Well, what a difference some paint, grass, plants and sunshine makes!
Stepping outside and turning to the left, here is our mini orchard. From left to right, back to front, we have:
Dwarf Victoria plum tree = leaves but no blossoms yet
Dwarf apple tree = still alive but no sign of any leaves yet
Dwarf conference pear tree = leaves but no blossoms yet
Blueberry bush = lots of blossoms and the beginnings of berries
Raspberry cane = only one of the three is growing but it's growing well (no blossoms yet)
And another blueberry bush = lots of blossoms and the beginnings of berries
Okay, now turning around to face the door, look to the left. There are a bunch of pots underneath the kitchen window.
In them we have:
Mixed salad leaves = just starting to come up
Carrots = not sprouted yet
Dwarf bean = not sprouted yet
Flat-leaf parsley = just starting to come up
Garlic chives = just starting to come up
Spinach = not sprouted yet
Small pot of flat-leaf parsley = doing well, but not enough hence the trough
Small pot of garlic chives = ditto
Celery = I've kind of lost interest in it so will use this pot for something else
Cress = sprouting; I had a small pot in the kitchen but it wasn't enough
Basil = ditto
Mixed salad leaves = doing well; we regularly harvest
Spinach = not sprouted yet
Strawberries = three berries appearing
Lettuce heads = doing well
Spring onions = growing nicely
To the left of the water butt are two bags, containing ...
Potatoes = growing well; we've been earthing up every day and by the next day they are an inch or two above the soil again
Moving along to the long skinny bed you can see from the kitchen window.
On the right we have:
Sweetcorn = growing nicely
Radishes along the front = growing nicely
It amazes me that the sweetcorn will go from this ...
... to a tall plant bearing ears of corn in just a few months. It remains to be seen.
That's a Coleus Canina plant in the middle of the bed - it's said to deter cats. Ditto the slices of lime you see in the bed.
Moving along the bed:
Cucumbers = no sign of sprouting and it's been a while; I'll have to buy seedlings
Courgette (zucchini) = ditto
Round carrots along the front = growing nicely
Further to the left:
Climbing French beans = doing well
(Ignore the slug-deterring eggshells that I've started putting all along the border)
Peas = doing very well, producing loads; we're waiting for them to ripen
To the left of that bed are three more troughs:
Broccoli x 2 = yet to sprout
Dwarf beans = sprouted today (I took this picture yesterday)
In the little bed before the tree there are:
Red onions = doing very well
French bean = doing well; is it a climbing bean? Dwarf bean? Time will tell! (can you tell Grant planted it?)
On the other side of the tree are:
Another Coleus Canina
More red onions = doing well
French beans = doing well; are they climbing beans? Dwarf beans? Time will tell! (can you tell Grant planted them?)
Sprouting broccoli = growing nicely; our sunflower seedlings have now been planted between these (we're having a family competition to see whose grows the tallest ... mine hasn't even sprouted yet, boo!)
The opposite bed gets much less sun and is simply a flowerbed. I let Daniel choose which flowers he wanted in there and he went for a white / blue / purple theme:
We have some white allysum, blue Ageratum, purple and white Senetti, purple petunias and a lovely purple hydrangea.
My pride and joy - the beautiful, blooming hydrangea bush in the corner:
I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot of shots like this in future:
We are loving having a lawn!!!
In the beds in front of the house I have some:
Parsnips = just started sprouting; I didn't plant many as I'm the only one who eats them
Another Coleus Canina
Carrots = doing well
The flowerbed alongside the front path is disgraceful. I plan to cram it full of red, orange and yellow flowers as well as redo the pots on the front steps. Here's how the sorry bed is looking now:
