2 days is definitely not enough for the Cotswolds but we managed to make the most of it, with National trust properties, pretty towns and villages, and the Domestic Fowl Trust!
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Meg the Moggy
Well, here she is, our car for 2 days a couple of weeks ago. As she's a Moggy we named her Meg, and what a lovely character she was. hard work to drive - crunchy gears, massive steering wheel with no power steering, and an indicator that I kept forgetting to turn off. But, oh wasn't she fun! Pootling around the Cotswolds was just lovely, we even managed to get the top down a couple of times, and it was lovely to hear so many people comment on her - a real pinup!
2 days is definitely not enough for the Cotswolds but we managed to make the most of it, with National trust properties, pretty towns and villages, and the Domestic Fowl Trust!
2 days is definitely not enough for the Cotswolds but we managed to make the most of it, with National trust properties, pretty towns and villages, and the Domestic Fowl Trust!
Garden of England
Yesterday saw the annual Slade in Bloom gardening competition - run by our residents association - and judged by a senior lecturer at Hadlow College (our local agricultural college). I entered for the first this year, front and back garden, and had a mad panic yesterday morning to get everything ready. This would have been a slight challenge on any normal day but on Friday night I had done a little too good a job of drowning my sorrows at England's abysmal World Cup campaign to date that it was even tougher!
That said, I was quite delighted with how both gardens looked in the end. I'm quite realistic about the fact that we have some very tough competition in this area and it's unlikely that I'll win but it was fun to enter anyway.
Here's the front garden, absolutely stocked full of plants:
Front left is one of my favourites, Ligularia, with massive leaves with dark purple undersides. Front right is a lovely lavender which is ready to burst into flower. The Iris are now finished in the middle but back left are the Crocosmia which should give us lots of colour for the summer. Back right, standing tall, are the Hollyhocks, which aremy favourite flowers in the garden - lovely vintagey cream colour, with dark pink stamen. Vase at the ready!
This is the back garden:
It was really nice, when the judges asked me, to reflect on everything that we've done in 2 years. When we moved in it was just a strip of grass with a scraggy bush at the side and now look at it! It's still in transition - we will be putting a pergola up in front of the girls' run with a patio underneath, and the bare grass patch cunningly hidden under the table and chairs will be returfed with the turf we remove from the patio area. The flower bed is looking really nice, although it's in a bit of a gap between the Spring flowering and summer flowering plants. The judging was bad timing!
That said, I was quite delighted with how both gardens looked in the end. I'm quite realistic about the fact that we have some very tough competition in this area and it's unlikely that I'll win but it was fun to enter anyway.
Here's the front garden, absolutely stocked full of plants:
Front left is one of my favourites, Ligularia, with massive leaves with dark purple undersides. Front right is a lovely lavender which is ready to burst into flower. The Iris are now finished in the middle but back left are the Crocosmia which should give us lots of colour for the summer. Back right, standing tall, are the Hollyhocks, which aremy favourite flowers in the garden - lovely vintagey cream colour, with dark pink stamen. Vase at the ready!
This is the back garden:
It was really nice, when the judges asked me, to reflect on everything that we've done in 2 years. When we moved in it was just a strip of grass with a scraggy bush at the side and now look at it! It's still in transition - we will be putting a pergola up in front of the girls' run with a patio underneath, and the bare grass patch cunningly hidden under the table and chairs will be returfed with the turf we remove from the patio area. The flower bed is looking really nice, although it's in a bit of a gap between the Spring flowering and summer flowering plants. The judging was bad timing!
Harvest time
What a bounty we are now getting from our allotment and garden, and it's on June! We are now getting quite a good supply of peas and strawbs and our broad beans are ready for harvesting.
Last week we managed to have our first meal almost solely from our own produce: Salad from the garden, with our own peas and eggs from the girls. The only thing that we added that wasn't was the tomatoes, which were Kentish nevertheless. So satisfying to have our first meal towards our 52 meals challenge (trying to grow enough to have one meal a week from our own produce).
This morning we are having our second meal - strawberries with yoghurt for breakfast - delicious!
Here's a summary of our recent harvest:
I hope soon to be able to show you a pea and bean risotto - my favourite meal of the season!
Last week we managed to have our first meal almost solely from our own produce: Salad from the garden, with our own peas and eggs from the girls. The only thing that we added that wasn't was the tomatoes, which were Kentish nevertheless. So satisfying to have our first meal towards our 52 meals challenge (trying to grow enough to have one meal a week from our own produce).
This morning we are having our second meal - strawberries with yoghurt for breakfast - delicious!
Here's a summary of our recent harvest:
I hope soon to be able to show you a pea and bean risotto - my favourite meal of the season!
