Watching and waiting

There's a lot of watching and waiting going on in the garden and the allotment  at the moment. I'm watching the weather each day to see if it's OK to dig or hoe the soil. Can't do that if the soil is frozen. I'm watching the weather reports --waiting for the weather to warm up, planning the week ahead--can we go to the allotment? Is it going to be dry? We 've actually had some really lovely dry days this last week . Cold but not enough to stop us working, and sunny too. There's so much I want to do but it's too early. But there are other things I can do while I'm waiting.

I've been watching for signs of Spring--new shoots emerging . And I've seen them! In the woodland garden at home the crocus are there almost ready to flower, the hellebores are flowering and the daffodils are poking their heads through the soil. So are the bluebells, but that's a few months away yet. At the allotment the primroses are flowering under the big tree and the bulbs pots I planted last year are emerging again--mini daffodils, crocus, snowdrops.

I've been watching the birds. There are lots about in the garden and the allotment. I have put up some bird feeders on the allotments. Plot 8 is just so full of birds it's wonderful to watch them in the hedge and on the feeders. There are sparrows in the privet behind the shed--so much activity there. There are birds in the shed roof too, we can hear them. I joined the RSPB after I'd done the Big Garden Bird Watch and I got a bird nest box as part of my new members pack. Richard fixed it to the big tree so we will be watching for signs of activity in there.

Watching and waiting. The allotments are quiet at the moment but there is a feeling that something will happen soon. The weather will warm up and work will begin. This waiting time is good in a way because it gives us chance to catch up with other jobs which sometimes get neglected when there's a lot of sowing, planting and growing to do. This week I have been cutting back a spirea which grows  against the fence in different places around the plot. In some places it's a bit of a nuisance, it seems to have taken over and gets in the way when we are working. So I've cut it right back and I'm going to plant something like a clematis or honeysuckle which will scramble along the fence between ours and the next door plot. I've also done some work in the woodland garden at home, clearing up debris, cutting back and planting  snowdrops. My next job is to clean out the growhouses.

Soon everything will burst into life and all the hard work will begin, in the meantime I'm enjoying the peace and calm that the watching and waiting brings.

 

New neighbours

There's been a lot of activity behind plot 8 recently. It's always been a bit of a jungle up there beyond our back hedge. We had often peered through the hedge unable to make out how far it extended and whether anyone was using it. We decided that no one was as it looked so overgrown. But before Christmas the council had some trees cut down on our plot and the surrounding ones. Read more about that here.

The tree cutting work revealed a massive plot behind us and to help get the allotment waiting list down the council had decided to divide it into four smaller ones. We have been observing the work with great interest for a few weeks now as workmen cleared away rubbish and put up the boundary fences.  Whoever takes on these plots will have to be determined  and hard working, because they won't be easy plots to start off with. That's true of most allotments on our site, none of them are flat pieces of land which just need to be dug over and weeded. They all seem to have big bumps in them, tons of rubbish and maybe drainage problems. Which is probably why a lot of people give up with their allotments after the first year.

As we've watched the progress of these plots we've wondered who would want to take on a piece of land in such a bad state.  The trees have been cut down but the tree stumps are still there and probably lots of underground roots too. But having taken on and transformed two very difficult plots ourselves in the last three years we know that it is possible with a lot of hard work.

The workmen have gone now and the allotments are ready for new tenants. We've already seen people on the top plot working hard, we wish them well and we're looking forward to seeing more new neighbours soon.

Snowdrops for candlemas

Today is Candlemas Sunday when we celebrate the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of  Mary 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. We think of Jesus the light of the world.

There is a saying:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.

Today has been dry and sunny although very cold, I don't think winter has ended yet.

This time of year candles and snowdrops are quite significant for me as I think of certain family members  who have died around this time.

 Snowdrops are a symbol of hope, so although we may have more bad weather to come they are the first signs of new growth in the garden and a promise of much more good things to look forward to.

 There were snowdrops in church this morning picked from the church garden. I wish I had so many snowdrops in my garden.

 

Manuring fruit beds and pulling leeks

With the cold, wet, windy weather we had in the last week, followed by snow I think most people would have been sensible to stay indoors and watch TV or read a book, but not us. We took advantage of a dry afternoon and off we went to the allotment. All we seemed to have been doing recently is manure the beds, but then that's the main job that needs doing. I decided to manure the fruit beds on plot10b, but first I had to clear up all the cat poo which Ziggy the allotment cat had kindly left for me!

