The long and the short of it ...

Another brief post this week - but you'll probably know the feeling! Everything seems to be happening at once - flowers bursting into bloom everywhere: as the dazzling yellow of the forsythia begins to fade, the ceanothus just below it is poised on the brink of exploding into its usual show-stopping intense blue display. The bees love it and happily hum busily all over it ... in my Mum's border the daffs may be fading, but the aubretia is spilling in red and lilac swathes over the edges, the wallflowers are in full fig and the violas planted in a container last autumn are getting their second wind ... Weeds are also popping up everywhere and I'm making the most of the current sunny weather to keep dug beds on the allotment well hoed ... the grass has been growing fast too. Of all the jobs in the garden, mowing is my least favourite: I've already given the back lawn three trims, and the allotment has had one and a half. The half because I ran out of petrol before I'd finished - so there's another job for tomorrow. Archie and Angel have been enjoying spending more time out in the sun:
mowing the lawn is also their least favourite chore because I shut them indoors while getting on with for the safety of all concerned. Weeding might be tedious but they get to be outside with me while I'm getting on with it and are always happy to divert me if things look like getting too boring!

Archie checks out the obelisk I made from willow prunings

 

Get sowing!

It's getting busy in the garden shed ... lots of seeds to sow ... and I love this freebie from Lily's Kitchen. Archie and Angel love their food (and their bedtime biscuits are now expected every night) and Angel adores nibbling on parsley - it's one of her favourite herbs - so it's lovely to see this: a pack of parsley seeds included with all orders in April. 

Thinking big

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL!

Browsing at a local garden centre the other day 

we came across this ...

Rubber Kongs stuffed with food yes, but 

not sure if we're ready for an eight foot tall King Kong  in

the garden yet ... 

My Mum sensibly opted for a couple of
cute Easter bunnies for her back doorstep instead!

Dog friendly gardening - click HERE for link!

Tap, tap, tap ...

Very busy writing at the moment - I am putting together an eight part series of articles on dog-friendly gardening for Your Dog magazine. I'm really enjoying it, but it does eat into the time I should be spending actually doing some gardening at a time of year when everything is poised ready for action. I was relieved to see that Monty Don said as much in one of his books - to quote: "... I spent more time writing about this garden than actually gardening." While I'm not in the same league as Monty Don, at least it would appear that I'm in good company in that respect! I did manage to rush up to the allotment to get the broad beans in, and this weekend am planning to get the parsnips in before it gets to be too late - that happened one year and we did miss them through the winter, roasted, creamed, mashed with carrot and of course in soups - spicy, or with a dash of horseradish or - my favourite - with apple. 
Anyway, I need to get back to composing the next article: May is done but I really should crack on with June now ...  This may mean that until the series is completed, over the next month the posts on this blog will be a little erratic, but I shall of course carry on posting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Dog-friendly-gardening), so do carry on looking in there as well as here! And of course, please add your comments or share your doggy and/or gardening tips!

Archie and Angel doing a little sunbathing - indoors as they reckon it is still
a bit cold outside for lounging around

Dog friendly gardening - the book!
Click HERE for link

Out with the old and on with the new!

This has been one of the most comfortable pairs of boots I've had for ages - easy to pull on and kick off at the door, just as nice to walk the dogs in or on the yard, and equally at home on the allotment. My boots have to multi-function, so get a pretty tough life.
Alas, after a year they are no longer in good shape: I have run out of cycle puncture repair patches and the time has finally come to throw them out.
I went off to my usual shop - an equestrian outfit - and as usual when I go to replace my boots, they no longer stocked any of this model. I knew I should have bought two pairs ...

I ended up buying two new pairs, although different: a pair of lace-ups with thermal linings and room for extra socks during cold weather, and a pair of Joules half wellies. The latter were really a bit of an impulse buy, but I just loved the rabbits - or possibly hares -  on them.

So now that I once again have warm, dry feet there is no excuse for not cracking on at the allotment - although it would be nice if I could take Archie and Angel there with me. There is a ban on dogs on our site, and I have been looking at the photos posted on Facebook by a fellow allotmenteer who loves in a different area with a more enlightened parish council, with envy. She has half a dozen whippets who snuggle into beds and sunbathe while she works.  Whereas I feel guilty having to leave my guys at home instead of letting them join in the fun with me ...

Don't forget it's the solar eclipse this morning - I'm told it starts at 8.45am, peaking at 9.31 am and finishing at 10.41 am ... 

Planting up time

Another sign that spring is here - the garden centres are full to bursting with bedding plants ... I was unable to resist the appeal and have just planted up my first planter. You can of course, buy ready made ones from supermarkets, often much more cheaply than doing your own, but it's not half so much fun. And of course, you get the plants of your choice.

This one is destined for my partner's special plot at Hughenden: next I shall be thinking about bedding plants to brighten up the special parts of the garden where Lisa, Fern and Boris are. They already have year-round plants marking their spots, but I like to add some special splashes of colour during the warm months too. It's lovely to be able to do this, a time when as I weed and plant, I also spend time thinking of the ones I have loved and who have gone before.

Although there is inevitably a sadness, there are also lots of happy memories, and if a tear is sometimes shed, there are smiles too. There is something very therapeutic about being able to select and plant flowers in memory of a loved one too: I suspect it is not just about the act of commemoration but because it gives you something physical and tangible to do for someone who is no longer around to be cared for.

A bit busy

Whoops ... a little disorganized on the blog front this week - partly because the weather has been lovely (apart from the odd hail shower) so I've been busy trying to catch up on the allotment. I just wish the parish council would lift their ban on allowing dogs there too as it would be nice to take Archie and Angel with me instead of having to leave them at home. Several plot holders have dogs and we are all well behaved and wouldn't dream of allowing them to run amok, so I don't see what the problem is! Even a trial period to show that we don't run riot would be welcome ...
I'm also disorganized due to being busy working on an exciting new series for Your Dog magazine - it is due to start in the May  issue (which comes out in April) - I'll tell you more about it in the next few weeks!
So in the meantime let us simply show you our own interpretation of that amazing weasel-flying-on-a -woodpecker photo that has taken the world by storm this week ... (No whippets or stuffed squeaky toy stoats were hurt during the taking of these photos.)