An Allotment Check-up

We had an allotment 'date' last Friday, as Andrew had taken a much needed day off :) I painted inside the shed and then got very panicky, feeling cooped up alone while he was over on the other half plot working away. So after a wee trip out for a warm drink and and sit down together I felt better, much better and we went back and got to work again together.

Andrew planted 3 blackthorn trees = our very own sloe berries for the traditional lottie sloe gin :) They will also act as a much needed screen up at the top of 14b, by the compost bins. I did take a photo but it's awful and do you really want to see 3 brown twigs in a row in brown soil??

He also cut back and tied in the blackberry, which was something I started a few months back but my double vision was sort of a hazard, hahaha. It looked like I'd  had a fight with a crazy litter of cats; so many big cuts and blood on my gloves. Still, as least I tried. Here's Andrew glorious work though....

the blackberry all tied in for the season ahead

I am so looking forward to more jam but also I found this blackberry frozen yogurt recipe on Pinterest.

I continued with the incredible task of weeding the main flower bed. It is just infested with weeds, yes some would be our own but I swear most are from the 3 plots that surround us - they have been abandoned for about a year now and do nothing but grow weeds and then spread them all over the darn place - usually right slap bang into our plots! Oh if only all vegetables and fruit were so prolific.

I'm very near to being finished (though as you'll know yourself, I probably think I'm finished when I need to start all over again) and it looks good. We have a lot of tulips and daffodils coming through and the first little Narcissus 'Tete-a-tete' was in flower. Look! doesn't it fill you heart with joy?

Happiness is yellow :)

I also loved this daisy, I can't help myself...

I love daisies, I can't help myself :)

Prepare for a little rant now, just my personal view point.....

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I am annoyed today, very annoyed. A letter arrived from the Council and they have decided to up our rent by a whooping 14%! I wouldn't mind so much if the Council was actually good at helping us and providing us with the basic necessities but they don't...

* The fields have no proper drainage and many plots are flooded, even as I weeded, going half a hand fork in depth the soil, I was encountering pools of water! Our whole allotment has been double dug and has raised beds, plus we have spent so much money on grit and topsoil and getting great manure to improve everything, best we can. It really feels pointless.

*They do not look after the roads. Look at them! never mind that the paths between plots are so slippery (see above) that I am scared to walk around, now there is no way I could go to the Allotment Gardens alone if I wanted to - the roads aren't even safe for me. 

Road between field A and B.

*There is no basic security in place, not a good fence or even the improved hedges (to also act as wind breaks) that were meant to be put in. People can just walk in nilly willy if they want to and it's going to get worse if rumours are true. There is a new community building being built just above the allotment grounds and I have been told by many that access to it from the village is through the centre of the allotment gardens. I hope this isn't true.

*We do not get the Council green waste we were promised over and over; there are no skip days any more to safely dispose of our rubbish and proper management of the plots in terms of so many abandoned ones, is ridiculous whilst there is still a huge waiting list. I am sickened, utterly downhearted.

But I must end on a happy note - 

Look at the rhurbab and the honeysuckle, plus the broad bean seeds have been planted and the garlic looks amazing (but I can't find the photo!)

What are you up too?? Is it starting to feel springy where you are???

Woooo Hooo I'm a guest blogger

I have to share the news cause life has been super tough this year so far and this has made me quite pleased indeed. I was contacted my Thompson and Morgan seeds and asked if I would write a blog post for them on Ecotherapy. Now it must be said, I get contacted by people a lot wanting me to big up their products or shops but I decline with thanks. This time though the lady I was speaking with, Rebecca, was a delight and she actually got me and asked my to write about my passion; to share the idea that gardening could help your low mood, anxiety levels and stress. So I said " YES, PLEASE"

Click the link and see :)
http://blog.thompson-morgan.com/guest-blog/under-the-weather/

oh and if you truly love me, I would exchange free hugs and kisses for a comment left other there *shy smile*.

