Fond Farewell

Friday 29th July 2011

A glorious morning for our walk yesterday and with nothing in particular to do when I got home I could afford to be unhurried. I had a very pleasant chat with an allotmenteer as I passed by and stopped to admire his carrots, at least someone is managing to beat the dreaded fly. Down by the river I was awarded a glimpse of the kingfisher, always a treat but even better in full sunshine which catches the blue streak as he flies by. Followed by a couple of hours sitting in the garden with a magazine, bliss. Then I had a sorry duty to perform, I had to pay my last visit to Southlands. My ex-husband BIG BAD (always to be referred to as BB from now on , he's big, he's bad, he's six foot five of cad!), and his common law wife The Trout ( I use the term deservedly), have thoughtfully decided to take their new brood on holiday the week before we go away and the week after we get back, daughter #1 and son not being invited. BB helpfully pointed out that he was available for one weekend out of the entire summer holidays, I think we will neglect to take him up on that and go away out of spite! Anyway this has left me somewhat short of time and with college starting in September something had to give. I have enjoyed my visits there very much and hope they find someone else to help out soon.

Pics- the first one needs no explanation and the second is an example of my exuberant planting style at Southlands!

"In the hope to meet shortly again, and make our absence sweet"

Ben Johnson

Carrot Calamity

Thursday 28th July 2011

The weather for Spofforth this week was humid with white cloud cover, the mid summer garden snoozing quietly in languid stupor. Unfortunately Diana had digging in mind and any thoughts of an easy day idling through small jobs were soon shattered. However the small patch in the front garden was soon attended to and as a bonus we spotted the first puffball of the season, I would have let it grow on to see how many others came up, but Di is unsentimental about such things and anyway it is her garden! Crop inspection revealed gooseberries, blueberries and red currants in need of picking so we attended to that next. Further on down the garden the brassicas are doing very well and I came home with a fine early cabbage for our Sunday dinner, but the pesky carrot fly have also found their way into Di's crop which is a great disappointment. We agreed to change tactics and use seed tape sown and covered immediately next year, if that doesn't beat the blighters we may have to admit defeat.

"To see the summer sky is poetry, though never in a book it lie-true poems flee"

Emily Dickinson

Black-fly Genocide

Wednesday 27th July 2011

The teenager was tardy getting up on Tuesday, completely ignoring the fact that some of the household had been up since 6.30 tending to the more dependant members of the family. She loftily declared that 10 o'clock was far too early to to rise and that she might consider it after lunch had been provided! This left me with a window of unplanned spare time so naturally I gravitated into the garden. The nasturtiums caught my eye and although they had been glorious they were now being ravished by black-fly, there was nothing else for it but to pull them up. Luckily I still had space in the green recycling bin so was more than happy to let the council deal with the beasties. It is interesting to note that the variegated types have suffered much worse than the traditional nasties, so I'm going to stick to the latter next year. Other pest bothered crops are my chillies and peppers, the chillies are just about holding their own against the green-fly, probably because they taste hot, but I've given up with the sweet peppers and put them outside to fend for themselves. I suppose I've over fussed them as usual , I'm also fed up with squashing green-fly so maybe the outside crawlies will do a better job than me, but I sense they're not long for this world, there's more to this veg growing malarkey than meets the eye!

The lavatera continue to delight, every stage of the flower has its merits but for me the bud is the best, like an old fashioned cone of sweeties twisted closed by the shopkeeper.

"No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden"

Hugh Johnson

He's Not A Bad Dog Really

Tuesday 26th July 2011

The first day of the summer holidays started in typical fashion yesterday, allowing the children a lie in, I tackled the housework I should have done on Saturday, instead of galavanting off enjoying myself. Feeling relieved that the tide of mess had been held off for a little while longer Chum, George and I set off on our morning walk, it was then that I realised just how accustomed to my mornings of solitude I had become. George, under the pretence of keeping me company talked non-stop about X-box games and general drivel to be found on the internet (my blog excluded I hope!), I don't think I managed to focus upon a single thing of interest as my brain went into terminal shutdown. Approaching the end of the walk I made an unexpected detour into the vets for Chum's annual kennel cough treatment, he's had a long walk and should be nice and pliable I thought, foolish woman! As soon as realisation struck he turned into a different dog, tail firmly wedged between his legs and with the demeanour of a whipped cur he wriggled, snarled and carried on until reinforcements had to be called for. This is the dog who runs away from cats whimpering, but reaching into some hidden depths he put up enough of a fight to have to be muzzled, what an embarrassment. Breathing a sigh of relief I finally got home only to be confronted by the teenager, (actually dressed!), with palms outstretched for yet more money and that bored expression we all know only too well. Oh dear it's going to be an awfully long holiday!

"Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers"

William Galvin

Love At First Sight

Saturday found me joining an iris dividing party organised through Sue and the WFGA at Norton Conyers just outside of Ripon. I'd never visited or even heard of the place before but I confess it didn't take me long to fall in love with the late medieval manor house and gardens. It is a timeless place slumbering quietly within its old welcoming walls, and has been in the Graham family since 1624. Charlotte Bronte was the governess there in 1839, and upon hearing family stories of the incarceration of a mad aunt in the attic a centuary before, used the manor as the inspiration behind Thornfield Hall in her novel Jane Eyre. Our working party consisted of Giles the head gardener, Alison the current trainee, Alison from Wakefield, myself (Alison of course ), Mary and Sue, that's three Alisons in a group of six, must be something about the name! We soon got to work digging up the congested clumps, splitting them and replanting in a colour scheme devised by Giles and Alison. The rhizomes are left on the surface of the soil, pointing south to maximize the heat of the sun where they will soon grow new roots to anchor themselves in. As you can see we all had a great time and hopefully did a decent job. The visit ended with a guided tour and the opportunity to take home any spare iris divisions, I must go back to see them in full bloom next year. In case you would like to visit, the house is currently closed for major refurbishment until 2012 but the gardens are open Sunday and Mondays until 8th August and 28th and 29th August from 2 til 5pm. Parking and entrance is free but any donations can be placed in the honesty box in the plant sales area where they will go towards the upkeep of the gardens. YOU MUST GO!

"Thou art iris, fair among the fairest, who, armed with golden rod and winged with celestial azure, bearest the message of some god"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monday 25th July 2011

A Duo Of Devilment

Friday 22nd July 2011

A mornings work of hedge cutting and dead-heading was totally spoilt by my discovery of carrot fly grubs cheerfully munching their way through my crop. I'd thought they weren't looking great, a couple were going to seed so I decided to dig them up and eat them as babies, no such luck they were only fit for the bin. Naively I had hoped to get away without fleecing them, as I haven't grown carrots before I thought the dreaded fly wouldn't know where to find them! I wont be making that mistake again next year. Then I got a migraine, not a bad one but enough for me to decide against going to Southlands, sorry guys but I seem to be running on empty at the moment, I should be back to normal after the holiday. Moving pots and baskets around I disturbed a couple of devils coach-horse beetles, I wasn't quick enough with my camera so don't credit me with the photography! They are quite common but I haven't noticed them in my garden before now.

"No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar"

Donald Foster

I have been asked for some explanation of who is who from John who has just started to read the blog.

Tate House is a residential and respite care home for the blind. the growing together group consists of Lynne, Jack, Nick, Stewart, Madhu, Leo and myself. I help there on a Monday.

The garden in Spofforth belongs to a lovely couple Brian and Diana, both in their late eighties they are still extremely active gardening, driving and planning an extension to the orchard. Brian is a retired doctor and Diana a zoologist and botanist, I provide a little labour on a Wednesday in return for lunch and lessons!

Southlands is the BUPA care home on Ripon road, they have an extensive and beautiful garden where I'm allowed to dabble in the raised beds planting veg and flowers. Many of the residents like to come out and chat when the weather is kind.

Finally I may mention Sue and the women and farmers gardening association who help nutters like me change career paths after years of fruitless toil!

Hope this helps to make sense of my ramblings.

Shared Labour Shared Harvest

Thursday 21st July 2011

It was a bit of a shock seeing the garden in Spofforth yesterday, the massive hedge which ran along one side of the boundary has been removed and replaced with a fence. This has let in loads more light and considerably widened the planting area, Diana plans to grow espaliered fruit trees along the whole length and is eager to get started, it will look marvellous when it is finished! However there was a lot of mess to be tidied up first, so we tackled moving mounds of soil heaped up by the fence fitters and putting things back in their proper places, hot dirty work but a necessary evil. As a reward we spent the rest of the afternoon picking the harvest, courgettes, sugar snap peas and beautiful baby broad beans, Brian even gave me a lift home as I was laden down with a share of each and four more pots of Diana's assorted fruit jellies, this is the really good bit about lending a hand!

Pics-ladybird on wheat, and a mushroom called The Miller which is edible and tastes of meal. Both snapped on our usual by-pass walk.

"Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace"

Kent Nerburn