Raindrops And Awards

Thanks to Claire from Claires Garden
http://clairesgarden.blogspot.com/
, and Sue from A Balcony Garden.
http://balcony-garden.blogspot.com/
Both nominated me for E for excellent award.I am flattered thank you both!
The rules state that I have to pick ten further blogs to pass it on. I have to think of twenty :)
Todays photo is a Rain drop on the Pink climbing rose leaves. It is a slow starter in comparison to the other Roses.
I have seven rose plants in the Garden.Two Climbing, two Tea Roses, two Floribunda, and the David Austin Lady Emma Hamilton.
Its been raining all today, the allotment will be swimming but I will go up for a few hours on Wednesday to try and dig the beds and add manure.
There are potatoes and onions ready to plant, Brussel Sprout and Cabbage plants growing here itching to be planted in prepared beds.
I sowed the African bag garden seeds today. Rocket, Spinach Beet, Beetroot, Spring onions, dwarf French beans, and Mustard greens. I also added Parsnip seeds between the already growing mixed lettuces. Eight varieties in two Hessian sacks.
I got an email too from Selections.My vegetable planters (polythene square bags) have been dispatched.I got the allotment after I ordered them!I do need more soil ready for growing more baby carrots.The first lot of plants are growing on in the cold frame.
April has been wet and cold so far.I hope things warm up soon.

Teasing Flowers And A Robin

The cheeky Robin this morning had worked out how to hover in front of the fatballs and was clinging on for a high fat snack. I was in bed untill three pm recovering from the night shifts.A Cat photo this one..

A Tulip plant with gorgeous colours of Burgundy and Green.It reminds me of an ancient Maori warrior covered in tribal tattoos. On the left border three Tulips have been demolished flower bud and all by slugs.they are loving those so they stay.The other Tulips are pretty much intact and close to flowering.

Tulip Tease. One of the Red Tulips gives us a quick flash of the developing flower encased in the green leaves.The flowers are itching to burst out of the leaves and light up the borders.

On the Kitchen windowsill outside the Spring bulbs continue to develop, nearly flowering. Yellow flowers and one blue one. I planted Chionodoxa and Narcissus in December.
I have just put my paraffin heater back into the cold frame.The cabbages are growing on with roots all the way to the bottom of the three inch pots. Twelve Strawberry plants are growing on ready to be planted into the Victorian style polythene planter.
The warm days last week lulled me into spring mode.It has been freezing the past three nights, with below freezing temperatures.It also rained and snowed briefly.
The allotment will be sodden again.I will have to push back the planting dates as the clay soil is waterlogged and cold.Maybe near the end of April..
Days off to come, so hopefully lots to post over the next four days.I need another coffee :)

Ghost Bloom

The mystery bulbs left by my ghostly gardener have bloomed today.It is a fragrant, sweet smelling flower with two flowers within the bud tip.It has long thin green leaves.
It reminds me of a Daffodil hit across the face with a shovel to flatten the flower.
The scent though is so sweet when it wafts up from the flower. Another is almost open behind the first flower.
The Red spears have turned into Paeonies, and have overnight developed chocolate brown leaves and flower buds like lollipops.
There are two types of Peonies growing, the red spears, and others with red stems but green leaves.I think they will be white flowering.I need to research about them.
I will go out each morning and photograph something for the blog.The windowbox Chionodoxa are almost flowering.They have swollen buds at the end of the strappy leaves.
Does anyone recognise what the flower is? I dug up about a hundred small white bulbs which are drying in the outhouse. I left about twenty mystery bulbs in the ground, but do not know what they are. The geraniums, the Viburnum Tinus, the Peonies, and the mystery bulbs were planted before by my ghostly gardener a long time ago..

Kitchen Garden

The five Chilli plants that came with me from Westgate four months ago. They have grown beautifully into strong plants, with one already developing a flower and flower buds.I assume the Chillis follow the flowers.There is one Jalapeno, one Friars Hat, one Zambian Serenade, and two unknown Chilli plants taken back from the ward.Some people got too many seedlings and brought their spares in.Five Chilli plants in all. I have also planted three coffee cups with Pepper Ring Of Fire seeds.Four in each polystyrene cup..