Thank you and have a fab day - it's sunny here - hurrah.
Love ...

Looking longingly at Friday

Oh this weather is a killer! We didn't manage to get to the lottie at all last weekend and this weekend looks crappy too - but we have hope for Friday :) Always with the hope, it's a gardener's mantra. Painting to be done, beds to get sorted and seeds to be sown =  happy times and spring is coming.

So, sadly I have little to show you but I shall get you up to date with the shed make over and the work Andrew has done outside in the mud.

Second coat in some places but it's really starting to take shape and I have been buying some accessories for it and making some too :) I will come together in time and it shall be glorious!

Andrew dug up our huge rhubarb and spilt it in two, planting them over at the top of 14b. We are going to make that whole area a fabulous non-fussy place with plants that don't need moving and a purposely wilder feel with our new round bed up there. We are so glad the ground up there has been covered with carpet since we got it - so easy to dig and hardly any weeds able to take hold (though now I've said that we shall return to find the place a mess of dandelions, right?? I've just jinxed myself).

He has also tidied up that mess of a flower bed and put mysterious posts into the ground just to the left, hummmm.....

Where that large rhubarb was (in the coffin bed) we now have our third Blueberry bush - hoorah!!! That 3rd bush has been sitting along there since we left Mamma G's to move into our new house and now, finally it has a permanent home. Plus we are going to cover this bed with a cage of netting to try and keep those pesky berry stealing birds out - I shall have my own Blueberries this year! Huzzah!!

I have started a Pinterest page for allotment produce and ingredients. Ohhh I have desires to go mad and make as much as humanly possible this year.

I shall take photos of my accessories when we do get back there, as I know you can't contain your excitement  - I can feel it through the net, haha. My fingers are itching to get painting again, white, bright, happy white!!!

It's not January anymore

Yes!! Today saw the start of the year (January is a bad word in my mind - I try to ignore it with all my might) February is here my friends and I can barely stand the joy. It's only a wee month and then bam! it's March etc...

For this auspicious occasion I went out into the garden, simply desperate to find springy-ness and hope for the year to perk me up. Here is what I saw....

So happy the Beech hedge is filling out and the box hedge is smelling fabulous and looking so healthy :)

 Yes! Big, fat, juicy tulip bulbs are popping through all over the place :)

 AIliums and lots of tete-a-tete bulbs have poked through and are looking super :)

 See? more!!! ;) Plus the Jasmine is happy and grew so much last year - I have happy tingly feelings :)

 Still the snowdrops keep coming; so delicate and so very white they glow :)

And the winter flowering cherry has been in bud for ever, I love it but never more so with the blue sky behind it -  blue sky is the bestest thing ever :)

I am smiling a lot today as you may have noticed and the weather looks okay for tomorrow too = Allotment Time!! Happy Days :)

Love and hugs and Happy February to you :)

Our Shed Makeover pt1

Oh my the weather!! If you haven't already suffocated and frozen under the snow, then I guess you are like us and are just swimming along the streets and enjoying the glorious mud :) Yay!!  Either way I am sure the vast majority of you are feeling the low of not being able to do the gardening - goodness we can't even dig the soil here; getting to the plot from the car park is scary and exhausting enough, then the spade just gets sucked down into the depths of the earth by the 'quicksoil' (like quicksand but not really) and then you just want to cry but it's too cold and the tears freeze in your eyes and now you can't see, ho hum :( You become your very own plot Scarecrow.....

So here are some catch up photos of the plot from the last time I actually did any work and from the day when Andrew took me down to see his hard work inside in the shed.

The 29th of December - Andrew decided to rip off the big collapsible bench from the front of the shed and as it turns out, he did it just in time! The wood below was beginning to rot! This led to a furious conversation where we shared loads of ideas we had been playing with in our noggins and ultimately it was decided to turn the shed into a cosy hideaway.  Just like the Pinterest board I have been creating for ages now :D

First we needed to protect what we had so it was off to get paint and filler we went.... (all this took probably as long as it has taken to write it down).

