Photo of the glasshouses at RHS Wisley

I thought I would post this photo for those of you who haven't seen the glasshouses at Wisley, just so you can see the size of them.

Signs of Spring at RHS Wisley

These photographs are from our visit on Monday to Wisley Gardens, there were signs of spring everywhere, we took Bertie there with us, it's his 4th visit now, I'm hoping to encourage him to have a love of plants and flowers, I might need a helpful gardener when I'm very old !!!
I love Hellebores and have started a collection of my own for the garden. I didn't get to the allotment today, but I did pot on my Dahlia seedlings. I have far too many, but I am sure someone at the allotment will be glad of some, including my daughter, who with her partner is just starting to plan out their plot. The seedlings seemed to have done well after their little holiday on my son's windowsill. I will post a photo when they are a little bigger.

Bertie and Florence Rose

Here are the photo's of the new baby Florence Rose born on 20th Feb 2009, Weight 5lbs 13ozs.
and her big brother Bertie who is 17 months of age, I am hoping to get a photo of them together in a couple of weeks, but at the moment Bertie prefers crisps to his sister, so we will have to wait until he shows some interest in holding her.
we are home now after a very hectic 4 days, and hopefully back to the lottie tomorrow. I popped up there when I got home and it looks like other plot-holders have done a lot of work there over the weekend, so I have a lot of catching up to do.

Thank you !

Thank you all for your best wishes and comments. Mother and baby came home today. Florence is so small. Bertie hasn't showed a lot of interest other than try to rock her little chair and sing Row Row Row your boat !! so we have had to put her out of reach. Also when she cries (which isn't often) he looks a bit surprised, and he then tries to copy her squeal which is really funny.

I hope to be at the allotment on Thursday. I expect you are all digging and preparing your beds. The weather is so nice, soon be spring.

My New Grand-daughter has arrived , and my obsession has got worse

Just to let everyone know that my new grand-daughter has made her appearance into the world. She is so beautiful, is very small just 5lb 13 Oz's, she has lots of black hair and her name is - Florence Rose. She and her mother are doing well. Her big brother Bertie (16 months of age) is not too impressed he was more interested in eating his mummy's crisps. bless him. I have been looking after Bertie for 2 days and he is so adorable which is just as well because he has worn me out, it's harder work than digging on the allotment.

And the obsession with my seedlings has taken a turn for the worse, because I have bought them with me to stay at my son's home !!! how could I leave them at home for days to fend for themselves ??? my husband couldn't believe his eyes when he look in the boot of the car and saw the seeds trays. My son couldn't believe his eyes when he saw them on his dining-room windowsill ! I don't know what all the fuss is about, they just don't understand do they ? if they haven't ever planted a seed and seen it grow, how could they ??

I will hopefully be able to post a photo of Florence and her brother Bertie when I get back on Wednesday. Have a good week everyone and lets hope this lovely weather stays and gets even better.

Help I think I'm obsessed !

I really do think I am obsessed with my seedlings and plants, to the point that they are the first things I look at in the morning, apart from the husband that is ! and that's before I have had my breakfast. I am not sure that this is a good thing, but I can't help myself. The seed trays are on the study windowsill, so as I raise the blind in the morning I have to inspect them, and then I usually turn the trays around as they keep going forward towards the light. (probably trying to escape my prodding !)

If that wasn't bad enough I have now taken to poking around in the vermiculite (very carefully ) to see if anything is happening underneath, and I got really excited this morning as I could see little Echinacea leaves (such teeny tiny little plants) just beginning to appear. Sixteen of them so far. Does anyone else do this I wonder ? or is it just me that's impatient ? Then I go and check the seedlings in the mini greenhouse. Then there's the ones on the kitchen windowsill !! HELP !

I dread to think what will happen when I sow the next lot, I don't think I will ever get my breakfast until lunchtime.

It's got to stop I don't want to be obsessed, or am I possessed ? So tomorrow I am going to have breakfast first and then do the seed round.

I don't have a plant photo today, I am posting instead a photo I took at "Mottisfont Abbey" last week of the beautiful Mosaic Angel there. She is stunning to see, the photo can't do her any justice.

One last thing, I just want to say a thank you to everyone who visits my blog and especially for the comments. Its so lovely to know that you are stopping by, just like friends calling in. I don't always get to answer the comments but I try too especially if it's a question. I also love visiting your blogs as often as I can.

Growing Leeks

This post is in response to comments from others who are thinking of trying to grow some leeks, so I hope it helps, and there is a link to read as well.