Monday, 7 June 2010
Egg Count - May
As the end of the month has passed it's now time for another egg count. I think I forgot to do April so you won't have seen the massive spike in activity - they were obviously enjoying the Spring weather!
May saw a bit of a dip (although certainly not anything to complain about). In April we were regularly getting 4 a day but in May we had a number of problems - the egg eating started which we think was brought on by some soft shelled eggs. Luckily it looks as though it hasn't turned into a bad habit and they only eat the soft shelled ones, which are must less frequent this month. We think they happening partly because the older girls are getting on a bit and because of their battery farm days they probably don't have much more laying in them - but we also think it might have been because we were feeding them too many treats. In the worst type of parenting technique we kept giving them corn and kitchen scraps to shut them up if there were wingey. We're now being much more harsh and they're not getting treats until evening and only a little, and that seems to be much better.
At the moment we are getting 3 a day most days, athough they don't seem to like this weather and we have had a little dip again.
So concludes your monthly egg report!
May saw a bit of a dip (although certainly not anything to complain about). In April we were regularly getting 4 a day but in May we had a number of problems - the egg eating started which we think was brought on by some soft shelled eggs. Luckily it looks as though it hasn't turned into a bad habit and they only eat the soft shelled ones, which are must less frequent this month. We think they happening partly because the older girls are getting on a bit and because of their battery farm days they probably don't have much more laying in them - but we also think it might have been because we were feeding them too many treats. In the worst type of parenting technique we kept giving them corn and kitchen scraps to shut them up if there were wingey. We're now being much more harsh and they're not getting treats until evening and only a little, and that seems to be much better.
At the moment we are getting 3 a day most days, athough they don't seem to like this weather and we have had a little dip again.
So concludes your monthly egg report!
Garden and Allotment News
As promised, I got myself organised and went down to the allotment to take a photo or our newly erected fruit cage, built entirely from pallets. if this doesn't keep the birds off, I don't know what will!
We also harvested our first proper veg last night. I was making Thai Green Curry so popped down and picked some peas a mangetout and they were yummy (although not as yummy as when the pods are full of peas!). Hopefully this early harvest along with all of the rain and sun we're getting will encourage plenty of peas to form:
On our jaunt out yesterday we bought a new addition to our plat family - this is Hoppy, he's a Hop! It's a Fuggles variety, famous for it's beer making qualities. Once we have got around to building our pergola in the garden he will climb up one side. We're not intending to use it for beer making (although maybe one day!) it's more orgnamental with a nod to traditional Kentish produce.
Our garden if now full of Iris of all shapes and sizes - the smaller ones being my favourites - but we have a few medium sized ones which are also lovely just popping up. I thought they were all purple until the heavy rain encouraged this little lady to pop our head out, isn't she lovely:
I have been talking for ages about wanting a Fig tree to give the garden some exciting texture and my mum and Nick took a cuttting from their plant. I wasn't sure how it would do and for the first couple of weeks didn't show much sign of life until I potted it up and this happened. Hurrah! This weather is perfect to encourage growth so hopefully he'll keep on growing:
We also harvested our first proper veg last night. I was making Thai Green Curry so popped down and picked some peas a mangetout and they were yummy (although not as yummy as when the pods are full of peas!). Hopefully this early harvest along with all of the rain and sun we're getting will encourage plenty of peas to form:
On our jaunt out yesterday we bought a new addition to our plat family - this is Hoppy, he's a Hop! It's a Fuggles variety, famous for it's beer making qualities. Once we have got around to building our pergola in the garden he will climb up one side. We're not intending to use it for beer making (although maybe one day!) it's more orgnamental with a nod to traditional Kentish produce.
Our garden if now full of Iris of all shapes and sizes - the smaller ones being my favourites - but we have a few medium sized ones which are also lovely just popping up. I thought they were all purple until the heavy rain encouraged this little lady to pop our head out, isn't she lovely:
I have been talking for ages about wanting a Fig tree to give the garden some exciting texture and my mum and Nick took a cuttting from their plant. I wasn't sure how it would do and for the first couple of weeks didn't show much sign of life until I potted it up and this happened. Hurrah! This weather is perfect to encourage growth so hopefully he'll keep on growing:
Sissinghurst Castle Gardens
We have the week off this week - primarily to head to the Cotswolds for a couple of days to drive around in our temporary little Moggy - but also just to relax and enjoy some time to ourselves. So yesterday we headed off to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, something which we have been intending to do for ages having not been for years despite iot being just down the road.
We didn't go in the house but just concentrated on the gardens and I have to say they were even more beautiful that I remembered - it's like a fairy tale house and I didn't want to leave!
