Where did the week go ?

I can't believe that it's a week since I last posted. I have been very busy tending the garden this week, which got neglected a bit last year. Luckily I have mostly perennials which appear each year as if by magic after a dormant bare winter, and suddenly the garden looks lush and full with hardly any effort. However this year I have made a few changes to some of the beds, , so I needed to spend more time this week doing just that and fitting the lottie in whenever I could.

I went to the lottie after 4pm today and didn't get back until 7.45. I dug the bed for the sweetcorn, and it was so hot! I managed to get them all planted, but I still have to plant the broccoli ( green & purple sprouting), brussel sprouts, pumpkins and squashes, so lots to do yet.

The runner beans and french beans are growing well and have started climbing up the poles. The cucumber is growing like crazy in the greenhouse and the Aubergines are now ready to be put into very large pots for the greenhouse ones and to be planted out for the ones going in the bed where the wallflowers were outside the greenhouse. It was sad to pull up the wallflowers today, but they had all really gone past their best and had to go to make way for the aubergines and outside tomatoes. Below are some views of the plot taken yesterday and today.

The Herb and flower bed. More sweet-peas behind.

The Sunflower hedge, with the 3 varieties of Courgettes in front.

The first sweet-peas, 'Cupani ' lots of others are just coming out too.

The Sweetcorn went in today, at last.

Looking up the plot towards the shed

Looking down the plot from the shed area.

The Dahlias are in at last.

Do you remember my Dahlias that I grew from seed ? well today I planted some of them out in the cutting bed on the allotment. Now I can't wait to see them flower. I grew 70 plants, and lost about 5 to the frosts in the cold greenhouse. I gave lots away to family and lottie neighbours and still have many more for myself.

I grew 2 varieties: Disco Dancer -mixed, and Fireworks -mixed

Dahlias starting out.

Three views of the bed the Dahlias are in.

In this bed are Cosmos,'Sonata Dwarf mixed' , Echinacea, 'Pink Parasol' , Cornflower, 'Polka Dot mixed', Dahlias (as above), Cerinthe major, and Atriplex hortensis var. Rubra which is really a herb, but a very beautiful plant, the colour is fabulous. I bought one at the Hampton Court flower show last year and it self seeded dozens of little new plants for free !! (see photo below)

The Garden (work in progress)

A Pictorial tour of the garden.

Taken today.

Flowers for free, who needs a florist ?

I have been feeling very weary over the last few days. I am half expecting to come down with something, I am so used to having bags of energy, so I hate not feeling 100%,, anyway ! I only told you that because I haven't really done much at the lottie these last few days. I probably overdid it on Saturday up there (6 hours) and keeping up a large garden as well doesn't help energy levels.
So I am just going to post some photo's of the first decent bunch of flowers picked from the garden this morning. They cheered me up, especially as they were free.

In the 'tete a tete' vase there is three different violas. In the glass vase there are Cerinthe, Cornflowers, Aqualigia, Spirea, and another bit of shrubbery.

Two close up shots of the flowers.

Close up shot of the Cerinthe.

A perfect bouquet for the mantelpiece

A productive week on the allotment

I haven't blogged for a few days as I have been so busy on the lottie. The runner beans and French beans are in. We have managed to pave the area in front of the greenhouse, so I no longer nearly break my neck going in and out. We have also dug and raked the area the little shed was on. It now looks nice and even, as we were given some large breeze blocks that we put at the edge of the area. We were then able to rake the soil down to the blocks and even out the slope. I now have to decide what to plant in this area. I still have so much to do.

I have planted my row of Sunflowers and in front of them some Calendulas "Art shades" so it should look very colourful when all is in bloom. I have started planting out my cutting flower bed, and the dahlias are due to go in this week. I have a few photo's below of some of our weeks work. Austin has been a very good assistant this week.

The three rows of potatoes are up, AGAIN ! I have earthed them up three times now

The successful parsnips. These were grown in pots and then transplanted

Broad beans in flower. I can't wait for the first pod to appear.

The runner beans and the french beans, planted today.

The sunflower hedge, with calendula "art shades" in front of them.

Rosie with her summer hat on. She has a wheelbarrow now that someone gave me already painted a perfect blue. I have to plant it up this week.

Cock a doodle doo

No I haven't got myself some hens and a rooster! that's me crowing as I am rather pleased with myself. Yes I know pride comes before a fall and don't count your chickens etc, BUT -- and this is the first time I have tried this - OK! I'm going to tell you ! I bought some very tasty tomatoes from M & S a couple of weeks ago, so tasty that I decided to scoop out the seeds from the one I was eating. I dried them on some kitchen paper for a few days.

And now look at them, I am so pleased with myself, I know it doesn't take much to amuse me.

Well that was a little experiment for me in what people have been doing for centuries, which is just as well or where would we be today without men and woman saving precious seeds for us to grow ?

Here's an update on other things growing.

Do you remember my post about chitting sweetcorn seeds ?

Here they are now (below) I potted them on when they looked like little tadpoles. It has been successful so far they need to grow a bit more then they can get planted out in a few weeks. I sowed 2 types : Lark F1 and Ovation F1

The Munchkin squashes and the courgette plants are growing well and if the weather stays this good I will be planting them all out soon.

The Cabbages have been planted, 2 types : Wheelers Imperial & Greyhound and the green curly kale. They have been netted against the pigeons using blue water piping for the tunnel and the pond netting was from "Wilko's" (best price)Two last photo's. The first is of the beautiful Cerinthe that I have been growing since planting the seeds way back in the autumn they are just beginning to flower. The other photo is of a tree Peony that I took a photo of in my local nursery and now i am lusting after it, I have to buy it ! if they still have it.

Cerinthe

Tree Peony

That's the end of this post, until the next one Happy sowing and growing to all.