Parties and poppies

Having constantly checking the weather all week and what a relief it was to wake to sunshine, today was my youngest 7th birthday party which was joint with a friend. We wanted to do something that didn't cost a lot and kept 20 children entertained. Using the cricket club we belong to and doing hotdogs ( proper sausages in a roll not the plastic ones) and ice lollies for food and organising cricket, football and tag games we managed to keep 25 boys and girls amused and fed for two hours. Everyone has said what a great party it was without expensive playcenters and the children are all tired out.

It's supposed to be a lovely weekend which is great as it's a home game tomorrow at the cricket which means I'm doing teas so cakes are baked and ready so I can have a bit easier Saturday morning. 

The photo attached is a poppy feild next to the cricket club it's currently in a feild that is having a planning permission application for 26 houses it's currently at appeal stage hopefully they won't get permission but these days they seem to be building houses everywhere.

Pottering about

With it being so wet there is no chance of doing anything on the allotment it has very heavy clay soil and I would ruin the structure if I was to walk on it at all. I guess that's where raised beds or special walkways come in handy though as it's my first year this is something I will definitely look at doing in the future though the raised beds can be very expensive.

At home I repotted some tomato plants I was given and planted out some verbenas and fushias I bought at the Carboot a couple of weeks back. I'm hoping the ground will soon dry out a bit as my courgette plants really are getting to big and need planting out on the plot.

This wet weather seems to have bought out the slugs and snails I did a quick sweep of the garden and found 17 snails and 23 slugs lets just say they are no longer residents in my garden. 

Does anyone have any problems with sweet peas this year mine are looking a bit worse for wear and not really growing any tips on helping them along will be appriciated.

Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow as we have a picnic planned.

A Dull and Wet Start to Halfterm.

Its a rather dull and wet day in Suffolk today which is typical as it's the start of Halfterm. So it's a day at home doing housework playing games building dens and making flapjack. 

Yesterday we had a lovely albeit windy day at the broads watching the powerboat racing. It was a lovely day and Mister M was very excited he loves any racing or sport for that matter. I'm not sure how those boats stayed upright as they do travel very fast I did manage some pictures though.

We were all very tired when we returned home even though we didn't do anything much except sit and watch and go for a few wonders though the wind did become a bit relentless at times.

I haven't vanished.

I'm still here and have written many blog posts about day to day things but due to a technical hitch they were not being posted even though they looked like they were. 

So what have I been up to. Well things are growing well on the allotment including the weeds which seem to sprout up everywhere. I now have some sweetcorn and plenty of courgette plants to put in. All this rain and storms we have had means I haven't had to water but it also means I'm struggling to go down to the plot. The potatoes are looking good plenty of greenery and the onions are coming through. Though I must say the runner beans are looking a bit sick very leggy but not many leaves. The carrots are poking through along with the peas. I'm hoping to go up if the weather holds this week to get stuck in.

I have been busy sorting the loft and airing cupboard out as we are having a new boiler installed in a couple of weeks. Our little loft was packed with empty boxes for various toys which the majority have been put in the recycling and many thing were taken to the tip. However I still have two keepsake boxes full of little things from first shoes to blankets,christening cards and birthday cards to the all important first drawings and school reports. I don't tend to keep the cards now or school things when they come home though they do get time on the fridge,but those first few things are very precious. I also have a box full of baby clothes we have no plans to have anymore we are happy with our two with my youngest having turned 7 today which we celebrated with a BBQ and playing cricket in the park he has a small party in a couple of days and as a treat we are going to the snowdome ready for our first ski holiday in the winter. 

Mr M has had 3 away cricket matches cancelled but all home games luckily the weather has been good. We also went to the Carboot at Friday street  last weekend  and I picked up two wicker hanging baskets 50p for both and some plants which are all doing well in the garden. 

I think I'm doomed

After the small greenhouse blowing down and losing all my dwarf beans I had planted. I went to check the runner beans in the other little greenhouse (I check them everyday all seemed fine) low and behold a snail has had a very lovely breakfast, lunch and dinner, he has munched nearly all 16 plants and just left the stems. Well I become part of the one-fifth  gardners who throw snails over the fence. (I'm sorry if this offends you) 

So two disasters in the garden so I have planted up some more and today I went to the allotment as didn't get there yesterday I didn't want to be out in the Thunderstorm I'm scared of them. I set up my bean frame using canes and also planted some sweet peas that I bought at the country market for £1.50 for 16 plants and a lovely wooden dibber for £3.00. I was complemented on how neat my plot looks and how nice my potatoes are growing knowing me they will be all leaf and nothing down below. A few plots potatoes have lots of brown leaves not sure what this is I thought it could be with the frost we had last week or the week befor but I'm probably wrong. 

