Midsummer.

Almost midsummer, so time for an update. The weather has been surprisingly good here for the last month or so, lots of sunshine, failry warm and just about the right amount of rain. It was very windy back in early May which was around the time I put my temporary greenhouse up but I managed. Only be using a lot of guylines though!

Usual overview...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State of Play.

Here's a photo from the usual angle. I took it yesterday and as you can see, it's a bit of a damp and overgrown mess at the moment.

 

 

Not to worry, it's all superficial stuff. First bit of good weather after the kids go back to school and I'll be out there to give the place a tidy up, then I'll feel more inclined to make the necessary long term plans.

I need a a new greenhouse as the old wallhouse is literally falling to bits. It's fourteen years old and and wasn't an expensive one to start with so it's done well but whether I'll simply replace the wallhouse or go for something bigger is still under consideration. I would like a bigger one to play with but the garden isn't that large, I'm considering replacing the wallhouse for propagating and getting one of these for summer use only. Of course if money was no object I'd buy a Keder greenhouse but ahem, you could buy a second hand car for the same money as the smallest one of these. I've seen the Parasene greenhouse, it's like a sturdy pop-up tent with guylines and it folds small for storage.

I'd like a new shed. I'm currently using the kids' old Wendy house as a shed but it's not big enough, not tall enough for me to stand up in and the roof is starting to leak, amongst other damage. It's fourteen years old too, of course.

  I need to cut some more beds, to give me more growing space. I've got room now that the climbing frame and useless pear tree have been removed from the centre of the garden but until I decide on the type of greenhouse to get I'm not able to plan the beds.

Decisions, decisions! Once I get out there and do some work on it though I'll gradually work out what to do. I don't do well with making plans on squared paper, I do much better fiddling around with sticks and string and a spirit level. So watch this space. :)

January.

Just a brief post to say Happy New Year! I'm hoping to do a lot more in the garden this year. Looking back at the pictures, I seemed to run out of puff around midsummer. This was partially to do with being unwell over the summer and also the terrible weather we had then. I did get some good crops and a few things have changed, most notably the climing frame and pear tree in the middle of the garden have gone. And I handed in my allotment keys at the end of November to the playhouse is now stuffed full of gardening equipment. Do I miss the allotment? Well, a bit, sometimes I'm thinking about growing and think "I could do..." and then realise that no, not possible, no allotment. But I don't really miss it, no. I did the right thing because my health problems are still ongoing, I just couldn't have kept the plot on for another year. So, plans for this year? A better composting system, a new greenhouse if I can find the money, four new raised beds, move the raspberry patch, build a wormery. And grow more crops, of course!