You may like to see just how happy painting a shed can make a person - oh yes, just get some music on in those headphones and groove my friend - dance like no one is watching and what not. I also think it is highly important to choose a colour that complements your nail varnish and if possible, one that is the same colour as your handbag, lol. (Seriously we only noticed that it was exactly the same as my bag when we were leaving).

Ohhhh, look a  before and after type photo - really I want to get the rest painted but painting in the rain and gale force winds is not a good idea (so I hear), especially when the paint is water based.

During this day and the following when I was extremely ill with man flu/ the end of the real flu, Andrew was down there alone cleaning out the shed and then inside our shed here at the house being very manly with wood and power tools :) He built the basis of the best cosy shed interior ever!! The first photo in the following series was mind blowing but then it got better - eeek!!

So much stuff was able to go to the dump, lots came up here to the house where it will actually be used and the rest has been (very cleverly) hidden away in some super amazing storage. Yes everything we need is still in there yet there is now room for a person to stand, to sit, to lie down, have friends with them AND a dog. Basically it's a party shed, hahaha. Before hand it was either myself or Andrew got to stand in the shed out of the rain whilst holding Maggie.

It's just too ingenious to even explain properly but basically:
1) there is a huge storage bin on wheels with most of our stuff in it (including the lawn mower),
2) it has a little shelf above it,
3) then there's a fab higher shelf which also magically slides out (what?!!) and

4) when the box is brought forward the top shelf sits on top and is exactly the same height as the lower shelf = day bed! AWESOME!

Naturally this is a project that will have a few blog post instalments but fear not I shall share the glory of it all with you!!!!

Love and hugs, oh and may your bulbs be poking through and bringing you joy and hope my friends xxxx

This is what it's all about

I have been tardy with my writing and I am sorry but I have been very unwell both physically (I still have the flu!) and mentally. In fact I have been so ill in my noggin that I was for giving up on life altogether and that my friends is a really frightening thing to hear yourself say, but I was serious about it.

I've got out of that particular downward spiral and now I feel I little stronger and able to fight. And I intend to win, in time :)

For now it is all about resting; just allowing myself some grace and cutting out the 'I have tos' and the 'I really ought tos'... Resting now will give me energy and strength and hopefully when I do recover the good times will last a while :) Wow, see how much more positive I am? - I never thought I would get here again.

You know one thing that has really helped? This....

Andrew told me they were coming out but I didn't believe him (I was in my dark place) until I went outside myself this afternoon. This is Ecotherapy it's purest form, a single bud resurrected from the depths of the cold earth simply to herald hope.

HOPE; it grows within me again.....

Namasté my friends xx

Post-holiday Blues

I was in beautiful, truly beautiful Amsterdam with my hubby for a few days there and it was, well beautiful :D We didn't indulge in any of the 'herb' chill out remedy let me put that out there right now! We love Pugs not Drugs (not my drawing; the genius is Gemma Correll). But the beer and wine is oh so fine!

 

There wasn't a single in bloom Tulip to be seen but it was enjoyable, cold, very damp but lovely. I even saw some (out of season, naturally, but rather tidy) allotments from the train just on the outskirts of the city - yay!!

But I had the flu the whole time and felt so ill - poor me. Today my temperature was all over the place and Andrew went to the Allotment without me! However he has done incredible things to our shed and tomorrow I am going, so yes I AM :D I have seen blurry phone photos of the amazing DIY construction he has achieved and you are going to be so impressed.

Yes, I wrote this short post just to tell you that.

Our shed is going to be the most a cosy hideaway ever (on an alloment).

Remember Book Tokens?

So sweet gardening pals, are you the same as me, is the weather killing your dreams and plans for the plot? I am seriously fed up with the dull and damp and dreary skies and sodden ground - really Mother Nature is not playing fair. So I offer you a more comfortable alternative in this post - gardening books.

