Meanwhile

 After suffering with backache potting on my seedlings last week, I decided I needed to use my potting tray, it's been in the greenhouse for years on my bench, I moved plants around to make the space usable. I sorted my leek seedings into one per unit and had no issues with my back. It was lovely to be inside the warm space, surrounded with plants. I will need to start moving things outside soon.

My runner bean plants are doing well, they have stayed looking strong and even got a bit of growth. My beetroot seeds have sprouted, no sign of the parsnip's yet, the small pot has 2 cauliflower plants in, I'm trying something different.. Our broad beans have small pods on, they have been in the ground since last autumn, the onions growing down the middle are looking good. 

My two buckets with carrots in are both doing well, not sown at the same time, so at different stages, I have another pack of seed to sow, probably early next month, we both love small carrots. This season I have purchased better brands of seeds in hope I get the harvest I want. My bucket with peas in have shoots, I was not going to grow any as they take up room and frozen peas are so cheap to buy, I am using another spare big bucket. 

The tulips are on their last showing, the wind will finish them off, these white ones are very tall, the frilly ones in my cider jar have lovely mixed colours. I am definitely going to find more for next spring, their blooms have been a joy in the past month. Both these pots can be seen from my chair, they are positioned well. 

I don't have much to do outside, everything is up to date, my growing area is so small, it's easy to keep on top of everything. It's a case of watching everything grow, the nets are keeping the pigeons off the new plants, the only item letting me down is a yellow tomato plant, it's just stopped growing, I might just purchase a plant. Once the white tulips have finished and their leaves die back, I will dig out the bulbs and reset the pot for my big tomato plant, it should grow well in that spot, it's a sunny spot, it's in a big pot in the greenhouse for now. 

My bedding plants are all coming along well, I will soon need to plant the purchased plug plants I have grown on, my potted seedlings are filling out. I did order some plug plants offline, due to me last week from a big name supplier, I complained I had not had a delivery date and was informed, they are not ready to be sent, so why say delivery is within 5 working days of my order, I have no idea when I might see them, it's a plant I've not seen locally. 

Wednesday daughter and Molly came for a visit, we walked to our local bistro for lunch, Molly is waking most days just after 5am, daughter has tried everything to keep her in bed, she is waking both brothers, which is far to early for them, we hoped lunch out would be a nice treat for daughter. Thursday we popped to a different nursery, the owner does deliveries of compost, grit and other stuff in our area every Friday evening, so it was good to go and look at his plants, a few came home with me, great prices and good quality plants.

Home

 I got myself 4 good books to read from the local charity shop, this one was gripping, I do like her style of writing, with police officers from other books and stories, it's not part of a set, each book is a stand alone story. This was very clever and built from almost nothing until the crime along with others were solved, always with a twist or two, a brilliant final chapter. Book 25 read this year.

Another good book, very different, it's set in UK not USA, days gone by, no mobile phones, it's a chase, there are two different people after them, one they know, who is the other, the plot unwound as the days passed. A very easy read, not up to the standard of her usual plots. Book 26 read this year. I have done more knitting one front side is done, the dark yarn is not great to knit with, I've not looked at my cross stitch.

Both Molly and George do loads of interesting things at home, most of these task are for George to help with his coordination and skills, but Molly loves to play as well, learning is always so much better when it's fun. Molly is almost 3 years old, George is 5 later this year. I help mummy as much as I can, it's a hard time when your younger child is overtaking and Georges disability is showing. He is a clever little boy and with an older brother Will and Molly, he is always included and picks things up well, with their help his talking is getting much better.

It's a much better time for me, the cough is almost gone, just at night and not too bad, hubby caught it, but he has got rid of his, so we are both happier. Grace is sleeping most of the day and all night, she is only eating her wet food, over the weekend she was in the garden with us enjoying the warm sunshine, she is fading before us, not in any discomfort. Every morning I go to check on my runner beans, which are doing well, they have not faded in any way and are upright and healthy, phew, hoping here I have got away with the early planting. We are not doing much this week, the weather is again dull and cool, no plans before Friday, so a lazy ish week.

Sunday our BBQ at our neighbours turned into a drink in the garden, his coal BBQ would not stay alight, so we left before the food was ready, as always a lovely mix of people to chat to, nice music and loads of sunshine, these are the neighbour at the bottom of our garden.

Monday we had friends in for afternoon tea, they were on their way back from Cornwall, going to East Sussex, and had a break in driving with us, we have not seen them since our trip to London in December, hubby made a marmalade cake and chocolate brownies as a treat, a couple hours catching up, whilst it tried to rain outside.

