rachel.blog

Tag: garden

  • Feeding and bathing the birds

    The magpies and slugs now eat the food I leave out for the hedgehogs. I know because I leave the camera out on it overnight and there’s very little activity from anything else. Something that did surprise me is how popular a bowl of water is. I was going to throw away a chipped pasta […]

  • Hedgehogs eating the snails and berries from my allotment

    Hedgehogs eating the snails and berries from my allotment

    Are you sick of hedgehog updates yet? We’ve been seeing the hedgehogs a lot. Last night we saw one of them clambering up the compost heap. Then this morning I saw one eating and drinking from the food bowl I put out. That green house is the Hogilo which you can buy from the British […]

  • A garden pond

    A garden pond

    After spotting a toad swimming in the tiny water bowl I’d put in the backyard for wildlife I decided to give him something bigger and better to swim in: a pond. On Saturday Ben and I spent the afternoon pulling up grass and digging a hole. It was hard work. Victoria gave us a hand. […]

  • Castle Fraser

    Castle Fraser

    We had a lovely picnic at Castle Fraser today for a friend’s birthday. The walled garden at the castle is one of the best I’ve seen so we had a lovely wander around the estate and gardens before eating lunch then playing badminton under towering shady trees.

  • Bees, gulls and Grenfell fire

    Bees, gulls and Grenfell fire

    On the pavement outside our house is a tiny bit of dirt beneath a lone tree. The council usually spray the pavement and after years of losing plants this way I now have a sign there. I was delighted today to find two bees feeding from this tiny garden. You can see one of the […]

  • Let the battle begin

    Let the battle begin

    We had a nice afternoon at the allotment today planting some tatties and spreading lovely soil from the compost heap over the garden beds. There’s something very satisfying about getting your hands stuck into a heap of compost and spreading it around. The kids were initially very bored and complaining until Ben suggested they plant […]

  • The best shed

    The best shed

    When we took possession of our allotment in September 2017, the shed was in a terrible state. The roof had caved in and there was about 5cm of water in the bottom. Fortunately, my father was visiting at the time and we put him to work replacing the roof for us. This photo was taken […]

  • The pear tree: one month on

    The pear tree: one month on

    The pear tree I planted a month ago that looked rather dead has sprung back to life. In fact, all the plants in the whisky barrel have changed dramatically in just one month. Here’s how it looked at the beginning of June: Here’s how it looks today: That’s a single spinach plant in the front […]

  • The pleasures of gardening and composting

    The pleasures of gardening and composting

    I never thought I’d be excited about a compost bin but I am. He arrived today and he is a Hotbin. I haven’t given him a name yet but he’ll apparently reach temperatures inside of 60C, even in winter! Some people keep them in their glasshouse as a source of heat over winter. He’ll make […]

  • The interminable battle with slugs and weeds

    The interminable battle with slugs and weeds

    I’ve been struggling with the slugs at the allotment this year. Most of the seedlings I’ve planted have completely vanished, presumably eaten by slugs. Last month I applied nematodes to the soil and put out a heap of beer traps. There seem to be fewer slugs now and although I’d like to take the credit […]

  • A pear tree in a whisky barrel

    A pear tree in a whisky barrel

    The local school was selling fruit trees for fund-raising and I bought a pear tree. They were meant to be dwarf/patio varieties which appealed to me because although I have a large garden, it’s full of established shrubs and trees already and I don’t have space for another large tree. I already have two plum […]

  • Blue poppy

    Blue poppy

    The Himalayan blue poppy is flowering in my garden again. I always love watching the garden spring into life after winter. The changes are so pronounced and so quick. Every week there’s something new.  

  • I’ve been upgraded!

    This week I was offered a larger plot at the allotments: a half size plot. Mine is a microplot and they’re meant to be only temporary. Microplots are 50m2 while a half plot is 150m2. I was very pleased to get the offer because my plot isn’t getting much sun now. I also think a half […]

  • Alien eggs in the backyard

    Alien eggs in the backyard

    Recently I spotted what had to be an alien’s eggs incubating in our backyard. So naturally, I decided not to disturb them. A little while later I went back and they’d “hatched’ but there was nothing to see other than a tiny slug. I’m pretty sure that’s a slug and not alien spawn. Today I […]

  • A harvest of four carrots

    I was horrified last week when one of the other plotters at the allotments told me the growing season is almost over. We really haven’t got very much food from our plot. Today I harvested our carrots. All four of them 🙂 You may be wondering why we only got four carrots and I’m embarrassed […]

  • Kia Kaha

    I’ve had one glass of wine and I’m really pissed. I don’t want everyone to think I’m an alcoholic or anything because alcohol is best avoided. I don’t drink very often but I bought a half case of sulphur-free wine recently and I’ve really enjoyed it drinking it, especially the red wine. The broccoli in my […]

  • A hedgehog house

    A hedgehog house

    We got a hedgehog house for our garden. I hope a hedgehog finds it suitable and moves in. I think it looks very inviting. That old pot next to it has been dragged with us all over the world, from city to city and country to country. I think we got it in Christchurch. My war […]

  • My garden

    My garden

    I lay on the trampoline today looking up and this is what I saw. Very soon now the trampoline is going to turn into a gigantic bucket of leaves – they’ve already started falling – but I’d still rather have the trees. Here’s my garden produce on the dinner table tonight: Everything on that wooden chopping […]

  • Castle Fraser

    Castle Fraser

    My aunt and uncle have left now – I thoroughly enjoyed having them here. We went to Castle Fraser on Thursday and I’m only just getting around to posting the pics. I haven’t been there for over a year and it was wonderful. The walled garden is one of the best I’ve seen with a very […]

  • Harald has been Wapuued

    I finally did it! I plastered Wapuu stickers all over Harald. These are the Wapuus of Europe. I also took another selfie of my sunflower which is now taller than I am. Five days ago it was about up to my eyes (pic here). Now it’s over my head. I’ve discovered there’s a downside to having a […]