Green Manure

We've made good progress with the kitchen over the weekend: the cupboard doors are all primed, and we've painted the fronts of all the doors, and the drawer fronts and backs. I've cut, fitted and primed the windowsills, and cut and fitted a replacement filler board (to the left of the cooker). I've had fun trying out the new cooker, too: my initial thoughts are very positive. The lowest flame on the hobs is lower than that on the old hob, which is a great improvement, and allows better simmering. Conversely, I think the highest flame is as powerful, which is just as well. There's also a much better range of hob size: one small, two medium, one large, and then the super-burner for the wok. Which I've not tried yet, admittedly: I think it might first be used on a big stock pan, or for chutney. With the wok cradle, it's designed to go with a Typhoon 35cm wok—I may succumb to the pressure to purchase one. I also did a batch (36 rolls) of bread yesterday, to try the convection oven. Brilliant: cooked in 21 minutes from turning it on. Well; I say 'brilliant', but I've not actually tried the bread yet. Looks good, mind.

The worktops now all have three coats of oil, which I think is enough to get them started. They're looking good, and are hopefully protected. I'm being a little paranoid about them at the moment, but it can't last.

Lastly, we got out into the garden (a real shame to have spent almost the entire weekend inside, when it's been so glorious), and sowed the vegetable plot with the green manure we ordered a few weeks ago. I'd have liked to sow it a week or two ago, but there's just not been time. It's a winter mix of crimson clover, mustard, red clover, and Italian rye-grass. They each have a part to play: the crimson clover provides quick ground cover (to suppress weeds) and fixes nitrogen. The mustard (a brassica) produces lots of leaf, which adds bulk to the soil, and its roots add some soil structure. The red clover, also, produces plenty of organic matter, and has deep nitrogen fixing roots (both clovers are legumes). Lastly, the rye-grass helps the nitrogen fixed by the other three to be released more slowly after they're dug in, and its deep roots help bring nutrients up from the depths. All helpfully supplied by Sow Seeds. Hopefully they'll germinate over the coming week or so, and will protect the bare earth of the vegetable plots over the winter.

While we were down there, we also cut a half-dozen gladiolus stems, to bring the flowers inside. They seem later than I'd expect: I would have thought flowering would end in September, rather than peaking in mid October, which seems likely now. We'll see, next year, if this is normal for the location.

The cyclamen we picked up are now planted out in the front, under the acer, where I'm hoping they'll recover (they don't seem to have enjoyed their spell in the workshop, sadly), and add some winter interest to that bed.

Plumbing and Wiring

I took today off 'work', and got on with some bits of the kitchen. The sinks now drain into the drain (rather than into the cupboard), and the taps are connected to the water supply. Plumbing and wiring the water heater in was a little more involved. The heater's a 9.5kW beauty, and—therefore—requires a fairly beefy cable. This was a little tricky to manipulate into position, but is now sorted. There was also fun and games with plumbing; it's further than I thought from the taps to the water inlet, but I got there in the end. (The 'idiot proof' push-fit fittings also leaked, which was irritating: I have replaced them with compression fittings.)

Having shuffled the cooker out of the way, I also installed the extractor above it: this is a bit louder than I expected, unfortunately, although it's also rather effective. We'll see how much use it gets, given the former characteristic. The fridge is now back in place, as the electrician finished his work yesterday, and chilling.

Lastly, I started filling the gaps in the beams: two of these (they're solely decorative) had extra lengths added because the ceiling has got longer in their direction. I'll need to do a little more filling, and then they can get stained to the same dark finish as the existing lengths.

Tell a lie—lastly was actually oiling the worktop again.

Having squandered a lovely day inside, I then nipped out and cut a bucket of elderberries, which I've frozen. With a little luck, I can make some wine/chutney/jam over the weekend.

After a long day, it was a pleasure to cook on the new cooker, and even more fun to wash up: the new sinks are just the right size (as well as looking good), and it was something I've missed for the last 14 months; being able to turn the hot tap on, and get the sink filled with hot water. The heater seems to work just fine!

Kitchen Nearly Completed

After a busy week (with some ups and downs), the kitchen is nearly complete.

All the units are in, and all but a 250mm length of worktop; the electrics are having their face panels fitted tomorrow, and the plastering is all but done. Still to go: the cooker needs connecting; the last bits of plaster around the beams; fridge needs connecting; extractor hood needs fixing; the taps need water supply, and sinks need drainage. We spent quite a lot of yesterday in B&Q, getting bits and pieces to achieve all of this, and today doing some of the work.

Liz has started priming the cupboards, while I replaced a section of upstand that wasn't quite right. I've also applied the first coat of oil to the worktop, which vastly improves it. It starts looking a bit light and bland, but the first oiling adds some depth of colour, and really pulls out the grain. Obviously, it still needs several more coats, but it's looking really good.

The cut-outs from the sinks are sitting to one side: I'm going to clean them up (they have rough edges and are slightly misshapen at the moment), and then oil them, too, as chopping boards. The floor isn't going to be installed for a couple of weeks, to give the room a chance to dry out, but I'm hoping it will—otherwise—be up and running next weekend.

Potatoes Lifted!

It's been a hard weekend's work, but ultimately quite successful. We finished painting all the windows: cleaning the 'old' ones (sitting and dining room front windows) was really time-consuming, and took as long as painting, but they're done, as are the second coats on all the new windows. While we were about it, we also cleaned and repainted the door to the old coal cellar and the gate to the front garden. It's got a little too gloomy to be sure, but hopefully they'll both look nice and bright white again.

More excitingly, we also lifted all the potatoes. These were planted in May, a bit later than normal, but they've done well. We've had some Belle de Fontenay, which are very tasty. We should have lifted the rest earlier, but they were almost all ok. Similarly, the pink fir apple should have come up sooner, and we lost some of these.

The Axona (red skinned) cropped quite well, and quite shallow-ly: the purple Blue Danube were much deeper, but perhaps lower yielding. The latter seems to have sent tubers off great distances, as we were finding distinctive purple tubers quite a long way from the haulms! There were only a few more King Edwards, and I think the remainder were Marfona (but no guarantee...we were a bit lax in labelling, in haste). Taste-test still to come, but—at the moment—I think we might plant Belle de la Fontaine, pink fir apple, and King Edward next year. And a few Blue Danube for fun.

For now, I've bagged the crop up in hessian sacks, and they're in the workshop.

Work on the kitchen has gone quite well this week: final plastering should be happening tomorrow, and then the fitting starts Tuesday. It should be finished by Friday, and there'll then be a couple of weeks' hiatus (in which we'll decorate!) before the floor goes down. The wait is to give the room to dry out a bit, to minimise swelling/shrinkage of the oak floor. I'm really looking forward to seeing the floor: I laid a few packs out on the sitting room floor, and they looked really attractive.

Potting On

It was a bit wet yesterday, and I've got no further with the window painting, which will have to pause. However, work in the kitchen moved on yesterday. The two joists are now supporting the wall, which has gone down further, although there are still eight or so acros in evidence.

The kitchen units and worktop have moved into the workshop, where they fit beautifully along the walls—somehow, they're the perfect sizes. I've put melamine sheets (perfect examples of 'it'll come in useful someday') over the worktop cut-outs for sink and hobs, and I now have eight cupboards with shelves, and a lot of bench space.

