A few new pictures from 121 & 144

I started on plot 121 today - all that was left to do there, as the rest of the plot is now full of potatoes (8 rows of maincrops just in case you need reminding) was to weed the Asparagus bed, which I completed in about 40 minutes.  I was very pleased to see a whole little group of Asparagus in all different sizes, waiting to greet me.  As this is year 3, I should get a lovely crop this year, as year 3 is the year that you should wait for, until you start to harvest.

Now back to 144 - I noticed that the flowers on the Micro Pond were in full bloom today, but sadly there were no signs of life, so I asked Blossom, from a neighbouring plot, if she had and life in her pond (which is massive) and she was happy to say that she had plenty of little baby frogs that she would be more than happy to share with me, so I took along a mug and scooped up a few, carefully walked them back to 144 and introduced them to their new home.

And here they are - well some of them anyway - it's hard to get a photo of them but you can clearly see that they have settled in well.

Little bits here and there.....

A view looking down 144 from the mid way fruit trees

 The Plum Tree with pond in the  background

 The Apple Tree blossom

 The raked area just in front of the fruit trees (with stone piles)!

The Spinach and Beetroot sunbathing

The Earlies enjoying a soaking in the hot weather

 A baby Parsnip

Another baby Parsnip

The Radishes are germinating

Potting on the Savoy Cabbages

From here, to there!

More pond work......

I went to the Garden Centre today in search of some pond and pond perimeter plants - this one is call cyperus alternifolius or umbrella palm The pale green foliage fans out like the spokes of an inverted umbrella.  An attractive, adaptable plante, equally happy in or out of water.

I also bought a gratiola officinalis or summer snowflake dainty white flowers and bright green foilage.  A good plant for carpeting damp borders around the pond and growing over the edge of planting shelves.

I dug out a small area to the back of the pond and lined it with an old compost bag turned inside out.  I then popped the two plants into that and filled it with water.  I think the water will very slowly drain away, but as they are both good border plants, I don't think that will matter as when I next water the plot, I can then top it up!

The last plant I bought (3 for £12) was a caltha palustris or marsh marigold A favourite in every pond, the marsh marigold heralds the spring with a gorgeous display of vibrant yellow flowers.  Dead head flower heads for another flower display again in Summer / early Autumn.  Suitable for a small pond / water feature.

You will notice that the marsh marigold was in the photo that I took yesterday, but the plant that was given to me didn't have any roots on it, so it died overnight.  I liked it and the sunny yellow flowers it displayed, so I was pleased to find the exact same plant today! I added more foraged flint stones around the border and I also found some small logs to make a log pile with (sorry no photo).

And the tadpoles survived the night - can you see how many there are??  Will there be space for them all or will I need to make them another pond??













In other news!

I was given this lovely picture to put in my greenhouse - are my plot neighbours trying to tell me something??

The butternuts have grown overnight!

The Greenhouse is getting FULL and soon there will be "no space at the inn"

The seedlings are coming along well.