Phew

I am going back to work tomorrow for a rest. 

Its been busy as usual.  Went to my mum's and got some paperwork sorted and also some of the plants and other bits that needed to be moved.  Did a load of weeding and tidying there between us and sorted out the bits we are to collect at the weekend.  

It will be mostly plants and pots and trays.  Mum had a lot of these as both my Dad and her had an allotment in the village and grew all their own plants from scratch.  Dad did the graft mum did the growing which worked well for them both. In fact all of my family seem to have green fingers we were encouraged from a very young age to grow stuff. 

My brother has an allotment where he grows all his own stuff.  I had one for a short while but OH was not very happy about it and wouldn't take me down there.  It was quite a way away and as he would not help me with putting a shed on the lottie so that I could store my tools and equipment safely, I ended up having to take the tools with me each time.   He was not always helpful in taking me down there so in the end as I could not be there when I wanted to be I ended up giving it up more's the pity.  That's why with the dream house - its not necessarily strictly true that the house has to be just so - I am more interested in the land.  You can get a house just as you want it one way or another.

We also sorted the freezer and have split the contents between us and I have my share all packed into my upright freezer.

Unfortunately much as I would like to I cannot take the greenhouse.  But some good work has been achieved and it should all be tied up at the weekend.  Its very sad really but the house is going on to a new owner and new family and I hope that they will be as happy as we have been as a family under the shelter of its eaves.

I managed to do a bit of pottering in the garden before we left. However have managed to do a whole load more since we have been home. Bit of a grey cold damp start but it cheered up with the sun coming out later on.  Wind got up though and kept knocking my mini greenhouse down.  Fortunately the other two stayed up.  They have the seeds in.

I have been sorting pots and weeding and topping up with compost.  I have some rhubarb plants and I have sorted out the initial pots for them - into pots first as the ground is not prepared yet and it has been far too windy to use the weed killer today.  I don't want to kill them off before I get any of my plants in terra firma.

I have violets, lily of the valley, London Pride, a clematis that used to be my great aunt Ivy's, hopefully a rose that I bought for my Mum and Dad's ruby wedding anniversary, montbretia, aubretia, and may be a paeony (although they are good sulkers if you move them) to come from Mum's so I have been sorting space and pots for them to go into as well. 

I have sorted out further up the herb border and my grape vine has sprouted again - I need to get a trellis to put up so that it can weave its way through and then hopefully I might get some grapes at some point.  There are lots of pots and seed trays.  I also have a very tall Lemon verbena plant that needs sorting out. Its in a large planter but has got very tall and stringy but lot of sporadic growth up the stems so I think I am going to have encourage them to set roots and end up with several plants rather than just the one.

When I am tidying anything there always comes a stage where things start to look tidy and then all of a sudden it looks like a bomb has hit it.  I have reached that stage tonight (homes have to be found for a few items and some are destined for the tip)but hopefully if I manage to get an hour working tomorrow night at the herb garden when I come home things will get sorted a bit more. 

Hopefully being in the garden for a little while will also get rid of any stress built up during the day. It will be a quick simple tea tomorrow night as I want to get on and get as much sorted as I can. However I do still have a lot of herbs to get, such as Basil, Thyme, Oregano, garden mint, borage.

My brother has also let me have my mum's electric propagator so that should help an awful lot for next year particularly with getting crops sown earlier than I have this year.  Hopefully for next year I will be a bit more together.

For tea this evening I cooked a piece of silverside with Yorkshire pudding, and we had a right mix of veggies, some kale (which is a favourite here and very good for you), some baby broad beans, some peas, some broccoli, cauliflower and carrot and new potatoes with lashings of gravy.  It has gone down very well.  Right had better get a wriggle on things to do in preparation for tomorrow.

I hope everyone has had a very good bank holiday wherever you have been.

Pattypan  x