I should say: I did have a lot of bench space. We then immediately started potting up the pansies (132 Cat's Whiskers, 168 Amber Kiss) and primulas (132 Candelabra), which arrived in 2–3 ml modules, and are now in a variety of small pots.

Also recently arrived were six honeyberries (edible honeysuckles, Lonicera kamschatika), and a collection of cottage perennials (four of each):

• Scabiosa 'Perfecta White'
• Hollyhock 'Chaters Mix'
• Kniphofia 'Flamenco'
• Lupin 'Dwarf Mix'
• Achillea 'Summer Pastel'
• Geum 'Lady Strathden'
• Delphinium 'Black Night'
• Lobelia 'Queen Victoria'
• Galliardia 'Arizona Sun'
• Papaver 'Garden Gnome'
• Aquilegia 'Winky'
• Aubretia 'Royal Blue'

These all, also, needed potting up, as did sixteen mixed cyclamen we picked up. On the same trip, we also bought our own pair of loppers, to help with the cotoneaster

Between this lot, I have no bench space left! I'm going to try to rig up a temporary coldframe on the back patio, with some bricks and old secondary glazing. That would give me some space for—for example—the pulsatilla seedlings that are coming on.

Oh: the 50kg of daffodils I ordered from Fentongollen arrived, as did the Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica. The former, I realise, is more like 1100 bulbs, which means for a long session of planting...

Lastly, we popped out between showers yesterday, and collected the apples from the hillside, along with as many sloes as we could find, and the ripe blackberries. The weather hasn't been good for blackberries, and there aren't as many as I'd like—but hopefully enough for some wine! The sloes were better than last year, and I'll start some sloe gin when I have time. The apples are also more plentiful than last autumn, and we'll put them onto racks tomorrow evening. The chutney-making will, of course, need to wait until the kitchen is once more useable!

Glossing

I've made the most of a couple of dry days, and started gloss painting the new window frames. Yesterday, I put the first coat on the hall, kitchen, utility, and en suite windows; today I re-coated the hall windows, and first-coated one of the master bedroom's, the dressing-room, and the three study windows. The last study window was unpleasant: the path in front of the house steps down before that window, so the feet of the ladder are half a metre lower—and then the door to the old coal-cellar is below the window, so when you're painting the window it's effectively on the second floor (third storey). I don't like ladders.

Anyway, they're done, at least: I need to put a second coat on most of them, but they'll be a bit protected, and certainly look better.

Meanwhile, work on the kitchen is progressing nicely. The table is all but gone, and there's a number of acro supports propping up the old external wall (which divided kitchen from hall), as this is gradually removed. The wall with the built-in cooker has gone, as has the fridge housing. All the kitchen units are out (currently sitting on the drive), and there's a growing pile of building stones under the kitchen window.

And a lot of dust.

Preparing the Kitchen

Building work on the kitchen starts next week, so we've spent quite a lot of the weekend getting it ready. This involved taking out eeeeverything (cupboard contents, shelf, bits'n'pieces, fridge, washing machine, microwave, curtains, extractor hood...), and removing the wall tiles. Yes, technically, this could have been done by the builder. But it goes against the grain to entirely hand over work like this, so we took the tiles down. We'll do the decorating, too, including priming and painting the cupboard doors, and oiling the worktops.

The kitchen now looks a mess (especially the walls), but hopefully will begin its transmogrification into something much more attractive. I've created Google SketchUp models of before and after (below), and—of course—taken photos too.

Century

Very nearly finished the vegetable beds, but some complexities (read: mis-located posts) delayed completion of the mini-bed. However, this, and the rectangular bed, are now complete. The latter looks a little odd, as the nursery bed is still within it (un-raised). I now only have the back of the C-bed to go, using up odd lengths as I go.

I forgot: yesterday we lifted the rest of the onion crop, and laid them out to dry—they're now inside to finish drying, then I'll string them up. Quite a nice crop, though the best yield came from the unidentified sets from Thirsk market, which may make obtaining more trickier.

On another note: this is my century post! First post was 28th October last year, so there's another couple of months until the anniversary, but I thought I'd mention the milestone.

Long Weekend

We took yesterday off, and have got a bit further with the vegetable beds. The C-shaped bed is now joined up, but the back length (the outer edge) is waiting. It'll be the last one I do, as it's a good place to use up shorter bits of plank where they won't be too visible. Getting the post into the top-right corner (which is where the bed meets the terrace) was tricky, but I've managed. The planks, there, aren't screwed into the post from the outside, but from the inside, rather than excavate working space 'outside' the bed.

The rectangular bed, the mini-bed in the centre of the Q, and the back of the C are all that's left...well, I say 'all'. All of the topsoil has now come down from where it was delivered on the drive. The beds won't be full, but we'll probably only need about 2m³. That said, I think we'll order a full (6m³) load, as the extra will come in useful over time.

We also went over to Norland, as planned, to see the scarecrows. They were, as predicted, rather good. There was an impressive Dr Who (complete with Tardis and Dalek), and a superb Scooby Gang. Along with a full size Ice Road Trucker.

Tomorrow: bit more vegetable beds? And lunch with Liz's grandparents (visiting t'in-laws).

Blackberries & Scarecrows

After mowing half the lawn (doing all of it at once seems too much like hard work, frankly), I popped out to collect some blackberries. Although those on my route to work have been ripe for a week or two, those near home are a bit further behind. I managed to collect about a pound, I reckon, and have frozen them: hopefully more will come ripe over the next week or two—although the threat of frost worries me.

Once fruited, the canes of blackberries (and hybrids: loganberries, tayberries, boysenberries...) are exhausted, and won't produce fruit again; they flower on the previous year's growth. This is all very well on domesticated plants, grown against wires, but who cares for brambles and wild fruit? Well, in an effort to increase yield, I'm thinking of cutting back some of the 'done' canes this year. It might seem mad, pruning the brambles, but there you go.

On an entirely unrelated tack: I'm hoping we might visit the Norland Scarecrow Festival this weekend. We went last year, and enjoyed it: it runs from Friday 3rd September to Tuesday 7th, in (predictably), the village of Norland. Each year has a theme (last year was Myths and Legends; this year is TV Programmes), and there are scarecrows in the gardens of houses, in fields, verges, and commons. Some are highly inventive, many are quite amusing. Worth a visit, if the weather holds, and you're in the area!

Cuttings

The weather forecasts have been reporting ground frosts 'in rural areas', which sounds suspiciously like a description of home, and—although this seems early—I don't want to lose some of my tender perennials, nor miss the opportunity for some cuttings. Hence, we've popped out and taken a few trays. Quite a lot of lavender (30-odd) soft-tip cuttings (evenly split between the three clumps we have); several from each of four fuchsias (several fuchsia's didn't survive last winter, sadly, but I've taken cuttings from most of those that did, including the rather pretty 'Annabelle' in the hanging baskets); pink/white/red pelargoniums from the front beds; and a couple from the wallflower by the front gate. We also put about 40 stems from the petunias into jars of water: if they send out adventitious roots, then they'll be potted up.

