to this... bliss.
Now all we need to do is the Christmas shopping.
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
The Icky Pond
Today I finally had a day off work (after 27 days straight!) and decided to end the gardening drought by heading off outdoors to see what needed doing. There was so much it nearly sent me screaming back inside to call in and beg my boss not to let me have any more holidays. But then I gave myself a good talking-to (and bribed myself with a gin at 4pm on the dot) and headed off to tackle the most hideous job: the icky pond.
I started it four years ago with fond hopes of it becoming something like this
But it hasn’t. Instead, here’s the slimy, leaf-ridden mess I’ve just spent an hour and a half clearing out.
There’s leaves, leaves, and more leaves. And the water mint which just took everything over and smothered all the nice marginal plants which I’d carefully sunk round the sides in pots. Not that the frogs seem to mind, in fact one of them happily sat and watched me yanking all the knotted tangle.
The pebbles which were put round the liner have all fallen into the pond and needed hauling out, to be replaced by slabs to cover them. And hurrah! There’s a marsh marigold which has survived and a yellow flag water iris underneath all of it, as well as a water lily which was thriving.
Finally, it’s done. The plan is to have loosestrife - yellow and purple - and meadowsweet around the sides, and lots more marsh marigold.
Pictures of plants in summer are ALWAYS cheering, aren't they?
I started it four years ago with fond hopes of it becoming something like this
But it hasn’t. Instead, here’s the slimy, leaf-ridden mess I’ve just spent an hour and a half clearing out.
There’s leaves, leaves, and more leaves. And the water mint which just took everything over and smothered all the nice marginal plants which I’d carefully sunk round the sides in pots. Not that the frogs seem to mind, in fact one of them happily sat and watched me yanking all the knotted tangle.
The pebbles which were put round the liner have all fallen into the pond and needed hauling out, to be replaced by slabs to cover them. And hurrah! There’s a marsh marigold which has survived and a yellow flag water iris underneath all of it, as well as a water lily which was thriving.
Finally, it’s done. The plan is to have loosestrife - yellow and purple - and meadowsweet around the sides, and lots more marsh marigold.
Pictures of plants in summer are ALWAYS cheering, aren't they?
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Tardiness
I’m hopeless. There, I’ve said it. My life is full of things which I started in a rush of enthusiasm, only to abandon them a couple of months later - or weeks, even - in favour of something shinier and new.
There’s the garden journal, which I faithfully pledged to keep updated. I found it the other day - I managed to write most of January before it got forgotten. There’s the stepper I bought from QVC. It seemed brilliant. Step my way to fitness while watching the TV, I thought. Where is it now? Gathering dust under the spare bed upstairs.
There’s this blog. Ooh, I thought. A Blog. I will write all about our herb garden, our sales, soaps, recipes, and my herb projects. And what’s happened? I’ve put up a few - admittedly cute - pictures of our cat. It’s like looking at the snaps on my fridge door.
All this is a very roundabout way of admitting how remiss I’ve been on the blog front. No more. From now on, there will be lots of posts about all things herb related and our continuing efforts to turn this hobby into a way of life. And if anyone reads it, it’ll be a bonus.
Here's a picture of a marigold, for no other reason than it looks cheery.
There’s the garden journal, which I faithfully pledged to keep updated. I found it the other day - I managed to write most of January before it got forgotten. There’s the stepper I bought from QVC. It seemed brilliant. Step my way to fitness while watching the TV, I thought. Where is it now? Gathering dust under the spare bed upstairs.
There’s this blog. Ooh, I thought. A Blog. I will write all about our herb garden, our sales, soaps, recipes, and my herb projects. And what’s happened? I’ve put up a few - admittedly cute - pictures of our cat. It’s like looking at the snaps on my fridge door.
All this is a very roundabout way of admitting how remiss I’ve been on the blog front. No more. From now on, there will be lots of posts about all things herb related and our continuing efforts to turn this hobby into a way of life. And if anyone reads it, it’ll be a bonus.
Here's a picture of a marigold, for no other reason than it looks cheery.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Sunday, 17 July 2011
daisy, daisy...
"I love daisies. They're such a happy flower". So says Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail and I agree. Our herb patch is full of plants with daisy-like blooms at the moment and they are, quite simply, a delight.
This one's a double chamomile. I love its shaggy appearance.
This is a camphor plant. Its leave smell of, yep, camphor. I'm hoping to dry a few and use in pot pourri over the winter.
This is a poor picture but it is a wonderful flower. Creamy white petals surrounding a neat, butter-yellow centre. This is English Mace and it has grown tremendously well this year. It's an often overlooked herb, we often get bemused looks from people at our plant markets but it's actually great in soups and warming casseroles.
And now for something completely different....
Viper's Bugloss. The bees have been all over it today (in between the downpours). It's a biennial so we'll soon be collecting seeds.
This one's a double chamomile. I love its shaggy appearance.
This is a camphor plant. Its leave smell of, yep, camphor. I'm hoping to dry a few and use in pot pourri over the winter.
This is a poor picture but it is a wonderful flower. Creamy white petals surrounding a neat, butter-yellow centre. This is English Mace and it has grown tremendously well this year. It's an often overlooked herb, we often get bemused looks from people at our plant markets but it's actually great in soups and warming casseroles.
And now for something completely different....
Viper's Bugloss. The bees have been all over it today (in between the downpours). It's a biennial so we'll soon be collecting seeds.
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