Remember when you did well at school and you got a book token? Oh how I miss those days. We didn't get a single book on gardening from Santa this year. Not that we really need any as Andrew has this habit of visiting a glorious second hand book shop close to his work and bringing home fabulous finds, even some from the 50s, which I love because they have detailed drawings over the often style-over-substance photography books we get now.

So here I would love to share with you some of my favourite gardening books from the Gault library.

 

First I feel I ought to do a little review on an equally little gift book I was sent to look at from Summerdale. Dig for Victory (Gift) is a fun little book that would have been perfect as a stocking filler for anyone. It costs less than a fiver and is beautifully bound with a cool retro cover. Basically it's just sweet with little one sentence facts and tips about growing your own interspersed with encouraging quotes. For a novice the hints would prove very interesting and sometimes rather quirky so for all the price it is I would definitely give it a thumbs up. (They also do an adorable looking 'Make Do and Mend' partner book which I think I would like too).

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However, if it's the more involved book you are looking for with that War Era Ethos then you simply can't beat Digging for Victory: Wartime Gardening with Mr Middleton. I bought myself a copy of this about 2 years ago and think it's fabulous. It takes you by the hand (remember the original version was designed for home owners to grow their own in their own gardens out of necessity and Government decree) and guides you through the growing year with a charm that is so very BBC and 'proper'. I delight in it as an educational tool but also as simply an entertaining read to dip in and out off.

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For Veggie growing in particular I have a super duper soft spot for The Allotment Book by Andi Clevely, it's the first one we bought specifically for the plots :) For a novice it is a life saver but we have found it still is a go to book and that is us in our 5th year, so I think it's  must have. I especially love the sections at the start of each chapter which detail so simply what you could sow now, plant now and eat now even throwing in a few easy recipes - it really makes the whole thing such fun, which is exactly how it should be!

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Lastly for me the must have books are those written by the River Cottage people. They very cleverly mix knowledge with stylish photography, layout and gorgeous paper and covers like no other people I have seen yet. Yes I am one of those people to whom the texture and density of the paper is exciting. These could easily be coffee table books, so I like them okay!? First up for me is Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No.4 by Mark Diacono who is basically a genius. Who else can make soil types, pests and compost so interesting and bring out that inner geek in you? I love his personal twist on how we all have favourites and dream veggies to grow and he helps to calm you down and tell you what is best for where you are = I want him to live in my shed and just tell me stories whilst making me totally organic and knowledgeable; heaven.

This is one I shall be using this year a lot so you'll see loads of it - Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2 by Pam Corbin.... oh and this one  too- Hedgerow (River Cottage Handbook) by John Wright. I have my eyes set on making more of the food we grow and the berries etc that we see whilst out walking. 2013 is going to be a good one!!!
So I hope this inspires you to read up on new techniques, get cool recipes gathered together and prepare of an AWESOME new year. Here are some of the others that Andrew will be reading and I shall looking at the pictures in, lol. We sort of love books in this house :)

Love and Hugs x

Update
Andrew has asked that his favourite book be highlighted and naturally I have had to comply :) He loves Grow Your Own Vegetables by Joy Larkcom as shown here >

He feels it speaks to him and has the most comprehensive, practicable and simple information on individual vegetables. Ms Larkcom has travelled the world and gained much knowledge on the topic of growing your own which she shares here with obvious enthusiasm. It naturally covers the areas of soil type, pests and tools as well. It's main ethos though seems to be getting the most out of the space you have and who doesn't like the sound of that?!

It's basically just his cup of metaphorical tea :)

"comprehensive and covers everything" - Mr Andrew Gault

Christmasy Deliciousness

I've been having a bad day and to be honest I feel completely overwhelmed by things that need doing, not least keeping up with my blogs, writing for other people, socialising, clearing up the house (it looks like a dust bomb has hit it) and trying to get stuff done at the lottie before Andrew goes back to work. My depression is slowly killing me today, I guess I am coming down after the efforts of Christmas.