As I say, it seems too early to be worrying about frosts, but there you go. The morning temperature (according to the car at around 0630: sunrise is nominally about 0615 now) has been about 9°C, so frosts can't be far off. I'll have to think about fleecing up some plants, and this means it'll be nearly time to bring the olive tree in, and collect apples and sloes.

Plant Orders

An exciting set of plant orders has been made, ready for the autumn.

Firstly, I've ordered 50kg of mixed daffodils. We planted, at a guess, about 200 last autumn, and now want to extend the planting up the garden, and possibly add some to the verge in front of the house. These are from Fentongollan in Cornwall.

Next, I've got 400 Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica coming from Peter Nyssen. These are little hyacinth-like flowers, only 10cm tall, with a blue stripe on the petals. We put in 100 of these last year, and I rather liked them, so more are on their way.

An offer in a newspaper has led to 48 mixed cottage garden plants (scabiosa, hollyhocks, kniphofia, lupins, achillea, geum, delphinium, lobelia, galliardia, poppies, aquilegia, and aubretia); a further 40 from Van Meuwen will join them (aquilegia, hollyhocks, gypsophilia, Chinese lanterns, lupins, kniphofia, sea holly, delphinium, liatris and echinacea).

From Thompson & Morgan, we've got 10 hellebores, 168 viola 'Amber Kiss', and six honeyberries (a honeysuckle/Lonicera that is, unusually, edible), and a gardenia.

Lastly, a big order from J Parker: 10 cyclamen, 400 Siberian squills (to add to the 100 from last year), some heathers, 200 muscari, 172 candelabra primulas, 100 anemone blanda, 145 miscellaneous narcissi, 60 tulips, 3 blackcurrants and 30 raspberries (to fill the gaps left by those that didn't take last year), 12 monarda, 172 'Cat's Whiskers' pansies, and some centaurea.

Most of the bulbs are headed for the copse; the bedding will go in the front, in hanging baskets, and elsewhere; the fruit, obviously, is going into the fruit beds; the honeyberry will go up trellis at the edge of the fruit beds (demarcating the start of the kitchen garden); the 'cottage garden' plants will go where the cotoneaster currently is. That probably won't be the final spot, but it'll do as a holding ground while they grow, and we clear space.

This will almost certainly mean an epic planting session, in all weather. That will be familiar, as the bulbs last autumn were planted in wet and cold conditions, with latex lab-gloves over the garden gloves, and waterproof trousers...it was surprisingly good fun.

Raising the Veg Beds

After yesterday's rapid progress, I started building the raised beds this morning. This was the same sort of construction as for the fruit beds, but modified, as they're not designed with tall posts for netting. Instead, the posts are only as tall as the boards, and crops that need netting will have these supported on canes. We decided to do it this way, as the netting requirements will vary with the crop, which will themselves move, and to have each bed able to cope, integrally, with any crop would mean having tall posts throughout.

The vegetable beds, then, have 5cm square posts, 60cm long, at each corner, and breaking up the long runs. These are short enough to hammer into the ground (impossible for the 8-foot posts making the raspberry beds!), which considerably speeds up emplacing them. Once they're in, the 15x2cm board can be cut and screwed on (I prefer screwing them into place, rather than nailing: more secure, and easier to remove and re-jig). As before, I've gone two boards high. This makes quite a nice height for kneeling next to, and, when filled to about 60% of their depth, gives a good root run in 'improved' soil, while allowing space for mulching. The wood's all pressure-treated pine, so it should last well.

I've got about a third of the C-shaped bed done, and about half of the Q-shaped bed. That's allowed almost all of the remaining heap of top-soil to be brought down, and means I've probably got another weekend of construction to go. In all, the progress has been enormous: all of the ground cut, about a third of the beds raised, and a quarter of them filled—much more than we expected to get done!

I also broke in my new spade, a lovely ash-handled stainless steel affair. It's got a longer shaft than our other spade, which makes it better for me, and a tread edge. I have hopes of more tools from the same supplier, as the spade was excellent (and has a lifetime guarantee).

Veg Beds Cut!

A shockingly effective day spent preparing the veg beds. We had help, in the form of parents-in-law turning out. The weather started a little unprepossessing (light rain), but cleared by 11ish, and we got started. I hadn't expected to get as far, but the addition of a strong father-in-law meant that digging speed was more than doubled. The Q-shaped bed is all but cut and turned, and almost the entire C-shaped bed, too. The top-right corner of this was rather difficult: there was a cotoneaster growing well into the proposed bed, and a berberis rooted outside the bed, but hanging into it. The latter was easily resolved, but the cotoneaster was a struggle to cut back, and then up-root. Eventually I managed to dig its roots out (discovering, along the way, that it was an appropriately named Cotoneaster congesta, purchased for a miserly £2.25—probably some thirty years past), and then did a bit of excavation, as the ground sloped up quite steeply under it. The bed will be butted up against one of the large rocks that support the terracing, but I think (hope) will miss it.

The long rectangular bed was already partly dug—we'd cut a nursery bed, quickly, last autumn, knowing that it would roughly fall where the veg bed would eventually be. It's not far off, about a foot north of plan, so the plants that fell in the new path were quickly lifted and replanted, and the uncut section can be prepared tomorrow.

In laying out the beds, we also worked out that there should be a 12x16 foot space available for greenhouse/shed. I'm quite taken by this shed/greenhouse combination. It would allow the two to exist side-by-side, and catch the sun best with the greenhouse part.

Tomorrow, I'll start building the beds, while everyone else finishes cutting the turf, digging it over, and barrowing down top-soil.

Marking the Veg Beds

Despite some intermittent rain, we've strimmed the 'lawn' that is currently the vegetable beds (lawn is generous, as it's not been cut in around 16 months, and was rather rough), and marked out where the beds will lie. We had previously marked the beds, but—unsurprisingly—over seven months then some of the pegs have vanished, and a lot of the strings had been chewed through or broken.

Anyway, the beds (a large rectangular one on the south edge, continuing a raspberry bed; a C-shaped one abutting it; and a Q-shaped one inside them) are now marked with pegs and string. Tomorrow we'll start cutting them, ready to raise and fill them.

In other news, my Sweet William seeds have started to germinate.

Fruit Beds Finished

At last, the fruit beds are finished. We put the wire and net up on the strawberry beds, which completed the netting. It was by far the easiest, as it only needed one net, and it's only a couple of feet off the ground (by contrast, the rasperry beds' net is 7–8 feet up, and the blueberry/currant bed required three nets).

The strawberries have been extremely busy, sending out runners. We cut off a lot from the edges, to get the netting in place, but there are many more running within the bed. The prunings have been potted up, and we now have about 40 extra plants of each variety (Honeoye, Cambridge, Florence). Where they're going to go, I know not. Liz keeps suggesting a second strawberry bed...

We also sowed some more seeds: lupins, astrantia, and species tulips, all collected last Wednesday. I don't know how reliable they'll be (especially the tulips), but I thought it would be worth a go.

Stitching

Today we finished stitching together the netting for the first raspberry bed, and put together the netting for the second bed. The raspberry beds are now completed, some months after they should have been...

They look enormously better, with complete nets, and this should end the problem of raspberry canes poking through the top of the nets...for now.

