Checking in with the allotment

It's been a while since I've shared an allotment update and there's a very good reason for that. It's because I've not been to our allotment, until Sunday, that is. Unbelievably that was our first visit of the year. We should have gone before, but you know how it is, when you put something off, it's easier to keep putting off and that's the cycle we got ourselves into, until the previous weekend when MOH declared we would spend "all weekend next weekend doing the allotment."

And that sounded promising, although in reality it didn't quite work out like that as we spent Saturday at the Ideal Home Show and then on Sunday I didn't manage to persuade MOH out of the house until gone midday. So not quite all weekend, but we did get there. Well after we'd gone to the garden centre to buy some seed compost and some horse manure to help improve the soil.

That was a good call - the horse manure, not the garden centre which was super busy - as little did I realise just how much our plot needed it, but more on that in a moment. I was keen to see how some of the things we had planted had coped on their own. It turns out the honest answer is mixed, and that's a little disconcerting.

Let's start with the celeriac. Above ground it looked, well like celeriac. The bulb hadn't swelled and pushed itself out of the ground though, so I wasn't sure what I'd find beneath ground. 

And I was right to be cautious, as underneath there was a bunch of roots but no vegetable. Not even a tiny one. Not on any of the plants that had survived MOH's trampling, which was disappointing (both things were disappointing, I'm not sure which was more so). Especially as I'm quite partial to eating some celeriac. We'll try again next year I'm sure, and hopefully that horse manure will make a difference.

Some of the kale had gone to seed, and while it looked pretty, it's not very edible.

The red cabbages, well they've done better. They at least are starting to look like red cabbages, but just look at the weeds. I'm not sure if I should say it's a red cabbage among weeds, or weeds with a red cabbage.

Yes exactly.

All a bit demoralising really. And despair was starting to creep up on me. But I carried on looking around the plot. 

The crab apple tree caught my eye, with the ladybird and the lichen and I quickly remembered a conversation that MOH and I had after the lichen section on a recent Gardener's World programme, featuring lichen (obviously). One of those daft conversations where we talked about liking our lichen, and seeing it here immediately lifted my spirits.  

And yes, I liken my lichen. Especially this lichen, I'm liking it a lot. See I told you it was daft.

And once I saw this photo it made me pleased again, but of course it's not going to help get rid of those weeds...

Or the grass. Every bed we've dug over is once again full of weeds or grass, including around the rhubarb. But on the positive side, it looks like it won't be too long before we'll be eating our rhubarb.

Underneath the crab apple tree the random artichoke which seems so happy in the strangest of places, continues to thrive. I had meant to move it, but I'm too late it seems. We also appear to have lost our other artichoke which was one of the first plants we planted, and without a single artichoke from it. I'll be reading up on how to take cuttings from this one, as it seems happy and maybe I can persuade some of its offspring to move to the other side of the plot.

The weeds and grass are also growing through the lavender plants, which were supposed to be forming an edging. This is what I found the hardest to deal with, these are supposed to grow unaided and ideally unweeded. If we keep having to weed and de-grass every part of our plot, I can't see us making any progress at all.

That's not defeatist, but probably more realist than I've been about our plot until now. Wondering if it was all worth it only lasted a short while - most likely until I spotted the raspberry canes - and then I was back to coming up with a plan to help us avoid weeding these edging plants repeatedly. And that's quite simply to plant these edging plants through weed membrane. It's probably not usual for an allotment, but hopefully it will help. Obviously it's not something we can do for the whole plot, we'll need another plan for that, but that needs more thought.  Advice most definitely welcome if you've experienced anything similar.

But the sun was shining, and the raspberry canes were doing well. We'd cleared around these as much as we could at the end of last year and for the first time actually remembered to cut the canes, and the pay back is already clear.  So that's something at least.

Our other smallish success was the handful - or bunch - of cavolo nero that we picked, and will be eating. I'm not sure if that counts as our last crop of the growing year or our first one of this year, but either way it's a win.

So much more to do and many more weeds to conquer, but hopefully with a plan, renewed energy and some more zen-like digging we'll make some progress. And maybe this year will be the year I'll get my cut flower bed - I hope so, the flowers would most definitely help!

15 great notebooks from The Works

I've written before, many times in fact, about being a notebook fiend and I'm making no apology for this post. There's something about notebooks, and having the right one for the task at hand that makes them so irresistible.  Or to me anyway, although I suspect I'm not alone.

