Dig, Dig, Dig

Spring is definitely here. In many of the local fields are baby lambs. It is lovely to see them gamble and bounce around. The hedges are coming into leaf as are the trees and we have cut our lawn for the first time this year. The birds are singing from dawn to dusk and there is a woodpecker tapping away that I can hear when I am on my allotment. I have been going on local walks with Candy my border collie.

I have spent a large part of the week on my allotment. I have been extending my beds. The ground is very wet so it has been heavy digging. I am preparing the beds to plant my potatoes.

I find digging very rewarding and good exercise

Wheelbarrows of daffodils add colour to my allotment.

Golden trumpets

Beautiful lilies  on a neighbour's allotment.

Very exotic

Tree blossom.

This blossom is very delicate

Plum blossom in the Artful Garden is at its best.

A froth of white

Growth in the birch trees.

They look like giant pom poms

Daffodils and forget me nots in the Artful Garden.

Forget me nots are one of my favourite spring flowers

I have picked my first rhubarb this week. I put lots of muck on the plants so they are growing well.

Very tasty

I am busy preparing my Easter display. A French hen.

Poule savage

Sunny Spring

A week of contrasts. At the start of the week it was very warm and I got sun burnt when I was on my allotment on Tuesday. I have been doing a lot of gardening this week planting seeds both flowers and vegetables in my greenhouse.

Just a few seeds are beginning to show

I have started to extend my allotment beds. We have just acquired a border collie and she is occupying a lot of our time. She is very timid but I manged to coax her onto the allotment on Tuesday. Once she settled in she was happy.

Candy looking pensive

So many spring flowers are in full bloom. Daffodils come in many different varieties and sizes.

Daffodils on West Walls in Carlisle

Daffodils in the Artful Garden

I love the flowering red currant it has its own unique perfume.

It smells slightly of blackcurrants

The grape hyacinths in my front garden.

Tiny darts of blue

I have several large hyacinths that have a strong perfume.

They flower for a long time

The drumstick primulas stand up straight.

Drum roll

My sprout plants on the allotment have blown.

Ready to be thrown away

The rhubarb will soon be ready to harvest.

It will soon be ready to harvest

I am still restoring my art work. The chicken and the cat.

Cock a doodle doo, miao

My Rock Chicks.

Chick, chick, chick, chicken

I love this symbol on the ladies door at Shap Memorial Hall.

A ghostly image

Look at the unique gifts I make on my Etsy site.
magscreatesandmakes

Bonny Bunting

A mixed week of weather. On Tuesday it was red hot and since then there has been a cold north or east wind. I have managed to catch up on all my gardening in the farm garden and most of my home garden. I have masses of plants to plant out this weekend and a lot of work to do on the allotment. Last night we had rain so the hard soil is now easier to dig.
The flower borders are looking colourful.

A pretty hellebore.

A hellebore in the back border 

The peonies are just coming into bloom.

A regal peony

Alliums stand stiff and straight in the flowerbed.

Spiky pom poms

I love forget me nots and they form a border along the paths in the farm garden.

A sea of blue

The laburnum is looking lovely with its trailing blossoms.

Floral bunches

This aquilegia is very unusual.

Dainty flowers

Rowan blossom is now in bloom.

Pin cushions of white

Comfrey is just coming into flower.

Comfrey amongst the raspberries

The blackcurrants are beginning to form.

Green blackcurrants

Can you see the spider's web in the plum tree?

Incy wincy spiders

I have knitted some bunting for the summerhouse.

Phase one of the bunting

Spring Springs Forth

Another week of warm weather but the Helm wind has been blowing so it has been cold.

Spring is definitely on its way.
The primulas are looking majestic in their many colours.

Shades of purple

Pale yellow

Saxifrage has delicate flowers that bounce in the breeze.

Pink saucers

Bonny purple aubretia tumble down the walls.

The cat is having a snooze

Fragile Welsh poppies dance in the breeze.

Paper thin petals

The narsissi and daffodils are coming to an end.

Button centres

This is one of my pottery leaves.

A pottery leaf with a lambs lug in the foreground

I love this old milestone.

One direction. Whichever route you choose it's beautiful countryside

Allotment Advances

The swallows have returned and the birds are flying with beak loads of nest material. A blackbird has made it's nest in the log pile.

I have had a busy week working between all my gardens trying to keep on top of all the weeding, and the other garden chores that need doing at this time of the year. I have now finished digging over phase 1 of the allotment i.e. inside the wire fence. The sweetcorn structure is now complete and I planted the sweetcorn on Thursday.

The completed sweetcorn propagator

Newly planted sweetcorn notice the purpose designed A frame prop

I have also planted kale and Brussel sprouts and today I am planting broccoli.  I have put covers over them to protect them from rabbits and birds.

Protection to ensure a harvest

A view of my allotment.

Yippee, the plot is clear of couch, buttercup and other pernicious weeds

I have started to dig phase 2, the outer border that has not been dug over for a long time. I am creating a flowerbed and then extending the vegetable plots. I am using some of the turf to rebuild a path and another allotment holder is using some to make a path around their shed.

Fruit bushes have previously been on this site

The verges are coming into flower. Dandelions reign supreme.

Zingy yellow dandelions

Golden buttons

Pretty May blossom.

Frothy May blossom

This tree is smothered with blossom.

Whiteout

I have put cardboard under the gooseberry bushes to protect them from gooseberry sawfly. 

Cardboard collars

The cardoon is growing very fast and is now the height of the garden wall.

It looks like a thistle on steroids

Bright red tulips contrast against the blue forgetmeknots. 

Pillar box red tulips

Tiny violets grow beneath the beech hedge.

Dainty violets

The farmers are busy ploughing their fields.

A familiar sight in the Eden Valley

 The ruin of Kirkoswald Castle is only a field away from the Artful Garden.

A tower of strength