We were in Derbyshire yesterday, in the picturesque village of Endon (no Ewoks in sight, sadly), for Ann and Alan's wedding. Lovely event: lots of decorations made over the last couple of years for the day, and good to meet some of their family we've not encountered before. The weather was, sadly, a bit lousy: they just about got the group photos done before it started raining, and we managed—after dinner—to snatch a game of croquet.

Deliveries

A day working at home, and receiving deliveries. Most of them were related to the kitchen: the units were all delivered, and then the worktops; the in-line water heater, and the fridge (a Baumatic integrated) also arrived. (There were also some bike bits for Philip's new bike, which I'm ordering as apparently I know what I'm doing.)

I'm really hoping the water heater will make life better: because hot water is only available after oil-heating a whole tank, I boil a kettle to wash up. Not ideal, as I can never be bothered to wait for two kettles, which is what you need. The on-demand water heater (basically, like a self-heating shower, attached to the tap) should improve this situation.

The kitchen units look really gorgeous. They're made by PWS, and bought from DIY Kitchens. They're really good quality, and an extremely reasonable price. Hopefully they'll go in smoothly, and look as good in place...

Over my lunch, I also straightened up the workshop, which looks miraculously improved, and collected some lupin, tulip, and astrantia seed, which I hope to sow this weekend.

Clearing the Cotoneaster

When the garden was claimed from the hillside (when the cottages were converted, about thirty years ago), a mainstay of the planting was a number of cotoneaster. I have no idea which variety, but the leaves are a mid-gloss green, fairly small, and the berries are red and about 5mm diameter. It is entirely undistinguished. I have nothing, in principle, against cotoneaster: the berries are very good for birds, and the flowers produce nectar that's invaluable for bees during the June Gap.

However, it's really not that interesting, and there is far, far too much of it. As in, around 50m². Removing most/all of it has long been the intention, and we've finally got started. We cleared a big gorse last September, with my mum's help, and—once again—she helped with the cotoneaster. The target was the patch at the end of the upper long bed, on the eastern end. We've certainly not eliminated it, but we've cleared probably 4–5m², which is a nice start, and it's uncovered a rhododendron and conifer that were buried. The area will need clearing of roots, and we'll probably replant it with herbaceous perennials. They won't necessarily remain there, but it'll be something to fill the ground with, and they can get growing (a tactic of frugality: buy 'em small and cheap, and grow them on, as we have plenty of space).

It's nearly time for the autumn orders to go off. I'm hoping to get in a load of spring bulbs (daffodils, of course, and more puschkinia and squills), some perennials, and replacement raspberries and blackcurrants. If the weather's acceptable, we also hope to get started on the raised vegetable beds. They've been on hold for some time, but I want to get them finished before winter. Of course, we still need to finish the raspberry beds' netting!

The local blackberries are nearly coming into ripeness, which means jam & winemaking can't be far off.

Tidying

We travelled down to Ludlow on Friday afternoon, and then on to a wedding in Dorset (near Shaftesbury) on Saturday. We came back to Ludlow late Saturday night, and stayed with Liz's grandmother until lunchtime today.

The wedding—of two of our college friends—was a wonderful event. We met up with lots of friends (some of whom we've not seen for a year), and everything went really well. There was a monumental buffet which deeply satisfied my inner gourmand (including a really excellent Stilton), and an entertaining ceilidh in the evening. The bride looked lovely, the groom looked delighted, and the guests looked happy: what more could you want?

Having dragged ourselves back to Ludlow, we spent the Sunday and Monday pottering, and did a bit of tidying in the garden. Grandma built a small pond/water-feature with my sister-in-law at her last visit, which is a pleasing addition to the garden. We helped straighten the lining edges, and I re-positioned the pump (along with cleaning and fiddling with it), and it's now looking much neater, and the fountain is more vertical.

She also had a half-metre diameter clump of irises that were getting rather congested, which we dug up and split. We now have about two-fifths, Liz's mum has the same, and we replanted the last fifth in a better spot. I find it quite satisfying, splitting things like irises. They come apart quite well, with a sharp spade cutting them, and it doesn't seem too brutal.

We also took out a rose (brought back for us) which was badly located, and cut back a lot of ivy (growing rampant over a fence) and a bit of eucalyptus. Young eucalyptus is really striking, but the adult leaves are no great thing.

Otherwise, we also put up a mirror, and put new batteries in her smoke alarms. Bizarrely, doing so seemed to set the carbon monoxide detector off, which started claiming that it needed attention. As it's a mains-wired unit, supplied by Fire & Rescue, all I could do was disconnect it. Oddly, it's on the lighting circuit, not the smoke detectors' circuit, but there you go.

Back home, now, and back at work tomorrow!

Anniversary

Today's the first anniversary of moving into the cottage. It's been a fun year; stressful to start with (I hate moving house, and being unemployed!), but it's picked up considerably. We're both (all, if you count the cats) really pleased with the house, and garden, and location. Progress on the house and garden has been a bit slow, necessitated by jobs, and weather: but I'm hoping to get on a bit over the next year.

Building the fruit beds, and really improving the front garden have been the highlights in the garden: inside, we've changed the utility room (and made it much more useful), and installed a lot of insulation, and the new windows. The next big change will be the kitchen, and—hopefully—the vegetable plot.

As a result of reaching this milestone, I don't think I can keep the profile entry to the right the same. I'll be updating it in a minute, but here, for posterity, is the current entry:

New resident of Yorkshire (just on the 'right' side of the Pennines), having moved up here in August.

I started this blog mainly as a gardening log, as it seemed a more interesting way to do it than in a notebook, as I can add links to things, photos, and tag posts. It's already branched out into cooking exploits, too, but it's unclear yet whether anyone else will ever read it.

Wine, seedlings, and friends

We had Hazel and Alex with us for the weekend, which was much enjoyed: we've not seen them since their wedding, so it was good to catch up, and see the photos and footage from the day. In addition to much board gaming and chat, we also tried a bottle of newly bottled blackberry wine. It was the 'over-spill' from the main demi-john (the recipe, which I'd not tried before, made a bit more than would fit in one), and it was—in my opinion—rather good. Quite sweet, and fairly strong, and wonderfully fruity. I think the blackberry and elderberry (made at around the same time) may be slightly too tannin-y, but we'll see.

In other pleasing news, some 18 of my pulsatilla seeds have germinated. They've taken about six weeks, but that's within the normal range, and I'm pleased that two-thirds have come up. Hopefully a few more will emerge over the next week or so.

The blackberries on my route to work are slowly ripening, but there's not much sign nearer home. I think they'll be another month, really. Unfortunately, I've not been able to collect more bilberries, but I'm holding out hope that I will, still. The blueberries (the older two plants) are producing lots of fruit, which is tasting good: sadly, I think we'll have no more strawberries. We lost a lot to rot, during the damp weather we've had.

We have a busy run of weekends coming up. Next Saturday, a couple we know from university are getting married in Dorset, so we're travelling down to Ludlow on Friday, staying with Liz's grandmother, going the wedding on Saturday, and then staying in Ludlow 'til Monday. It'll be a good occasion, and a nice short break. The weekend after, my parents are visiting. Then, the following Friday (20th), we have another wedding: this time in Derbyshire.