We have two manure bins on each of our plots.  I used the manure from the bin on plot 10b which had been rotting down all year. In the meantime Richard went off to get more manure from the communal heap up the lane to fill up our other bin. We were rather tired after all that shovelling and barrowing, but felt pleased with all that we had achieved.

A tidy fruit bed

Ziggy  watched us constantly from her little bed of straw which I have made for her under the shed. She occasionally came out to ask for food (she's a very greedy cat). She thanked me for the food by leaving another pile of poo on my newly manured fruit bed! I think I shall have to get some cat repellent.

During the week I worked on plot 8 clearing  leeks from the big bed where we will be growing peas and beans this year. The leeks were looking messy, so I pulled them all up, cleaned and trimmed them. Some were past their best and needed throwing on the compost heap. It's a big bed and there were a good number of leeks so it took a while to do. I had intending to pull the leeks, weed and manure all in a couple of hours. That will have to wait for another day and as the weather has now turned very cold and snowy it may be sometime before we are down there again. I will be making lots of meals with leeks!

A snow covered plot 8

Snow

Yesterday we woke to see snow on the ground. Just a light covering, but enough to throw the area into chaos as any fall of snow seems to do. There were complaints of roads not being gritted and drivers who didn't know how to drive in snow. We were just glad we didn't have to drive to work any more. All we had to do was walk the grandchildren to school which took longer than usual as we had more clothes to put on.  Then there was the wellies I had to find our granddaughter as she'd grown out of her own. She clomped up the road in a pair two sizes too big for her. And of course there was all the silliness that a fall of snow seems to bring.  I don't find snow that much fun, it's cold, wet and  slippy.  I still have bad memories of falling in the snow two years ago and fracturing my wrist.

I must admit though that snow transforms the landscape in a very beautiful way. We took our usual morning walk after we'd left the children at school.  Some places were quite snowy but there was only a light covering on the fields.

Today everything was completely different, the snow had gone and we just had a cold wind. The fields still looked lovely.

A new year on the allotment

In the last week the weather has been quite mixed. We've had frost, rain and also a mild spell. As there is always much to be done on the allotment we thought we had better take advantage of any fine weather at the weekend. We managed a couple of short sessions and as it was very cold, wrapped ourselves up in several layers of clothes.

Plot 10b was in most need of attention and I cleared the old cut flower beds of dead plants and weeds. Richard then topped both beds with manure.  The two other beds next to them still have parsnips, swede and beetroot in them.  I pulled most of the parsnips and some of the swede then weeded. I intend to make some spicy parsnip soup soon. As these beds get cleared they will have the same treatment of manure.  These four beds will be used to grow peas and beans this year and maybe courgettes too.

On Sunday Helen and I went down to plot 10b for an hour or so. It was a bit frosty although the ground wasn't too frozen. But we decided to prune the autumn raspberries which had died back.  These are sprouting all over the place now in places where we don't want them, so we are trying to control them and keep them in the bed, rather than the paths and the allotment car park.

That work done we ambled over to plot 8 which was looking quite tidy.  We didn't have time to do any more work so we just filled up the bird feeders. Plot 10b looks much better now  for that little bit of clearing up.  You can see here what the beds looked like before.

We need to sit down soon and make our plans for the year, they're all in our heads at the moment and I do like to make a proper list.

December on the allotment

Plot 8

Work on our allotments  slowed down considerably during December.  Our visits there were only to feed Ziggy the allotment cat, to pick produce and to cut greenery for my Christmas wreaths and flower arrangements.  December is such a busy month at home with all the preparations for Christmas that the allotment has to take a back seat. A few days before Christmas we went down to see what vegetables we could pick. The brussels sprouts haven't done very well and a lot of them have blown. I decided they weren't good enough for the Christmas day dinner table. Maybe another day. But I pulled beetroot, parsnips, leeks, swede and collected some onions from their storage racks in the shed.

plot 10b

We've had frosts this month which have finally finished off the flowers in the cut flower beds.  The autumn raspberries have gone over and are now ready for cutting back.  There are still beds which need to be cleared and topped with manure, the rhubarb and fruit bushes need manuring too.  There's plenty to do and I can't wait to start work again as soon as the weather is a bit milder.

Thank you for reading my blog. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and lots of good gardening.