The First Chilli plant flower.It is in a ten inch pot now, and is branching at the top with multiple flower buds forming from each of the stems.The central stem is thickening nicely, as lignin is being laid down to solidify the plant.
They have been protected in the warm kitchen from the extremes of temperature outside.The light falls on them through the large glass window.
I have never grown Chillis before these ones.I bought the seeds at Tatton Park last year.The kitchen also houses the Marshalls New Potatoes in the grow bags.They grew leaves in about two days after chitting (growing shoots in a light warm place on the seed potatoes), and are pushing upwards.I am covering up the green stems with more compost daily untill the grow bags are filled to within two inches of the top.I will move the two grow bags outside at the end of April. These will be the first potatoes I have this year.
The seed potatoes upstairs are Nadine, and King Edward.They are second early, and main crop so hopefully the harvesting should be spread out over a few months..
My Rhubarb crown has rotted away in the pot, which is why it never developed.I will have to buy some more crowns for the allotment.It was £1.50 from Wilkos. Caveat Emptor.I will shake the bag next time to check the health of the crown in the packet.
I replanted more Tomato seeds after the frosts killed my other plants. Eight pots of individual seeds, Tomato Gardeners Delight, and Tomato Maskotka.The Maskotka is for the hanging baskets.They are like small cherry tomatos growing in a tumbling fashion.Its a space saving way of growing Tomatos.
The Gardeners delight can grow in the greenhouse, along with the Cucumbers..I need to remove two tiers later to accomodate the tall plants within.It is suprising how warm it gets within the clear polythene cover even with no heating.
Im working night shifts again this week from tonight.The posts will be shorter.I have a day to recover then three days off to try to prepare the allotment beds.Its thirteen degrees C outside rising to seventeen.I hope it drys the boggy beds so i can adequately prepare them for planting.
Hils has been inspired by my allotment clearing/digging and got half a plot up at Walton.Hers does not need the clearing that mine did.
April the third, and the kitchen garden is growing nicely.

Soil And Seeds

The allotment yesterday after I had finished for the day. It was Sunny between showers of rain, and strong winds.
I turned four beds over and wrecked my hands. Patience is hard to come by when you have many plants growing or seed potatoes chitting in the spare room. The clay soil was still boggy in places, and rainwater still pooling.I turned it over to try to dry it out a bit..
I have four night shifts coming up to let my blisters heal. I spent today planting annual seeds in the garden.
Purple Zinnias, Calendulas, Scarlet Flax in the left hand border.
The right hand border has Aquilegia Grannys Bonnett, Snapdragon seeds from Cats garden, Lavatera, Love In The Mist, Cornflowers, Chamomile, and more Zinnia.
In the windowbox I put in Virginia Stock, Scented Night Stock, and some Nicotiana..
After the April reflections I got the urge to plant seeds.There is something calming in cupping seeds and sowing them along your marked rows..
Hopefully they will start germinating under the soil as I am doing nights. The allotment needs digging over and manure adding next week, before some planting of veg seeds.
Next week will be about soil and seeds.

Spring Reflections

The Sun actually shone yesterday onto the back of my garden. I photographed the still water of the birdbath with the Frog looking serene in the soft light. The water was like a mirror reflecting all above it. Water in a garden is good for calming you, even small bowls filled with water..

Back today after my first sighting yesterday, my Juvenile Goldfinch. A pair of birds visited yesterday after the wind and rain battered me at the allotment. After four hours I had dirty hands and giant blisters on my palms from digging over four beds.

My first Daffodil, brought back from Cheltenham last July. Who cannot love the bright yellow flower nodding in the wind. Its something deep in the English psyche ever since Wordsworth tapped into it with his Daffodil poems. I have lots more planted but they are so slow in coming up, that this one is the leader by miles.

Up at the allotment this was the first Daisy i saw in flower. My sister used to mow the lawn avoiding the daisys, so the lawn was crazily cut, but with all the Daisys still intact.They are a beautiful Wildflower though heralding April, along with the Daffodils and insects..

I photographed this Lady bird on Monday at the allotment.They are always welcomed back in my garden. A sign that spring is here, aphids beware!

Yesterday I saw this bumble bee foraging in the mystery plant.The sun was glinting in his eyes as he ignored my camera lens..

My Goldfinch attracting preparation involving buying thistle seed and a special seed feeder, making a bird feeder station from bits salvaged from the cellar, and hanging sunflower seeds up with inviting perches for little gold feet. I also hung up broken branches from the Fir trees with tasty pine cones still on.
After four months of seeing them high up in the trees a pair of Goldfinches came to the garden to feed yesterday for the first time. They came back today as well.
I took lots of photos, I could not believe they were there after all my dreams of them.The garden is a neutral ground where nature and the gardener meet halfway. We put out bird feeders and the birds come eventually, then help keep the pests down.
Its bird friendly the garden and I do love the frequent visits.They even come when im messing around the garden.They think its the crazy one poking at the dirt. Crazy but harmless :)

The first Bumblebee I managed to photograph climbing around the Heather flowers. They have been today visiting the Viburnum Tinus, the Polyanthus Blueshades, and the Heathers. Its April and the Bee's have started to return to gather nectar.

The last photo. So much to show, and so many photos. April has been good so far with wildflowers, Bee's, A Ladybird, and the Goldfinches.Work progresses on the Allotment, and in the Garden.

Dente De Lion

Growing yesterday before I accidently trod on it the first Dandelion of the year.Soon all the grass around Wakefield will be ablaze with the Sunrise yellow of this wildflower/weed.It has sultry good looks and if you admire it at close range it is suprisingly complex.What lets it down is its leaves and taproots.
I have two demijohns of Dandelion wine in the cellar from 2006 and 2007.Will 2008 be a good Dandelion wine year?
The title is the French version of its name, the Lions teeth.Its yellow flower head looks like a lions mane to me.
I'm off to do some more allotment preperation.Its sunny but windy.I will top up my Vitamin D levels today :)