MudPud Garden
Or Weed Merrily perhaps....
The Cast.
Fran Age 5
Moo Age 4
Scruff Age 1
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Friday, May 30, 2003
I thought i would start off tonight with a really fab picture i took tonight of a bee on the lupins...
and another amazing one of a frog!!!! We have this old stone sink in the garden which we are going to try and make into a mini pond - there are quite a few frogs about in the undergrowth so i assume someone has a pond nearby - unless we have one i haven't found yet!!! :~)
Thats the exciting bit over, now on to the "look how my garden grew" photos!!!! First of all we weeded a patch totally taken over by mint, leaving just one corner; I am going to plant 5 more hardy herbs there - probably parsley, which seems to survive a year or two, chives, thyme, rosemary, sage if my seedling survive and one other - not sure if basil would take it or not? i will sink slates around the mint and weed it ferociously and divide them all up with cobbles to look pretty. Today we stripped the leaves off all the mint as a family project, then washed it, chopped it and freezed it - we did two other batches, one as frozen leaves and one drying in the boiler room as a project to see what works best! Thats the broccoli in the background - it takes some watering or it flops like a black and white movie star with the vapours!!!!
I nearly killed the lemon basil but i put it in the greenhouse and its recovering.
And these are the lettuces we had for tea!
Here, for the sake of interest, is lettuce planted 3 days ago - clearly they didn't like the 4 vegger!
And here are the radishes after 3 days
And here are the flowers on the tomatoes!!!! They like the greenhouse with a window open so long as i damp it down - a few leaves shrivelled up at first - but i think i will house them on the patio soon as the peas are getting so big they need to move. We are going to put string on the shed side and stand them against that
# posted by merry @ Friday, May 30, 2003
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
All i can post tonight... being pooped, is that tonight we had lettuce and rocket salad of our own growing (kirsty - rocket is NOT to posh for ya!) and everything is doing well. We have flowers on the tomatoes, now residing in the greenhouse and apparently one mystery plant is columbine.
Oh we also have frogs and the rabbit is depressed and getting a girlfriend!# posted by merry @ Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Really should be in bed but can't resist posting some photos of our new abode and so on... look at this garden and weep! its gorgeous - it MAKES benig here worthwhile...
This is my greenhouse, half way down the garden - the first bit is lawn and beds.
Patio - shortly to have herb garden (baby came with us not the house!)
The veg patch - it now has the broccolis planted in it - but its huge and overgrown - soil is a bit clayish maybe but i am told buttercups is a good soil sign..
The broccoli, all planted out - hope the slugs don't get em... hmmmm....
The herbs are mainly going to be here - once they have done their companion planting bit - so it smells nice in the day around the house - they are all doing well except the lemon basil - the dill just makes me want to rub my face in it - its so soft!
Then we have little pots for cooking, near the kitchen door.
Another view of the garden, with Pud - this area has lots of fruit but i am gonig to try putting the tomatoes against the green shed as it gets loads of sun. This area also has lily of the valley.. copiously...
and strawberries in among them. Further down the garden is rhubarb and a huge lavender bush.
The drive is home to a lot of it at the moment but it gets a fair bit of sun while i find better homes - i don't want to sit stuff on top of an over grown veg patch and get slugged.
We are still getting lots of radishes but the other three veg are slow - especially spring onions - so today i planted individual vegetables of lettuce (two types) radishes, carrots and spring onions, in the boxes the broccoli vacated. Fingers crossed...
The sugar snaps are huge...
and the mange tout have flowers!!!!
I also did a final - and very late - earthing up of the potatoes which are all good bar one, which i think was the initial runt althoguh i have lost track a bit with the move.
The tomatoes look like they are getting flowers and the onions are starting to swell - we used shallot leaves in salad today.
And then here is a smattering of the flowers i have found in the garden - gorgeous - but i don't know what they are - so if you do - let me know!!!!
Mystery 1
I know this - bracken!!!!
Irises, lupins, a foxglove....
Lobelia and forget-me-not....
Lupins...
More lupins :~)
Dunno... mystery 2
No idea - Mystery 3 - bees like it though
Pinks?
Mystery 4
Mystery 5
Mystery 6
Mystery 7
There are a few more tomorrow too!!!!
# posted by merry @ Sunday, May 25, 2003
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Feels like AGES!!!!! What a busy few weeks - once we got back from hospital we had a couple of days recovery, then went to HESFes which was a fab week in a tent on my own with three small girls enjoying the outdoor life among home educators, making fantastic friendships and relaxing (sort of!) The we came home and moved house!!!!!!
We are in - there are boxes everywhere and i haven't got a clue where anything is but you know... hey! All the pots are currently in the drive and in sorry need of attention - luckily its rained lots!!!
Our garden is incredible - and has a veg plot too - currently its swamped with forget-me-nots, foxgloves, lupins, buttercups and goodness know what else - and i plan on keeping the theme of wild - but it still needs some work - i can't wait to post photos!!!
# posted by merry @ Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Sunday, May 04, 2003
Its photos time again - i love looking back and seeing how things are growing... i am sure it deeply bores everyone else! Now that the majority of things are planted out etc i feel quite proud of it all - the smell in the mornings of herbs and onions is lovely - it was fantastic to have the first radishes- and in case you don't believe me - here they are!
The second sowing is growing so fast its incredible - this time the lettuces are doing well which is good - i'm not sure what went wrong before!
This was this box a few days ago - the radishes now have their second leaves as well!Then there is the broccoli, planted out to give it growing space - i'm hoping these willbe first into the real veg patch at the new house!
Below is what courgettes look like early on - i'm growing these outside from the start so only the tough ones survive!
The herbs look and smell wonderful and will hopefully now grow like mad!
...and here is the lavender in its new big pot!
Now - so far the leeks have been a washout - but i think they needed an indoor start and deeper soil - so next year that is what they get! I have to sort out black laminated card to blanche them now.
Potatoes... well - when we went to devon they were just slightly bigger shoots that the eyes we planted - 4 days later they looked like this...
...and four days after that they looked like this!
The Rocket seeded so fast i expected it to grow quicker - however - this is how early leaves look!
And here are the ever gorgeous Shallots - i must remember to use the tops of these in salads.
The peas finally seem to have to the hang of climbing...
and the tomatoes are getting all grown up!
Now... all i have to do is move house with it all......# posted by merry @ Sunday, May 04, 2003
Saturday, May 03, 2003
"Well, I'm back."
Spot the quote... any guesses?
Anyway - arrived back from hospital after Pud's successful op much quicker than expected; she is doing well and pretty much recovered, bless her brave little socks. Can't believe how much everything has grown so had to have a major day at the seed boxes. here's what we did....
* Earthed up the potatoes - enormous 6 inches in a week i would say.
* Pulled the second lot of radishes and resowed that box - carrots and spring onions coming on nicely in first sowing now.
* Planted a second set of squashes... sigh....
* Planted all the herbs in the first batch into big tubs and put one lot of each into the girls painted ones.
* Planted the leeks into deep boxes in rows of three- need to get organised to do their blackout with something.
* Tied the peas up to their canes.
* Planted the two recovered lavenders into bigger pots where i hope they will do better.
* Discarded the garlic which had died a death - dodgy bulbs and over zealous watering by Moo i think!
Need to plant the Chamomile and the cress though... Sigh.. move house in a week!
# posted by merry @ Saturday, May 03, 2003
