Super speedy gardening to the test

Summer in all its glory

To me, summer is a season, not a series of disappointing weather fronts. The days linger longer, the trees are in full glorious leaf, and the garden holds so much potential.

My globe artichoke has been drooping in the heat

But now the solstice has passed, I'm feeling less energetic, less super speedy, and more overwhelmed by how much needs to be done. A busy couple of weeks at work hasn't helped. On top of the usual weeding, tying in, and transplanting, not to mention all the other jobs that aren't getting done, I now need to check the crops, harvest them, wash them and cook them. I should be jubilant at my bounty, but instead I'm worried that all our hard work will go to waste.

So I need to remind myself of the precious moments, no matter how small or fleeting.

Strawberries, just in time for Wimbledon

There's the bees - I've really enjoyed looking at them a bit closer and noticing the differences between the species. Then there's my fussy three-year-old picking chive flowers and spinach for her sandwich, and gobbling it up. I think a pink flower sandwich will be hard to beat, but with strawberries, raspberries, cherries and tomatoes on their way, I'm hopeful. And the free all-you-can-eat salad bar every night has already saved us a ton of money.


My own appreciation of where some of our food comes from has vastly increased, and so I'm sure growing our own will have the same effect on the children. Watching a strawberry ripen in the sun, hoping the bees will pollinate every tomato flower, and understanding just how much water it must take to grow and wash perfect supermarket veg... we take so much for granted.

It's so easy to be sucked into the supermarket culture of year-round perfect veg. I just hope growing your own will get easier in time!

We all appreciate where our fruit and veg comes from now

From gigantic leaves to blurry bees...

Another rainy day... another chance to take stock of what we've been up to.

Well, the garden party for my little one's baby naming and 1st birthday went ahead. It was beautifully sunny for most of the afternoon, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves, including baby. The kids enjoyed looking for bee-friendly flowers, and wearing their bee deely boppers. The garden, weeds and all, looked 'lived in', and I enjoyed showing my veggie lawn to interested guests.

The evening light was perfect for the party

I'm always reluctant to start harvesting veg because it looks so nice, and I deliberately didn't pick anything before the party. I'm now paying the price - the pak choi is HUGE and the spinach has already started to bolt. But, we are enjoying fresh leaves every night, including salads sprinkled with chives and chive flowers, which taste as good as they look.

Chive flowers are edible too and taste AMAZING

The slugs have been busy to, they started to chomp away at my lupin flowers, so I tested the 'organic' slug killer, ferric phosphate, which is supposed to be harmless to children, pets and other wildlife. It's worked, the lupins are coming out in force, and I have now used it round my young pumpkins and courgettes.

I'm uncomfortable killing slugs in the first place, but I don't think I have a choice if I want to have a productive garden. I'm also worried about the wider effects of the pellets, but the RHS and BBC seem to think it's OK. Here's a quote from the BBC Gardening guide:

Ferric phosphate seems to be working. Sorry slugs.

"Slugs top the list of problem pests for gardeners who ask the RHS for help and advice. But, says Chief Advisor, Guy Barter, there are now workable options to using metaldehyde-based pellets (which can poison dogs, cats and wildlife if eaten in large quantities). For example ferric phosphate pellets, which are harmless to creatures other than slugs, and a range of barriers and traps."

Talking of wildlife, I've loved using my Friends of the Earth bee ID chart. I've defintely seen Great Yellow Bees and Red Tailed Bees. Taking their picture has been impossible, however, and I've now given up chasing them round with my camera. This is one of the less blurry photos!

A brilliant photo, if only it were in focus

Sunny raised beds, a quirky arch and the world's tallest raspberry canes

Quick, it's raining so now's the time for a speedy blog! We've been busy with our seedlings, potting on into the mini greenhouse, moving them to the patio to get used to the elements for a while, and then 'putting them to bed' in the raised beds.

Our seedlings in their new bed

This is the pak choi/spinach/lettuce bed on May 7th, and again on May 27th. What a difference a bit of sunshine can make!

Just 20 days later and we can start picking

Baby's been 'cruising' round the pea bed

We've also been getting ready for our upcoming garden party - the first birthday and baby naming of our youngest daughter. Handy Dad constructed a beautiful quirky archway *almost* without picking up a tape measure. He didn't get it done in an afternoon, but I think he enjoyed doing it. Thanks Dad, it's perfect for one of the plum trees. We also copied a tyre balance beam from Aldingbourne Country Park.

Our quirky (quonky) garden archway

Bob the Builder getting ready for tyre toy time

Wobbley tyre balance beam

When we moved here we inherited a load of raspberries, which we've tried to nurture, but they're getting out of hand! The only ones with proper support have now outgrown their support and pulled it over. Some of them have been pruned but they're still too heavy, and I don't really want to use concrete. I've just secured them temporarily for now. I'll see how well they crop, then have a rethink before next season.

Tall raspberry canes toppling over

But overall, with a bit of sun, some pressure washing (mum's favourite job) and a good tidy up, I'm really pleased with how the garden is looking. There's a long way to go, but it's so satisfying to watch it all grow and develop in it's own haphazard way.

The veggie lawn is coming into its own

Perennial cornflower - amazing colour and shape

Small blue butterfly. That's its name, honest!

Aquilegia, which the bees love