I have to say I have found leeks very easy to grow. They are very fiddley to prick out, imagine handling blades of grass & you have the picture. They also take a while to get to pencil thickness, which is when they are ready to plant out. I think the planting of them was the weirdest thing for me, you have to use a large dibber or a narrow trowel, make a hole and just drop the tiny leek into the hole, then fill the hole with water ( puddle in) and leave it. I just wanted to do what we usually do with anything we plant and that is to cover it around with soil, but you have to leave the soil to fill in gradually on it's own. This gives the leek room to swell. Also some people recommend earthing them up to give a longer white stem,(blanching) I didn't do this last year, but I am thinking about doing it this year to see what happens. I hope this doesn't put any of you off, as it's really worth all the effort, and once planted they are no bother at all. Here is a link for advice on growing: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/05/13
and the best bit is yummy leek and potato soup.

Humour on the plot !

This was pinned to one of our plotholder's shed, it's great to see some humour on the plot. I hope it's clear enough for all to read as it was difficult to take the shot, as the string kept blowing around (so definitely Windy !!) and I had a shadow on the plastic covering he's put it in, ( Sunny !) ( click on photo to enlarge it, for better reading)

I have had a busy sort of day, what with boring chores in the house, a husband with a headache ( he never gets headaches as a rule ) lolling around, calling me "nurse" and asking for cups of tea. I was sympathetic (honest).

Then I visited "Wickes" as I noticed that some plot-holders are using the thick blue water piping that plumbers use, to put over across their beds and covered with netting. It is a cheap and sturdy way to keep the pesky pigeons and the egg laying butterflies off the goodies that we grow. I have taken a photo (below) where you can just see it in place. It is bought in 25mtrs which obviously has to be cut to the required size of the bed, and it comes in 2 thicknesses the thinner one is £18. 45 per -25 mt, and the thicker one £19 + so not much more really. It could be cheaper elsewhere so I will shop around, but it's a brilliant idea to use it.

I have also got about 3 sewing projects on the go (I'm blaming Pam for that, she knows who she is !!) her blog is so full of lovely sewing and crafty things, it made me crave to get going again.

and now I have done blogging for today I'm of to get the patient something to eat.

I almost forgot !!

I know a lot of you lovely bloggers like Vintage things and I don't know if you are interested in this website I found in the "Mail" have a look, and see the lovely things for sale and the photo's are nice too. happy viewing.
http://www.re-foundobjects.com/

Ok, So one little Ladybird doesn't mean it's Spring.

But ! I was so glad to see this little spotted creature on one of my pots today, it's the first I've seen this year. By the time I went to get the camera she was just disappearing over the edge.It was so mild today that I was gardening in a tee shirt, so lovely to be out doing something in the garden.

Yesterday I spent 2 hours on the allotment and dug over one of the leek beds ready to plant something else in it this year. The leeks were small but were very tasty in a soup for lunch today. I took all the dead and large leaves off the Purple sprouting broccoli, and weeded that bed and raised the netting so the pigeons couldn't eat it before I tasted it. It's taken a year but I love P.S.Broccoli, so I am sure it will be worth the wait.

I noticed in Tesco's that the baby brussel sprouts were on sale at £1.09p ( roughly the same amount as in my pic) and I have had many more bags this size and bigger, so that made me feel good, and the leeks are expensive to buy especially the baby size that I picked yesterday, so it really does save money to GYO.

This last photo is of a few pots on my kitchen windowsill, they look very pretty, so I thought I would share it.

A Photography "meme"

I liked the idea of this "meme" as mentioned by Carrie at "Grow our Own"which she found at VP's "Veg Plotting" blog. You have to open the 4th folder in your photo's and then in that 4th folder choose the 4th picture, upload it and write about it. doesn't matter what it is ! so here goes :
This was taken at RHS Wisley Gardens in June 2008, it's a bronze seated statue in one of their little inspirational gardens, she is really beautiful and I wish I could have her in my garden. That was a bit of luck that this photo was garden related ! So if you fancy a go, look up your 4th folder and post your 4th picture for all bloggers to see !

Dahlia seedlings

A few weeks ago I bought a little triple, windowsill propagator that was reduced by £5 because one of the lids was cracked. Luckily I had a spare lid that fitted at home, so it was a bargain !

Anyway, on Monday I planted some flower seeds in it. I sowed -Dahlia "Disco Dancer",
Dahlia "Fireworks Mixed " and Echinacea ,"Pink Parasol", I was amazed to see that the Dahlias are up already, I couldn't stop peeking at them. I have never grown Dahlias before, but as they are a traditional allotment flower, I thought I would have a go at growing them from seed.

As always I have grown far too many, so goodness knows where I will put all these plants when they need potting on. I am waiting for the Echinacea to appear now, these are for my garden.

I also had Some purple sprouting broccoli seeds " Rudolph" in the post today from Anna over at "greentapestry" she kindly shared her packet with me. So a big thank you to Anna. As I said before in another post, Bloggers are the loveliest people.

It's been a lovely spring like day today, but I didn't do any gardening or go to the lottie, as I was busy sewing ( the Pooh Bear embroidery) and doing housework. I may go up on Sunday if the weather is fine and see how the ground is as I would like to dig a trench for my beans. So I might just have an allotment post next week.

