Happy Summer Solstice!

And Happy Father's Day to my wonderful father, and all fathers across the world.

I'm afraid I accomplised very little today, but at least I can show you some pictures of the vegetable growth.




The potatoes. Oh my goodness. I hope they're not planted too closely together, but I am hoping for a bumper crop when I dump everything out come autumn. I'm glad I didn't take up space this year in the garden itself, but this is all just one big experiment, so we shall see! The strawberries are cute in their strawberry pot, but I've had one ripe one so far, which my husband said was absolutely delicious.

Runner bean, red. I'm assuming that means the flower, not the bean! Very pretty it is, too.

Lettuces (and cat), various including the cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli, and of course the tomatoes.

I did at least water today - a special watering, which I shall explain later, as the last time it rained (and rained mightily) was Monday. A few spots yesterday but nothing to speak of.

The day was very kind in the end - warm and sunny, enough so for my little sun-worshipper to get his fill.

Says it all, really - Happy Summer all!

The Great Vegetable Plot

Well, as I recently mentioned, the vegetable plot has been greatly expanded this year.



This is back in January of this year, when just for fun I decided to deal with the weeds that were waist high (at least). I'm afraid it doesn't look quite as good as this right now, at least next to the shed. Where we have that 12 ft. plot (and it's about 10 ft down to the lawn) is, of course, fine thanks to my wonderful tiller, but next to the shed ... well, that will be dealt with in time. What the upstairs couple want is a swing for their little girl, which will be sweet. So I haven't touched that part of the garden at all. Hey, I've done enough digging elsewhere, right?

So in the newly expanded vegetable plot

I have planted the following:

7 Brussels sprouts

8 broccoli

10 cauliflower

5 tomatoes (Moneymaker, Alicante, Beefsteak, Gardener's Delight, Juliette)

9 purple sprouting broccoli

2 rows of lettuce

1 small row of spring onions

Beans

plus some lettuces in pots.

Very exciting.

It's hard to see from these pictures, but they are all there, in the ground. And twice to three times the size already, since planted! I will share some pictures soon of the growth.

Now, since I had ordered a bumper pack of veggie plug plants, I had to find some extra space (it's amazing how quickly one runs out of space - when you need two feet around each plant, it goes fast). So in two "patio planters" I have the potatoes, and also beetroot.

Okay, they're not massively attractive, but did I mention the credit crunch?

To round it all off, the raspberry I planted two years ago is bearing some fruit - not a bushel full by any means but it is yummy! And I've planted up a strawberry pot and have my fingers crossed for that, too.

Fingers crossed for everything!

It's Da Bomb

Oh my. This machine is awesome. My goodness, it does the job. WOW!

If any of you looked at that video, well, I am the woman in the video, with my wellingtons and garden gloves. However, do be aware that it is hard work. I mean, you have to hold the "on" button, whilst manoeuvring the machine, and digging it right down into the soil - I was muscularly sore this morning when I woke up. BUT, you see, that comes from passing over the entire patch in probably an hour. So the same amount of work as with a fork, but in a quarter of the time. Not bad, eh?

By the way, you may have noticed there, I have moved the compost bin. Hurrah! Finally I moved it from it's old position



down at the end of the left border, to this space where it will get much more sun, and produce a proper bit of compost. I actually did this a few weeks ago - and just today, I finally put it in it's final resting place. When I initially moved it, I put it in the middle, but realised that (1) I hadn't really cultivated the soil underneath, and (2) why in the middle? Plus it was slightly leaning to the side which was rather annoying, and would bug me ad infinitum ...

Well that was a good move, because in the end by lifting it (again) I managed to get even more of that lovely stuff to spread around.




That will be cultivated in tomorrow, before some vegetable planting. With the lovely green beast!

Another New Garden Toy

I have been wrestling with the fact that our vegetable patch will be expanded this year. Which is good news, of course, as I will be able to grow much more. But part of that soil has been under wraps for too long.

From the third fence post from the right at the back, will be the expanded vegetable plot. That's 12+ feet. About 5 ft down to the lawn.

The situation was, it was under a tarp. Not good for soil. Sure, it kept the weeds down, to a certain extent, but it is hard as a rock when it's dry. Very, very difficult to dig over.

Do any of you remember it looking like this?

I realised that the dryness of the soil was a problem, because it dries like cement. So last weekend, I put the sprinkler on it for an hour or so.

In an hour I managed to dig a couple of feet of it with a fork. Seriously hard work.

I was considering renting a smaller version of "the beast" which we used to dig over the entire garden when we first moved in. But then I thought, hey, why don't I just buy one? Surely we'll use it again and again, to dig over the ground for the vegetable patch every year?

