Endings or beginings

A visit to the allotment today and the impending start of the school year gives me that feeling that the growing is over and it is time to start again and to look forward again to changes in the season. It is that time of year of slightly mellow regrets and thoughts of not letting it happen again next year, but I will. It is as inevitable as autumn following summer that I will repeat the similar planting blunders as before but there may be some lucky breaks as well.

Today, I harvested some tomatoes and beetroot and seed saved at the same time. I collected from the sweet peas and swiftly took a seed pod from someone elses Hollyhocks, it was Celia that put that thought in my head and I want those for the garden. Despite seed collecting I also did some some sowing today some japanese spinach which according to the packet you can grow all year round, I'm not sure what it will be like. I have also bought my over wintering onions today.

When I looked around the plot today I realised that I have a lot to do just to tread water. In my head though I am brewing a little dream of upgrading the storage box to a proper shed. Then wouldn't a little greenhouse be just nice too. Dream away.

Auricula

I think that I might be about to develop a new little obsession. I knew it was coming as the 'seeds' of it were sown in the spring when I visited Bridge end gardens in Saffron Walden and my eyes fell on this terracotta display. The sun was too bright to get any good photos, but I wanted to try again on another day as they were such little bright pots of joy. Then that idea got lost in the waves of life's busy bustle.


I felt it rekindle when I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum a few weeks back and I saw a small exhibition of flower drawings 'Redoute and his pupils'. The one that really sung out at me was a much larger than life picture of Auricula in an earthenware pot by Pancrace Bessa. I would like to photograph those I thought again.

This weekend we went away camping and stayed at Sandringham amongst the trees. We walked with the boys around the country park but did not venture into the really royal bits of the gardens and look at the house. I don't think the boys would tolerate it after the walk we had made they do. However I couldn't resist sticking my nose in the plant shop. Huh. I thought this looks like a lot of stuff that you can get in a garden centre. Then I noticed the boring looking green thing that was very specifically named by variety and I knew I was looking at a Auricula. I knew that I could only buy and transport one so I made a choice and it is now at home with me. It is 'Piers Telford orange and brown'.


If I don't kill it I am going to photograph it when it flowers next year. I might need to check out some care instructions to help with this. If they are fun and not too difficult to grow then I am likely to add to my modest collection of one.

short sweetcorn

Every year we grow sweetcorn. We have never managed the success of our first year. They are not even a foot tall and they are already flowering at the top. It is probably because they have been too dry see those crispy leaves above. The weeds are lapping at their roots, I planted squash to spread beneath the sweetcorn and suppress the weeds but their growth hasn't been too vigorous either. Never mind there is always next year. Its that phase of the gardening year now the regretful one if only I could have got down their and watered more often......dream.

Huw's flowers

Of my two boys Huw the youngest seems to have the most interest in helping in the garden. He always asks to help with the watering and he asks to go to the allotment, I'm not daft I know that the interest will wane. He came home from nursery a couple of months ago clutching a packet of seeds he had been given. we planted them and they grew he is now happy because they have started to flower in lots of orangey and peachy colours. You have got to love nasturtiums for their simple, effective and reliable performance.

Just a quick update

It was commented to me in person this week that I hadn't blogged for a while.

It makes me think about why. I have not really felt that I had much to say, or perhaps it is that things have been moving on so quickly I have let blogging about it pass me by.

I do have lots to say in that the lotty is the best it has looked in ages.(no letter yet!) That is until this last couple of weeks when the drought stopped and the weeds got a drink and went wild. I think a week of endless weeding and a strimming session will get us back on track. I only have a few more things to put out fennel and celeriac. I also plan to sow some last min crops of peas and soya beans and squeeze some rocket in some where I think.

I'm starting to imagine eating my produce already as things are growing reasonably well. But I know where that has got me before, there is still the chance of disaster yet. My spinach has gone to seed overnight, but I'll just plant another row.

We have had a bumper crop of great strawberries that I picked last monday and there are more coming so I feel it is possibly jam time. Last tuesday was my favourite session at gardening club, we harvested the potatoes from the bags. Its my third year of this session and the look on the kids faces are just priceless even the ones that have seen it before.Rudolf was a surprise with its red skins for some of them. My spuds at the lotty have just flowered I can't wait to see what is hiding beneath after their frost damage earlier in the spring.

I've been busy with the boys, football tournaments, photography things and a bit of art 'me' time as well as all the usual work and home things. It doesn't look like it is going to let up any time soon, but maybe I can squeeze a post in more regularly. Excuse the mobile phone shots again, but this wasn't a planned post.

Padlock

I have a bit of a problem. My storage box at the allotment is now padlocked shut. How can I be such an idiot?

This is how it goes, for more than two years I had a lock with a key. The lock recently started to get very stiff and I was scared that I would not be able to unlock it. So I took the lock off. Then I visited the allotment after the bank holiday to notice that a window I had been saving for a cold frame had been taken. I was pretty certain that somebody had also opened the storage box, nothing was missing but I was a little unsettled.

I went out and bought a new combination lock, set it, put it on, opened it a couple of test times all is well. I visited the lotty on Sunday no problems. Locked it back up and had a little struggle with the lock but all seemed well. Entered the code today which I could happily tell you now for all the good it is, and nothing happened.

I think when I struggled with the lock I accidently must have reset the combination and now I have no idea what it is. Hacksaw time I think.

Oh and my picture of a lock is beautifully saturated with rain something I am worried that I will never see again.

When madness takes hold

Occasionally I find my self in crazy scrapes of my own making. I picked Owen up from football and without consideration for what was in the car (car seats, toddler bike, stroller and camera tripod at a glance, oh and now two just purchased bags of groceries). I decided to just pop in to Wickes next door from the supermarket and buy that wheelbarrow I've had my eye on. When I looked at it a week or so ago I thought there would be no problem getting it home. Now that the wheelbarrow was along side my car I was not sure. Owen had a look of concern. Even he could see my ancient clio dustbin might not be up to this.

I made an attempt to get it in and panic began to rise. No go!

I thought I'm going to have to make a phone call and he is going to kill me, I can't do that. By now the eyes that were watching me from halfords forced me to make a very special move just for the CCTV. Yes, I sent Owen scuttling over to a quiet it of the car park with the wheelbarrow, then moved the car.

After 10 minutes of unobserved cursing and jiggling I got it in the car over the back seats, yes it is a two door car, and with our seats slightly more forward than normal we drove home.





















Thankfully, I did manage to get it out again and it is sitting in my garden. Just remind me to think about my garden purchases a little more before I purchase them in the future. Oh and my new mantra is "my car is not a van".

(sorry for the mobile phone pics but that was all I could manage)