Hi there, so what have you been up to since we last chatted and have you enjoyed good weather. We certainly have had some really good days in Oxfordshire, making gardening a must-do happening.
Each year as Spring gets under way, I hover madly trying to decide just how much I'll attempt this summer, wondering how much digging, weeding and hoeing there'll be to do and what money I'll find myself shelling out for the pleasure of planting my flower garden, the veggie patch and my potted garden. I always try to convince myself it won't cost too much just buying a few runner beans, courgette plants and herbs plus a few new flower plants to fill up the spaces in the flower bed. I'm an optimist you see! I just know I'll end up spending far more than I should but then, when you behold all those lovely bright flowers, gorgeous vegetables and herbs for the kitchen and a few sweet smelling aromatic herbs to sweeten the house, the cost seems unimportant....um...well almost!!!
But the wellington boots will have to wait while I tell you what else I've been up to this week, don't you...well, after a spot of family rose bed weeding! The roses are nicely sprouting for summer blooming while the chickweed, dandelions and a nasty brute of another weed are roaring ahead of themselves and me, The hoe was very useful for the chickweed but the other two needed tough fork action to lift them up. By the time I'd finished, I'd added five to six buckets of fresh material onto the compost heap.
I had a granddaughter's puppy Lola Bear with me who was barking madly at another dog in a nearby garden but it was too hot for her to sit in the car, so I had to tie her up in the shade out of sound of the other dog's barking and she sat there more-or-less patiently while I finished my garden chores....
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here's Lola Bear looking very pleased with herself!
Later on, we went to plant my runner beans and then my day ended with FaceBook messages and Diary jottings. Well the paperwork has to be fitted in somehow!!!
Tuesday morning came soon enough and it looked bright and great for a bluebell walk at Ditchley Park where members of my local WI walking group were heading off to. I was most upset not to be going with them for its simply ages since I walked amongst a host of bluebells but I had other things to occupy me, so that was that.
Instead I headed off to Katharine House Hospice at Adderbury to water our Grow Wild Seed garden we're developing for Adderbury & District WI with seeds from Kew Royal Botanic Garden Grow Wild Seed campaign supported by The Big Lottery Fund. Most surprisingly I secured some of the balloted seeds and very generously Katharine House Hospice provided a green patch for us to dig and weed. We prepped our patch with two week's of digging, raking and hoeing and the seeding and watering took just one hour to complete. So now our seeds have been growing for one week and by the end of next week they should be sprouting. Last Sunday I sowed a few remaining seeds into virgin soil in old wine boxes in the greenhouse, without the threat of weed invasion, to allow us to id the wild flowers as they grow........
here's a #GWSeedkit and our seeded garden at KHH -
On to my flower garden to plant rosemary and Santolina from Cotefield Nursery where they're presently out of my favourite curry plant...hopefully more supplies will come in soon..
to the greenhouse to water my Grow Wild Seed boxed sowings......
with their faint silvery slug trails - where are my slug pellets ....then on to water my veg. garden, which I'm still prepping!
On Wednesday, our WI 2016 Calendar Competition committee meet to choose those photos for Village viewing and voting on at various Village functions and events, for our calendar to be ready for sale in September. We had a tempting lunch to enjoy after our toils and we're now well on the way to knowing our winning entries. After lunch I called in to Katharine House Hospice gardens to inspect our garden.....
and also at my veggie garden with watering can for the runner beans, parsley, chives and nasturtians...
from which I'm home so late I miss the needlecraft group meeting that evening.
On Thursday, we're back at Katharine House Hospice with their regular volunteer garden team for coffee and cake after we've added a few stepping stones to our wild flower garden; we also construct our bee boxes which came with the Grow Wild Seeds, which will be put in place over the next week.....
our stepping stones across the garden and me attempting a "selfie" with stepping stones....
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We're off to Adderbury's Community Food Market on Thursday evening for supper and to buy a few items for the food store. Supper is cooked and served by Virginia and Di of Smart Cookies - hot German potato salad with gherkins, frankfurters, cabbage and garlic bread; we then munch our way around the market buying Danish pastries from Grumpy Bakers, rhubarb from Anson Vegetables, Cake and savoury items from Ellie's Kitchen and coffee from Buzzy Beans Coffee. Here's our bagged market buys...
On Friday I go up to JS Auctions of Bodicote - enquiries@jsauctions.co.uk - to view the items in Saturday's Fine Art and Antiques sale, at which a rare Henry V111 Armorial with the Royal Arms of England, is up for grabs and we're all wondering just how this lot will go. The armorial was found hidden in the walls of a village cottage at Hanwell, stored and preserved against the ravages of time and quite possibly during England's Civil War.
On Saturday there's the Auction to visit, a village plant and cake stall to view at Adderbury and friends are visiting Whitney for their farmer's market....I wonder if I can get there too. Of course, the veg garden needs my attention, and the seed garden at KHH and my flower garden will need watering! I wonder if we'll have a little rain tomorrow - I do hope so!!!
Happy weekending
Daisy xxx
