at the allotment.........What to do behind the shed?!

Had a lovely couple of days off over Easter & got down to the allotment, the nice weather was making me feel very behind with things, but then a cold day like today reminded me we still have to be careful with the young plants, I am now worried about the sweetcorn I planted out! Have I been a bit hasty?

We also got the nets ready for the strawberries as they are well on the way, it looks as though it is going to be a good crop, it is their second year in so I am looking forward to passing them onto my Mum for homemade Jam (she'll make a much better job of it than me & when you've tented fruit all year you've got to do it justice)!!

Also spotted some very small victoria plums coming along, this is a first, we inherited the tree & it was in a pot, we planted it in a sheltered spot & it seems to like it there so we are excited to see fruit, hope the birds don't get to them before us as there are not too many on there!

Now that we have broken the back of the allotment we are looking at tidying up areas which are not so urgent, there is quite a large area behind the shed which is full of rocks and a steep bank, I looked round there on sunday & thought it was looking rather lovely in its own way (apart from the masses of weeds)!

I am really not sure what to do round there, as quickly as I get rid of the nettles they are back again and I can't get a spade in as it is so rocky! At least the bluebells look lovely, just leave it I think!!!

Harrogate flower show....A great day was had!

We had a really lovely day at the Harrogate flower show, the sun was out all day, which brought with it the crowds, it was a real success for them I'm sure. 

 The above garden won 'Judges choice' & was really lovely, there was a great shaded area which had a partly living (green) roof, a lot of the show gardens had living roofs, it is something I would love to do in the future. It was, however, hard to get a good photograph of the show gardens as so many people were around them!

 Col & I enjoyed a good old wander around & I did treat myself to two obelisks which I am using on either side of the garden bench, I did have two lovely lavender trees there but this winter has sadly done for them, so I wanted to do something different, we were at a nursery yesterday & spotted some lovely Jasmine plants, just the job, keeps the bees happy too!

At the allotment.........Sweet Pea!

Working full-time & running an allotment doesn't always go hand in hand  but as the nights are getting lighter now it has made such a difference. We have been making the most of the recent good weather  & have spent a few evenings down there, we managed to get the last bed in & our early spuds planted into it, no time to really tend the soil there, so we'll just have to see how they get on.
 I bought a zip up, 4 shelf, small 'green house' for the yard at home as we do not have a poly tunnel at the allotment (on the wish list) being based in the Northeast means we  have to wait that little bit longer for the soil to warm up, the little 'green house'  has been a great help in getting things started off, like the sweet peas pictured above, which we planted out on Sunday. Also got the red onions in, spring onions, beetroot, peas & parsnips, so a good day!

I have added a 'during' photograph of the allotment, as you can see from an earlier post the plot was in a sorry state, there are still a lot of jobs to do there, wouldn't mind a couple of salad planters building at the back, in front of the shed & the Holly bush creates a lot of shade & needs a 'trim' but that may have to wait as there is planting to be done!! The seats haven't been used much yet!

Harrogate flower show 14th - 17th April

It is the Harrogate Spring flower show coming up, a great day out and the perfect place to treat yourself to some gardening goodies, we went last year & hit on a lovely hot day which was a bonus, the show gardens were great, most of them worked on a woodland/wild flower theme which I loved, for more information including ticket prices click here
See you there!