Garden update

Garden update

food garden growing flowers

Hello. The weather was pretty grim this morning. It had rained overnight, and was still raining until mid morning, then it brightened up. Thank goodness I mowed the lawns yesterday. It's a bit cloudy with some blue skies and sun now, a bit changeable. 

I thought you might like to see how the garden is doing. The little pansies are thriving, that was a good buy at 20p for four plants. 

I have some plastic trellis around the beds to keep the cats off. The fuchsias are coming back again, hoping for a good show.

The plastic flowers are doing really well  ;o)

Don't ask me the names of the plants, I haven't a clue. Can't remember names.

Oooh look, I have three lemons growing on the side of the garage ;o)

You may remember that I chopped down the lilac tree last year, well here it is all greened up again. There won't be any flowers but never mind, at least the gap in the hedge is filled now.

So what's in the sandwich today then? Cream cheese, cheddar cheese, cucumber, beetroot and two eggs. Hot out of the microwave. Very nice. 

That's a sign it's summer, the ice cream van is in the street. Let's hope the sun stays now it's here. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Gardeners delight

Gardeners delight

charity family garden growing flowers

Hello. And what a lovely morning it is, I shall be off outside soon. I arrived yesterday at Auntie Pat's for her plant sale, it was in full swing, plenty of people about. She is a member of the local Soroptimist group, and the plant sale was to raise funds to help women all over the world. Auntie Lyn (pale blue jacket), was busy flogging the potted plants. She ducked down when she saw my camera, but I got her. Lyn has been a keen gardener for the whole of her life, and worked in a Garden Centre. She knows a lot about plants. 

Plenty to choose from, all donated by the ladies of the group.

I made my choice, I shall be planting them in my beds this afternoon.

Raffle prizes all donated. Boohoo, I didn't win, but I was a bit cheeky and bought the cushion you can see, a cat wearing a pink dress, before they had the draw. It's for a special friend.  

Cakes to buy. There were more cakes in the kitchen but I forgot to take a photo of those.

Pat's late husband, my Uncle Stan, was immensely proud of his garden, and Pat has worked hard to keep it in pristine condition. He would be proud of her. Take a stroll through the beautiful colours.

Auntie Pat, far left, taking a break with two friends. The event was a great success, lots of money raised for a good cause, and a lovely social occasion for getting together with friends.

I had a couple of hours visiting my sister afterwards, and timed my journey home to pop into Tesco at 7pm. Sadly the yellow stickers had not had their final markdown, and I decided not to hang around and wait because everything looked a bit wilted, and I wanted to get home. I still spent £30 on food I needed, and filled my car up as well.

It was a smashing day. The weather is predicted to be sunny for the next four weeks, so it looks like I might be having a few trips out.

Today is the last day of the month, so this is a call out to the Walking Group. I hope you are keeping up with our 1000 mile challenge. Please come back tomorrow and let us know how you are doing. Don't be sad if you haven't done as much as you would like, every step you take is one in the right direction. I know some of you are steaming ahead, so lets get those numbers logged on tomorrow's post.

Thanks for popping in, enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

I like purple frogs

I like purple frogs

garden growing flowers growing veg recycle

Hello. There is the most stunning sunset tonight, but it will be gone in a few minutes. Strings of orange slowly sinking, with parts of the blue sky visible behind it, and dark clouds hovering yet hardly moving at all. Now the orange is turning to red as it drops below the roofs across the road. . 

So, what have I done today. It was time for Mr frogs makeover. I put a very pale green undercoat on him first. I thought I might leave it that colour but it looked a bit boring, so I thought why not jazz him up a bit. This colour is called Positively Purple, it's a Dulux tester pot, it looks blue on the photo, but it is purple. I found the easiest way to paint it was to put the wheelie bin in the middle of the lawn with an upturned pot underneath him. He is at the right height, no bending, and I could walk all the way around him, reaching all parts, with very little effort. 

The mat he is sitting on is a bit broken round the edge, but it doesn't matter, can't complain, it was free. I painted his eyes, yellow. .

While I had it on the brush, I painted Mrs Tiggy's eyes as well.

Who says you can't have a purple frog and a green hedgehog, ha ha.

Snacking today was two kiwi fruits, a nectarine, with a splodge of  plain yogurt. 

