself) looked just like the photos of themselves, hahaha. Plus James was wonderful - hugs galore and we shared a biscuit moment; that man could charm a snake!

The setting - oh my goodness the Malvern hills are hypnotic, the trees and the constant play of light across them - just heaven......

Now the Cons-

** Something I will not dwell upon of course, but as with everything, where there are ups, there will also be downs. And the biggest one, the most glaringly obvious one was....a severe lack of show gardens! I know, it sounds daft but there really was a shortage and more than that I found many of the ones there to be uninspiring, terribly cluttered with too many uncomplimentary hard lanscaping materials and sorry Mr Beardshaw but, stupid and clumsy in a few cases.

** Andrew and I were pretty much the youngest people there, bar those being dragged around by their parents, crying! Plus the overall demographic didn't seem to fit us - we are not super rich, large acreage owning people with a desire to dress like the Royal family on a day out at Balmoral and to grow our seedlings or house our chickens in buildings more expensive than the average new posh car (no matter how well made and designed they were). Though on  the other side to that were the many cheap and nasty market stalls at the entrance, these were equally as depressing.

*****

Don't want to end on a sour note though. I'm glad we went, glad to see one of the 'big RHS shows' and very glad to have (albeit, briefly) met some fellow blogger friends. Special thanks to VP and Helen, James and Wiggly Wigglers.

More on our travels tomorrow, with better photos xx

well there's a sign upon the door.....

Nope, not gone fishin', I've gone to the MALVERN Spring Show!! How exciting.

Plus one of my personally handcrafted bird houses (complete with titled roof) has a little family of blue birds in it. I'm so HAPPY!!!!!

Plus...If you look at my other crafty blog I have good news about my photography.

Though I am slowly dying of the cold I am a happy girl these days :)

Booze, Bloody Battles, Beans, a BBQ and Bugs

I'm not coping very well with reality at the moment (though a nice Merlot is helping). Today has been one big sleep, with some awake breaks for water and phone calls. Yes, as Andrew says I am better than I was when we came back from Italy but I am taking a lot of medication and pushing myself so hard everyday that I'm exhausted and as a side effect am too tried to think. When I have a minute alone it has to be filled with something and apart from reading incessantly that is generally sleep.

But now Andrew is home and we're just in front of the TV (after checking on the Lottie but the weather, oh god, do not mention the weather - horrendous!), he's watching some historic-drama thing and I can't be bothered so I have turned to my blog, which I feel has been neglected rather and am going to tell you about our (quite impressive) progress from last week/weekend.

First though ~ RHS Chelsea!!!! Other Bloggers will be covering it wonderfully so I'll leave to them, however a quick note - It's so Fabulous! I am in awe of all those 'proper' gardeners and that guy from Top Gear (with the flowing locks) and his Plasticine garden piece. I'd love to visit one day, though the crowds are daunting looking, I'd need a wee behind the scenes tour before opening time. Maybe in the delightful company of Joe Swift or Mr Titchmarsh, now that would be nice. Darn it, all those amazing RHS shows are in England and Wales, what about us poor Northern Irish folk?!

Goodness this TV show is bloody and gruesome, going to have Andy to turn it down a little!

The sky is uninterrupted blue and the wind seems to gone, it's lovely; Mother Nature can be a b*tch sometimes. Why now, why have good weather now when the Lottie day is over? We've been suffering from poor weather for weeks now and our plants look rather sorry for themselves. The French Beans in particular are sulking, I don't blame them, I certainly wouldn't enjoy having my feet buried in cold wet soil and being blown about all over the show. I hope they cope, can plants have nervous breakdowns?!

So to the work we've been up to, there are a couple of stories that will make wee bloggettes in the next few days, but here's some bits and bobs...

A Barbecue!!!

We had a lovely evening on the 12th May (Okay so Mother Nature isn't that nasty); a super wee BBQ on the plot. Sausages and baps and a mixed bean salad. YUM! Other's around us were jealous, which (admit it yourself) made it all the more enjoyable, hehe. We did offer some around but luckily everyone had had dinner already, shame. Oh and we had a beer with it; living the dream alright!

I suppose it was only fair after my cheek, that we found the redcurrant was infested with greenfly. Horrible, gross little beings. Andrew got in there with his fingers and squished them, I prefer the soapy water spray technique myself. But on the up side another insect turned up that was lovely, some sort of fab Beetle. I like to think it's a goody, anyway Andrew deemed it fit to live. Plus, not our fault, but the shed has 3 dead cabbage white butterflies inside it by the window. If it's any consolation to you animal lovers out there I was eaten by lots of midges so in a way nature got her own back. I'm still itchy all over my scalp and now that I've thought about it, I'm scratching away, damn it.

I think I'll leave it there for tonight, I could go on and write a book the way my mind has become engaged in this but I don't think you'd be interested, I've probably lost you already, ha.

I shall leave you with this lovely pic of a rhubarb leaf, I think the colour is amazing, too good to cut and eat! Plus ~ tomorrow WILL be better x