I've been asleep most of the day and have the worst headache and indeed ache all over (another bout of flu coming?) and if that isn't bad enough my letter 'u' is sticking. Oh dear me, my 1st world problems are horrendous *shame on me!*

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Anywho :) I wanted to share a little of the fabulous food we had over the Holidays; food we grew ourselves of course ;)

First up is the Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin (if you remember, it was the only large one we managed to get this year). We've been enjoying it roasted and in risottos but we also included it in the 'big meal'.

As it was cut up we saved the seeds and not just for planting again this year oh no! We roasted the vast majority in the oven with cumin, turmeric, paprika and salt and they are the most moreish, yum-tastic healthy nibble ever! I hope you do the same soon - never waste the seeds, I promise it's hardly any trouble and you come across as a top chef!!

The flesh was cut up and blanched and then packaged up into bags for the freezer. A great tip so you don't get bored with it quickly. And this year it was added to the traditional veggie mash - oh yes, it was most excellent.

Every year since we acquired our plots we have made Christmas veggie mash with our own parsnips, carrots (usually our own but not this year due to the disastrous crop) and spuds (never our own, they are far too cheap and plentiful at this time of year in the shops) a gulg of olive oil, some freshly ground pepper and a few spices.

It made for fab Boxing Day potato style cakes too :)

The parsnips also get the roasted and honeyed treatment in our house - god save you if you try to get in my way when these babies are ready to eat, I turn feral.

The stuffing balls (and again see above warning) has our own leeks in as well as bought sausage meat, fresh cranberries and orange juice, breadcrumbs and sage.

The ever disgusting Brussel Sprouts were bought this year which really felt like a kick in the teeth. I hate them with a passion unlimited in its ferocity but I do like to see others (weirdos) eating them, loving them and knowing I had picked them the day before. This year was just not conducive to planting them with our re-jigging of the plots and making the beds bigger. I guess these look good though.

The best thing (apart from the parsnips and stuffing) in the world at this time of year is Sloe Gin or Sloe Vodka, it's up to you, we have both. We have a secret go to tree every year and make this delicious tipple, it tastes a little medicinal but I love the burn at the back of the throat and the smell. I was so fortunate to find these 50s port glasses in a local secondhand shop on Christmas Eve. I LOVE them and yes, I did fill them up a little too much - I didn't drink it all, honest!

That's all for now, I just realy wanted to share this and say THANK YOU to Andrew for making the best Christmas Dinner ever! Ever! xxx

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 ;)

In the fullness of time

The days are getting longer again my friends and the World didn't end today either so I guess it's a good time to celebrate and a good time to write to you and send you a whole load of Winter Love.

I hope the dark days and the poor weather (in this Northern Hemisphere anyway) hasn't got you too down. I have had the flu for a month, it's been a nightmare; where does all that phlegm come from, why have I missed dinners out and friendly house gatherings due to looking, sounding and generally being a gross mucus-y monster :( ??

It all seems so very unfair, but it's not, not really. I have decided to believe that everything is happening exactly as it should be, that my life is going along just fine thank you and that no matter the darkness, Spring is sure to follow.

May you all be merry and bright, may your Christmas be fun and full of love and may you end this year healthy and with the ones you love. And hopefully with some great food you've grown yourself and fab Allotment based gifts from Santa (you have been good all year after all!) I'll share my own great food and drink with lots of photos and stories after the big day, plus I have a few books I'd like to share just in case you get money in your Stocking :)

Get ready for the start of those green shoots and remember that Mother Nature is just taking it a little easier and even she is dreaming of the joy to come, all in good time.

Our Wintery Back Garden

I have the flu, it's destroying me!!! How does the body make up so much of that yucky green stuff?? I am drowning in it and I'm in a terrible huff most of the time. But I have my 3 Mint tea, old movies on the TV, the Christmas tree is up and lights are twinkling so I feel OK otherwise. Maggie has a Christmas outfit which she doesn't seem too fussed on but it does look hilariously cute on her. The Christmas shopping is all sorted, wrapped and under the tree and my craft fairs are over for the year :) Plus I got an early pressie - a new just published book to review that I'll share with you next time.