Look, I've got runner beans, yippeee. A kindly reader put some dried beans in a goody bag parcel she sent me. Thank you, and now I have beans to eat.

These are doing really well, £2 from Aldi.

And I have a few of these pretty flowers in the beds. The bulbs were from Poundland.

How are you all doing with the walking? Only five more days to the end of the month. The target for the eighth month is 666 miles, and I am on 650. I doubled up today and walked six miles. Might have to do that again.

I'm struggling to keep my eyes open here, so I'd better sign off. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Open Gardens, more pics.

Open Gardens, more pics.

garden growing flowers growing veg village life

Hello. And now for the rest of the photo's from yesterday. Every garden had a veg patch, from a few raised beds at a pensioners bungalow, to a large allotment size plot in a one acre garden. Every one of them were full of healthy plants yielding an abundance of  vegetables and fruit. Not one slug nibbled leaf in sight. 

There were little nooks and crannies to explore, beautiful cottage gardens, with secret half hidden sheds.

I did say to the man that he could enter this in Shed of the Year, but he said no.

Another hidden shed in the same garden.

We saw some quirky garden sculptures and ornaments.

Bee hives at the bottom of this garden, the bees seemed very busy coming and going.

Some of the houses were very large.

I like this sign, seen inside a shed.

This was stunning, a huge pot of equally huge flowers. Don't they look fabulous.

This was the last garden, and I'm sure they saved the best for last. Mind you the waterfalls and ponds were also fantastic, oh it's virtually impossible to say which one was best.

Thank you very much to the people of Winteringham for opening their gardens. We really enjoyed it. Great value, only £4 for an afternoon out. It's the first time I have done this, I shall be looking for some more Open Gardens now.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Winteringham Open gardens

Winteringham Open gardens

garden growing flowers growing veg village life

Hello. I've had a fantabulous and brilliant afternoon out, looking around gardens. It was Winteringham Open Gardens today, this is the village where I help to deliver the Parish newsletters, so I've seen all the front doors, but never looked round the back. Janet came with me and we really enjoyed it. 

I have lots of pics, too many to put into one post so I will split them in half and you'll get some more tomorrow. 

The gardens were really stunning, every time we went round the back of the house our first reaction was, 'oh wow, look at this'. The owners were all very friendly answering any questions we had. The event was very well supported so there were lots of people traipsing around the village with their maps in their hand. 

First off we went to the Village Hall where we handed over £4 each for the map. The money made from the event is to be shared between the Village Hall and the Hospice. There was also an art exhibition, with stalls inside and out selling plants, wooden garden sculptures, and outdoor ironwork and stone carvings.  Refreshments were available but we didn't have time to sit down, there was a such a lot to see in 14 gardens. 

The first wow factor had a big pond with massive fish in it. A waterfall and rockery with mature shrubs. 

There were pots of flowers everywhere.

This garden was overflowing with plants and shrubs. Walk through the pergola to the pond and water gardens. Ornamental herbs and vegetable/fruit gardens. Lots of little meandering paths through the greenery. It was fabulous. 

Not much garden here. No, not yet, but it has the potential to be great. Hope they open it next year. This site has been under construction for a long time, the building is renovated barns. The owners had the house next door while the major building work was being done, now they have moved into here and work will start on the garden soon.

Lovely paved patio to sit under cover. 

We even found pigs at the bottom of a huge garden. There were ten altogether, five sleeping and five foraging.

Just leaving this one, on to the next one.

Now this was a little stunner. The house from the front looks nothing special, it's straight onto the pavement, no front garden. But go round the back and you find a water feature made from two genuine old lock gates, A veranda dining area, and a secret hideaway, a small Swedish guest house in an old barn attached to the house. Janet is just emerging onto the patio.

The inside is just fabulous. Wooden stained paneling with two sets of stairs up to the sleeping balconies. 

There is a wood burning stove with comfortable arm chairs, and it also has a shower room, sauna room, and a toilet with hand wash basin. This is used as guest accommodation when family come to visit.

Al fresco dining area.

Poor old wheelbarrow is broken so they have transformed it into a planter.

If you click on a pic they will become bigger. That's all for now, I'll post some more tomorrow.

Thanks for popping in, see you soon.
Toodle pip