Potting Up

I visited the market this weekend and can never resist the trays of summer plants on offer. I could only carry two so opted for trailing Lobelia in mixed colours and a tray of little geraniums. I spent all afternoon re-planting last years' pots, re-mixing the compost, adding a bit more new soil and potting up.

The next question was where to put them? I've settled for a couple in the conservatory and most edging the pond, as you can still see them from the house. I also found a couple of those long 'plant bag' type things in the shed so planted one of those up too with the trailing Lobelia and have hung it in the porch! I'll see how it fairs as it's sunny and hot in there in the morning and I'm not sure how I'll do with the watering!

As you can see, the cat really wanted to help with the weeding this morning. In fact, he was so involved, he lay across all the carrot, radish and parsnip seedlings, chasing the plastic tunnels as I moved them to get underneath each one in turn! Thankfully, after a few quick pics, I managed to trick him out with a stick and gave up with the weeding until he'd gone for a quick rest...

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Summer Leaves

It's getting nearer to summer, although if you went by the weather you couldn't tell, and so it's time to start planting all that fresh summer produce. On buying Good Food magazine this month, I received my free tomato and basil seeds, and in Lakeland, a free pack of salad leaves.

I love the evenings this time of year and was able to go out after the rain had finally stopped yesterday, at about 6pm, to plant up a few pots. I made 6 pots for the basil, but only planted up three in the hope that if I remember, I can plant a new one each week for the next three and therefore have successional sowing and basil for the whole of the summer! Like I said, that's only if I remember! As for the salad leaves, there were hardly any in the pack, so I scattered them in a pot I can put outside the back door and we'll see what happens. I might even buy another mixed pack and add it in later today. With the tomatoes I went for the easy option and slit open a bag of compost, scattered the seeds in a straight line and gave them a little water, leaving on the greenhouse shelf.

Usually, tomatoes are the domain of the boyf, but he hates the 'getting things out' and 'tidying things away' strand of gardening. So this year I cheated and bought him a Suttons easy-grow kit! All he has to do is water the compost pellets, pop the seeds in, cover with the little plastic lid and transfer them to the garden when they're big enough. Oh yeah, and weed, rake over and add compost to the outside bed before its needed...

Walk on the Wild Side

Before I begin, I'd better explain the bumble bee pics. These were taken up in Cheshire while on hols at mum and dad's. The boyfriend has a habit of 'saving' bees in need; this particular one was looking rather lazy, in fact, a bit on the dead side. To get him back into health and enable him to continue his honey-making work, we fed him a little of the sweet stuff. He greedily guzzled the lot and was nowhere to be seen when we returned from our day out, so it must have done the trick. Well done hun - a great idea!

Back in Essex, I'd only been away for Easter weekend and everything appears to have grown immensely! The cabbages are trying to escape the fleece I threw over them to keep them warm; they really don't appreciate it, so I've had to remove it and hope the rabbits / foxes / slugs / snails / cats don't get to them! The broad beans are growing nicely, tall ones at the back, shorter ones at the front - I think the ones at the back have been helped by the warmth from the red brick wall.

Radishes have popped their heads through and I can't bear to thin them out, it seems so mean, so I've left them all to fight it out amongst themselves. No sign of the parsnips yet, but since the ones in the greenhouse took a month, I don't expect to see them for weeks yet. The carrots, despite being started I the greenhouse and transferred outside, seem to be thriving, but I guess the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak.

In the greenhouse, I've risked popping the carrots into a tub to see what happens - I quite fancy miniature carrots in a salad. The greenhouse parsnips are doing well, but I'm not sure what to do with them now. I put the potatoes into tubs in the greenhouse too, so we'll see how they get on, but I'm not normally very successful with potatoes; I don't even know which variety I've planted! They arrived in a little string bag without a name, I chitted them and planted them, so we'll see what happens.

ID Needed

Whilst pottering, I spotted, literally, this little thing. It's about a foot tall, very grassy with these marvellous patchwork lanterns! Can you help? I have no idea what it is, or even what type of thing it is!

It's Blooming Springtime

I couldn't resist taking the camera on a turn around the garden this weekend, and look what I found!

Camelia buds about to burst...

Camelia flowers in full bloom...

Blossom...(cherry?)

Magnolia pods...

Look closely - can you see the tit's head just poking out?

And a happy little robin - he seems to appear now whenever I'm outside, but he hasn't plucked up the courage to come down from the tree yet. Wonder what he's singing?