Japanese Onions

I have all these onions to eat over the coming weeks. I was told that they do not store well, so I am looking forward to some onion soup.  The next crop to go in will be some Carrots.  I will store these in boxes of sand in the shed so I can eat them at my leisure.

The garden in June

Things are looking a little greener in the garden at the moment.  There are still some gaps but I hope to fill them with bedding soon.  At last I finished the path.  It seemed to go on for ever.

Before

After

What do I do next?  I need a project to keep myself busy in the summer.

Beautiful blue

My clematis has started to flower. I usually don't take any notice of the colour of plants when I buy them, but this blue is already a favourite.  It's early days but i hope it will eventually cover the whole of the back fence. I just need to try and find out what it's called.

I'm off work today so I'm going back out into the garden to enjoy the sunshine. Hope you have a great day in the garden too.

Courgette pit

I had a lot of stones in my garden and had no idea what to do with them.   I love courgettes fried in butter and decided to build a "courgette pit".  It's been a hot day and it was hard work but I'm pleased with the end result. 

I added three plants and also some nasturtiums to brighten it up a bit.  Let's hope I get a large supply of fruits.

Springing into life

The garden is looking better now that spring is here. There are still plenty of gaps and I will have to fill them with summer bedding soon. Can't wait for the perennials to grow and explode with colour. I've potted up some strawberries too, hmmm.

Peas and Potatoes

Today I pushed in some canes to support my Peas. They're coming along quite quickly now and I can't wait to be picking them straight from the plant and popping them in my mouth.

I am also growing Potatoes in car tyres. The shoots are coming through now so I earthed them up with some compost, ready for the next tyre to go on top.
I'm off work tomorrow so I hope to finish my shingle path. Then I can get on with as much planting as I can afford (which isn't much). Bye for now.

Blogging again

I have decided to continue with my blog about my garden. I have been a bit busy over the winter but I am ready to record whats going on again. I will post some updated pics very soon. I have nearly finished the path now so when that's done I can get planting and sowing. Can't wait!

Happy new Year

I've just got back from New York. Although really cold, the sites were incredible. Though I now have a bad neck from looking up all the time.

The best bit for me was tranquil surroundings of Central Park. Once inside you could forget that you were in the busiest city in the world.

A Squirrel admires the view of the park.

I wish I could have spent more time in Central park but my other half had another kind of spending in mind. As far as I could see there was nothing of interest to me in Bloomingdells (more like Bloominghells, going by the prices). The next time we go back will be summertime, I can't bear -10 degrees for long!

New York, New York

After a lovely Christmas, me and my partner are off to the Big Apple. I can't wait to get aboard the plane and set off. My other half wants to see all the sites and go to the top of some of the biggest buildings in the world. I get a nose bleed climbing my stairs at home, so that could be interesting. I've got my camera packed so hopefully in about 7 days I'll have plenty of high altitude, shaky photos to upload.

Best Christmas Pressie

My favourite Christmas gift, apart from the camera this photo was taken with, was a bird box. I couldn't wait to put it in the tree. Let's hope some birds make a home there!

Sun Dried

My Tomato crop reddening is currently at full tilt, and so I've decided to start preserving. It's not something I've ever considered before but I want nothing to go to waste (I'm ever so slightly mean, you see).

I found a recipe on the net and set to work. The recipe said "Cut 'em and microwave 'em. Even I can do that I thought.

30 mins later and they were done, my first microwaved dried tomatoes. Tasty? No they were awful. Still, I'll have another go tomorrow.

Putting on the Ritz

I haven't posted for a few days as I have been to London for the weekend.
My girlfriend was given a voucher for tea at the Ritz as a birthday present.
I thought I'd fit in quite well in such an establishment. That was until we went into the Rivoli bar (or Ravioli as I pronounced it, much to the annoyance of the waiter) and ordered some "pre tea" drinks. Seven quid for half a lager? Lucky I took my wallet. The sandwiches and cakes were very nice though. When we finished a plate or two the waiter would bring out some more. A bit like a posh "all you can eat" restaurant really.
I don't think I'll make it my local though, I'll stick to the Hungry Horse up the road, only £2.50 a pint there.

Nothing to report

Well that's not strictly true but I've been really busy at work and the garden has had to come second. I have watered the toms and cues and even found time to mow the lawn, but take pictures? Unfortunately not. However, the toms are getting redder and the marrows bigger so I will post some pics next time. Tea's ready, bye.

Quick Snack

I've just got in from work and I'm hungry. "Dinners on, but won't be ready for about minutes", she calls from the living room. I go to water the greenhouse and it strikes me why I grow Tomatoes and Cucumbers in the first place. SANDWICHES! Just enough time before dinner to try out my first tomatoes of the season. Hmmmm. (These didn't last long after this picture was taken).

Sprouts

The Sprouts aren't looking too good at the moment. Caterpillars everywhere. Now, if it were up to me I'd continue to let them have a good time, munching away. My other half however likes the little green bogies to accompany her Christmas dinner. So I'm sorry fellas you've got to go.

Pumpkin Pie?

I got feeling that I will soon be searching for recipes for Pumpkin pie. I thought I'd grow a few so my little boy would have fun carving them for halloween. Little did I know that these beasts would take up half the garden and produce around twenty fruits (so far).

Pie anyone?

Firsts things first

Ok, what was the first thing I wanted to grow? Rhubarb. One of the easiest too. It's looking pretty good at the moment. The only downside to growing this veg (honestly, it is a vegetable) is that I have to wait for a few years before I can start picking the first tender stalks. But once established I can look forward to tarts, pies and fools 'till my heart's content.

My New Garden

Here's my garden, it's only small. I moved in to my new house last year and couldn't wait to get started on it. The bottom half of the garden is the veg patch (behind the trellis) and the top half is my cottage garden. At least that's what I intend it to be. I will keep you updated as often as something happens, which hopefully will be more often than not.