The Gardening Thread

I'd be leaving a patch of nettles for the butterflies to lay their eggs on anyway   At the moment I'm planning to grow a LOT of my favourite flowers but it would be nice to try some veg too as I've never done that before....other than planting a few spuds from my kitchen that had gone green when we lived in the farm cottage in the hills.  It was ridiculously exciting seeing the plants grow and I didn't do anything that the books tell you to but we still got a lovely crop of small potatoes   And one added bonus was that the soil was wonderfully broken up and fine so it saved on endless digging. 

  Don't worry - there'll be LOTS of photos from Day 1 as we *hopefully* transform it to a garden full to busting with flowers and veg   I think Neil is more looking forward to chilling out in his shed more than owt else   He's good at building things and coming up with useful ideas but is clueless when it comes to plants and growing them....THAT will be my department. 

That's what I said to Neil...should we go for a full size allotment or a half?  I'd actually prefer a full one as I can then take my time cultivating it over a number of years and not have to worry about outgrowing it as quickly as a half plot     If we get the plot we had our eye on this morning it's right next to Hulne Park so we'll get loads of wild birds and bats and stuff....and I can even get a few feeders put up too, especially in the winter months. 

  We've often talked about getting an allotment (for the past eight years at least!) and I've just decided to Do It and stop faffing about.  I've been SO lost without Sandy and the companionship and walks we enjoyed together and the past few weeks have seen me feeling very low and not really sure where life was going   Don't get me wrong, I love my cats SO much but they don't get me out and about and active as much as having a dog did. 

  I've been having a big tidy up and declutter in the bedroom these past two/three days and the 18 inches square vivarium we used to have stick insects in (and the hedgehog last year) is now in the living room and I'm going to plant it up as a kind-of terrarium.  At the moment Lily is asleep on top of it as she obviously regards it as some sort of new cool high-rise bed     Unfortunately I cannot find my camera which is INFURIATING as I could have had some really cute snaps of her   Seem to have mislaid my watch too which IS annoying!!!   
 

Found my camera....I'd put it in a proper small camera pouch which Neil had found under the bed last week and FORGOT it was there   Found my watch this morning....under the passenger seat in the car   Silly me!

  We had another walk up by the allotments this morning and had a chat with one guy....such lovely friendly people you meet up there   Took a few piccies too....one plot has a small caravan which is being used as a shed (we assume...for storing food or even somewhere for his ducks to roost?) so now Neil is planning to get himself a small rundown caravan and put some fencing against the sides to make it look more shed-like....men and their toys, eh? 

 Caravan cum shed 
 

 

  Indian Runner Ducks ~ I think? 
 

  WHY are my nasturtiums not growing and flowering like this?  This is the effect I try for but each year I'm lucky if they grow an inch high and produce two or three flowers!!! 
 

I adore Nigellas and cannot believe that I forgot to grow some this year!!!  

  These allotments ARE on a nice big site with 72 plots and there's a few of them empty and/or neglected so I'm going to give it another fortnight and if I haven't heard anything I'm going to get in touch with the council department I sent my application into and start being a pest   A polite one but still a determined pest   If you don't give them a chance to forget about you they tend to give you what you're after just to get rid of you    The chap we were talking to today says some of the neglected plots ARE rented out by people but they never bother to actually do anything with them from year to year so, in my opinion, they should be given 6 months to either start working on them regularly or give them up and let someone like me who WILL care for them take them over.  One of the plots was immaculate (wish I'd got a pic - I will in the next day or so) with neat raised beds, spotless straight paths, not a weed to be seen.....I told Neil that THAT was what I would be working towards with our plot!

@gillykat, did you watch Gardeners World the other night? They were talking about allotments and they visited one which was like a secret garden.. when you think of allotment, you think veg patches, ECT. well this one patch was mostly all ornamental plants!  


www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04cnx4m/gardeners-world-2014-episode-19   (starts around 19:21)

I've been getting some tomatoes off my tomato plants, delicious! Also one of my bell pepper plants is growing a pepper which has been amazing to watch. It's only been growing a few days and gets lots bigger every day! If it's tasty then I'll look into keeping the seeds for growing future plants from it.

Quite jealous of you getting an allotment @gillykat , I so want one. They are mostly gardens really here, since no one in the city has gardens otherwise, but quite a few grow food too.

If you want a wee DIY project, you could try making one of those insect hotels for your allotment when you get it. Also if you do do something like that caravan shed - it would look absolutely stunning if it had vine plants growing up it.