I found it - I almost bought something off e-bay, but this tickled my fancy more and I was outbid anyway. Here is a link, and do look at the video if you get a chance; I would be interested to know if any of you have tried this?

http://www.clifford-james.co.uk/ProductDetailInfoWithoutOptions.cfm?ID=GF741&ShopRef=68&Prime=Yes&shopListRec=33257

I am so, so excited to get this baby and do some tilling. Ready for all the vegetable plants I have ordered from Sutton's! A job lot of 160 plug plants, 12 different varieties from beetroot to broccoli. Bring it on!

The War of the Weeds

I have a new toy. It came from Lakeland, one of my favourite stores, but I have seen them elsewhere and have been eyeing them up for a year or so now ...

Well, I finally bought it!

Husband is in love with it, too - I couldn't get it out of his hands yesterday.

Weeds do not stand a chance in my garden anymore!

The Parasene "Weed Wand". A little beauty with a jet of flame. Here is a link:

https://www.parasene.com/vshop/details.asp?prodID=384

There is a video on the left so you can see it in action. I highly recommend it. My, it works a treat! As the website says, it "disrupts the cell structure of the weeds, causing them to die in a day or two without using expensive toxic chemicals". Result!

Apparently you're not supposed to "burn" the weeds, just pass the wand over them with it's intense jet of heat, but as I say, husband was having way too much fun ...

Weeds beware!

Compost Bin

At last, I have moved the compost bin to a more suitable area.

Last Year's Prediction

Weather-wise, it was for a "wetter and warmer" summer than the previous year (which wasn't much to speak of at all).

That was pretty much correct - apart from the fact that I did have a nice harvest of tomatoes, lettuce and potatoes, it wasn't much of a summer. It was what I would like to call a "damp squib".

But do you know what they are promising this summer?

A "barbeque summer". That means sun and heat, temperatures more regularly in the 30's celsius (that's in the 80's for us non-metric types).

Hurrah! Bring it on!

Without even trying

I have shamefully neglected the garden, at a time when I should be hard at work out there preparing the soil for the new season's vegetables.









March has been kind, more of a lamb than a lion, but apart from the occasional wander around the borders, tutting at the weeds and the deadness that needs cutting back, I have done nothing.



I did, however, recently buy a piece of artwork from The Affordable Art Fair in London that I thought you all might enjoy.

A ginger cat, of course.

But I find that, I turn my back for a few weeks, and suddenly the left border is coming to life!

Firstly, you may remember that I dug over a portion of the left border, where it was most damp and sodden, to incorporate some sand into the soil to deal with the problem. Dug over, took out the existing plants (apart from the clematis at the back), and put them back in, digging up most of the tulip bulbs in the process. Or so I thought. No, they seem to be coming back. That is fine, I'm not overly concerned as they were beautiful, although in the end I wasn't sure if they were really in the right place. I shall see what colours remained to poke their heads above the soil - the mix was white and purple.

Next I find that the blueberry is looking very robust, with new growth aplenty. I am very pleased about that, as last year it was something of a damp squib. A handful of blueberries at best. That could be because of the removal and replacement, but this year looks very promising.

I see that the poppy in front of it is looking very healthy and lively. But oh dear, look at the weeds ...

Moving along, I find that the rose it putting forth much new healthy growth. I'm extremely pleased about this as I cut it back quite severely in the autumn. I'm not a rose expert by any means so I really wasn't sure if I did the right thing. Frankly, I hoped I hadn't killed it. So I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. And the geranium in front looks marvelous as well - that will be a mass of gorgeous purple flowers soon.

The lupin is looking very well, and the usual suspects are poking through - the lady's mantle, the pinks, and the euphorbia (and the weeds).

And oh my, I am thrilled with the hellebore.

So without further ado, it is time to open the shed, get out my tools, and do some work! The sun is shining and it's quite a stunningly beautiful day.

I'm not the only one enjoying the sunshine! He'll find a spot in the sun wherever he can.

A Tale of Two Kitties

My apologies to Charles Dickens.



I seem to have a new issue here.




"Our" Ginger (in front), is as happy as a cat can be, and though we have stolen him away from his former owners, only over the back fence, that is what it is and cannot be helped. He seems to love us. He seems to love me. Whatever magic I performed on him, he loves me. I love him.



His brother, whom he runs around with, naturally, has recently taken a real shine to me as well.

This is more problematic for me. To steal away one kitty seems unfortunate. To steal away two, well, that's just downright mean.

