Moments Like This..

The Cactus we bought from the Spring Flower show has begun to open one of its magical red flowers. I never believed how beautiful desert flowers could be. They are so magical and mystical unfurling in such inhospitable places. I have never been able to induce a Cactus to flower so I will enjoy this one. That was one special moment today seeing the buds opening.

Mission impossible music..The Squirrel was back today in the garden. He got very confused about where the feeders had gone (we keep moving them to stop the birds food rotting or sprouting in one area of the garden.)
He ran from the back fence, through the honeysuckle, onto the greenhouse. Up onto the garage roof( photographed), then along to the Wisteria by the gate. He jumped onto the ground, ran into the patio windows then leapt up onto the right hand fence..

He started to eat my Sunflower seed heads from last years two giant Sunflowers. They were left hanging over the winter for the garden birds to feed on. He ate from the smaller withered Sunflower seedhead which is nearer to the fence level. I loved seeing him acting Squirrel like in our garden.It was another magic moment..
After the Cactus Flower and the acrobatic squirrel we went into town to buy things for the new house. The estate agents rang and we finally got the keys to the new house ! A great ending to a memorable day.
The new garden awaits...

April Impressions

These Goldfinches are regular feeders at the nyjer seed. I hope that at the new house that I can attract these beautiful birds. I admire their quick flying, their beautiful song when they are serenading or calling each other, and of course their beautiful feather colours.

The Welsh poppies are blooming here again. These sumptuous flowers look like coloured silk tents billowing in the wind. The pollen and stamen are arranged around the green centre that turns into the seed pod. I'm hoping we can take some seed pods with us. There are two colours in this garden, the bright yellow, and the light orange. The orange coloured welsh poppy is rarer, maybe its a recessive gene? These self seed freely around the garden, behind benches, and in between paving slabs. Their flower buds are hairy like cavemen...

In the grass at the front of the house there was this single Myositis plant, the Forget Me Not. These are notorious self seeders too. Plant a few this year and you will be finding them for years to come.
I love the plants that have poetic names like Forget Me Not, Love In The Mist, or Love Lies Bleeding. Whats your favourite poetic plant name?

In my planter boxes from Trilby street (my old address) these Jonquill's are in flower. They are have paper-like white flowers and smell like candy sticks. A lovely childhood smell that is so sweet on the nose. They look really dainty on the end of very thin green strap leaves.
I hope that I can bring a few of all these things to our new garden (one day until we get the keys).
The days are warmer, and the daylight available for gardening is longer. The amount of flowers in bloom is increasing weekly and the birds/wildlife/insects are becoming more frantic in their activity. I am in blog heaven at this time of the year. I love photographing the smaller details in the garden. When they are looked at over time they become a photographic/prose mosaic of the constantly evolving garden.
I want it to rain to water the allotment, and to fill my water butt.I have been studying the BBC weather website.

Veg And Flowers

The day has been like a game of football.... with two halves. The first half of the day was spent at the allotment. The second half was back at the house cutting the grass for the first time this year. I picked an entire container of Dandelion flowers from the garden. They were glowing in the sunlight and dyed my hands yellow. The collected flowers will be turned into Dandelion Wine 2010. Cat says I should sell the country wines for a few pounds a bottle, a nominal charge. These Dandelions were picked before the Lawn Mower went over them.

This Viola was growing in some deep grass in the back garden. This plant had escaped from the right hand border. It was bitter sweet cutting the grass as we have to do it because we are leaving this house. I told Cat we would end up having to cut the grass in our new house once we move in. We should have the keys by Friday.

This morning up at the allotment I planted my Cabbage, Broccoli, Swede, and Garlic plants in the prepared beds. Cat helped me tie the canes together to make a cage frame, which we covered in netting. The allotment is surrounded by Trees and hedging and has a good population of birds that dine on some vegetable plants. the net should stop the Pigeons nibbling on our Brassicas. The last thing we did at the plot was sowing two rows of Italian Carrot seed from Harrogate.

At the corner of the shed I planted my Tyre container, and a green hexagonal planter from home. I planted six Pansys, two Mimulus, one dark leaved Rumex, a pink and yellow Chrysanthenum, and another plant with yellow/orange flowers. I planted twenty Tigridia bulbs too in the containers.
The weather forecast is for rain over the next few days. It started raining when we were cutting the front and back garden grass. The only positive thing is that the new house has much less grass to mow!The garden is a lot smaller but I will pack it full of interesting plants and flowers.
Only two days to go for the keys. We will be packing boxes tomorrow. I hope the rain waters the gardens and the allotment to make everything grow.

Three Firsts

The post is about three things I have seen for the first time today...
I went to the allotment today to try to get the guttering fixed to the shed with Pat's help. I found these pink Cauliflower looking flowers growing in the Rhubarb. I asked some of the old men and they said it was because it had bolted. The warm sunny days have made it try to set seed I think (bolting). I only thought things like Spinach and Salad leaves bolted in warm weather. I have never seen these on Rhubarbs.

The warm weather has made the Rhubarb leaves huge like a Gunnera. They have grown onto the path at the side making it hard to get around them without getting scratched by the huge Gooseberry bush. Clearing a path is another job for another day.

