Small victories

Victory No. 1 
My computer is fixed and I didn't totally freak out when it decided to pack up in the first place!

Victory No. 2
The gauntlet was thrown down on Monday to my anxiety and I planted up some pots for the back garden. Yes, after a good year of not planting anything due to an irrational fear that I'd do it wrong and kill anything I'd touch - I have overcome. (Need more to fill it up nut all in good time.)

Soil under my fingernails, terracotta pots emptied out, cleaned and reused. I have been feeling rather like a green-fingered gardener - let's hope they survive or my pride will take a darn good beating! haha. The tiny thing on the bottom shelf is some mint I am trying to grow - we'll see...

We have :

Sanvitalia 'cuzco' yellow 

Bacopa 'snowflake'

Osteospermum 'special fire'

Osteospermum 'pink'

Wee bit of mint

Allotment news from the weekend and hurrrip, more small victories :) 

Victory No. 3 
The first harvest! Spuds ahoy my friends; come on over to our house and have a nibble, haha!

Ok, as these photos prove, we were a little too excited to see how the potatoes were doing and harvested these ones a wee bit too early. But there were lots of a good size and I like them small, plus sometimes you just need some instant gratification.

You can see on the top right photo that some were fingernail size, haha. But we were happy and I could easily put up that harvest photo up on my desk 😀. The used potting compost was placed as a nice wee mulch around the growing dwarf french beans.

Victory No. 4

As soon as we arrived at the plot I scared off a bird that was sneaking in amongst the gooseberries. Ggrrr, as much as love birds, that food is mine and I've already had a battle with the sawfly larvae! So it was time to deploy the netting and now the blueberries and gooseberries are much safer. Of course the blighters have been known to get in away but hey, we've done something.

The gooseberries are so close to being ready but the blueberries are teasing me and have stayed this shade of glaucous blue for weeks now - I want to eat them! I'm going to get new recipes for both berries, any that work really well, I'll share x

The garlic looks ready to lift too - it's all starting to happen.

Victory No. 5

I just wanted to show you how happy the sweetcorn and squashes are. It'll be a long time until we eat any produce from these plants but it's a joy to see them looking good.

Lastly, Victory No. 6 is my hay-fever medication is working! Thank goodness for it as look what we are surrounded by - a couple of weeks ago I could have ripped my nose off and eyes out but now I am feeling almost invincible in the face of grass pollen!

More soon - I didn't even show the right hand side of the plot this time. Stories and even a hand-drawn plan of the site to come.

Love
Carrie

The allotment without me

This is a super huge catch up post and boy does it make me feel all the feels. I'm embarrassed and ashamed as Andrew has done everything himself, I'm proud of him, I'm sad that it doesn't interest me and actually being there causes panic, and I'm amazed that the plots around us are in such a wild state that it feels so pointless to even try - is this all a waste of time?!

plot just before ours - ggrrrr

So Andrew and I were coming home from a trip to Belfast on Sunday and he needed to go in to the plots to get some food for us. Ahh, sneaky - that got me there off guard for the first time in months. I could have stayed in the car but I walked down, just with my phone and had a wee look. Here, this is proof that I was in fact, literally there -

24a
OK so this is the first born plot, the original and the best. The one that once won 'Best Allotment Garden' and which this blog was all about for a long time. It still feels like the important one; there sits the shed, the benches, the compost bins, the soil there has my blood, sweat, tears and adrenaline in it from those first exciting months of allotmenteering.

what you can see here: (with thanks to Andrew typing these lists!)
* left side - courgettes, sweetcorn, broad beans, french beans, mangetout
* right side - kale, kohlrabi, purple sprouting broccoli, garlic, beetroot, parsnips, carrots, spring onions, turnips.

standing at the entrance to 24a

14b
Okay, so it's ours too; in fact is was gotten under my name. However, the blackberry, rhubarb, poppies and roses are the only things I ever feel a connection with. Andrew has worked so damn hard over there but the asparagus has failed (I saw one frond) and I have been too ill to use the rhubarb this year or look after any flowers.

Good new is the woodland area trees are looking good and there is a nice wee under planting of herbs. I forgot to take a photo but hey, these are all terrible phone photos anyway :)

back half of 14b

a tidy up and this would show some nice flowers and many to come

We have thought often about giving this half plot up but when you think of the money pit it has been and the hours of work to get it to this stage were food is growing it breaks your heart. Plus 3 sides of it are coming down with weeds up to my thigh height with mostly grasses, nettles, dandelions and other unwanted seeds constantly floating over - arrghhhh.