Now, apart from the fact that our garden, which to be honest is still half wilderness (oh, I have let it languish), is chock full of cats, these two seem to have made a friend of me. But only in recent nights, has Big Brother spent some serious time here. Last year he wouldn't give me the time of day. Now, he is all over the scratchings I give him behind the ear. He can't get enough of it. And even tonight, for the first time, he did that weird thing that cats do, that kneading/chewing thing that, frankly, freaked me out the first time little Ginger did it. I find it strangely endearing and cute now, but it's still - weird. Cats are really quite extraordinary creatures.

So the other night, Big Bro and Ginger were inside, but the kitchen door was always open - still, I found as I was readying myself for bedtime, that suddenly I had not one, but two ginger cats lying on the bed. Hello?

In the end Big Bro went out. I was left with the usual little guy (who still wanted out at 5 am, thank you very much).

Tonight. Well, you see the time, past midnight. There are still two gingers inside. I don't see the possibility of either of them leaving. They have been in all evening. I was on the phone from 10 pm chatting to my family for a while, then on the phone again chatting to my husband. In the meantime, I watched as they firstly, were lying down placidly on the rug, then one was on top of the other, and I don't think it was just play (I think Ginger was a bit peeved, to be honest), then they played cat and mouse behind the sofa, then they lay down again.

Having finished my phone call and seeing only Ginger, I assumed (never assume with cats) that indeed Big Bro had gone out the open kitchen door. Except when I checked, it was only a tiny bit ajar, not enough to let a cat out.

Sure enough, I pushed open the door to the small guest room, which had been ajar, and heard: "purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". He has a very, very loud purr.

Here we sit in the living room, me, Ginger, and Big Brother. As I will need to shut the kitchen door soon, I think I may be hosting two small, perfectly formed ginger cats tonight.

Big Bro is still purring, on the sofa. He's just lying there, curled up, and purring, for goodness sake.

Sweet dreams, all.

Addendum: Ginger came in at 5:00 am and batted me on the nose, and they both went out.

Winter Wonderland

As promised, Siberia has sent us a snow storm.

They say this is the worst snowfall in 18 years, but to be honest, I've lived here 20 years and I've never seen anything like it!

Very pretty, of course, and I even enjoyed venturing out in it (complete with three layers plus parka, earmuffs, heavy gloves, and the boots I purchased for the Chicago weather, which I never expected to use here). I joined the other few intrepid souls and took a little walk down to the shops. Half of which were closed!

The "Catford Cat", normally black, turned white.

The reason I had such leisure time to go walking in the snow is because London has ground to a halt. Hence, no trains, no buses, short of walking to work I was never going to make it (nor could anyone else, so my boss wisely decided not to open the office today). As I contemplated the white garden from my kitchen window, I noticed one hardy little kitty (the lively Blackie) wasn't put off by the whole thing.

Last I measured, it was 5 inches. I would hazard a guess that at least a further inch has fallen, and it hasn't stopped yet.



So that's, ooo, a whole half a foot? And I remember drifts of 6 feet, growing up in the Midwest ...

Still, this is unusual for the South East of England, to say the least. I would imagine they don't have quite as many gritters and snow-plow trucks here.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

The Wild Bunch

Oh my.

This morning, I heard some of that caterwauling, that I know means cat confrontation, but as Ginger was inside I wasn't worried.

Minutes later I returned to the kitchen and saw a knock-down, drag-out, tooth-and-nail fight between little Blackie and bigger Blackie.

I stepped outside and said, "Oi! Kitties! Cut it out, no fighting!"

To my surprise, they stopped. There was a bit of a face-off, then bigger Blackie sloped off, as you can see on the right.

The other black and white, well, he came in to the garden just as I came out, perhaps to referee, or just to watch?

Another one came to watch but sensibly, stayed well out of it, good old Whitey.

As soon as he heard the kerfuffle he was there, observing from a distance.

Meanwhile, Ginger was inside, safe and sound.

I did go out again and comfort little Blackie, who is really a bit of a dear. I know Ginger doesn't like him but he's such a cute, funny and fiery little guy, and he loves having a look round in here, I can't neglect him. He was a bit muddy, but none the worse for wear.

Meantime Whitey came into the garden, to have a poke round the battlefield.

And then shortly after, he took the long walk down the right fence (has he done this before? He must have but I've never observed it) and we, well, we had a look at each other.

I love that guy. He's a real peace-loving cat. Never, if he can help it, gets into a fight. Not that I'm aware of, or at least, not on my patch ...

Thank goodness Ginger missed it all! I think it might have riled him up a bit much, as he can be a little bruiser too ...

A Happy New Year

From all of us

to all of you -



Wishing everyone a heartfelt, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

It looks like "growing your own" is an even better idea this year.

Happy Gardening everyone in 2009!