spring has sprung

It’s the last day of Paddy’s weekend, and didn’t he bless us with lovely spring weather! It’s been great to get out and about in the sunshine and get into our gardens for the year ahead.

The aging hippie had a brainwave this year. When I got the use of my arm back I thought why not try to be a bit more ambitious and instead of buying bedding plants this year I would grow them from seed. So I immersed myself in the seed catalogues and websites, took to watching a few gardening programmes and made a few choices for this year’s garden.

The first one I picked out was based on my one first crushes. I bought a packet of dianthus Bagpuss. My other early crush was on Dougal from the original magic roundabout but he wasn’t mentioned in a seed catalogue that I could see. Anyway Dianthus Bagpuss is a pink striped flower in the colours of the cat himself. I can’t wait to see them!

You see, I love flowers, I always have. My favourite being pink roses of which I have a selection in my rose bed which is under the window I am writing in. I have a soft spot for the blue moon (on the right as you read this) she can be a bit delicate but worth the extra TLC.  I have a special deep red rose in one of the other beds which has been there since I was a child. It’s one of those special gifts you take on with the family home and he has never let me down with his massive blooms every year. Even when I landscaped the front garden he almost got buried under a load of builder’s chippings but like a real man he saw off adversity to shine again. I have a standard rose in the centre and she is taller that I am so caring for her can be like playing with a toddler who loves pulling at my long hair! I end up trying to free myself from her little thorns no matter how good a job i do tying my mane up. I end up looking like Medusa!

This year I have to finish my water feature in the back garden.  It looks beautiful but I need to get the stream of water running.  The lawn needs a feed shortly and my clematis’ are on the rise again, curling their way up their frames and away into blossom.

Anyway I have my dianthus, begonia, viola, pansy, busy lizzie, sweet pea and dahlias in the propagators. They are winding their way through the soil and showing themselves already. I put a few herbs in as well. I have basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme and mint. I plan on making my own mint tea from the leaves. According to my friend it gives quite the kick. Is that a good or bad thing for me, I ask myself?

As the frosts are nearly over it will be pruning time and my roses and lavender bushes will be undergoing a good haircut. This annoys the wild birds because while the pruners are out they can’t get to the feeders and as they hate their routine getting knocked about they sit on neighbouring trees and give out. They are funny.

So it’s back to collecting my eggshells and drying them again. I tend to shy away from slug pellets as apart from the obvious (hippie) the slug that has eaten a pellet and is then eaten by a bird can kill the bird as well. I have a few slug tricks that will appear in later blogs but dried eggshells are to a slug what walking on broken glass barefoot is to us humans so they avoid an egged up area. Clever them slugs!

So for now it’s caring for the propagators and watching the imminent arrival of my seedlings. It’s all looking good so far so I will keep you posted on progress.

keep smiling,

ing my mane up. I end up looking like Medusa!

This year I have to finish my water feature in the back garden.  It looks beautiful but I need to get the stream of water running.  The lawn needs a feed shortly and my clematis’ are on the rise again, curling their way up their frames and away into blossom.

Anyway I have my dianthus, begonia, viola, pansy, busy lizzie, sweet pea and dahlias in the propagators. They are winding their way through the soil and showing themselves already. I put a few herbs in as well. I have basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme and mint. I plan on making my own mint tea from the leaves. According to my friend it gives quite the kick. Is that a good or bad thing for me, I ask myself?

As the frosts are nearly over it will be pruning time and my roses and lavender bushes will be undergoing a good haircut. This annoys the wild birds because while the pruners are out they can’t get to the feeders and as they hate their routine getting knocked about they sit on neighbouring trees and give out. They are funny.

So it’s back to collecting my eggshells and drying them again. I tend to shy away from slug pellets as apart from the obvious (hippie) the slug that has eaten a pellet and is then eaten by a bird can kill the bird as well. I have a few slug tricks that will appear in later blogs but dried eggshells are to a slug what walking on broken glass barefoot is to us humans so they avoid an egged up area. Clever them slugs!

So for now it’s caring for the propagators and watching the imminent arrival of my seedlings. It’s all looking good so far so I will keep you posted on progress.

keep smiling,