I only managed about 5 mins there this first time and then I had a panic attack and had to run to the safety of the car. Thank goodness I have been taking my hayfever medication though, it could have been deadly!

* So far this year we have been eating *

rhubarb

mangetout

broad beans

spring onions
lettuce

potatoes (grown in big pots)

courgettes

mini carrots

gooseberries

With much love and hopes for more blog posts (and much better photography) to come,
Your Carrie xx

My Beautiful N. Ireland

Well, would you Adam and Eve it? This here post, the one you are reading right now is my 777th! That's a bit of happy trivia for you on this fine day. Wow....I don't know if it makes me feel old or just proud that I'm still ticking along. Haha.

So I was exhausted yesterday (I'd walked over to the fabric shop and back and it was super scary and a really big deal) and took a while just lying with my phone, looking through the photos on it and listening to music. From there decided that I wanted to show you some of my beautiful country; photos taken whilst on our staycation, snapshots from the phone. I really couldn't run and play and chase Maggie whilst carrying my 'big camera' ;)

*** We had a great day 'up the coast', one the world's most beautiful drives through the Glens and Causeway coast. The first stop was Carrick-a-rede rope bridge which Andrew had never been to before! The views from there are amazing - these two photos on the left were taken from the mainland, looking at the wee island only accessible by the rope bridge and in the distance is Rathlin Island.

Next we went to the Giant's Causeway but any child brought up here will have been to this site sooo many times that I literally only took this photo of a tiny thing in the gift shop. I have no idea what purpose it was meant to have, so small and not even heavy enough to act as a paperweight, uummm.

Lastly (after a delicious dinner in the Causeway Hotel) we visited White Rocks beach...Maggie loves a good beach. And this one is as clean as you could ever wish for :)

*** We had an evening in Belfast at some super fabulous bars and beer gardens with a glorious dinner in a fancy new restaurant but it was our 9th Anniversary and some things are sacred; so though I have many photos...they are staying relatively private, though there are a few on Instagram :)

*** Our week long heat wave drove us out into the back garden to do very little other than read, listen to music and for me - sew :) I have re-opened my Etsy shop online and lots of new photographic cards and felt birds have been going up recently, it feels so good to be back in action.

*** This is the height of my allotment adventures.....

.....blasted hayfever! I mean really, look at that weather but only now am I truly medicated to the hilt and able to cope with the weeds and flower pollen. Anywho, Andrew was able to go and some maintenance has been done and our first harvest (other than just rhubarb) came in last week ~ roses, lettuces, broad beans and potatoes. Plus we have been able to give some away to family :) I shall be there again soon and then hurrah! this blog will get back to business.

*** This is the most recent day out to Belfast's Botanic Gardens - we love it there. Right in between Queen's University (where we both studied) and the Ulster Museum...

So I hope you liked this pictorial catch up of sorts, personally I think it's much better than photos from a holiday resort on the Island of Rhodes where we were meant to be going. I love my home country; despite it's political problems, it's one of the most beautiful places I know.

Hugs and happy weekend!
Carrie xxx

A loveliness of Ladybirds

It's Tuesday and I'm still feeling a bit anxious with leftover panic from Sunday's visit to the Allotment. Don't get me wrong, nothing horrendous happened...there were no clowns nor a plague of locusts, a twister did not lift up my shed and deposit me in Oz etc. No, I simply took the worst panic attack and it didn't go away until, sort of, this morning.

As an advocate for Ecotherapy and in my own made up word of Allotmentherapy, I find this quite the let down. But as I remind others, so I must remind myself.... Ecotherapy is not a panacea for mental health problems.

I believe my panic began with me getting just what I wanted....new allotment members in a big friends and family gathering getting an over run plot back into order. I mean, really, it was a joy to see. However it also put me on high alert...I had to talk and be friendly and it was all too much. I went into overdrive to make these (somewhat glorious warriors) feel a community spirit existed, and it was just too much.

Reminder this bed? I worked really hard to get it finished and cleared then realised I hadn't been breathing and nearly fainted.

Andrew managed quite a bit with clearing our soon to be squash/asparagus area and got pooped too. Our trip home for coffee ended me shaking and terrified to go back.