It's not unheard of for me to buy a notebook without an intended use in mind. And I have several here waiting for just the right the right occasion. It's also not unheard of for me to have several on the go at once; there's different sizes, always at least one in my handbag and despite having many of my to do lists electronically, I'd be lost without a notebook and a pen in my bag.  

Even when we head off cycling somewhere new it's likely that I'll have a small postcard sized book in my wicker basket to note down sights, smells, sounds and things I want to remember, sometimes to share here, but often so I can be sure to know which memory is from where. I think it's the small things that really make the big memories come alive.

spots flowers and geometric shapes by lifeat139a on Polyvore

So it goes without saying that I'm always on the lookout for a good source of notebooks, because for me, it's not something to leave to chance. It's true that almost every time we visit a National Trust property, or I'm at a RHS garden or partner garden, they're what I'm drawn to in the shop. I've recently discovered The Works and have been pleasantly surprised by the sheer range of notebooks in their stationery section, as well as their prices. 

It's a state of mind... by lifeat139a on Polyvore

As you can see from my selection in this post, their range covers everything from inspirational quotes to geometric designs and there's many, many more designs on their site. I've chosen my favourite fifteen notebooks, and it would have been so easy to choose at least half as many again.

Positive thinking all round... by lifeat139a on Polyvore

So whatever your preferred notebook style, I suspect there's something there for you.  Are you, like me, a notebook fiend, and if so, what's your notebook style?

* This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.

A year in Greenwich Park: March

It's been a great month in Greenwich Park, it's been the month that it starts to come back to life.

Early in the month I notched up my first walk home through the park, and although it was by moonlight gradually my park time has grown, helped of course by the clock changes.

MY FIRST WALK HOME THROUGH THE PARK

Greenwich Park has been full of daffodils, almost everywhere you look. Up banks, in flower beds and like these below, behind railings. There's so many that I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at a number. It's strange though, I've seen so many that I've *almost* become blasé about them, almost but not quite. They really are a cheery flower aren't they, and ones that arrive at just the right time to cheer us up after winter. 

The park has burst into life, and more so as the month progressed;  the flowers, the trees but also people and activities. The tree below is the one that catches my eye every time I pass it, at the start of the month its leaves were still on their way and the pigeons were making themselves at home in the top branches.

Elsewhere though, trees were doing their thing. At the top of the park in the flower garden within the space of a week I watched the magnolias flower. They're just such fantastic - and classy - flowers, and little did I know it, but I was in for a magnolia surprise later in the month.

As the month went on, the temperatures rose. Camelias burst into flower - mine has in the garden this month too - and the Spring flowers moved from the yellows to the pinks, and it seems we drink up the newness of each new flower that blooms.  

It's been great to feel the sun on my back as I walk through the park in the mornings, and if I'm lucky in the evenings too. I've already ditched my coat in favour of a chunky cardigan and on some days have gone lighter still cardigan-wise. I'm never sure if I should blame my thyroid (overactive, and probably) or if it's genuinely warm - I think most likely some of both!

On the nicer days there's groups of friends and of school children in the park as I walk through of an evening, and it's great to see the park thriving. I've switched back to walking my more normal route, entering the park at the top of Maze Hill and turning right at the big tree across the grass, and it's been nice to see familiar faces. 

After a week in Dorset and a couple of days commuting by train into town (what a strange way to travel to work!) I was relishing getting back to my routine, and was met by this.

Although it doesn't affect my route it did stop me in my tracks that first morning. But not everyone as I've seen people clamber through these signs. It's not like it's not clear is it?

Wondering when the Queen's Orchard might reopen one evening I headed that way to check. Excitingly it's open already, but only at weekends and even then it closes for lunch. Typically I've not had any free time at weekends yet, but I'm hoping to pop along and find out what's behind those gates soon. And yes, I'll take my camera...

The magnolia surprise I mentioned earlier was these gorgeous pink flowers, which are much bolder than the more usual white and pale pink flowers you see. Totally breathtaking, and already I'm feeling for the daffodils who were once the star of the show. 

The leaves too are doing their thing and it's amazing how quickly things are growing at this time of year isn't it?  Something we're experiencing in the garden right now too. Sigh...

It's also been nice to get back into the routine of walking my normal route and meeting the people and their dogs I do on that route. There's definitely more nodding and smiling going on, and even a hello or a morning or two on occasions too.

Finally, the other thing that's woken up this month, is the boating lake. There's water in the shallow lake, and since I've taken this photo the boats have reappeared too.  

The park it seems, is gearing up for Easter and the summer months.  And if I'm honest, so am I!