It's a funny old world

Moody or what?

It's also a very beautiful world if you take the time to have a proper look at it.  I never tire of looking at the sky when I am in the garden.

Tonight it was definitely moody and although I never actually caught sight of the sun, it was making it's presence felt.

Daytime or night, there is always something to see, be it the stars, the sunrise, the sunset or just the clouds.

Last night the Milky Way was there for all to see in all it's glory.

There are of course so many things of beauty in the garden all year round.  I discovered a Deadly Nightshade plant in with the potatoes tonight.  What a beautiful plant!  It's in the incinerator now ready to be disposed of.

Runner beans are one of my favourite crop producing plants flower wise, I love the contrast between the calm green leaves and the vibrant red flowers.

Our beans have not been great so far, but as Terry on the Radio 2 allotment said his are all behind as well I don't feel so bad.

Our dinner this evening was home produced with the exception of the meat.  I made an apple sauce from our Bramley windfalls.

I know, throw your hands up in horror. You shouldn't eat the windfalls!  When I was a kid going round the fruit farms of West Norfolk with Great Grandpa Southwellski in his lorry, we used to get given bag full's of windfalls which Great Nanny Southwellski turned into pies and crumbles and I'm still here.

I was pleased it rained today, quite heavily at times and yet when I was out in the garden around 8.30pm the soil just below the surface was bone dry and that's after 6 - 7 hours of rain!

How to stay dry Scarlett style

Never mind, I find watering up quite therapeutic.

You will, if you've read my blog before, know how much we love our dogs and how much they mean to us.

Lou, our 17 year old Rottie cross has aged rapidly in the last 3 -4 days and both Nanny Southwellski are preparing ourselves for the inevitable heartache when she goes.

She has always been a very nervous dog and has only really relaxed in the last year since she went deaf.  Now sudden noises don't worry her and she has started eating normally even during bonfire night and thunder storms blissfully unaware of anything.

We have had a bit of a love hate relationship with Lou over the years but she is very loyal and always with us despite our shortcomings.

She has had her moments such as when she refused to let 3 travellers move after they tried to come in through the back entrance to one of our building sites.  That was at the height of her nervousness, but she was showing none of that on this particular occasion.

We have to help her in and out of the house now, it's no problem and she seems happy enough just to be with us in the study or laying out in the sun and while she is clearly not suffering she will remain part of our family.

 Our apple tree is laden with fruit and I mean laden.  They are also ready and Coco and I have now replaced our morning constitutional to the peas with a trip to the apple tree, scrummy!

We went to the opticians today, our eyes are healthy enough apparently it's just that we can't see.

I saw an advert a while back for a national chain of opticians where a young boy is running round the house like a looney and bouncing on the sofa.  His father then comes through and finds his mangled specs down the back of the sofa. Off to the opticians.  Now why would anyone choose the same glasses as Brains on Thunderbirds?  Does he not know what a berk he looks? Did he do it for a bet?

I chose a simple pair and as long as they don't fall off my head and people don't point at me they will do fine.

When they arrive next week, who knows this might start to make sense.

Why I shouldn't be allowed to multi task

Aren't clouds amazing!

Its been an eventful day here at the garden in a number of ways.

Coco and I have spent most of the day outside cutting grass, harvesting veggies and planting our melons out under cloches as it's turned rather cold here, well I've been planting Coco has been unplanting.

Right from the day I bought the seeds cheap in Focus, I thought you will have a lot to contend with my little beauties and I didn't expect much from them at all. I was pleased that they had even germinated.

Now if they produce anything it will be amazing, they have all been planted at least twice some three times.

Who ate the runners?

Sunday is roast day and we were very proud to have produced Potatoes, Carrots, Peas and Purple Curly Kale to have with it.

There is certainly a sense of achievement in harvesting, preparing, cooking and eating your own stuff.

We should have had Runner Beans as well but they sort of got eaten on the way back to the kitchen, didn't they Coco?

Now, to make our lives easier Nanny Southwellski has prepared a monthly menu for us so we know what we are having every day and it's brilliant! So today was roast chicken (not one of ours) with veggies.

As it was a beautiful day we decided that it would be best cooked on the BBQ using the spit and we would have it with salad and new potatoes. I balanced the chicken on the spit beautifully, turned on the burners, put the lid down and went to prepare Coco's dinner. She normally eats with us but time was ticking on etc etc so she had something else.