The vast population of ladybirds couldn't even draw me back. There are so many this year, this is just 2 out of approx 8 I saw without searching for them! Pure joy :)

****

Today is beautiful so I'm going to take photos of how gloriously well the seedlings are doing, all over the place and share that joy with you. Plus I have designs on making a sweet rhubarb compote later.

* For now it's all about remembering to breathe and ordering my hay fever medication- why??!, cruel, merciless, sadistic pollen, why do you torture me so!???

Love and hugs
Your Carrie x

Utter Allotment Shame

A summery day, we had 1 ~ hoorah! The 12th of July was a stunner and Andrew, Maggie and I took ourselves off up the coastline of Co.Antrim. I may be biased but that is one of the best drives in the world and it's right here on our doorstep. It's perfect, just stopping at little beaches along the way and letting Maggie run whilst we chased her and also looked for cool beachy treasures.

The fair I was at last weekend was brilliant, there were lovely and friendly stall holders, it was really well organised and then loads of lovely people came and they had their shopping heads on :) It was a real buzz.

****

The rest of our time off was spent in the back garden or just loafing around. We did want to go to the allotment a lot but well, it's such an unholy mess that we simply couldn't face it. The Council isn't keeping the paths clear and the grass and weeds are knee height, a significant number of plot holders haven't bothered their asses over the past year and those disastrous messes are full to the brim with more flowering grass, weeds and diseases. I am furious, so angry at the lack of any care and the complete unenforcement of the rules ~ the council is failing us and ought to be kicking these people out! For goodness sake, we have a 2 year waiting list with people desperate to try growing their own.


pretty, yes, but this is suppose to be cultivated and growing lovely food!! (The plot next door)

So it's now been a whole week since I was anywhere near my plots. My hay fever has been very severe this year and with the afore mentioned mess of the plots in general I have been so bad I couldn't breathe last Friday night and ended up retching so much, gasping for air, that I threw up twice on the footpath. It was truly very frightening and reminded me of those asthma attacks when I was little; I thought I was going to die. I didn't die :)
I was put on different meds though and they nearly killed me again! I had to come off them after 3 days; 3 days which are lost to me, I either slept or was dizzy and very confused, those were my options :) But hey - I ditched them and I'm still here fighting away with a runny nose and itchy eyes. Thank goodness we live by the sea - last night's visit to the beach was a joy!

Andrew has been and collected the last of our broad beans :( It was fabulous while it lasted. We have kept some, blanched and frozen - a nice treat for those winter months. I don't know if it was just us but we had to skin our beans this year as they were quite tough otherwise. Must be something to do with the weather... He also brought home a load of spuds - boy those plants are doing us proud, it just never seems to end.

I shall be going to the plot tonight; fingers crossed I survive. We know (Andrew has seen) that the raspberries and currant bushes and gooseberries have been going mad with production so we need to fight off the birds and actually get some this year! As I write this I am just thinking I have most likely jinxed us simply by saying that out loud. Tut tut, I ought to know better.

I leave you with a photo of our raspberry+ harvest from 2 years ago - an image that sold well at the fair :) Oh I get so proud when people ohh and ahhh over photos of our produce :)

Hugs. I'll be back on form soon!

Why don't the plants love me back??

Sunday afternoon was fabulous, a glorious day at the lottie and hardly a soul there so I wasn't even panicky = result! BUT as I was cutting the grass and moving along between plots the grass pollen attacked and I was vanquished, left as a sniffling, dripping, itchy mess; completely bowled over :( Why?? Oh Mother Nature, why!!

I cut all that my hand and let me tell you, you cannot think when doing work like that. It is fabulous; menial work yes - but you have no room to think negatively - the mind is clear :) Plus I met a gorgeous frog in amongst it all, sadly he was very camera shy.

Anywho, I got my medication from the Dr. today and by the weekend I shall ready to once again go to my plots. But it's so cruel, my anxiety and depression hasn't been that bad the past few days, yet I still couldn't/can't go and get in an hour of Allotmentherapy - life can be so nasty sometimes. Boo and indeed Hiss

However - I shall not let this get me down :) No dear reader I have photos from the weekend and the pollen therein can not affect me through the laptop screen. So here we go, let us bathe ourselves in the beauty.....

