Year: 2020

On the first day of my month long holiday from my normal routine my head is still rumbling a bit……so I indulge in some quiet time pulling memories out of cupboards and finding pieces to sell.

I had my big plan for August all laid out, I was properly on it……..and then came a spanner in the works……….but I’m glad of the spanner, the spanner has given me a bit of a shake up…….August will be different and I can’t wait! It is going to be the weirdest holiday ever.

The theme for today is ‘chop, chop!’…….get on with it……all the mess that has been accruing needs sorting……I need to make the place spick & span again for the royal visit.

I haven’t had much success with brassicas or fennel this year……or carrots for that matter (!) so today I’m seeing what I can do to rescue the situation to make sure I have at least some fresh food over the winter.

Once I have seen to my vegetables it’s time to shift my focus and get on with some of the other maintenance jobs which are part of every garden year…….it’s time to deal with overgrown shrubs and trees (and look after my shed) and rejig plants which have outgrown their spaces. While I’m at it I’m grateful to receive some plants from a friend who is also at the clearing and tidying stage.

As the summer rolls on a stillness seems to envelope the garden…….but there are still plenty of jobs to be done……nothing too strenuous…….the perfect kind of jobs to allow us to be immersed in our beautiful green spaces.

I have a sofa job to get on with (sewing) so thought I’d have a little chat with my friends while I’m at it. Grab a cuppa……I have a new ‘tea’ to try…..

I can hardly wait to go on my first buried treasure hunt for potatoes. Today I am lifting my first earlies ‘Anya’….a gorgeous, waxy new potato perfect for salads…..planted on the 18th of April. Also, for the first time ever I have some container grown potatoes (also Anya planted at the same time) so I am intrigued to see how they have fared compared with the traditional in-ground ones.

The Taunton Deane (perennial kale) has given me so many lovely meals…it has been the work horse of the garden……so when it was attacked by pigeons and white fly I decided it was high time I should take some cuttings from it so I can keep having this gorgeous plant in my garden. Once the cuttings take I am planning on a new home for it so toady I start on the rejig of the deck/cold frame end of the garden…..

I’ve been thinking about making a couple of changes for the longest time…….recently lots of little thoughts and prompts have brought the main idea together. Today I’m talking through all these different strands of thoughts and how they’ve come together to form a plan. Oh, and I strike some cuttings from a neighbour honeysuckle too.