Locally there are loads of happy people, Pompey, Portsmouth Football club have just won their league, and will go up to the champions league in the new season, in this area if you love football you are either red (Southampton) or blue (Portsmouth), here it's mainly blue.  

Inside out

 This past week has mainly been dry, loads of blue skies and even sunshine, but the icy cold wind has made everywhere except my greenhouse feel really cold. My pots with geraniums and begonias which I over winter inside my cool greenhouse are growing again this year, it's still far to early to pop them outside, I still have my covers on the begonias, to get them growing a bit earlier.

I have taken the plastic cover off my little greenhouse, now it's a shelving unit, it worked well through the cooler months, I have cucumber, pepper plants on top shelf, and the flowering plant I cut in half, now two plants, 2nd shelf are my calendula seedlings, 3rd shelf all the bedding plants I purchased and potted up, 

I have bedding plant seeds on top level of my staging, and salad and herbs on lower level, there are 6 cauliflower plants I am growing on, as yet I have no room to plant them, I have leeks and spare runner beans in the deep planter. I only ever use the top two levels here for plants, it gives me enough space, the rest is storage of trays and other useful items and stones and gravel underneath, this is the sunny side of my greenhouse. 

I have planted out my runner beans in my raised bed, I had sown them in deep plug trays and the roots were all coming out the bottoms, they look healthy and strong, so I have taken a chance with them. I have 5 small plants as backup, I don't think we will get any more frost here, our nights are warm, it's a couple weeks early, only time will tell. This bed has broccoli in the middle, parsnip's and beetroot either side and space at the end for 2 cucumbers. I must have left a few tiny  potatoes in the ground, I have a few sprouting, they can stay, hopefully a cheeky harvest, the whole bed has a net over to stop the pigeons. 

The cold wind kept us inside most of the week, my cough, whilst not as bad as before is irritating in the day time and keeps me and hubby awake at night, so I'm not very happy at this point. Saturday was a warm day, we were both outside most of the day, I sorted some of my seedlings, and started a few more flower seeds, I had to reconfigure my nets on my veg bed after planting the beans. My broad beans have tiny pods, I watered both veg beds, it's been a dry windy week, so they needed a good soak.

My back is still sore, I am using my potting table in the garage for storage, I purchased a builder mixing tray, which keeps all my mess together, but bending or even kneeling  does not help, it's like having a big mixing tray, and works perfectly other than an aching back. 

Today we have been invited to a neighbours BBQ, we will pop around for an hour, there are always a nice mix of people there. It will be nice to sit in a different garden, where I'm not looking at things to do.

I will do a craft, book and family post next time, at this time of year so much of my time and this blog is all about the garden and with veg beds this spring, I have more than ever too do, which is OK, because I love to garden. 

Bags, buckets and pots

 I like to use different things in our garden, this container was purchased for a flower pot, but it works better as a water bowl, the birds love to land on the pebbles for a drink, I have other places they use for bathing.

This is another lovely spot, I'm using a square washing up bowl for my water plant, the old sink is my grass bed and the birdbath is now an alpine garden, with a couple metal chickens, it's a lovely view. The triple acers behind and the red and white flowers of the azalea make it colourful.

Hosta's when in the ground are decimated by slugs and snails, these live happily in the bucket and an old brass coal bucket, I have the extra copper ring around the plant, whilst these are in leaf they need to be away from walls as snails do try every trick to get to them.

In the greenhouse I have two buckets with carrots growing, they will be popped outside soon, two compost bags full ready for tomatoes, I know one has a cucumber pot resting on top for now, To the left is a BBQ bucket, re-purposed for my Aloe Vera, and on the right two huge plant saucers for my sphagnum moss.  

This year I am trying harder with veg, my new raised beds are great, but as always I want to grow more, so here on the path by the greenhouse and tucked behind the raised bed is a compost bag with some sweetpeas, the grey tub has a mock orange in, both of these should fill this back corner with colour. Two bags with second early potatoes and a big pot with some peas in, which is on an old water-but stand. 

The green square bowl has a cranberry plant in it, I got it last year, not sure what I am doing, along with trying to grow peanuts (Monkey nuts), I do like to try new things. 

The weather for most of the week has been dry, just one wet day on Monday, we have seen sunshine, but a rather cold northern wind has kept me inside, alongside another horrible dry cough, so another boring post. 

I've always used different containers for growing in and decoration around the flower section of the garden, now I have my veg section my containers don't need to be pretty, just practical, I am filling any space I have, luckily hubby does not come up around the greenhouse much, he hates having to step over pots and other things. I need to leave space for my tomato plants, I have grown them before in the greenhouse, they do get far to big for the space. 

Most can be tucked away in the cooler months and give me back my space for other items, it's the best of both worlds, allowing me more growing room whilst I need it.