I'm hoping, in the next week, to order some new raspberries, and some other bulbs and autumn goodies. Next month, probably, we'll also pick up another big load of daffodils, to extend the patch of them. I'd like more Scilla and Puschkinia, too.

Blue Berries

We went along the lane tonight picking bilberries. I find bilberries (for no good reason) rather interesting. They're from the same family (Vaccinium) as blueberries (V. species in the Cyanococcus ('round and blue') section and cranberries (V. Oxycoccos ('acidic and round') species)), and the look a lot like blueberries. They're smaller (4–7mm diameter, against 6–12mm), though, with bright red flesh (a blueberry's is pale green), and the flavour is deeper. The plants are low-growing (30–60cm tall, instead of the 1–2m a blueberry can grow to), but broadly similar in foliage.

They are, sadly, deeply tedious to collect. Blueberries, which form in clusters, are a lot easier, but bilberries form singly or in pairs, are smaller, and often hidden in the foliage. Also, as they're so much smaller, you need more! I'm given to understand that they make a fine country wine, which I'll try if I can collect enough, or might make a smaller quantity into a blended-fruit wine.

Continuing the comparison with blueberries: bilberries also keep much less well. Blueberries are easy to store for several weeks, and don't split or bruise too easily. Bilberries split readily on picking, and don't lend themselves to storage and transport. Needless to say, transporting them a few dozen meters to the house, and storing them for the few hours to days it takes to eat them is not a problem... Because they're difficult to cultivate (and collect), they are, seemingly, quite a pricey commodity (€25 per pound?), if you can even find them. Given the number of plants growing near us, it will be no surprise to reveal that they like (very) acid and nutrient-poor soil.

Here's hoping that I can collect enough to vinify!

...still more coming up!

There are now eleven pulsatilla showing, which is much improved (37%). Now I just need to keep them alive...

Germination

The Pulsatilla vulgaris seeds I sowed 31 days ago have finally started to show: three of the thirty have germinated. I'm hoping that more of them will gradually emerge, and I'll tend them on a bit before potting them up in a while.

No sign of the contemporaneously sown Erythronium 'Pagoda', though.

Potatoes and Fruit

When we completed the fruit beds at the start of May, we planted out a number of potatoes and onions in the spaces between the (rather small) fruit bushes. It's still a little soon for the potatoes, as they've not gone over, but they're rather large, and are threatening to swamp the blueberries, currants, and gooseberries, so we've harvested about eight plants.

Most successful has been the Belle de Fontenay, which is an early, and has thus cropped quite well. We also had to bring up some Pink Fir Apples: as it's a late maincrop, it was a little disappointing—but by September should be much better. The same is true of the King Edwards, which are pretty, but small.

The Belle de la Fontaine were extremely tasty, however, boiled and buttered.

We also collected the red, white and blackcurrants: two of the three blackcurrants were casualties, so we're rather short of those (I think we had four currants). We also had a good bowlful of gooseberries (Invicta (green), and Hinnonmaki Red & Yellow), which have been frozen for now.

Sadly, that's almost it for soft fruit this year: there might be a few raspberries, but not many, and I hope for another bowl or two of strawberries. That said, there'll be blackberries and elderberries from foraging!

A Bubbling Demi-John

I've strained the elderflower wine into its demi-john: it's obviously still rather murky, but smells yeasty and fruity, and is bubbling away quite quickly. It didn't seem to have generated much foam, but I haven't filled the demi-john too much, in case: the excess is alongside in an air-locked bottle, ready to top-up in a week or so.

Fermenting

The elderflower wine has started its transmogrification from soup of flowers and lemon pulp into (hopefully) glorious nectar. Or some-such: at least, the yeast has kicked in, and it's bubbling away. It'll get strained into a demi-john in a few days, and left to its own devices.

Elderflower Wine

As intended, I've started a batch of elderflower wine. It's a little time-consuming, trimming the flowers from the stems, but hopefully worth it. I used Gervin strain 5 (GV5, white label) yeast, which is the white wine, low-temperature strain. The low-temperature (down to 8-10ºC) ability is actually one that would be useful in a red-wine yeast, as the blackberry/elderberry wine made in the autumn is slow over the cool winter months. As it's staying 18-24ºC at the moment, I hope this wine will move quickly!

Anyway, I've made enough (hopefully) to fill a demi-john, which meant scaling the recipe slightly (to 4l of water). Notes on progress will follow...

Elderflower Cordial part 2

The elderflower cordial we started at the weekend is ready. The recipe makes about 5 pints (we doubled it), and it's been decanted into pint milk bottles and frozen. We tried it a couple of days ago, and it didn't seem strongly flavoured enough, hence leaving it a couple of days longer: much better now.

No sign yet...

...of my pulsatilla seeds germinating. Nonetheless, I'm not giving up yet: apparently they might take a couple of weeks to come up, and I am at least trying at the right time. I wasn't sure (no detail in any of my books), but a bit of rooting on t'internet suggests fresh seed is the way to go. I'm still hopeful!

Similarly, the Erythronium 'Pagoda' seeds haven't germinated...apparently, though, they could take several months...patience, patience.

Elderflower Cordial

After a run of sunny days last week, it was time to make elderflower cordial. Harvesting the flower heads in the morning works best, when the scent is strongest and sweetest: and the cordial starts to smell wonderful almost as soon as it's mixed. On Monday, we'll bottle it up and freeze it: and then next weekend (hopefully), I'll start some elderflower wine.

I've also added a few more planks to the compost bay, which was starting to over-fill with lawn clippings and kitchen waste. Its capacity is probably about 60% greater now, so it should keep going for a bit. As before, I used pallet planks, which seem ideal.

Strawberries

After a glorious week of sunny weather, we had a handful of alpine strawberries, and six 'real' strawberries ready for picking today.

Oh, so good. Fresh from the plant, and perfectly ripe, they've restored my faith in strawberries. Because they're new plants, they're a behind established ones, and these are the first ones from our plants. So far, we've had bought strawberries and---as normal, I'm afraid---I've been slightly underwhelmed. These, however, were wonderful. They looked perfect (deep red, firm, and big), and tasted just as good.

Punting

We've been visiting friends in Cambridge this weekend: Saturday on the river (punting to Grantchester for a picnic), and meeting people today. The weather's swelteringly hot, and it's just got to the end of term (graduation Thursday to Saturday, in order of college foundation dates), so the city was packed. Fortunately, the river wasn't too busy, and---although busier than normal---peaceful above the rollers (up which one drags the punt, to get to the upper river).

Lovely to see 'everyone', and well worth a hot and sticky journey home. We've got two weddings to attend in August, and we saw the bride for one, and the couple of the other: plans appear to be going well, and they should both be memorable occasions. One's in Dorset, which we'll break up the travel for in Ludlow; the other's in Derby, which I intend doing in a day.

Of course, having been away for the weekend, I'll now need to find time during the week to mow the lawn...

Solstice!

It's the solstice today (at 1128 UTC): I always like noticing such astronomical events. This one's bitter-sweet for me: although it marks the formal start of 'summer' (although I think it's been summer for a couple of weeks), it's also slightly depressing to know that the days will now get shorter for six months.

