Green stuff and monkey business

In the last few days there has been damage to the vegetables. Here the spinach is looking more stalky than leafy. I thought it was the local fat pigeon population but then during dinner we noticed that the Mother was out and about munching away.

Then again the next day she was at it again. This called for drastic reinforcements. Here she is pecking away in feigned innocence.





Meanwhile, I attempted to increase the height of the fence by a few inches.

I was feeling less than exuberant about them when I shut their coop for the night and then I saw that I'd forgotten to open the door to their sleeping quarters after I'd cleaned it. The poor hens were roosting on the ramp and there were only three of them! Where was the Mother!!!!

It was dark and quiet, as we listened out for any sounds from the birds but nothing...The led wind-up torch was a bit of a let down as it didnt' have a wide beam but eventually we found her asleep in a hollow she'd dug earlier in her enclosure. I realised that she couldn't help herself, I mean spinach is always greener on the other size of the fence.

Come to think of it, egg production has increased recently, I wonder if some of the eggs will be green...


Today, a friend has kindly helped to clip the hens feathers. Hopefully they are too lopsided to make it onto the compost bin now because otherwise they may prefer the neighbours' flowers on the other side of their fence.


If that doesn't work, we have another method of bird control...our new puppy. She is our first puppy in the family so again everything is new. She is adorable and well loved already. Welcome Rosie!

How green does my garden...and pond grow?

 The pond water after all this time is still very green. It's been filled with rain water but it is too rich in nutrients so the algae are flourishing. I had hoped that the plants in the water would help to oxygenate it but with little effect. The other day I saved a frog and put it into the pond but I have no way of knowing if it is still there.

 I heard that barley straw is good to get rid of algae so I've tried a DIY bag made from an orange bag and some straw left over from the strawberries. After a few days I got impatient and resorted to more serious methods:

a solar powered pump oxygenator. I was very cynical about whether it would work.










I need to weigh down the air stones so the tubes are hidden but they are definitely aerating the water. The only drawback is if the clouds come out or you stand in front of the solar panel then it will stop. Fingers crossed that there will be some improvement in the water.








Meanwhile, thanks to all this rain, colour is returning to the garden. It's hard to believe that there is a drought and hose pipe ban on.








These are one of my daughter's sweet peas that survived the warm winter.

I was given these Anenomes by a friend as they share my name.

The neighbours' fence was a great spot for this opportunistic climber. It appeared last year for the first time through all the tarram, whackered down type 2 stone and then gravel so I thought it deserved a sporting chance. I think it may be a clematis, but I will have to wait and see.

Things are improved in the front garden as the horse manure is finally all on the flowerbeds and the wood chips is down around the veggies, so there are no huge bulk bags taking up the front garden.

 Thankfully, the hardy Geraniums Johnson's Blue have survived the winter and are looking great.

But also their larger cousins, the Buxton's Blue are spreading too. I hope that between them they can cover the whole flower bed and hide the straggly leaves of the Alliums and the nearly rotted tulips.

I'll keep dreaming but meanwhile, the weeds wait for no man, or woman. Eek! The ground elder is back!

Chickens Plan A

Here is The Mother, I know she is plotting something as she patrols the perimeter fence. She is standing in front of a ditch that she and her friends have created...she is biding her time.

Last week it was particularly wet and stormy but the chickens still came to the fence to greet me, hoping for some tasty morsels.









Here they are going bonkers over spinach. They make wonderful clucking sounds as they peck it down at incredible speed. Little did I know but the chickens were about to have more fun. While I was out, they escaped...my daughters returned to find an empty enclosure.

Now thankfully, the chicken's desire for sweetcorn overcame their desire for freedom as they were lured back. Whether it was the wind that blew open the fence or Big Bird's amazing ability at pecking the string fence tie but the salad definitely was cut. Perhaps, it will come again as per the seed producers claims...

I couldn't be cross with the chickens, after all they do stare at the vegetable patch all day without being allowed free access.

The next morning the somewhat fatter chickens laid an egg in the middle of the enclosure like it was a peace offering.

I did catch The Mother eyeing me up...I'm sure she's   hatching Plan B

Its a good life...

 The hot weather, we have been having, has been great for the plants. Those ferns and hostas next to the pond are starting to look great.

 We moved some of the chipped bark to create a path from the pond through to the end of the flower bed. When the plants grow it will be a quick way through to the patio.

 The vegetable garden...just turning green with tonnes of spinach, when they say perpetual, they really mean it! Soon we will take on popeye characteristics or turn Incredible Hulk green, one or the other....

 Meanwhile, the chickens have been here nearly a week and today has been a good day for them. This is Omlette who has finally managed to lay an egg with an intact shell. She may need renaming...

In fact, I had a surprise to find two eggs in the nesting box at the same time. That is a first for these ladies. It was a three egg day in total today. I was so pleased with them that I gave them some disgusting looking mealy bugs. They loved those. Now I know, that when I let them out into the rest of the garden, how I can entice them back into the coop if corn doesn't work...

Feathered friends

The last corner of the garden, behind the garden shed, houses our four new friends. They arrived only yesterday. I was told that they would be ex-battery hens but instead they are free range hens. They were going to be turned into pet food as they were apparently past their prime! They were part of  the lucky 1700, unfortunately another 6000 won't make it...

 My friendly neighbour and chicken expert, Nicky and I, went to the farm; the removal boxes made great chicken carriers, although they did need recycling by the time we got back!

This henwas the most curious and confident and I later discovered she was also an escape artist.

We had some very quick enforcements to make as she flew up onto the gate. I hope that it will now be high enough to keep her from doing that. She gets a funny look and stretches up her neck before attempting to fly through the chicken wire. I think she is curious about the rest of the garden. I've learnt alot about handling chickens from her already!

This (yes, very similar looking) hen has a completely different personality, preferring to be shy and retiring. She has been named Nugget by Sophie as she is the smallest.



These hens have no names yet either, I'm waiting for inspiration and contributions from my friends on Facebook!

 Last night, only one of the hens decided to roost in the house, the others preferred behind the compost bin! Fortunately, I managed to lift them all into the coop as they were sleepy.

It was an adventurous day for all of us.












In the morning, it was all worth it, with the first egg!

From Tulips to Onions

The front garden has undergone a transformation too, going from mostly mud to sea of Spring tulips (yes, some of them genuinely from Amsterdam) to

a mass of alliums! The only drawback is that the Alliums are in the onion family. I didn't think much about it until I tried to find the source of the onion smell in my study! The upshot is that the study recieved a much needed tidy up!

Garden update

 I can't believe that it's been nearly a year since I wrote in this blog. We have done quite a lot in the garden during this time.

At the end of last year, we had the deck area laid, it was great, just a little bit too cold to sit out.


We also had help with seeding the garden, it doesn't look up to much in this photo but it soon greened up!

Meanwhile, over last winter, we made some raised beds out of left over construction wood so that this spring I could start attempting to grow a few vegetables.

The tension wire fence has been great for starting the espalier fruit trees that I hope will eventually make a living fence in the different garden zones.

The pond area is looking more established this year but is still very green. On reflection, I could have sited it further away from the trees.

The overall garden is really starting to take shape now. I like this photo because everything is lovely and green and you can't see the weeds!