I am loving the flowers on 14b, both my Poppies are doing really well, the red one is flowering as you can see, even though it went through a big move in the winter from one plot to the other, the purple one has loads of buds and I can barely wait :) I left the chives and the big artichokes to flower, the bees adore them and I don't eat them so its a win win situation. And ohh! look at the all the blossom on the blackberry (or as I like to call it the brambleberry - which makes life awkward for me sometimes when I call my phone my brambleberry too hahaha) Then the 3 roses, well they are now 2 :( Remember the photo I put up of the white 'Polar Star' covered in green fly and aphids, well it was worse and we just had to get rid of it, it's never been the healthiest plant...aww well I have an excuse to buy more :)

Another bed we have left for the bees is the now bolted purple sprouting broccoli - oh isn't a mecca for insects over there :)

Here is that updated photo of the garlic - so proud of it! Yet here is a photo of one of the apples that has fallen victim to the 'June Drop' and I just heard a moment ago that loads of leaves have suddenly fallen off the cherry tree.

Ahh, Nature, she teaches us so much. We can worry ourselves stupid about things but truly we are not in control, never are, never will be. Gardening is a roller coaster and such a get metaphor for life.

Petite Brunette seeks free (organic) weedkiller, bug killer and blow torches!!!

I didn't order this weather!! What the heck is going on? It's raining, grey, blowy and darn right miserable out there, plus I have a blanket wrapped round me to help me feel cosy, it's JUNE! I have been trying to figure out what the word is that I have been looking for and I have it now....I am irked, blasted well irked.

So in the vain of this irk-y feeling I am going to moan, oh yes my friend, it is time to get something off my chest.

As I shared (with fanfare), we are now into our 5th season on the Lottie and all is going quiet well for the Gaults. But there is something that has been annoying me for quite some time now, something that has been getting up my nose, under my skin and rubbing me up the wrong way... THIS! >> There are so many people that have seemingly become bored with their soil 'toy' after so long and have let their plots go to gardening Hell!! To be honest I am fuming, really rather red in the face and though a non-violent person I could happily smack some butts!

Look at these examples, only the ones that surround our own plot! There is a waiting list for crying out loud and people have these in this state! ARRRGHHHHH. I know that any reader of my blog will be angry too and I thank you for your collective empathy for my present state.

We are naturally getting all the weeds of the day on our plots because of these plots and my hayfever (which up til now has been in check) is going mad with all this grass that has just been left to go to seed. I feel like getting tape from the Police and cordoning off these plots as crime scenes!

If that wasn't bad enough the green fly and aphids have returned in force. Yes I could squish them betwixt my fingers but seriously, with this many on one rose, it would be a green goo bath and I am just not strong enough in the tummy for that. Plus, there are no worms, none and only a smattering of ladybirds - they have abandoned us, left us to fight for ourselves and oh, woe is me!!

the Honeysuckle was sprayed with something - look how pretty it is now though!

There I feel much lighter for getting all that off my chest. I have so much to tell you about or wonderful plants that I could burst but patience my darlings, patience....For now let me show you the baby potatoes I dug up on Monday. These came from a couple of left over plants we had plonked in the ground whilst we waited for the Strawberries to come; now they're here was Goodbye spud plants and Hello tummy :)

Boiled and crushed with added homegrown garlic and peas - yummy!

Disbelief with generous helping of hayfever

Yesterday, through a haze of disbelief, it seems as though I secured a solo exhibition for my photography AND was featured on the Channel 4/4Homes top Garden blogs list! How did this all happen? Best not to ask really, maybe the bubble will burst :)

Up until Wednesday morning when I saw Eimear (and even Wednesday afternoon and evening) this week I have been living in a kind of dream state; my depression has been so bad, I guess I was opting out. I can't actually remember much but thankfully I took photographs and things that happened do come back to me from seeing them. Sunday was a beach day - that I do remember but after that it's a blur. That's why I haven't written since last Friday.

But yesterday was genuinely great and so today I am more than a little buoyed up and ready to write. But how can one write about the garden or indeed my beloved lotties when I ran out of hayfever medicine and can't get my prescription until later today?! I'll tell you how.....

Just for you, I broke the hermetic seal of my house to take photos of the neighbours garden across the street and the further work on our own, by hanging out the windows holding my breath. (And taking the opportunity to shake my fist at the pollen out there too; why Nature, why?!!)