True to form, our favourite places were the vegetable garden (I didn't take photos - more functional that beautiful!) and the cottage garden, which is simply amazing:
The range of flowers is breathtaking - with so many Iris of all shapes and sizes out at this time of year it really must be the best time to go
They also had a rainbow of Aquilegas the like of which I didn't know existed!
The peaceful flower meadow, next to a little river, complete with bee hives and the odd Grecian Urn gives wonderful views over the house and makes you just want to stay forever lying in the long grass reading a book:
if you happen to be in West Kent over the summer I implore you to go and visit - it really is amazing and if a certain sister of mine reading this blog wants to visit it (you would love it!)you know where we are...
We didn't go in the house but just concentrated on the gardens and I have to say they were even more beautiful that I remembered - it's like a fairy tale house and I didn't want to leave!
True to form, our favourite places were the vegetable garden (I didn't take photos - more functional that beautiful!) and the cottage garden, which is simply amazing:
The range of flowers is breathtaking - with so many Iris of all shapes and sizes out at this time of year it really must be the best time to go
They also had a rainbow of Aquilegas the like of which I didn't know existed!
The peaceful flower meadow, next to a little river, complete with bee hives and the odd Grecian Urn gives wonderful views over the house and makes you just want to stay forever lying in the long grass reading a book:
if you happen to be in West Kent over the summer I implore you to go and visit - it really is amazing and if a certain sister of mine reading this blog wants to visit it (you would love it!)you know where we are...
Saturday, 5 June 2010
So many things!
Well, where do I start. I think I've been rather tardy again and it's been a month since my last post so plenty of things to update on.
In the garden the flower bed is looking wonderful - full of colour with bees buzzing around all over the place. We have two giant Iris as well as a host of Alliums on one side of the bed (the purple side!) and an amazingly successful Lupin on the other side fighting for space with the Acer, which also looks lovely at the moment.
The girls are also doing well - we're getting three eggs most days and today they produced 4 just to impress our visitors from Basingstoke. They have taken a liking to lemon balm (which is fine by me because I dug it up last year and it refuses to go!) which they are all enjoying in this photo:
Now to the allotment and boy have we been busy. The broad beans are all in flower (and are now being attacked by black fly - grrr - which the ladybirds are doing their best to keep under control), as are the peas. The first early potatoes are a dissapointment but the second earlies and maincrop are doing well. We also has courgette, squash, cabbage, cauli, purple sprouting and calbrese, celery and a whole host of fruit (strawbs, rasps, red and blackcurrant, goosberry and tayberry). Much excitement this week when we had our first peas (one pod each!) and strawberry - we were so eager to eat them that I didn't get a photo but I do have these as a bit of a summary:
We've also been doing some building work on the plot with avengance - we've built ourselves a fruit cage. I foolishly discovered that I haven't yet taken a photo of it but needless to say it's great (!) - made entirely from pallets, we only had to buy the netting and the nails so we have a 5x2 metre fruit cage for only £40 - bargain! I will try to post a photo soon but my "parent blog" (te he) is slightly suicker than I am so you're likely to see it here more quickly. In the meantime though, I can show you this rather smart brassica cage that Matt made as well as him posing as "man about the allotment":
In the garden the flower bed is looking wonderful - full of colour with bees buzzing around all over the place. We have two giant Iris as well as a host of Alliums on one side of the bed (the purple side!) and an amazingly successful Lupin on the other side fighting for space with the Acer, which also looks lovely at the moment.
The girls are also doing well - we're getting three eggs most days and today they produced 4 just to impress our visitors from Basingstoke. They have taken a liking to lemon balm (which is fine by me because I dug it up last year and it refuses to go!) which they are all enjoying in this photo:
Now to the allotment and boy have we been busy. The broad beans are all in flower (and are now being attacked by black fly - grrr - which the ladybirds are doing their best to keep under control), as are the peas. The first early potatoes are a dissapointment but the second earlies and maincrop are doing well. We also has courgette, squash, cabbage, cauli, purple sprouting and calbrese, celery and a whole host of fruit (strawbs, rasps, red and blackcurrant, goosberry and tayberry). Much excitement this week when we had our first peas (one pod each!) and strawberry - we were so eager to eat them that I didn't get a photo but I do have these as a bit of a summary:
We've also been doing some building work on the plot with avengance - we've built ourselves a fruit cage. I foolishly discovered that I haven't yet taken a photo of it but needless to say it's great (!) - made entirely from pallets, we only had to buy the netting and the nails so we have a 5x2 metre fruit cage for only £40 - bargain! I will try to post a photo soon but my "parent blog" (te he) is slightly suicker than I am so you're likely to see it here more quickly. In the meantime though, I can show you this rather smart brassica cage that Matt made as well as him posing as "man about the allotment":
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