Sunday, April 10, 2011

Perfect Weekend

It has been a lovely Weekend off from work. I have done some gardening, and gone to the allotment the past few days. The sun has been shining and i have been enjoying toiling in the warm rays. The birds are singing from dawn until dusk with their lusty voices. I found a second Double Flowered Daffodil growing in the pot right besides the backdoor. I love the Daffodils swaying in the April breeze, their yellow faces contrasting against the blue sky above. The garden is still a work in progress. The concrete step and concrete base have nearly set now. We can remove the wood on Monday from them both. The water butts can be properly positioned, and the greenhouse moved up the garden. The bags of soil (from the bases excavation) and compost from our bin need moving and using. There are seeds to sow, and summer bulbs to plant. The grass has started growing so it needs its first cut of the year. I love the smell of freshly cut grass. Childhood memories.. This was the allotment at about 2pm. I had marked out and dug over the beds for the Brassicas and Swede. I started to clear the last section between the other shed and the green compost bag. The greenhouse in my garden is growing healthy Vegetable plants ready for planting in the freshly marked/dug out plot beds. All the Vegetables this year will have been grown from seed packets. I have deliberately made lots of paths around the beds so you can weed from any side. Good access will make plot maintenence easier. The beds raised soil will stay fluffy, and does not get crushed or compacted. At the end of the growing season all the beds will be rubbed out and the plot returned to how it was before. Like an Etch a sketch. Each year will see a new arrangement of beds. When it is planted up it will look a patchwork quilt of Vegetable plants and Companion planted flowers.
This cheeky juvenile Squirrel entertained me running between the feeders in the garden this morning after I woke up. He climbed up the fence and jumped into the neighbours hanging basket (to the right of the fence). All I could see was his mischievous face peering out at me. He was running down the fence when i took this. The Squirrel is partial to Fat ball, Peanuts, Bird seed, and Sunflower hearts. He looked longingly at all the feeders. What to eat? Decisions, decisions.

I'm off work this week so it will be a busy gardening week. I will go to the plot tomorrow then shopping for a new gardening Fork and some pond plants from Hampsons, helping Fran on Tuesday with a garden mission. Wednesday should be allotment day, and on Thursday we are going to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show. A busy blog week ahead.

3 comments:

Cheryl said...

The vegetable plot looks like a work of art. My fingers were itching to get in there and start planting up.
I am going to try a small (very small) veggie plot in the garden this year. Having wild rabbits visit each days makes it so difficult to grow vegetables, unless of course, you fence the area in. I really do not want to do that.

Wish me luck.

Have a great week, enjoy your time away from work.....

David (Snappy) said...

Hi Cheryl,thanks for the kind words.I tried leaving a comment for you on your blog.The photo of the frog is lovely.I love Herons too.I hope you can grow some Vegetables this year and that the Rabbits dont eat all your hardwork.
The plot will hopefully look beautiful when its planted up.I'll blog it.

Andy said...

I have been having a similar experience with a newly arrived group of squirrels in our garden. The have clearly zeroed in on our bird feeding table with its ample supplies of nuts and fat balls. Normally this is closely guarded by the dog, but these guys have plotted in a cunning route avoiding any dog shaped risk. Once on the table they are immune and they know it - table stripped several times so far this week !! Dogs going mental