Showing posts with label Liam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liam. Show all posts

Monday, 23 March 2009

Into the garden!!! (And nothing's died yet...!)


I hope you all have been having as beautiful weather as we have here! Disney has been making the most of the sun's warm rays. Look at him helping to warm up the flower beds! Bless him!!

Our snow drops are all out in full force now, with crocus' making an appearance, and the daffy buds are finally forming and bobbing in the breeze! I think the long awaited spring is finally here! 

For the first time ever I am noticing the buds appear and growing daily on the trees and shrubs, hosta's poking tentative rolls of leaves up, and all that looked barren and dead from winter slowly starting to rejuvenate. How have I not noticed this the past 26 years? The earth has never felt more magical to me, it feels really special to be aware of and play a part in it for the first time in my life!

The air is alive with bird song, and filled with the promise of what's to come when mother nature awakes fully. Hopefully she will not mind me bumbling along beside her trying to make things grow and be pretty!

But the arrival of warmer weather isn't good news for all of us! It means lots of burst pipes for the boys to fix! Here's a picture of Johnny and his apprentice in action fixing a leak sprung in spring! Liam crawls on his belly behind Johnny in the tight spaces ninja style to save the day!!

Johnny banged his head after that pic was taken. Haha!

With the sun on my back all week, the temptation grew ever stronger to get down and dirty with my plants in the soil! Like most beginners, my keenness will probably end up killing most of what I started off and nurtured all winter, but I accept this cheerfully! The lesson will have to be learnt the hard way to sink in! 

All winter I spent a good few hours (and many bottles of wine) a night, poring over what went best with what, what to plant with what for easiest rotation, what would shade what..... (You get the picture!) I made the coolest plans for my beds ever on my laptop, all neatly labelled and easy to follow.... And you know what? When it came to actually planting, it all went right out the window! 

It was very hard letting go of the little plants that I had nurtured and watched grow bigger and stronger almost daily since November, but after a 'test night' (where I put a few poppies out and they didn't die or get eaten) it was time to shove 'em all out into the big bad world!!! I was like a woman possessed when I got going, stabbing holes in the ground and frantically shoving plants in like there was no tomorrow. It felt good!!!

Have attached you a pic of 1 of the little plug's, isn't it cute? Was very proud of how they came out like proper garden centre plants! I've had nightmares about them crumbling in my hands when I tried to get them out of the pot! 
Got the majority of the poppies out in some of the stone raised flower beds (when I had actually planned to plant them as meadow flowers around our rough garden border - Oops!) and some potatoes planted in the big wooden half barrels. Haven't even remembered to label the potatoes! How rude!!! I only bought 2 types so it shouldn't be too hard to identify when its up and ready to eat!
Above is a pic of 1 of the beds. Not into formal, so rest of it will be filled with a mis-mash of everything I'm growing, hopefully it will look wild and natural! Well.... That's the plan at the minute anyway...... 


Sunday, 15 February 2009

Get Me!!! The Gardener!!!!




I'm walking with a new swagger in my step today, 'cause I'm a proper gardener!!! 

Had a lovely day! Sarah popped over with her black Lab Betsey & we set off for a lovely walk around the circle with Clydeybops. The snow started to thaw last night (finally!!) so we weren't slipping around too much for the first time in 2 weeks!!

For once Clyde was really well behaved, think he is starting to realise that he is not in fact a Staffie, but a Lab. He hardly pulled at all for once, and even listened to me calling him and came for treats 3 times!! Progress!  So nice to go out for a walk with one of my dogs and actually enjoy it! 
Have you ever read A Home For Rose? Its a lovely book written by John Katz. Would really recommend it. He believes that to have a better connection with your dog (and ultimately, a better dog) you need to improve and become a better person, then the dog will improve, as the problem has never been the dog, but you. Really trying to become better, and I swear, with a bit of Cesar & good old treats, its working!!

When we got home I got my propagator out and sowed some seeds!!!! 

Will be boring you to tears now, but here's what I planted:

21 seeds of Africian Marigold Space Hopper 
14 seeds of Broccoli Ironman F1
7 seeds of Rudbeckia Moreno

Keep taking off the lid to check if anything has sprouted yet (which is stupid I know, just so keen!) My posh new labels, written in my neatest handwriting ever look pretty cool too!!!

Sorry about the genetically modified veg. Not a chav I promise, just ordered the seeds before reading all your lovely blogs, and promise if I stick at this I will do this properly and naturally next year!

Portrait is of my 2 special boys (Clydey is behind and Liam to the front) which was sketched by the amazingly talented Karie Ann Cooper, whom I am very proud to call a friend. 

Off to crack open a bottle of red, have a lovely night!

Linzi  x