On the topic, I'd really like to find a way to build an analemmatic sundial into the garden, possibly one where the observer themselves is the gnomen. Don't know where, yet!

Next stop: the cross-quarter, Lammas/Lughnasadh on 1st August.

Straw-berried

After getting a big bale of straw (from a equestrian supplier, where it was £3, instead of a pet-shop, where it would have been £5 for something a tenth of the size...) included in a neighbour's order, we've now put straw down around the strawberries. It's rather later than 'normal', but there you go. At least it's before the strawberries have started ripening, and it'll help keep them happy and clean.

We've done a fair bit of tidying up, too, and sorted out a number of pots that needed attention. I've also collected seed from a Pulsatilla vulgaris, and sown it: they're really attractive seed-heads, and I'm fond of the pulsatilla foliage and flowers, so a few more plants would be nice. At the same time, I've sown Erythronium 'Pagoda'. The parent, unfortunately, dried out before it was properly established, but I'm hoping to do better next time.

New Cooker

The new range cooker arrived today! It is a thing of beauty, even though it's standing in the dining room. When the kitchen's rebuilt/reinstalled in late July, it'll get moved, obviously, but is safely out of harm's way in the mean time. We got (predictably) a rather good price, and I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

The weather's been rather warm, so we've been putting the new irrigation system to use. Seems to be doing the trick...

Brief Note

A quiet weekend, visiting my parents. Weather's been nice, and it was good to see them both. We've had some complications with the windows, which will hopefully get sorted, but there's not a lot to report, otherwise.

Weekend to Plan

I'm as astounded as anyone: the weekend went, pretty much, to plan. Yesterday we installed the irrigation system. It's about 30 360º sprinklers, and four 90º sprinklers (in the strawberry bed). Not quite perfect, as a few strawberries are being missed, and some of the potatoes/onions aren't being reached, but the permanent fruit bushes are all covered. This week is now forecast to be rather wet, so it won't actually be put properly to the test for a while, but it's good that it's in. I also laid a hose down the side of the garden (hidden behind the shrubs/trees/undergrowth at the edge) from which to water by hand, or attach the irrigation. When I have time, and possibly in stages, I'll install the new outside tap and move the existing tap.

We've also prepared for the double glazing installation, which starts tomorrow. All the windowsills have been cleared, and furniture moved from in front of the windows (including some pots from outside the windows). I'm really hoping it'll go smoothly, but we're not going to be present while they get on, so I'm a bit nervous...

(Oh, and to boot: I mowed the lawn on Thursday!)

Fluffy Glass Blanket

It's been a little while, but I've finished putting new/additional loft insulation in the lofts. I started in February, but needed more insulation than would fit in the car (or be stored), so stopped after doing most of the loft above the master bedroom. I've now done the loft above the guest bedrooms, and the smaller loft above the bathrooms, which has taken about nine rolls. I've still got several rolls left, as the offer (a British Gas subsidised offer of £5 per roll (about 5m²)) was too good to miss. The spares will wind up either in the porch/utility, above the downstairs loo/cloakroom/porch, or as increased depth in the main lofts.

We've also ordered a new cooker. Building work to open the kitchen out into the hall is planned for the end of July, and we'll be putting in a new kitchen shortly after. The cooker's going to be sitting waiting for a little while, therefore, but it was an ex-display with 30% off. We'd admired it once or twice while browsing, so we leapt at the opportunity of getting it cheaply! Well, relatively cheaply.

It's been a bit damp and grey, but the weather's meant to improve over the week, so I'll probably be out mowing the lawn on Wednesday or Thursday. Next weekend, we'll need to get everything in order for the double-glazing installation on the 7th (clearing the windowsills, for one thing), and I hope to install one or both of the irrigation system and the tap/hose for the vegetable garden.

Will either happen? I just don't know.

Racking Wine

We made two batches of wine last autumn: a blackberry (2nd Sept '10) and a blackberry and elderberry (20th Sept '10). They've been quietly sitting in the airing cupboard, and were mentioned last November. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that they were clearing well, and would need racking, and here we are.

I was excited to discover that our new supermarket ('new' being a relative term, as it's on the route to Liz's new workplace -- I think it's been there some time) has a selection of wine/beer/cider making equipment, so I replaced the siphoning tube/tap/filter a couple of weeks back. I've now racked the two wines into clean demi-johns...and, of course, reserved a bit to try. The blackberry's still, possibly, a little sweet, and the black & elderberry hasn't fully cleared, so they're probably not quite done, but both are tasting very good. The demi-johns are back in the airing cupboard: when I feel like it, I might measure the specific gravity of them, to see if they warrant further fermenting; that might require a restart yeast, though.

Over the long weekend, in addition to a session of bicycle maintenance that needs doing but which fails to fill me with joy, I'm hoping to install the irrigation system. We'll see if that happens...

Wall Plants

We've planted some new plants in the stone wall at the front of the house:

• Calamintha nepeta (lesser calamint): loads of small pink flowers through the summer.
• Artemesia 'Powys Castle': finely divided silver foliage.
• Sedum 'Autumn Joy': typical sedum leaves, slightly glaucous, with pink flowers in mid summer/mid autumn, which should turn salmon-pink then copper-red.
• Lamium roseum: low-growing, green leaves with silver stripe, and pink flowers in summer.

We also moved a white phlox, that was in a pot, into the wall. The wall's a nice feature, but relied too much on what I think is a spurge, and had quite a few primulas too. (There's also a very pretty violet.) The new plants should extend the flowering season, and add some needed height.

Himalayan Garden

We spent the morning at the Himalayan Garden in Grewelthorpe, near Ripon. It's only open for a short period (late April-mid June), and has a fairly specialized theme of planting. It's got the soil (ericaceous) and aspect (protected and northerly) to concentrate on azaleas, camellias, bamboo, magnolias, and rhododendrons. And wonderful they are, too. Some really striking rhododendrons, and magnificent ground covering azaleas. We also found a couple of bamboos we liked (Chusquea culeou and Arundinaria nitida). I have some photos, which I might put up once I've downloaded the memory card...

Bakingly hot, too, so it was fortunate that the caravan had many windows to create a breeze! Everything seemed in order, with just a few repairs (second-hand caravan) needed, and a short list of supplies that need adding.

My irrigation components arrived on Friday, incidentally: I'm really impressed that they got to me so quickly, having ordered them on Thursday! I hope to get it installed over the Bank Holiday weekend, with a little luck.

Hanging Baskets

We've just planted up the four hanging baskets for the front of the house. We previously had them as 'all-season' baskets, with a grass, heather, ivy, and cyclamen, and added a bit of colour from annuals. However, they needed an over-haul, as the grass had got a little carried away, some of the heathers and ivy weren't looking too great, and the cyclamen were no more.

Thus: we picked up some fuchsia (Annabelle and Cascade) and some bedding (petunias, impatiens, and lobelia). They're now planted up and adorning the front of the house. I'd like to put up some window boxes, when I find some that look nice.

