Keep the engine running, we're going in...

After another increasingly large bill at the supermarket, edible gardening with my children has started! And we've managed to get quite a lot done. It's not necessarily been done properly, but we should have something to show for our efforts as the gardening year warms up.

First off, seeds. I hastily grabbed a few packets of seeds at the garden centre, nothing too exciting but things we like to eat and which should impress my three year old. She happily sat for over an hour on the bench,  scooping soil into pots, pushing in the seeds and then watering them (and herself). We even progressed onto soaking the pots in a tray of water, proudly demostrated for the cameras. My little Gardener's World presenter in training.

Seeds sown before the little one lost interest:
Baby carrots in pots, (she loves anything to do with babies!), and a flower called nigella, which apparently confuses carrot fly
Butterbush squash and pumpkin for eating and carving
Courgette, an impressive plant which grows quickly and produces loads of courgettes
Broad beans in loo roll holders, and french marigolds to repulse the black fly


Even more exciting was our 'Mothering Saturday' trip to Arundel, which took us past the Arundel Aboretum. Well I was going to drive past, because the baby needed to stay asleep, but I couldn't resist. There was nothing behind us so I swung dramatically into the drive, before carefully parking, turning on the radio, and quietly getting myself and my three-year-old out of the car. It was all in vain. Baby woke up. So I turned the engine back on, asked the mother-in-law to keep watch, and we made a run for it.

Four minutes later, we'd picked out a reliable Victoria plum and a greengage: tall, covered in buds and full of potential. Baby stayed awake, but we all smiled our way into Arundel.