in the garden

I took these photos last Saturday, after we arrived back from a week away, and in pretty much the last bit of sunshine before a week of rain when I have hardly been out in the garden at all !

Flowers are blooming. The tulips out the front are doing great this year. There seem to be about three times as many as last year and I didn't do anything with them at all. Forget-me-nots are looking pretty too.

 All my plants survived the week. I had them inside by our patio doors in washing up bowls about half full of water. I think they looked healthier when I got back than when I left. I have far too many tomato and cabbage plants for my small garden - time to start giving them away.

I put an ad on freegle for large pots and hanging baskets and got loads of offers, including this enormous pot which used to have a tree in it, and which will be used for potatoes just as soon as I get hold of some more soil from somewhere.

 The mint and oregano are doing well. The oregano just grows happily at the edge of the lawn.

Poking through the ground we have Jerusalem artichoke and a broad bean. I have some other broad beans in pots waiting to be planted out.

 And I rediscovered some rhubarb. I knew I had planted three crowns last year, but had only found one and couldn't remember where the others were. I think one of them may have been lost for good when I dumped a load of compost on part of the border. Or maybe it'll come through and surprise me next year,

And just as soon as this rain stops I have plans for transplanting cabbages, tomatoes in hanging baskets, more lettuce and carrots and getting the potatoes started......Monday might just be sunny according to the weather forecast - fingers crossed !

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

Knitting is going very slowly but I have been enjoying knitting a doll's top, making it up as I go along. 

I found two really good books in the library. The first is World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown. It has vege recipes from eleven different areas of the world. The ones I've made so far have all used easily sourced ingredients and been simple to cook. We've had pastel de choclo, maple-roasted mushroom burgers, spatzle and masala dosa and there are loads more I want to try

The other book is French children don't throw food by Pamela Druckerman. I heard a discussion about this on the radio and thought it would be some lightweight reading about why French kids are better (or not) than British ones, but it's actually a really thought provoking and interesting read. The author is from the US (New York I think) but is living and bringing up 3 small kids in Paris. She observes the differences in behaviour of French (well at least middle class Parisian) children compared with those in New York and sets out to investigate what aspects of parenting bring these about. It really made me think about how some of our parenting rules are so ingrained that we don't even realise we have them. And also that maybe what really matters (at least up to a point) is not whether we have lots of or few household rules but whether we educate our children gently and respectfully about what they are

yarn along

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

Knitting has been taking a back seat recently. I am still working on the gloves which require double pointed needles, but it's knitting which requires concentration and not being interrupted by small people and so isn't getting anywhere fast. I need to start an easy knit I can take around with me, but haven't been inspired by anything yet.

I was knitting a jumper for one of the dolls at the weekend, whilst dreaming of all the things I will grow when I have a bigger garden.

in the garden

Things are growing.

These are cabbage seedlings which have been in our mini-greenhouse.

All available inside windowsills have been put to work. Here we have tomato and bean seedlings. I've moved the beans to the greenhouse as they were getting too tall, but there isn't anywhere inside with more light. Looking at the sunny weather forecast for the next week, they should be ok I hope.

Cornflowers and lettuce have also started to emerge, and I also have a couple more trays of tomato seedlings. I am wondering where I am going to put all these tomatoes when I pot them into bigger pots. Some will just have to go and take their chances in the greenhouse. No sign of the peas or courgettes yet.

I found one of the rhubarb crowns hiding under some dead leaves, and I've covered it with this black pot in the hope of forcing some rhubarb in the next few weeks. I did have two other crowns somewhere but they havent' surfaced yet.

I have planted radishes and lettuce in the black pots, and carrots and spinach beet in the small sections of bed.

We have some lovely primroses brightening up the shady parts of the garden.

I have plans for a few sack gardens, hanging baskets for tomatoes and planters that I can attach over the wall...........

in the garden

Our garden is really rather small (though the rental agency assures us it is medium). Also most of it is lawn and as we are renting we can't dig any of it up. And the border along one side is in the shade and has lots of prickly bushes planted in it. So I have grand garden dreams that have to be pared down to fit to the real garden size. However, as there is nothing I can change about this,  I like to approach it as a challenge to fit as many edible plants in as possible.

This is the sunny border. There are various shrubs in it that I can't dig up so last year I planted stuff in pots. This year I've been adding compost around the shrubs (the garden soil is pretty bad) and am going to plant directly in to that.

These are my two teeny weeny beds. Hannah has planted a pea next to one of the sticks ! I have planted spring onions at the end of the green bed.

Here's a small amount of garlic. Not sure why we didn't plant more, I think perhaps we only had a few cloves left and just stuck them in to see if anything would happen. I've planted some more spring onions in here.

Planted so far:
Feb 29 tomatoes inside on windowsills and beans in the shed with fleece on top.
March 3 spring onions

the makings

It's a long time ago already, but I'm finally getting round to posting the things I made for Christmas gifts.

First some teacup candles for the kindergarten teachers. (I followed the instructions here)

Some quick handwarmers. No finished photo for these. I mistakenly put the edging on the wrong edge, but then decided they fit better that way anyway.

Several jars of handcream. I love making this because it's really easy and quick, and the finished product is very nice.

A baby surprise jacket (I actually started knitting this a few years ago but the baby grew too big before it was finished. Luckily another one came along!)

A knitted crown. I like how it looked after I stitched the letters on.

And a colourful scarf (it's the child's rainbow scarf in 'Last minute knitted gifts' by Joelle Hoverson). I enjoyed making this one, I love knitting in Noro and watching the colours change is quite addictive).

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

I am making these mittens. They are for a Christmas present ...... oops. I thought if I could finish them by the end of January that wouldn't be too bad, but progress is slow - look at all those needles ! Since this photo was taken I've finished the first mitten. I'm not very keen on the flip top as it has a gap around the side. I might have to redo the top slightly differently.

The book is my light bedtime reading. It's 'Look Great Naturally' by Janey Lee Grace. It has a lot of natural health and lifestyle tips, some of which are quite interesting. It is quite lightweight though.