Up, up and away

On my Good Morning! post last week there was this comment from Ian who likes this blog and wanted to email me.  He did and informed me that Flighty’s plot has been included in the post More Gardening Blogs We Love on the Dobbies.com blog. As you can see that is the second of two entries listing lots of excellent gardening blogs and for mine to be included feels really good.

What also caught my eye is the post 10 Mad American Barbecues , which should provide some ideas for anyone thinking of upgrading theirs !

It’s now the height of the holiday season so blogging in general tends to go rather quiet for a few weeks.   Uphilldowndale is in sometimes sunny Devon,  Daffy will soon be away to the lovely Norfolk Broads and Glo is at home trying to keep cool in the hot weather.

So if you’re up, up and away or high flying like teddy* enjoy yourselves whatever you’re doing and wherever you’re going!

Have a good weekend!

[* my thanks to Jenny for this little gem]

Harvest time

Last week I lifted over 50 onions for drying and storingThey range in size from a golfball to a tennis ball and will keep me going to at least the end of the year.

I dug up the last of the Kestrel potatoes which I’ve been eating all month. They’re nice but some are rather on the small side That’s a 5p coin which is 3/4″ or 20mm diameter! Anyway only kidding as most are a regular size with a few big ones like this

The carrots Little Fingers are crunchy and taste good  straight out the ground

On the down side something has devoured my second sowing of lettuce ButtercrunchThankfully I’m not that fussed as I much prefer the Lollo Rosa which has survived untouched for me to have in my salads.

There’s also been plenty of red beetroot Cylindra, raddishes French Breakfast and spring onions Summer isle. John kindly gave a good sized cucumber,  and I’ve been enjoying the rhubarb that Brian and Joe  both keep telling me to help myself to.

The  blackberries are starting  to ripen and are delicious. If I can stop eating them  as I pick them then I’ll bring some home to have with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

It really has given me a great deal of pleasure to sow, grow, harvest and then eat these various vegetables, and hopefully there’s still plenty more to come!

Sunflowers

For some friends,  including Daffy and Midwife’s Muse,  it’s not been a good week so I thought that I’d do a post on the flower that is seen on many allotments,  and which surely brings a smile to anyone seeing them.

This is a giant single but it’s barely 3 feet high with a flower no bigger than a saucer!

Perhaps it feels somewhat overshadowed by this onewhich is close by on George’s neighbouring plot being well over 6 feet tall with a dustin lid sized flower!

Back on my plot there are several of the smaller multi-headed varieties such as Autumn Beautyand Pastiche

I think that this is another lovely looking sunflower just over the path on George’s plot but is facing mine!

I love them all and as well as growing the familiar giant singlesagain next year I will also be sowing the wonderful looking variety Vanilla Ice which Beginninghere very kindly sent to me some months back but which I didn’t use this year.

Good morning!

This morning I was standing on the path checking the camera before taking a photo of the blackberries when I realised that this young robin was on the other side of the compost bin

It then moved over to this side onto my gloves

Then it came closer still to perch on top of the nut feeder.  I really couldn’t believe that it was less than an arm’s length away and held my breath as I very slowly took these photos

The Rose

The Rose by Dorothy McGregor

Heaven scent rose

A rambling radiance

On rose bush and climber

Exquisite roseBlooming in Heaven’s heartland and

Dewed with the summer rains.

Hues of shell,  cerise,  crimson and yellow

And a white rose innocence

Bright as day

Yours is enchantment

Summer rose,  fair rose.

Feathers and fur

I’ve seen few birds on the plot recently, and until the past week or so the feeders have hardly been touched either. At the hut last Sunday we were chatting about this and it was suggested that the long, cold winter had taken its toll especially among smaller birds such as blue tits, dunnocks and wrens, all of which have been notable by their absence.

On Monday I was digging over part of the vegetable patch when I stopped over a breather.  When I turned to carry on I found myself looking at a young robin perched on top of the fork handle little more than an arm’s length away.

Later on I stood and watched this woodpigeonon the path by the feeders obviously foraging for seed that I’d scattered.

As I walked towards the gates to come home I’m sure that I heard the familiar raucous sound of two parakeets,  and think I caught a brief glimpse of them flying into the nearby trees.

Looking at,  and hearing,  various birds  is all part of the pleasure of plotting for me and it was a particular delight to see the young robin that close.

The article Cats ‘exploit’ humans by purring caught my eye, as  like many of you I’m also a cat person! Here’s another article about it.

My favourite animal is the snow leopard so how about this wonderful photo, or perhaps like Daffy you prefer this cute baby elephant!

Have a good weekend!

Looking ahead

I’ve not spent anywhere near as much time on the plot as I would have liked over the past few weeks due to various reasons. That’s meant that the flower area in particular has become a jungle of  mostly grasses and weeds. It’s great for the wildlife but not surprisingly my plot neighbours are less happy, although they do appreciate why it’s got overgrown and know that I will sort it out!

Where I’ve harvested my early potatoes I’m going to dig it over and sow some green manures Buckwheat which according to the packet is deep rooting to break up subsoils and makes a lot of growth to increase humus content.

In the area where I pulled up the broad beans I’m now going to sow six quick growing oriental crops – Chinese Broccoli Kailaan,  Chinese Cabbage Green Rocket F1,  Choy Sum Tsai Hsin,  Pak Choi Tatsoi Tah Tsai,  Radish China Rose and Mustard Leaf Osaka Purple.

On Thursday I pulled the first few carrots which were crunchy and rather tasty, and some spring onions!

I was also pleased to see the first sunflower

and these two pot marigolds Art Shades(?)

There were lots of butterflies fluttering around but this Meadow Brown was the only one that settled long enough for me to get a photo of

Georgie very kindly sent me some seeds recently including what she thought at the time were yellow pansies but which she now says are like this! If so then I’ll be delighted as that is a really lovely looking flower.

Happy gardening!

Coast, and other items

It’s good to see  Coast returning with a new eight part series starting next week on BBC2 Tuesday at 8.00pm.  This fourth series sees a voyage of discovery not only around the British Isles but ventures, for the first time,  to the shores of some neighbouring countries as well.

I’ve always enjoyed these programmes, which continue with all the regular presenters including Neil Oliver, Alice Roberts, Nick Crane and Miranda Krestovnikoff.

I read this article which, not surprisingly,  dismayed and saddened me.  Fellow allotmenteers had this to say about it.

For all you chefs who get bored in the kitchen inbetween preparing your culinary delights you could perhaps do this!

Have a good weekend!

Plot plants ~ Common Mallow

The Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) is a perennial native wild-flower. The flowers have  darker stripes that act as nectar guides for visiting bees.

There are two on the plot which are covered in flowers as you can see on my new header picture and in this one

Positively defrazzled!

Much as I would have liked to have followed Glo’s suggestion that I visit Shoreham-by-Sea to get defrazzled I opted to spend a couple of hours  pleasantly pottering instead.

Thankfully yesterday morning the weather was cooler, and less humid,  so I harvested some potatoes, a couple of red beetroot, lettuce leaves, a bowl full of delicious raspberries and the last of the sweet juicy strawberries. Plot neighbour Lesley kindly gave me a carton of blackcurrants, which I shall eat later on with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

There’s now lots of poppiesand pot marigolds Sherbert Fizz

The bees love the flowering teaselsand how about this jewel of a beetle

Whilst wandering round I also saw two sparrows on the nut feeder, butterflies fluttering overhead and ladybirds loitering.

Thanks to cooler weather, some pleasant pottering and looking at enjoyable posts like Glo’s  Bright and ‘Cherry’ I’m feeling positively defrazzled!