We're now off on a 24-hour jaunt in the in-laws' new caravan. They're new to the touring world, and are off for a week in Scotland next weekend, but wanted a short and close-to-home try-out, to see what they've forgotten to pack, but without it being a problem. We've booked a plot at a site near Ripon, and hope to spend the afternoon/evening getting to grips with the caravan, before going to a Himalayan garden in the area on Sunday. Looks like we'll have glorious weather, at least!

Chocolate and Fudge (take 2)

I've made another batch of fudge (a birthday present), and what promises to be a very tasty 'Egyptian chocolate cake' (a birthday cake). I'll let you know whether it lives up to its promise.

It's been very warm and bright, so I've been round with the hose, too. The raspberries are (finally) showing some sign of life: several of them appear to have new canes coming up alongside last year's bare-rooted cane. One of the gooseberries is looking unhappy (that is, no leaves), and one's a bit lack-lustre, but the others all seem to be doing well. Quite a few strawberries now have flowers, and I think the total body-count is only seven, which means some 68 or so survived the delivery and very cold winter.

I'm enjoying the evolution of the acer in the front: it's gone from red, through orange, and is now a greeny-yellow, as the leaves near their summer hue. The blackthorn (sloe) blossoms on the hillside have gone over, but they've been replaced by apple flowers. Our apple is also flowering: striking pink, which are fading to white. Oh; I've found a useful identification tool which may help me work out what the putative cherry near the daffodils is.

Having ruminated on it for a bit, I've ordered the necessary parts to irrigate the fruit & veg beds. I did go with Hozelock components, and found a good price for them. Don't know when I'll get round to installing it, yet, mind!

Pruning the Dandelion Bed

Or, put another way, I've been mowing the lawn. Which I didn't really get a lot out of: I get more pleasure, frankly, out of the lawn awash with yellow. Admittedly, close-up, it looks a lot neater, but still. As I've said, over time the amount of lawn will decrease, but at the moment, cutting it is a two-hour job I don't enjoy. If I could bring myself to do it more often, it'd probably be quicker, but--ultimately--there's still the same area of grass to push the mower over, so it'd still take a while.

I'm thinking about constructing an irrigation/automatic watering system for the kitchen garden. As it warms up, it's going to need watering rather frequently, so something automated would be nice. I've used the Hozelock system before, so might use that. We shall see...

Knitting Nets

We've spent quite a long time today and yesterday, trying to stitch together the nets over the fruit cages. As they're quite large, the 6m x 4m nets aren't individually big enough, so we're having to join them. We tried using soft steel split rings (think crude keyrings), but they haven't worked very well, and there are significant gapes between rings.

Instead, we're now weaving jute between the nets, going in and out every hole, which leads to a tight join, if a visible one. However, jute's inoffensive, and actually blends in with the wooden posts, so they're looking fine. We've almost finished the bigger beds: the raspberry beds are going to be harder, as they're so much taller, and the nets will have to come off to be stitched. Never mind.

While we've been working on them, bees have been coming and going unhindered, which is reassuring. Speaking of bees: there are what look like two fruit trees that we were unaware of last autumn. One's near the daffodils on the south edge (reasonably large), and the other's in the corner copse. My identification skills aren't fabulous, but I think they may be cherries or plums...and with a little luck they might bear fruit.

If the weather holds, I'll mow the lawns tomorrow (oh, the joy), as they're looking badly in need of it. If I'm quick, I'll catch the dandelions before the go to seed. No; I'm not a very good groundsman, since you ask.

Repotting

We've re-potted the Christmas Tree, into a big half-barrel: it's not been looking happy, and I'm not sure if it's the soil exhausting, or a lack of water. Anyway; we donated some of our huge pile of topsoil, and with any luck it'll pick up.

To do so, we had to pot the previous occupants of the barrel: two conifers (doing well), a buddleia (leggy), and two skimmia (not so happy). There were, once, three heathers, but they gave up the ghost, it appears. No plan, yet, for where these pots will end up...

We also filled the gaps (given the small stature of the bushes at the moment) in the fruit beds with the gladioli. They'll probably be cut for bringing inside, rather than left there, which is always good.

Netting the Cages

We've spent most of the weekend putting netting up over the fruit cages. The posts supporting the raised beds are 5-6' taller than the sides, and are the supports too for the cages. I've run 1mm galvanized steel wire from their tops, and we're hanging 2cm netting to protect against birds (and rabbits, deer, and playful cats). It's quite slow work--we're about half done--but seems to work, and allows bees in and out uninterrupted.

We also popped out to the garden centre, and picked up some bedding (Busy Lizzies/impatiens), and some 'cottage garden' perennials. The latter are mostly to go in the planted wall at the front of the house: the bedding is to scatter in the front, and revitalize the hanging baskets (four of them on the front of the house).

The daffodils are still doing tolerably: they're pretty from a distance, but getting a bit dog-eared up close. The juneberry has almost finished flowering, although the foliage is still a pretty shade. The front's acer is leafing up rapidly--it's gone from quite red, to yellow-gold, and is looking lovely.

The apple, plum, and cherry are all in bloom, and I'm hoping that the frosts predicted for the week aren't too deep: they're all in protected corners, so I think they'll be fine.

I've checked over the wine that's been sitting quietly in the airing cupboard: it's settled and cleared, so I'm going to put it somewhere a little warmer, and we should rack it in the next couple of weeks.

Last Fruit Bed Completed

Finally, we've finished the fruit beds. I part-built the last bed on Wednesday evening, and another 6m³ of topsoil arrived on Thursday. Today I finished the bed (it was only a quarter done; just enough to move the last of the last batch of topsoil), and we've filled it.

The gooseberries, blueberries and currants are now all planted, including the two blueberries (Grover, and something unknown) and redcurrant that we already had.

They look really good, and I'm delighted. They've been hard work, though! Next weekend we need to put the wires up to support the netting. Shouldn't be too hard... Famous last words?

We've planted potatoes and onions in the spare space (obviously, the plants are all quite small), so hopefully we'll have some vegetables out of the beds, even though the 'proper' vegetable beds are some time off now.

Lastly; we visited my parents Saturday-Sunday, and have come home with a tray of goodies. I shall list them when they're planted, but they include a blue geranium I'm fond of, some geum, Sweet William, and a primrose.

More Top Soil Moved

A couple of days work on the raised fruit beds...I finished constructing the first of them, which was a time-consuming job as it has about 25m of perimeter, half of which is curved. Nonetheless, I finally managed it, and am quite happy with the curves. It's needed some supplementary pegs in the straight sections, as otherwise they were threatening to bow.

We then dug it over, laid some of the turves that have been breaking down in their stack, and filled it: we haven't quite finished the first delivery (6m³) of topsoil, but we're nearly there. About 1m³ left, I'd guess. I've then started the second bed, which is a bit smaller, and slightly simpler shape, but this time with a convex edge, as well as a concave. Still, I'm not very far into it (rain stopped play): I'll try to crack on during evenings of this week, as a further 6m³ of soil arrives on Thursday morning...and Liz would like somewhere to move it to, as she's on leave Thursday/Friday.

Here's hoping for clear, dry evenings this coming week!