So the back garden. I thought it would be nice to show it off as though things have slowed way down and colour is not abundant I am still proud of how well things are settling in. This will be our 3rd Christmas in this house but only the 2nd with a garden and I think you'll be quite proud of us too :)

Taken from Andrew's study. I could have gotten everything in at once but I hadn't gone out yet and so there was a bit of mess over on the left hand side where we keep all those different bins the council gives us. Ahhh the joy of cropping photos so your viewer only sees what you want them too, hehehe.

A little vignette of the colour that is in the garden - beautifully healthy green of the Camellia and Ivy; the blue of the sky with the bare branches of the Birch; Moss in amongst the rocks; the Jasmine leaves.

I think the handmade concrete bubble bowl is even better looking now it has aged, I love the algae and tiny bits of moss growing on that once white surface.

But to be true, this is my favourite thing outside right now (apart from the birds of course which I spoke of last time). The Winter Flowering Cherry which doesn't seem to care what time of the year it is, it's always got a few and I adore them, so delicate and papery but such a strong herald of hope and new life.

Winter won't last forever. There are only 6 more days until the days start to get longer again :)

Hugs and love

Fancy Food for Feathered Friends

Oh I am on fire today with the alliteration blog titles :) Oh yes the Queen of the Geeks!

I'm going to ease myself into the Grow Our Own blog writing again with a little post on keeping our feathered friends happy, healthy and fat in these cold and dreary winter days. We all love it when birds come a visit our gardens  - little feisty fellows looking for scraps to take back to their nests and munch away on. My all time favourites (apart from the Robin!) are the teeny tiny Wrens - oh they are small but mighty and so bouncy :)

Anywho, I am waffling.

On Saturday I was at the RSPB NI Headquarters as a stall holder for their first ever Winter Craft Fair, you can read about it here. In a wee quiet period I ran over to the stand showing how to make Bird Cakes but the volunteers had (quite understandably) gone on a wee much need warming drink break. So I only got to take photos of the ingredients they were using and yes, they are Cheerios - who knew??.....

But clever girl that I am I logged on to the RSPB website (which is fab) and have gotten you a recipe to make sense of the whole thing> here. Oh my the birds in this pictorial guide are so happy it just makes you want to make some right now!

Funny, Andrew bought a load of fat balls a week ago so we have them out at the moment anyway, but this would be a fun and messy way to entertain kids or indeed yourself on a blustery day.

Andrew also bought a gorgeous feeder 'Egg' at the fair which you just fill with bird seed and the birds have been all over it today (apart from when I took this photo - I scared them and hadn't the patience to wait for them to come back). Plus it is so gorgeous, a little piece of sculpture in the garden that also has a use :) It's made by a company called The Nuttery and you can get them online, all different colours, I think they're lovely. Being weather resistant porcelain, aluminium and stainless steel they can stay outside all year round and can be thoroughly cleaned too = happy me.

Oh, have I shown you a little of the garden! eek, you excited, you want to see more??...come back in a couple of days ;)

For now take joy and fuzzy warmth from this.... Yes, Maggie (she's still my 'wonder dog') !!!

LOVE AND HUGS x

I'm coming back :)

Tomorrow sees my last craft fair of the year with my wee business Cherry Blossom Tattoo Photography. I'm going to be at the RSPB Headquarters for N Ireland in Belvoir Park, Belfast. Hopefully I get some nice photos of the day and of the bird cakes they are making etc. I'll gather what information I can on keeping our feathered friends super duper happy through the Winter too.

Then I shall be back to lottie blogging - hurrah!!

* Though please be kind, I may not get to the actual plot for a while as it is so cold, bbrrrrrr. Blog material may be more home based*