Cracked it?

Ginger is eating a lot more lately. I sometimes worry he's a little skinny, but maybe it's because he so sleek. And active. With the improvement in the weather he is spending more time outdoors.

He is also back in the routine of living here as opposed to elsewhere, after our absence in February. Very much so.

I haven't changed his food choice per se, same old Whiskas fishy or meaty. It now resides in the covered bowl rather than on a (china) plate, which might make a difference. But I am surprised that everytime I put something down for him, he actually seems to eat most of it.

There are lyrics that always pop into my head every time I'm standing barefoot, on the cold kitchen floor, at 4 in the morning, waiting for him to finish so I can put him out and go back to bed: "it's such a gorgeous sight to see you eat in the middle of the night."

This is from Friday I'm in Love by The Cure. A band with odd/quirky/interesting song lyrics at the best of times, but this one always had me scratching my head - until I got a cat.

Not that I'm assuming that Robert Smith has a cat, but then another favourite Cure song is Love Cats (now playing).

And it is a gorgeous sight.

Feng Shui Gardening

I have a friend who is very into Feng Shui. So, take from this what you will.

On Saturday morning she shared the following:

The Front Garden represents your past.

The Middle, or Side Garden represents your present.

And the Back Garden represents your future.

Well, if you take that as read, here is my experience.

The Front Garden was sorted without me having to lift a finger. Really. I didn't do anything, but somehow my past was sorted.

Very nicely, thank you.

The Middle Garden - well, that's down the side (obviously), with four pots and three hanging baskets. I didn't think that would take very long to sort out - 2 hostas coming up nicely, 3 baskets and 2 pots ready for something new. Just needed a little tidying.

And the Back Garden?

An ongoing project, a labour of love, but I have high hopes for it. :-)

Wednesday Fun

Cat + Art.

He doesn't look very amused, does he.

Step One

I told you, it's an awful mess out there.

At last, a beautiful day, and I took the time to get out there. Where to begin?

The left border, of course. It didn't take as long as I thought, and although it was sunny, it wasn't exactly hot. But it was warm enough for the earth to smell delightful, and I was amazed at what is coming up, once the weeds and leaves were clear. Even the Crocosmia seems to be coming up; at least that's the place it was, so it must be that. Which is great because I have plenty more bulbs to put in to join them this year. Last year I missed out and they were all gone from the garden shops - Phoebe's, online, everywhere. Maybe there was a dearth. I am well prepared and there is a box marked in the shed, ordered from Crocus(.co.uk). When in the shed, though, I found another Crocus box - I have no idea what else I ordered. Can't wait to check that out!

Tidy! It is surprisingly bare - ooooo, lots of planting space ... I think a trip to Phoebe's Garden Centre is in order soon.

However, when plant shopping, I tend to see a plant, think "that's pretty", and then plonk it in. No forethought, no planning. If I want a proper English Border I'm going to have to think carefully. Also, I believe I planted a lot of annuals last year in a desperate attempt to get something resembling what I desire. No, this year, I must find more flowering perennials, and consider height, spread, when it blooms, etc. Perhaps at long last I can have that English Border, and leave my "border envy" at others' gardens behind.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who regularly read my page (even if there's nothing new to read - all two of you!). I shall try to keep you more often entertained and hopefully enlightened. Eleven post in 2010? Shocking!

Next week, weather permitting, it's me, the vegetable patch, some bark chips, and a bag of manure.

Happy Spring!

Off Topic: The World of Contemporary Art

Another weekend come and gone, and I'm not out there getting my hands in the soil, preparing the garden for Spring.


Yesterday was very mild, sometimes sunny, a perfect day for gardening in this almost-Spring season. However, I have had to work all weekend, because The Affordable Art Fair was on. It's my job to cover our gallery when everyone else is busy selling art at the show.


So, for your delectation, some images from the always popular AAF.

I actually have 5 of these chaps below. Set of 2 last year, joined by a set of 3 purchased this year.

So there you have it, a little insight into my job in the world of Contemporary Art.

Hopefully, finally, gardening next weekend!

Windows of Opportunity

Speaking of those windows of opportunity, in my own garden, I have missed several since November.


After the disappearance of the arachnid population (where do they go? Do they die? Go underground?) I should have taken the opportunity to put the garden to bed for winter. Take down the tomatoes and clear the other vegetables, clear out as many weeds as possible, lay some newspaper down and cover with bark chips to keep the weeds suppressed until the spring.


That was the idea. But come November 30, this happened.

Not just a little flurry, or a light dusting.

I could count on two hands the number of times it has snowed in London at all during the winter, since the time I've lived here (20+ years). I could count on one hand the number of times it has snowed heavily at any time during the winter. And this is November, mind. That requires no hands to count on, in my memory.

This particular snowfall didn't fall just one day. The week was so bad, I couldn't actually make it to work on the Thursday. Train companies, you see, just cannot deal with this amount of snow here (perhaps a foot). Thankfully, Friday was a day I had booked off.

So the best laid plans for garden tidying were scuppered, and December never really improved, in terms of gardening.

January?

Went too fast. Suddenly I was packing to visit my parents in the Midwest.

So here we are again, it's March, and time for a clean-up. Spring cleaning, ugh. I could have made my life so much easier with just a little work in late Autumn.

The good news is Ginger has forgiven me for abandoning him for a full two weeks.
In fact he's just been making himself busy getting ginger hairs all over my black trousers. Again.

Somehow he seems to have managed just fine; in fact when I saw him, I thought, "hey Mr. Whiskers, you're looking rather chunky."

I wonder what they fed him?