While she was eating I thought I'd make a loaf of bread and a cake (cake for the ofsted man!) and watch Coco and cook the chicken. Easy peasy!

To make it more of a challenge,  I took Coco for her bath (she had finished eating).

Chicken cooking, bread proving and all the ingredients ready for the cake, Coco in bath, marvellous!

Nanny Southwellski came and took over after how long I'm not really sure but Coco was turning prune like.

I walked into the kitchen to see smoke billowing from the BBQ. I went out, turned the burner off and lifted the lid to find the chicken on fire! I had been calm up until then.

Anyone in Hockwold waiting to see the Olympic torch pass through was not disappointed as it was on our deck and I was carrying it!

I like mine well done please.

In fact what I was doing was running around waving the flaming chicken on a spit about to extinguish the flames. It worked a treat.

The chicken however was slightly singed but it was only skin deep and I have to say it was delicious.  This is the second one we have done on the spit and it certainly stays moist and tasty

Lunch tomorrow - sorted!

The cake turned out a treat, but then Delia is a Goddess even if she does support Norwich City she has never let me down.

The Dough for the bread I divided between two loaf tins and then realised I had only made enough dough for one, Doh!

So I scooped it out and kneaded it again stuck it into one tin and it's turned out great.

Now all we have to do is get by the Ofsted man and it's on with the summer holidays!

A beautiful day

No not just the weather, although it was a lovely day, it was a bit breezy this morning but it warmed up as the day progressed.

Today was beautiful because of the Royal Wedding. We had a day off from doing jobs of any description and had friends over to watch the proceeding on TV.

Its surprising how sharing a day such as this can make it all the more meaningful and we are blessed with some wonderfultrue friends.

It saddened me that despite the occasion there were still a few people determined to spoil it for Prince William and Kate Middleton, get a life please because you failed miserably to spoil our, and their enjoyment and wonderment of a very special day.

Coco was in a flag waving frenzy, egged on by Aunty Angela and Sarah who provided flags.  Ray, Nic and Ellie also came for the day and I think along with Nanny Southwellski, Uncle Robin, who arrived later, and myself we confirmed that this little piece of England remains loyal to the Queen and her family and we did Her Majesty proud.

Kate Middleton looked stunning and the smiles and looks that went between her and Prince William were undoubtedly genuine looks of love.  Made me cry!

We did have a rather unusual experience with the desserts Aunty Angela brought over with her, the red white and blue pavlova looked fantastic it was just that blue whipped cream had a certain unusual flavour.  We will leave it at that because they were a fantastic idea and certainly added to the day.

I did a tour of the forest garden this evening, I hadn't been down there for a day or two and my goodness how it has changed.  The rides I strimmed a week or so ago are now almost grown over and re-doing them will have to take a place high up on my jobs to do list.

The cherry tree is a mass of fruit already and I will be looking to see what we can do with the fruit, although Aunty Angela has made it very clear that this will not be an issue.

My Morning Glory plants, so savagely ravaged by the chooks a couple of days ago have had a new lease of life and I am confident they will make a full recovery.

I am planting out my runner beans tomorrow, its a bit of a risk with catching a late frost but they are taking over the potting shed and I need the space for pricking out my brassicas, listen to me being like a proper gardener.

Whilst this is my first garden of any significant size, I am not entirely new to growing stuff.  Great Great Grandpa Southwellski was a gardener for Mr Feetham and grew all the veggies for the family and his own needs along with flowers for Mrs Feetham.  The Feethams used to hold village garden parties in their garden and Great Great Grandpa always kept them looking pristine.

My father, Great Grandpa Southwellski, also had a passion for gardening, and like so many other areas of his life I did not take as much interest in what he did as I should have done, the same has to be said for Great Great Grandpa Southwellski. Oh the questions I would ask now!

Go Girls!

We made another trip to Little Hen rescue on Sunday and collected another 6 hens to add to our flock.

It would be good to say they all got on famously from the minute the new arrivals stepped out of their crates, but that wouldn't be the truth.  In fact poor old Brutus aged about twenty years in the first hour from running around stopping fights, rounding up the ones who were wandering off.  It was hard work, this I know because as Brutus was stopping one fight I was stopping another!

But I take my hat off to the boy, he knew what he was doing and did it very well, and very calmly until one of the new hens went under the trailer at which point he just gave up and walked back to the flock.  Mr Bumble helped to shift the reluctant hen from under the trailer and got a peck for his troubles.