The lovely C and B across the street have really started into their front garden whilst the back is full of the chaos that comes along with conservatory building, patio laying, greenhouse erecting and planting a hedge. Their style isn't our style but hey that's okay. I do have to point out that I love the choice of tree - an ornamental cherry and the cute, quirky, ironic choice of an old chimney pot as a plant container in a new development devoid of fireplaces :)

Oh yes! (grining with pride at my hubby's work) The back garden here is coming on a pace and the secret area is looking fab; to lie in there on the hammock and look up at the sky is dreamy. This weekend is going to be mental out there with Andrew finishing the rendering and me starting in to the wood staining (there has also been talk of posh gravel and bark chips being bought - eek!) And no, I am not showing you our front garden is it too embarrassing, stop asking!

Also here is a random picture of a gorgeous Cantaloupe melon which I have been thoroughly enjoying. (No, I didn't grow it are you bonkers?) Ummmm, time for some more me thinks.

The war continues!

I have just been to the GP and got stronger more muscly (well they are steroids) meds to fight this blasted hayfever. I shall win this war with the triadic power of antihistamines, nasal spray puffs and pure grit (a pincher movement of devilish reckoning)!! Resolutely I sit here with the window open (my eyes are so itchy and my nose is constantly running) just to show Mother Nature I ain't letting her get the best of me! Ggrrrr.

In a couple of days I shall be back at my lottie, just you wait and see. Until then Andrew is bringing home delicious strawberries by the small bucket load and jam making is on the agenda for this evening - photos and review to follow.

It should start raining soon (oh, please) which will be great for the plants (and don't let on, but great for me too as it keeps the pollen down), the ground here is drying out so quickly these days.

Hugs to you all, especially fellow hayfever suffers - we shall overcome!!

Beclometasone ~ could it be I'm falling in love?

There is someone cutting their grass outside, I can't see them but I can hear them and I've had to close all the windows even though it's roasty toasty today. My nose is sniffily and my eyes weeping - why, why must they cut the grass - do they hate me?, what could I have done to deserve this! Oh! Hahahahaha - I just heard them sneeze - revenge is sweet (and I am evil, hahaha).

I saw my lovely, ever wonderful pharmacist on Saturday monday and she was able to prescribe me a sterodial hayfever nasal spray called 'Belcometasome Hayfever Relief' under the minor ailments scheme. She uses this one herself and says it will take up to 10 days to get working but after that I should be fine. That idea = a happy Carrie.

I was at the lottie last night for 10 mins and ran around taking quick snaps of things and trying to look and appreciate all the hard work Andy has been doing on his own. You have to imagine some sort of frantic car chase music and a human shaped blur (that was me). Things are looking great but as I won't be going too much this week I'll have to spread those photos out over a few posts! I was there 10 mins and it took 20 to recover and stop wheezing again.

Grass has become the new enemy - grrrr. At the moment I hate it more than sawfly and that's saying a lot. It looks so pretty too, I guess that's part of it's evil plan. Well, it's all going from our plot and bark mulch is the way forward my friends. *sniffs* - argh Beclometasone and I will beat you hayfever!!

As close as I've gotten to the lottie magic

This divine thing was brought home to me about an hour ago - joy heaped upon joys; our first Strawberry!! Well Andrew had one too but as I am feeling so poo with this hayfever he gave me the big one and had a wee tiny one himself....It was GOOD!

I was at our little deli today and asked about local honey. Unfortunately the local source has none. The harsh winter had had a nasty effect on his bees and they just didn't make any beautiful amber honey. He said that the deli is in touch and just waiting hopefully for a phone call someday soon (I'm now anxious for that call too). I have a secret desire to be a beekeeper though - maybe I should look into this, ummmm....

I hate all things garden-y

*Sneeze* I am not happy today *sniff* as the pollen count is too massive to even *blows nose* give a number to. *Wheezing now* I am upstairs with the windows closed, boiling away in my t-shirt and rolled up pj bottoms *wipes running eyes* and just wish today that pollen did not exist!!!!! (shakes fist at window)

Yes I know that would mean there wouldn't be any veggies, trees, fruit, flowers etc but *sniffs again* I DON'T CARE *rubs left eye furiously*

See you tomorrow; I need to put a wet cloth over my face and dream of the Sahara..... *tries to relieve itch on palate with tongue*. Arrgghhhhh!!