It's been one of those busy busy days

I have had one of those days where if I had to say what I've actually done, I would have to really think about it, all I know is that it's been very busy. I have pricked out and re-potted tomato seedlings & onion seedlings, ( the onion seedlings went into huge seed trays for more space ) I had a bargain buy of some Pansies reduced to 50p- yes ! 50p !! how could I resist. So they have also been planted up in my window boxes.

I have made tomorrows lunch, which is Butternut squash & tomato soup. I also baked a pumpkin pie. I had some pumpkin puree in the freezer from my last pumpkin. We had that as our pudding this evening with some fresh low fat cream, it was delicious.

I have also been preparing my sewing. I am making another Pooh Bear cushion for my next grandchild due to be born in a couple of weeks. I have traced the design onto my fabric ready to embroider, and bought the fabric and wadding to quilt the cushion yesterday. I have posted here a photo of the last one I made for my grandson Bertie (16 months ago)

Rain and Grey Skies

The sky is grey today and what's worse is that it's raining as well. I briefly went to the lottie yesterday, just to see if the snow had weighed down my netting on the purple sprouting broccoli, I thought it might have been crushed. But, it was fine, yeah!! still not ready yet though.

I have however lost most of the Broad bean plants that I put in the ground, I may have a couple that might survive. SO lucky I planted 20 more and here is a photo of them below, they are looking good.

I have potted on some of my tomato plants, I have as I suspected, grown far too many, but that happened last year and it felt nice sharing them around the allotment.

I went to a potato weekend at my local Wyevale garden centre and bought just 5 of "Nicola" just being sentimental really as that's my daughters name, Ive no idea what the potatoes are like (anyone else grown them ????) and I bought "Swift" and "Desiree" both recommended by a

plot-holder called Bill who has a fantastic yield with his, so I know I can't go wrong if Bill grows them. All the potatoes are now Chitting (see photo)

Whilst at the Garden centre, I couldn't resist buying a nice sort of "Folk Art" garden sign for hanging in my Lilac tree near my Summerhouse.

So another day with nothing to do at the lottie, so Austin & I are off to the cinema to see "Slumdog Millionaire" it did very well at the Bafta awards yesterday.

That's more like it ! the snow is going Hurrah !

Well it's almost all gone, and yes I know it's pretty, but I am glad to see the back of it. bah humbug ! I took these photo's in the garden this morning. I hope the neighbours couldn't see me as I was in my pyjamas, with my welly boots on, scouting around for some photo's of interest to post here. I really think this blogging is perhaps making me a little eccentric. Well OK perhaps I was already, but at least I kept it to myself before. now it's PUBLIC knowledge.

My latest sowing of Broad Beans in the loo roll tubes are now up and looking great, which is good news, as I think I lost most of the Autumn sown ones that I transplanted to the bed on the allotment. Oh well it's all trial and error and in this case the latter, but then we don't usually have such bad weather, so maybe I will have another go next Autumn again. I will post a photo of the beans in a couple of days. As I thought these pics are a bit cheery for today. I love my frog ornament, he has real attitude and those eyes make me laugh !

Global warming my A**E

Well what happened here then ? one minute I was commiserating with others, who were showing snowy scenes on their blogs in the USA & Canada, and then low & behold we got our own. I don't like it one bit, it may be pretty, but it's difficult to walk in and we can't use the car, so I feel like hibernating until it's all gone. Here are some photo's I took when I ventured bravely into the garden. OK I know us Brits are wussies, but we are not used to this, the whole country is in chaos. Mother Nature does it again !!! respect !

An allotment post at last !

I finally made it to the allotment today, it's been almost a week, and I only managed to stay for about 20 minutes. It is so cold and my hands were frozen, I hate not being able to do anything up there.

My allotment neighbour was there cutting back his fruit bushes, he mainly grows fruit of all kinds and has now got asparagus growing which he had earthed up today. He doesn't grow any other vegetables at all.

Apart from him and myself the only other life up there were the allotment Chickens, I went over to take a photo of them and they thought I had food and were making a rare old fuss and noise. I was sorry to disappoint them, but they sadly don't belong to me (I wish) so they would have to wait until their owner came to feed them.

I checked on the sweet-peas and the garlic in the greenhouse, some of the sweet-peas looked a little droopy, but I am sure they will buck up. The garlic is doing well and the ground planted bulbs have grown a lot since last week. Since I cut the heads off the brussel plants the sprouts are growing much bigger, perhaps I should have done that before. The purple sprouting broccoli isn't quite ready to be picked yet maybe at the end of February? I think I read somewhere that taking the tops off helps the side of the stems to sprout quicker, I must look into that ! does anyone out there know anything about this ?

A deserted allotment- this is taken from the main

gate entrance, my plot is way down the end of

the field and then right, so a bit of a walk !