The daffodils are continuing to look very pretty, and new ones in different varieties are coming up, so the show should continue for a while. No further puschkinia or scilla have emerged, and I'm now very concerned for the anemones. On the other hand, the flowering currants have been a hive of industry for the bees for a couple of weeks, but are slowly reaching the end of their season. To balance that, the Amelanchier (juneberry, forget which type) is looking excellent: its new foliage and flowers are always really striking, and although it can be a little 'plain' over the summer, it then brackets the season nicely with good autumn colour, so I'm a fan. The tulips (Pinocchio, and botanical) are looking good, and opening up on bright days.

The apple, cherry, and plum all have what appear to be flower buds that are a week or so from opening (I reckon): the lilacs also look to be coming in to bud. And the Astilbe (still in its pot) is coming up: Astilbe are a favourite of mine, for no particular reason.

First Mowing of the Year

Having had several fine days in a row, and realising that my lawn/moss patch was in need of attention, I've taken the opportunity to try out the new lawn-mower.

All-in-all, I'm rather happy with the mower.* It did a really good job of collecting the clippings, and changing the blade height was quite straightforward. Nothing can change the fact that there's a lot of grass to mow, but the 90 minutes walking up and down wasn't really too bad. And it even looks a bit neater now.

While the purists might suggest I should cut it twice-per-week during growing season, I really don't see me having the time, much less the inclination. If I have that much time to spend in the garden, I'll be devoting it elsewhere.

* As ever, the Amazon link, should you follow it and buy, will earn me a commission. I like to note this, from time to time. They're useful for me, as they provide quite a neat summary of a Thing that I'm talking about. And any such earnings will be spent on horticultural, photographic, or gustatory pastimes.

Three Completed Raised Beds

We're both rather stiff and sore, but the strawberry and two raspberry beds are now completed, and filled. It's taken about 3-4 cubic metres of topsoil, and they're looking really good. I'm in the middle of building the lower of the two mixed fruit beds: it's going to take a bit longer, as it's complicated by a curved side, and it's also quite a lot bigger.

The raspberries have been replanted, and are looking happy--some of them have a couple of new canes budding. The strawberries are mostly looking well: I reckon we've lost 9 or so of the Cambridge, unfortunately.

Many of the daffodils have come out, and are looking really cheerful: there's a good variety of type. The 'Cheerfulness' in the front aren't out yet, but the pinnochio tulips are looking very pretty. Still a bit short on puschkinia and scilla, and no sign at all of the anemones, which is worrying.

It's been a glorious weekend of sun; really still today, and a little cloudy, but that made it cool enough to work. Yesterday morning was brighter, but actually a bit hot. Long may it last.

Strawberry Bed

Just a quick note: we got home from work early, so we've driven in the stakes/posts for the strawberry bed. They're shorter than for the fruit beds: about 1' in the ground, and 21" above. That means I can hammer them in, rather than digging, which is much quicker! I'll screw the boards onto the posts when next out, as the first load of topsoil arrives this Friday. Fortunately, the forecast for the weekend is good, so hopefully we can make good progress with making the beds and filling them.

Almost all the Florence and Honeoye are looking good, and about 15 of the 25 Cambridge are doing well. They were the ones we were concerned about, but enough of them seem to have survived.

More of the squills have come up, though I'm not sure that the full 50 we planted are showing; similarly, there are meant to be 100 puschkinia...hopefully they're a bit slow, rather than dead...

Wedding

We got back from Hazel and Alex's wedding very late (about 0300), and--predictably--slept in. Today's a day for pottering, so we've ambled round the garden and admired the spring bulbs, and watched TV. Very decadent.

The wedding went really well: the ceremony was nice, and the reception appeared to be thoroughly enjoyed. Hazel and Alex looked great, and the photographer appeared to be doing a good job. I loved an opportunity to dress up (a black morning tailcoat, traditional black/grey/white striped trousers, a purple/lilac patterned waistcoat, and purple cravat/pocketsquare), and I think the toast was well received. Alex's mother produced a really excellent cake, too, which was very pretty.

The standard of dancing was incredibly high, as Alex and Hazel, and a lot of their friends, are keen ball-room dancers, so the first dance was--in a literal sense--awesome.

They're off to Scotland for their honeymoon: hopefully I'll be able to admire some photos when they're back.

A Few More Posts In The Ground

Just put a few more of the 2x2" posts in the edge of the berry beds. Two were straight-forward; one discovered a drainage channel two foot down. Bit of a problem, as I wanted it about 2.5-3' deep. Still, I've worked round that issue.

The daffs are coming, slowly: we're going to cut a few to get them to open inside (bit of extra warmth). The puschkinia are now looking rather pretty, and the squills are opening up. I also noticed a patch of--I think--chiondoxa hiding underneath a berberis (at the end of the upper existing bed, near the oil tank), which are rather striking. We'll have to relocate them/protect them while taking out the berberis. We've also found daffodils turning up all over the place (not just where we planted them last autumn), often hidden or obscured by something overgrown. What we suspected of being a flowering currant has confirmed itself as such, and the one we (slightly brutally) transplanted from the in-laws' garden has also started flowering.

The daffs in the front (Cheerfulness) haven't come up yet, but some of the tulips are near. And the hyacinths in the pots outside the kitchen window are looking good.

In other news, we're off to Cambridgeshire tomorrow, for Hazel and Alex's wedding on Saturday (actually nearer Peterborough, but we're staying with them Thursday & Friday night to help prepare. I'm nearly happy with my Best Man's speech (it's really more of an elongated toast, but there you go), and will be practising it on the journey down...

Easter Weekend

We spent the weekend getting on with the raised beds...it now appears that we're growing posts, admittedly, but it is coming along well. Most of the posts for the berry beds are now in: they're 3x3" posts for the corners, and we're putting in some 2x2" posts along the edges, as they're curved: the posts will hopefully help form the curves. They're all rather tall (the raspberries' posts are about 7', and the berry posts 6', to allow for a foot of raised bed, and then enough space for the bushes to grow.

There's still a long way to go, admittedly, and we'll then need about 20 cubic metres of topsoil to fill them all! I'm having to dig spade-width holes for the posts: they're too tall to hammer in, and--additionally--there are so many stones that it would never work.

The daffodils are coming up, but there are only a few that are imminently going to be out properly. The puschkinia are coming up, but looking a little small as yet. The siberian squills are there, but similarly small; but there's no sign of the anemones yet.

We also had a shopping trip, which led to a car-full of stuff...never mind. In addition to a couple of rolls of loft insulation (we can only fit a couple in at a time, so we get some whenever we visit: we need another 8 or so to finish the lofts), we also bought a lawn mower, a garden vacuum/blower, a new blender, and some odds-and-ends.

Although we currently have quite a lot of grass/lawn, neither of us is a big fan of lawn, so we'll be reducing it as the beds are created. Thus, there's unlikely to be much of an expanse that needs proper tending (read, striped and short). Combining this with the gradient and softness of the soil, I wanted a hover-mower, as only a self-propelled petrol would be a sensible alternative, and I just think that would get literally bogged down.

The vacuum/blower I'm absurdly excited about. I'm hoping it'll make clearing the leaves and twigs in autumn much simpler, and I'll probably try it out soonish on the remnants of last year.

The blender was a coup: nominal price £125, reduced to £50, but we had a £20 voucher after the delivery disaster with the freezer/washing machine. £125 blender for £30? Yes, please.