The jobs you think that will not take long end up taking hours. Pat had to fiddle about with the guttering, and add an extra layer of the roofing so the water ran down into the gutter. She stuck the tarmac roof down with bathroom sealer, then painted it with a tar mix. I poured water from a watering can onto the roof to see how the water ran. The guttering slopes towards the black bin, and the water made a loud splash as it fell into the water but. I will watch the weather now hoping for rain so I can see how much my guttering will collect.
I always under estimate how long things will take, like weeding, or digging a new bed. I was up at the plot for six and half hours.The second thing today was I heard the first Cuckoo of the year (in fact my first Cuckoo ever in real life, not on the TV).
The third thing was.. I found a deceased Shrew on my raised bed. I have never seen one in real life. They are elusive and lightning quick. He was so soft to touch, and had a little snout with whiskers. Life is too harsh sometimes. I wander if he was caught by a bird of prey and dropped by accident landing on my plot?

Talking of strange things I am making a tyre planter to sit on the corner of my shed. I found it in a rubbish heap. I have filled it today with soil ready for planting tomorrow.
Cat came to pick me up from the allotment and we drive to the garden centre at Hampsons. This crazy duck had made her nest from pot plants on top of a wheeled display trolley. She had decanted the ferns out of the pots and was arranging them in a nest shape. She watched me and cat go plant shopping.
I have a selection to plant at the allotment. I want the Cottage Garden plot to be full of colour if I'm spending a lot of time up there.
I will be back tomorrow to take the Cabbages/Broccolis/ and Swedes up, plant the tyre container, make a cage to protect the juvenile plants from the Pigeons.
I bet it takes longer than I think it will.

Cottage Garden Plot

We spent today shopping for things for the allotment. I bought a little gas cooker, a whistling kettle,some butane canisters to power the cooker, a fold up picnic table, three fold up chairs, and some tea/sugar/coffee canisters.
These are now safely stored in the locked shed. I'm working all weekend before a week off next week.
I need to level the ground under the water butt so it sits level. The plan will be for a second water butt filled by the first one. 440 litres of rainwater should be enough for the plot I hope.
We drank our first cups of coffee made with heated water from the cooker, with the birds singing. The male blackbird was checking us out again and singing away.
I want to put some bird feeders up around the shed. Hanging baskets and planters will adorn the area around the shed with colourful flowers and buzzing pollinators. I want to grow vegetables, but it will be homely with the table, chairs, and the sound of a whistling kettle when its time for a drink! It will be more like a Cottage garden plot, rather than a Kitchen garden.
I reclaimed six Garlic plants growing here in my raised bed. They will be transported next week along with the Cabbages, Swede, and Purple Broccoli plants to the plot. The only other crop I want to sow will be some Carrots. I have some Italian seeds from the Spring flower show yesterday.
Once the hard work is done we will be able to relax at the plot with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Watching the wildlife, insects, and wildflowers like the humble Dandelion (above).

Heather Honey

We have been busy bee's today driving down up to Harrogate for the Spring Flower Show. We spent about six hours there being immersed in flowers, gardening sundries, arts and crafts, and local Yorkshire produce in the warm sunshine.
The estate agents rang up when we were at the Great Yorkshire Showground, and confirmed the sale of the house to us. We will be moving on the 11th May 2010 :)
From now I have to start potting up all the plants that are blooming beautifully in the ground. The boxes will be brought back in from the garage ready for filling. The removal man has been booked already. After months of inactivity we can finally get ready to move into our new house with a new garden.
I will do a Spring Flower Show post tomorrow, I took 100 photos today including one of a BBC Look North presenter.
The Bee in the photo is almost lost in the billowing pillows of the Erica's Lilac flowers. Its an early sign of the growing season the busy buzzing of Bee's.

Blossom Blooms And Shopping

The garden has a variety of Fruit trees which are all flowering or will flower soon. The first tree grows under the large Apple Tree. It is a Japanese Quince and it has crimson red flowers which when they are pollinated turn into strange Orange fruits. I don't know if you can eat them, or if they are purely ornamental.

The second flowers in bloom are on the Plum tree. Last year the entire tree was covered in April/May by masses of pure white fragrant flowers which perfumed the air. The Tree made so many Plums that the tree was being bent sideways under the weight of the fruit. I froze about twelve pounds worth in our freezer ready to make crumbles or wine.

The Peach Tree in the corner is festooned with Pink Blossom flowers. This had no flowers last year and so never fruited. Unfortunately we will probably be moved before I can see if this tree produces fruit. We have had plenty of sunshine over the past few weeks which has made everything grow on madly. I do no know if you can grow Peach Tree's in Yorkshire with its heavy clay soil, cold winters, and wet weather. Peaches need the sunshine like me...
Around Wakefield there are masses of ornamental Blossom trees. Some are so heavy in flowers that when the wind blows it looks like white or pink snow in the air, and around the Tree. For me Cherry Blossom trees always remind me of School days (Schools always have them planted near them) and give me a happy feeling.
Cat and me had a busy day today buying things for the allotment. Four heavy stone slabs for a base, a 220 litre water butt and a stand , and some guttering to siphon rainwater from the shed roof into the but. The shed now has our heavy duty lock on it after Cat fitted it.
However we could not fix the guttering due to the strange shape of the sheds sloped roof! I need to wait until next week to continue the allotments rainwater revamp.
I also bought a new red watering can for the allotment from Hampsons, in readiness for when the shed has guttering to collect rainwater. There are four white mugs ready to be taken to the plot. There is nothing nicer than a hot cup of coffee or tea when you are having a busy day at the plot.
We are going to Harrogate for the first flower show of the year tomorrow. It has been almost seven months since the Autumn one.
The growing season is here again. I want to return from Harrogate with sundries for the allotment, a few plants, lots of photos, and inspiration for our new garden.