Parsnips - hurrah!

At last - there are signs of life in the parsnip beds! As you may recall, I planted some little tiny parsnip seeds at the beginning of January and have loved them every day since, despite their unwillingness to sprout! However, my faith has finally paid off and today, there are at least 4 little new shoots!

As for the rest of the garden, new life is also blossoming all around. I'm learning what some of the shoots and perennial bulbs are and look forward to finding out more as they flower: there are definitely some crocus, snowdrops and daffodils though!

I've had a busy day outside today, clearing out the hot-tub, removing dead leaves, uncovering the onions and garlic - as you can see, the garlic is looking fantastic so have removed the fleece so it doesn't befall the same fate as the onions; being squashed. I also decided to plant a row of red and a row of white onions in between!

Bonfires

We got back from our brief holiday today, and it was still just light so had a quick potter around the garden. We explored the sheds and greenhouses (mainly to check for a missing cat we been asked about, but no sign,) and my boyfriend decided now would be really good time to have a bonfire.

Reasons not to:
Me; it's virtually dark
Me; everything in the pile's wet
Me; we can't see what we're doing
Me; we've never had one here before
Me; there might be hedgehogs inside
Me: there might be spiders inside

Reasons to:
Him; you can't tell me what to do!

ok ok ok - it was a fair cop! So, I decided that if you can't beat them, join them. It turned out that the stuff being wet was the main reason the bonfire didn't last very long at all! We had a few flames and crackles from the conifer bits and pieces, but think that everything needs a bit of drying out before the next attempt. Looking forward for a nice dry day now so we can give it another go!

I Wonder...

crocus? bluebell? iris?

Friends came to visit yesterday and we were having a wander around the garden in the warm morning sunshine. We noticed several shoots coming up and, since its a new house, I'm not entirely sure what they are. Guesses ranged from Bluebells, to Daffs, to Crocuses. I think we'll have to wait and see, but I'm fairly certain I've identified several clumps that will turn out to be daffodils.

daffs

snowdrops

Pass - any comments?

Just to let you know...

Just a quickie.
If you're interested in gardening and growing your own, you may also be interested in what to do with that abundance of veggies. Well, for ideas, why not have a look at Bon Appetit? A new(ish) blog with many different recipes, food reviews and general foodie chat!

The most recent review is of The Cock Inn, Stock, Essex.

There are also a few tasty recipes that include winter vegetables too:
Buttersquash Risotto
Mediterranean Chicken
Bacon wrapped Chicken with Leeks.

snow-po

oh no

more snow

will they grow?

who knows

You Can Do It...

Come on veggies - you can beat the snow!

Push...push..push with all your might.

Straighten your new growth.

Stand up true and tall.

You can do it!

Tin Can Alley

I finally found a couple of tin watering cans - one for the greenhouse, one for the conservatory. Can't decide which to put where tho - I think the blue one will have to go outside as the yellow one clashes with the bright green bendy buckets!

Shadow again come out with me to inspect the snow-damage. Not much to report yet, will just have to wait and see what happens. It's been a lovely warm day today so hopefully that will have encouraged new growth. Still no sign of the parsnips - think I'll have to re-seed in much warmer weather!

As I was putting the recycling out today, I found a rather soggy package left by the back door. It had obviously been there for a couple of weeks and had definitely caught the worst of the snow! When i opened it, there was a set of onions - yet more! We're gong to have onions coming out of our ears soon - and a load of potatoes! Not sure what to do with them all yet but hopefully next weekend, I'll find a potato barrel or suchlike and get planting. No more onion space at present but the new ones may replace the old ones if they don't grow after all that snow.

Snuggly and Warm

I looked for ages to see if I could find some warm insoles for my gardening shoes without having to buy a new pair with insoles already inserted: The closest I could find were from an American company. So, I decided to give it a go myself! Now, I'm quite creative, so made up a paper template, got out the sewing machine and bought some fleece. After several trials with the paper and tatty material, I found a pattern that worked. I sewed a button on for decorative effect and Bob's your uncle. They come out easily for washing, (perhaps cream wasn't the smartest choice for working in the garden!) but could do with a stitch in the back to stop the 'roll over' at the back from unrolling!

The Secret Gardener

I have decided I may have three secret gardeners...

1 - I don't think the cat has visited the garden without a chaperone since the snow began. He spends most of the time I'm outside pottering around looking out of the conservatory, wondering what it would be like out there. When he attempts to try it, he lifts his feet so high, then runs back in as quickly as possible! It's hilarious! So, that's one secret gardener - although he is so secret he generally stays inside.

2 - I've discovered an unknown set of paw-prints in the snow. As we've already established, it can't be the cat! We do have a couple of foxes who visit so I'm thinking it may be them - any ideas guys?

And my final wondering is "Could a yeti have visited the garden secretly?" This is part of a print I found; it measured about the same as my hand in length and diameter! Again, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Spotted!

Ha ha! I finally begun my mission to make friends with Mr. Robin. He did, however, perch at the top of the highest tree in the garden and my camera only just managed to reach him on the zoom! He also ventured nearer the house, feeding from the seed feeder and generally hopping about. He was singing beautifully, until...

At which point, the singing turned to warning, along with the other little birds' cries. The tits and finches just don't know my shadow very well yet. They still think he's quick enough to catch them: they should take a lesson from the blackbirds who play chicken regularly outside the cat-flap window, knowing that the shadow is unlikely to emerge from the warmth unless provoked!

Thought I'd finish up today with a couple of snowy pictures - one of the contorted hazel (thanks Susie, The Walled Garden Blog) looking beautiful, and another of the pond. Enjoy.

Digging Out!

no no no no no - were some of my first words this morning! We've had about half a foot of snow and my first thought went to all the lovely new growth that would be crushed by the weight of it! Sure enough, when I ventured to the end of the garden, this is the sight that greeted me...

from this a few days ago to this, Monday 2nd February

And so begun the digging out -actually finding the edges of the beds was hard enough. Got there in the end though...

cabbages

garlic

onions

carrots

It's started snowing again now, so I might have to go out again before dark to check they're still 'snow-free'!