Supporting Role

plant supports at Norton Conyers........

We had an altogether easier day at NC on Saturday I'm pleased to say as I was a little under the weather with a slight cold. Thankfully there was no more gravel to shift but the more pleasurable task of making plant supports for the main border, I was also allowed to take some willow home for the same purpose in my own small plot, I think they look much more effective than anything man made as well as being a lot cheaper and will of course soon be covered over with fresh growth and invisible anyway. We still had a fair bit of hoeing to get on with but it really does look good when you've finished, the only thing is you stand back and congratulate yourself on a job well done and then when you next pass by there is always at least one enormous weed in full flower that you just can't imagine how you missed it! We also carried on sowing the vegetable plot putting in parsnip White Spear and beetroot Boltardy in between the new strawberry beds, they should germinate in 2 or 3 weeks if the weather is kind and the mice don't get them. Speaking of mice, my very own Mr Jingles is getting tamer and quite tubby feeding off the riches of my compost heap, he can barely be bothered to move when I lift the cover off, I just hope he will be a little more cautious with the neighbourhood moggies!

Used to good effect at home

"Who has learned to garden who did not at the same time learn to be patient" H L V Fletcher