Weary from Weeding

I have spent the week trying to get on top of my allotment as there are masses of weeds. I have made a start on the Artful Garden but I am busy harvesting and making chutneys and relishes in between gardening shifts.
Today is the first day of Autumn and there is definitely a chill in the air early in mornings and evenings.

The wild flowers on my allotment are now in full bloom.

Borage and calendula

Corncrake

Dill

I am harvesting my carrots that I have grown in a grow bag.

Tasty

I have a variety of phlox growing in my garden at home.

Variegated pink

White

Not many of the zinnias I grew from seed have survived.

Exotic

You can see how poached egg plants get their name.

One egg or two?

Japanese anemone.

These grow rampant in my garden

The farmer's are harvesting the wheat.

Ears of corn

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Hadrian's Happenings

Last week we had a walk along Hadrian's Wall from Housestead to Milecastle. Hadrian's Wall is a World Heritage Site. The weather was perfect for the long views.

We followed the wall that climbed and dropped according to the contours.

Housestead

Looking along the wall.

It just goes on and on

Along the route were various tarns.

One man and his dog, Jill

Tarns were dotted along the landscape.

Panoramic views

The iconic Sycamore Tree.

Made famous by Kevin Koestler's Robin Hood

In places the landscape was rugged.

Steep ravines

The Romans were brilliant at building.

Do you fancy building on this terrain?

I have been picking blackcurrants and have made some jam.

Yummy

The flower bed on my allotment.

I have a lot of flowers that attract the bees

The dahlias have come into bloom.

They are prone to black fly

 I have made several wreaths.

They do not last very long

Daisies and perennial wallflower

I am growing lupins as a green manure.

A pretty shade of blue

The monbretia Lucifer is now in bloom.

Vibrant red

The mondara looks dramatic.

Giant pin cushions

There have been some lovely sunsets.

Red sky at night

This is  part of Penrith's  Cumbria in Bloom display.

Garden fashion

Sizzling Sunshine

Another busy gardening week with mixed weather. The Helm wind was blowing on Tuesday night and was so strong that it moved one of my very heavy plant pots and broke one of my favourite pottery birds. By Wednesday the wind had dropped and we have had hot weather. That evening I was weeding on my allotment in just my T shirt until 8pm. I have made great progress with my weeding. We now have a hosepipe on the allotment that allows me to water the soil before I dig, this helps to break down the sods. I hope to finish clearing the plot by the end of next week. I am up to date with all my weeding in the Artful Garden and at home. Unfortunately we have a young rabbit in the Artful Garden.

I have planted borage and phacelia seedlings against the hedge on the allotment. A large border of wildflowers in the middle of my plot. Also leeks, spinach and chard. I have made windmills as bird scarers.

The plants are now looking more healthy

Most of the trees are in leaf and there is nothing more wonderful than to drive under an arch of trees and see the dappled patterns made by the sunlight. The hawthorn is now in bloom and smells so sweet.

Tiny dots on the end of the stamens

We have made the sweetcorn propagator which is warming up the soil before we plant the sweetcorn.

Our allotment hot house

The strawberries are in flower.

We need rain to bring on the fruit

The dandelions have now turned to seed - dandelion clocks. As a child you blew the seeds and counted the number of times it took to blow all the seeds away. This told you the time.

Dandelions in all there stages of growth

A beautiful dandelion clock

Woad flowers growing in my garden at home.

You use the leaves for dyeing

The golden hop is growing quickly.

I keep winding it around the trellis

A view across the Eden Valley from Hartside.

Look at the field patterns

I am starting to redecorate my allotment shed and have acquired some veg. 

'Fresh veg'

Dig, Dig, Dig

A mixed bag of weather this week, sun, hailstones, rain and snow. I have been keeping on top of my gardens. I applied a generous stack of muck to my Autumn raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries. I have put cardboard under the gooseberry bushes to prevent gooseberry sawfly.

Autumn raspberries are cut back each year

Gooseberry and blackcurrant flowers are forming

Our beech hedge is coming into leaf.

When all the new leaves cover the hedge the dead leaves are shed

The farmers are busy rolling the grass and ploughing fields. The lambs are growing but are still young enough to gamble at dusk. I heard  the cry of three oyster catchers when I walked along the river in the evening. Candy my dog has gone back to the kennels she came from. 

Very smart

The gorse is a vibrant yellow along the lanes.

Acid yellow

Dandelions rule OK.

Dandelions are sun lovers and the flowers are also edible

The gentle Welsh poppies remind me of my friend.

Paper thin petals

I am making a series of door wreaths using flowers in season.

Ivy, blossom and daisies 

These are some of the flower arrangements I did for the Easter display at church.

For the entrance to the Haydock Centre

For the entrance porch

I have been weeding my allotment, extending the vegetable beds. I have made excellent progress with some very long days of digging. The soil is rock hard. I hope to finish by next week. Many of my vegetable plants in the greenhouse are ready to plant out, broad beans and kale and sweetcorn. I have planted some flower seeds today and the greenhouse is almost full. 

Hi ho, hi ho it's off to dig I go

I have redesigned my bees that feature in all my gardens and on my allotment.

New this year are wire wings

This is a sock monkey I made for my granddaughter.

Cheeky