Back tomorrow with a little something I found on the plot which used to be a Victorian dumping ground.

Windy and wet

It's been very windy and wet this weekend so we haven't done a lot. A lovely walk between showers today though around the castle with a quick lookin at the allotment. 

Last night the wind blew over one of my small plastic greenhouses and I lost 12 dwarf bean plants I have tried to salvage what I could but they are nor looking to great so today I planted up another 12. 

My runner beans are soon ready to be planted on the allotment but first I need to make a support which I will hope to do tomorrow. I also need to repot my courgette plants as they look a bit big for their pots and it's a bit early for the allotment yet for them. 

What would you do?

Those who have read my earlier post will know that us and our neighbour are civil to each other but that's about it. We have various issue regarding her privicay and fences which is usually the only reason she will talk to me. 

The latest issue is the bottom of our garden which looks like this. 

You can see the chicken wire fencing that has always been there with my clematis growing along it (I did cover the whole fence until it was hacked by the neighbour last year. Behind the fence is the neighbours passage way to her back garden. She wants us to put a high fence up so she has privacy as at the moment she feels she is unable to use it when we are in the garden. We are reluctant to put a high fence up as it's an expense we don't really want to do and it will probably make our garden look smaller. 

This has all stemmed from the seating area I made from my old veg patch 

As you can see from this picture the neighbours gate. Now we have some options.

Put a high fence up which we don't really want to do as in a couple of years we will probably put a garden room that will create a natural fence anyway.

I'm considering trellis and growing things up it though if I have trellis she wants it to be backed so we can't see through. 

Or using bamboo fencing and attaching it to the current fence.

I have explained that a high fence will make the passage way dark and very damp as no sunlight will beable to shine through she doesn't mind. 

So now I'm not sure what to do and its making me feel like I can't use our garden because it makes her feel uncomfortable. 

 

Caught in the rain

This morning I popped to the allotment the jobs to do were plant  some seed potatoes, radishes, peas and carrots and to start to neaten the edges and stop the couch grass spreading. 

Well as soon as I arrived the heavens opened and without a shed (not allowed) to shelter in I stood under a tree hoping it was just rain and no claps of thunder (petrified of thunder) thankfully just rain. The tree didn't give much shelter I still got very wet. I soon dried off once the sun came out.

I planted two rows of main crop estima that now means I have one row of earlies, one row of second earlies and two of main crop.

I planted two rows of peas and two rows of carrots and two small rows of radishes. With enough space to add some more so I have a contentious supply over summer. 

I did make a start on the edges but only managed half of the work. 

Apart from that it's been a quiet day of housework, ironing school runs, ballet runs and cooking dinner.

Creating a little space.

I really should have spent the day at the allotment, I have potatoes to plant, bean supports to make and a million other things to do but I couldn't do them when my own garden at home needed a bit of TLC. My old veg bed looked over grown and neglected mainly as I didn't know what to do with it but after some thought I decided to make it into a seating area. 

The veg never really worked as it's in the shade a lot due to our fence. It gets the sun first thing in the morning but by 11.00 it's in the shade. Turning it over to grass doesn't work as it becomes to boggy so with some liner and a few bags of slate which we picked up yesterday I got to work and now I gave a little area that's not in a draught and it frees the patio up a bit. I'm looking forward to sitting down and reading a book whilst listening to the birds singing in the hedge. 

I have potted up  some sweet peas to grow up the trellis and I have a small table with a few pots on to add a bit of colour. 

I haven't neglected the allotment I was there yesterday putting together this box to keep my tools in as we are not allowed a shed or any structure that restricts the view.  I'm hoping to go down for a hour or two tomorrow if not I will probably spend most of Wednesday there. 

We finished the day with a impromptu BBQ cooking some burgers and sausages we got from the farm shop where we get our meat from ad yesterday we went a did a shop to fill the freezer. 

Short and sweet today.

Well the day started of nice bright and sunny though quickly followed by cloud then rain. So it's been a day indoors doing the general housework, hoovering, dusting cleaning the bathroom and attempting to tidy the children's bedrooms without destroying or moving what ever latest construction is in the middle of the floor. 

No trip to the allotment today but I will go tomorrow for an hour or two as my new spade has been delivered, so I will be able to tidy the edges and earth up the potatoes that are now starting to come through to protect them from the frosts that we are expecting.