Monday, May 12, 2008

Ladybirds And Lavender

Its been a gorgeously sunny day today and I was not at work. I spent two hours at the allotment this morning with Cat, then five more hours in the garden. I have a big smile, sunburn, and aching muscles.Tomorrow I am offering my muscles to Hil's to help dig her allotment.It will hopefully be sunny again so I can absorn more sunlight on my face, neck, and arms.
The first photo shows the garden in progress this evening. I repotted Cabbages, Cucumbers, Tomatos,Agastache,Butterfly flowers,Pepper Ring o'Fire, and the Blackberry bush into its new green veg planter.Dug up the Tulips that had finished flowering, and replanted my revived Catmint Six Hills Giant.I hope the local cat Blackspot doesnt chew it again.It has grown much bigger stems now in readiness for its blue flowers.

This Ladybird was under an Old Rose bush at the allotment, with gorgeous White scented flowers. An early flowering Rose. These were planted along a path by the communal garden.I was telling a man today about the gardens Blog. He looked quite sceptical, Maybe I should have given him the web address :)


The White Rose with its yellow centre, and sweet scent..

The fourth bed was planted today by me and Cat. Cabbages and Brussel Sprouts grown by me from seed, and tended for a few months. I felt quite emotional planting them, disbelief and laughing.. I hope they grow well in the sun baked allotment. It was hot and we spent two hours watering and planting them into the ground..

I was not in any photos today,Im behind the camera lens.The Brussel Sprouts Evesham get a watering.They were planted with holes filled with manure to try and hold moisture at the roots. If it works they will grow really well in the full sun. If it doesnt its back to the drawing board!
Do people become attached to plants that they have grown from seed more than if they were already grown when bought? I felt paternal pangs as the plants went in, but know its nature that will make or break them. I can only weed and water :)

The Cabbages in their green plastic collars. I saw someone else using these, as a slug and snail stopper.I hope it will protect the stems at the base which are not fully thickened yet.They also help watering as you can direct it into the collar to get straight to the roots.

The Lavender on the edge of the communal garden has flower spikes already.The past six days of strong sunshine have made them have a growth spurt. I love these plants. My garden has two Lavenders ready to attract the bees when they flower.
A day of Ladybirds and Lavender, in the sunshine.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah, I feel a bit more maternal about the plants I've started from seed... but only if they're foodstuffs, for some reason. The flowers, I can somehow just shrug off! Do you notice a difference between the way you feel about flowers and food?

David (Snappy) said...

Hi Kim,This comment got me thinking hence the delay in replying.I feel more protective of the Edible plants than the Flowers.Are Flowers like Cats, just left to get on with their own thing? whereas Vegetable plants or Tomatos or Chillis need pampering and coveting?The end result is something you can eat.I love food and cooking so growing veg is an extention of that.
I check and water my Edible plants more than the flowers and shrubs too..
This includes Carrots,Potatoes,Beetroot,Onions, Spring Onions,French Beans,Runner Beans,Garlic,Borage,Parsley,
Strawberrys,Raspberrys,Lettuces, Mustard Greens,Rocket,Spinach...
I only wanted to grow a few things then the madness kicked in.A passionate gardener goes all the way, and a little further..