Two days on and I just went out to lock the coop doors and all 10 hens and Brutus are crammed into one coop and very contented noises they were making too.

Egg production is up as well we have rocketed from 2 a day to 7 a day and very nice they are as well.

On the downside I have replanted my onions at least twice now, and in the case of the poor little onion closest to the hen houses, at least a dozen times!

Nanny Southwellski suggested that we introduce the dogs to the hens and I thought she was a little premature but I followed her instructions and the dogs have developed a very healthy and wise respect for the beak.  Mr Bumble has had a couple of pecks on the noggin and that was more than enough for him.  He now keeps out of reach.

The plot is taking shape very nicely now and a handful of corn scattered in the right place means I get the grass stripped up by the chooks leaving me to turn the soil over. The sunsets have been beautiful these last few days although a bit of rain, more than the few drops we had today, would be very welcome.

Our strawberries are in and under fleece cloches now, to keep the chooks away as much as protect them from the weather. Our potatoes are also in and the runner beans that didn't get frazzled are almost ready to go out.

I ordered the middle level fruit and nut trees for the forest garden at the weekend there are some good offers out there at the moment if you look for them.  I used D T Brown, I bought my hedging, strawberries and potatoes from them and was very pleased with the quality and prompt service they provided.

I also finished the deck at the front of the potting shed so that Coco and I don't have to tiptoe across the bearers anymore and it gives us somewhere dry to stand as well. While I was doing that Coco dismantled all of my neatly stacked pots and emptied my compost all over the floor, bless her!!!!  It looked like we had been burgled.

If the good weather holds it will be more digging tomorrow.

Sky blue linen posts? oh and Forest Gardens.

That was what I thought when I opened the packages for the new linen posts, not new really, we've had them for about 5 months now.  Nanny Southwellski just couldn't settle on a final position for them.

Now when I say Sky Blue I mean SKY BLUE!! The same sort of blue you see in the sky over a Greek Island!

I had some concrete left over from the new path around the dog run and managed to get a decision from Nanny Southwellski and before you could say 'its a good drying day' the holes were dug, the post were in, uprighted and concreted!  Job done!

I only managed to get about half an hour on the garden today before it rained, bit of tidying up was all I achieved.  Coco had her friend Calypso over for a visit this afternoon so I had to do the work on my own.

I've been reading about Forest Gardens just lately in a book (Left) that Nanny Southwellski bought me, and the idea of having a productive woodland bit really appeals. When I say productive, I mean more than just fruit trees.

The basic idea, as I understand, it is to set up a stacking system where each layer of plants compliments and protects the layer below, so you have tall fruit trees over fruit bushes and dwarf varieties.  These in turn shelter herbs and veggies and finally root crops underneath all of them. By covering the soil with plants, it is protected and water loss and erosion are reduced.

Obviously there are certain plants which need plenty of light and these can be grown in clearings or as we are planning, in the veggie patch. We have decided that some of our plants such as the runner beans and strawberries will be split between the Forest Garden and the veggie patch.

We already have the woodland with well established fruit trees and a few soft fruit bushes dotted here and there which will be moved in due course to make it flow.

I particularly like the idea of nature taking a lead role in what happens and when for example as one plant finishes and dies back it feeds the next one coming through.  It being low maintenance also appeals, Nanny Southwellski will tell you I'm not brilliant at time management which is why all my posts are late in the evening.

Just look at our runner beans! Coco and I say good morning to them every morning and we wish them a goodnight too.  Works wonders, and I am sure they smile and grow that little bit taller when Coco speaks to them.

Day one!

Welcome to Grandpa Southwellski's Garden.  We, Coco my Grandaughter and I hope you enjoy your visits with us and see how our garden is growing.  We're new to this so don't delete those gardening websites from your favourites just yet.

We have a potting shed, two wheelbarrows, you can see Coco in one here, two spades, a fork and a load of compost.

We planted the privet hedge around the garden today, 50 sticks that looked rather unhealthy to Coco and I, but we followed the instructions, measured each one and used a string line to keep them straight.

We chose privet for two reasons one because we want the birds and insects to have somewhere safe to hide, and secondly Great Great Grandpa Southwellski had very tall privet hedges around his bungalow which was called, yep, High Hedges!

Our runner beans are sown, our potatoes are chitting (Robin our farmer friend told us that's what they do) all we have to do now is dig up all of that grass.

We think its been a great first day in the garden so keep watching because its going to be interesting, educational, and most of all good muddy fun!