OUTDOORS 21

To start today's post, one last shot of the fence-side pathway border. This shot shows the view looking from poly tunnel towards the house. It is a good showing of the white bluebells. Next, we are off to the allotment plot again. These photographs were snapped in the first half of April 2017.

In the first, you can see the garlic, shallots, onions, broad beans area along with a giant rocket plant that overwintered. I actually pulled the rocket out today as it was finally past being its best. Behind is one of the strawberry beds.

This photo shows the two strawberry beds - now full of flowers. The third raised bed has nasturtiums and squash in. The squash are under bottles to save them from pigeons and slugs. It appears I may need to fix the raised beds at the end of this season as they are beginning to fall apart.

This shot shows my next veggie area - where I planted seed already and covered it in a net. I am not going to water them up though, but am waiting til the rain naturally brings them to growth - then I can adjust the netting. I have all sorts of radish, beans, and lettuce going on in there. To the right I have another netting covering my cauliflowers to save whats left of them from pigeons. I sowed a few beans and spinach in the row in front, which shows better in my next picture.

The far right back corner is filled with massive stems of rhubarb, dwarfing my compost bin. next to them is a 'space' which is where my spuds are beginning to peep through. Today, I was alerted to the fact that frost is coming this week, so I have now earthed them over in preparation, a little in advance of plan. The great big green clumpy shrub is my biggest and best gooseberry bush. Flowers and tiny fruits are beginning to form, so I am having to water it regularly now to ensure I get decent fruit this season.

This is a my smaller rhubarb plant - that I cut from the main one last season. Once established, I will eat the old one to the bone and dig it out. You can also see new growth on my other gooseberry bushes, most of the raspberry canes, and my 2 remaining blackcurrants.

I am currently cropping rhubarb at a rate of 6 stems a week with no stopping it. I pulled the last two of my leeks out this morning, after coffee with Liz. With new ones coming on in the poly tunnel, leeks appear to be something I can grow successfully and enjoy. I aim to be 80-90% self sufficient in fruit and veg by the close of 2018.

OUTDOORS 20

My fence-border was coming along well as April entered the center of the month. This is the spot closest to the kitchen window, beyond the waste patch and prickly tree with yellow berries. As well as the now established box privet hedge-lump, you can spot a camellia transplant, geranium or two, wild strawberries, and a few weeds.

Moving slightly further along, you will note more wild strawberries along with the two white strawberry plants my son gave me from the nursery he worked at as a volunteer until it closed down. A cyclamen, mini daffodil, snowdrop and couple of alliums fill the space.

Next up, a cutting of box privet ends the strawberry area. Along with the Lychnis plant Liz gave me and her purple plant donation, you can see what was mint. Going along further, Liz's primrose and lemon balm are in view, along with the former neighbors' yellow thing - either a winter jasmine or a forsythia. Down in the bottom right corner you might spot a violet.

Going towards the back of the yard a step or two more, you can see the remains of one of 3 red and white tulips, along with a yew cutting, another rose, another camellia, a few random bulbs and a yellowish shrub, which you can see better in the next picture. There are also some olde fashioned roses, the start of the bluebells, and a couple of other plants I have transferred from other spots in the yards.

This photo depicts the view from bird bath to poly tunnel - and includes the about to re-spurt fern, pond shrub, main bluebells, small holly sapling, moved fuchsia and seedum, white bluebells, and coltsfoot. You might also spot the removed palm tree dying in happiness to provide bugs with a home along the fence beyond.

My final picture for today's post is a closer view of the patch beyond the bird bath. You can see where the path has been trodden into submission and where the spotty leaved pinky-purple flowered plants have been established and more of the coltsfoot - which is the thicker white clusters to the dandelions nearby.