mamaUK

raised beds

(our garden fruit nets) 
 
Our fruit nets are falling down! Not only are they getting old, but when we get snow fall during the winter months it sits on top of the nets weighing them down. Over a number of years this has weakened the poles and now they're collasping. They house raspberry bushes, strawberries, redcurrents, blackcurrents and gooseberries. We've decided not to replace them, but remove the nets altogether, dig up some of the fruit bushes (but keeping enough for jam making & baking) and use the area for raised vegetable beds for the children. We're so excited!

This is going to be a big job, but we're looking forward to becoming even more self sufficient for our fresh fruit,vegetables and salad during the summer months. The children will be really involved in growing their own produce, in their very own vegetable beds. The girls enjoy sowing seeds, caring for their own plants and looking out for harvest time. 

After seeing this Gardeners' World video about building rasied beds, we hope to make our own and are looking at sourcing untreated scaffolding planks to build them with. I'll keep you updated with our new project.

monday

 
 

(In our garden, cutting courgettes)

A trip to the dentist for K and L early in the morning. We hurried along the pavements into town, past the cathedral, under the old arch way, K ran ahead and found the shiny black door of our destination.

We cut more courgettes from the greenhouse before the rain sent us back inside.
We baked organic wholemeal bread in the breadmaker.
The children ate strawberries and cherries until their fingers were stained with berry juice.
Heavy rain showers peppered our afternoon.
The rain has stopped now and the sky seems light.

Growing peas and beans

 

We took the young pea and bean plants from the green house and planted them in a little vegetable patch next to the fruit bushes. We're looking forward to popping open the pods and shelling our first peas this summer. We stuck some twigs next to the young peas so they have something to twirl around as they grow bigger. They're planted right next to the strawberry and raspberry bushes so Little L took a moment to gather some into her trug. I was suprised to see raspberries ripening already.

Strawberry time

 

 

The strawberry patch is a popular place to be in our garden at the moment, all the sweet, tiny strawberries are ripening and there are some ready to pick every day. The children push aside the leaves looking for the scarlet berries and pop them straight into their mouth.

New daily rhythms

 

 

 
We're still settling into our new weekly rhythm, with K at school full time and Little L at pre-school for two and a half days a week. Sorry if I have been delayed in replying to any comments, with so much change to our daily routine, eveything is still shifting into place.

It was wet on the way home from school yesterday, a beautiful warm fragant rain was falling, refreshing in the humidity of the day. 

While the children are at school, I am finding little pockets of time amongst the daily chores, where I can do something like wander out into the garden and really 'see' what is in front of me without the calls of 'mummy, mummy, mama.' It feels nice to have some uninterrupted moments where I can properly think, reflect and ground myself a little, away from the chaos of day to day to life with two small children. 

Allotment

 

 

 
 

On the news this morning it was reported that the weather we have been experiencing here in the UK is possibly going to be the warmest on record for the month of April. It truly has been beautiful. We took the girls to their grandparent's allotment at the weekend to plant potatoes and gather dandelions to make wine. K carried an armful of rhubarb home for us. It was a lovely way to round up the Easter holiday before both the girls head back to school.

Did you see that I wrote 'both'? It is Little L's first day at pre-school today so it's been an anxious time for the two of us but I'm hoping that the transition will become smoother as we both find new routines.

Spring cleaning the greenhouse

 

 
 

 

Brilliant Sunshine seems to have chased away the April showers here in the UK this week. It really has been beautiful and unusually warm for this time of year. Wanting to make the most of the sunny weather, we decided to busy ourselves outdoors. I took little L up the garden to wash the greenhouse, a job we have been meaning to do for some time to help control pests and diseases and optimise the light getting in so we can give our little seedlings and plants the best start possible. Years worth of moss and algae had built up both inside and out. Little L enjoyed playing with the cloths in the bucket of soapy water and sloshing them over the glass to remove the grime. She seemed to enjoy how purposeful her task was, hard at work helping her mama.

April showers

 

 

 

The sky looked leaden overhead while we were at the top of our garden planting the  potato patch late on Sunday afternoon. We hurried to dig the trenches before the children carefully placed the tubers into the ground and put their 'blanket' of dark soil back on top. The heavens opened and there was a quick, heavy April shower which sent the children scurrying back down the garden and back into the dry. As muddy boots were being pulled off and discarded in the garden room, K said, 'April really is here, it's raining!'

 We planted some 'earlies','second earlies' and 'main crop' potatoes so we can have home grown throughout the  summer and some will be stored in large paper sacks for the winter. As well as planting them in the ground, we are also using two Burgon & Ball Rectangular Potato Bags. 

Nature's gift

 
Do you remember when we planted the children's birthday flower pots? Little L's pot decided to bloom one day before her birthday, just in time I think. Can you imagine her delight as she hopped down the front steps this morning and found this bright yellow daffodil that opened early this morning, just for her? It seems like a sweet little gift from nature for my almost three year old.

Outdoors again

 

 
(Sunday afternoon)

We forgot how good it feels to be outside in the garden for the afternoon with the warmth of the sun shining on our faces without the cold pushing us indoors again. We got some jobs done, digging over the potato patch ready for planting and clearing and sweeping the brick pathways. They weave under the large old apple tree and around the back of the vegetable bed which is hidden away at the top of our garden. It felt good to be getting ready for the new growing season again.