picked this week

another week of parsnips from the allotment and small brussels from the garden.

Flowering now!!

a wonderful week of sunshine - feeling hot enough for Summer at times.

Everything is racing to catch up with Spring.

All the daffodils are in flower - even the later white ones














early flowering shrubs - kerria japonica, forsythia - in blossom









pale pink hyacinths that used to be indoors, short Red Riding Hood tulips, grape hyacinths, polyanthus, all flowering - even have blossom on the peach tree.

Shoots of Spring - Red

new shoots are supposed to be green
but these, peonies above and rhubarb below, are
red

Getting ready

Hubby has been busy digging down on the new allotment and now we're sowing our (almost) first seeds there - we'd set radish and lettuce in the polytunnel which blew down and luckily they've both survived.

Anyway last week we had a sowing session - broad beans, peas, carrots, parsnips and radish - and also planted sprouting bits of the dinner potatoes. All of them have been covered up with plastic or fleece but now the weather is warming up rapidly and the covers can soon come off.
The fruit trees are showing lots of buds so hopefully there's a lot of fruit to come. We're still not sure which tree is which - there's a mix of apples, pears and a plum.
In the home garden, I'm trying to lay it out in a more formal, less cram it in everywhere, way.
Strawberries edging the paths for a start and maybe some small lavender plants.
For now, I've set radish and spring onions here and planted out the broad beans started in the greenhouse. I intend having wigwams of runner beans and sugar snap peas in soon.

picked this week

reaching the last of the brussels and starting to cut off and eat the tops as well.

managed to find some very small salad leaves for one lunch - they're not really ready yet.





also down to the last box of apples. they've kept quite well, a little soft but fine for stewing or drying out.

picked this week

lifted some of the parsnips from the allotment - about half the row sown by the previous tenant.


more small brussels from the garden

Re-organising

Now we have an allotment, it isn't necessary to have quite so much of our garden turned into a vegetable plot. I still intend growing quite a few things here at the house - primarily things that are wanted on a spur of the moment decision, lettuce and other salad leaves, radishes, or things that need a close eye kept on them and possibly picking every day, sugar snap peas and strawberries.
I'd also like the veg patch to be more ornamental and certainly tidier.
So, with these 2 things in mind, we've lifted all the strawberry plants from the allotment (where there is a problem with birds taking fruit) and planted them as path edging. The overall plan is to have square-ish plots with maybe wigwams of peas and some french beans with edgings of strawberries and/or salad leaves. For now I've set some radish and spring onions, and planted out the spinach which overwintered in the greenhouse - not sure if this will grow properly or not but it's better planted out of the tray.

picked this week

Back to picking things from the garden - wow!

Some more tiny brussels



and even some salad leaves -
bits of chives, american land cress, smaller bittercress found in the coldframe and some very small bits of lettuce.

March in the garden - vegetables

lots of seedlings growing in the greenhouse ready for transfer to the allotment - cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli,



broad beans - the holly leaves deter mice -



and peas







outside, at least one clump of parsley has survived,



garlic is growing quite well






but only one lonely autumn sown broad bean

March in the garden - flowers

Under the dampness of last week the garden has started to come back to life.
Lots of bulbs suddenly in flower in today's sunshine.





- hopefully some daffodils soon