Random Ramblings :: The Beds have arrived!

Hi there everyone 😀

Well, this is exciting news ... although I can fully appreciate that the term 'exciting' may be up for debate 😀

Back in March, at the very beginning of lockdown, with our April and May holidays postponed and some glorious weather, we spent a lot of time in the garden ... to good effect, getting lots of the annual maintenance jobs done.

Before long we’d fallen back in love with the idea of growing our own, having not done that much over the last few years ... just really green beans and a few pretty unsuccessful tomatoes.

Treating myself to a gardening magazine with a stash of free seeds set us off on a bit of a planting spree, which lead to us working out how we could fit some more raised beds in the garden, with not much effort and within the constraints of lockdown.

A spot of 'Googling' and I found something totally different to what we’ve had before and we both started to get excited and before long an order was submitted ... this was back in the middle of April with an expected delivery date of the end of the month.

It was time to start thinking about how we would fill them and we got really lucky as a friend's neighbour had a lot of soil to get rid of and didn’t want to pay for a skip. I have to confess that we did make a few trips that may have been considered non essential to pick up about 48 compost sized bags of soil, which we proceeded to riddle and has been sitting in some huge white bags on the patio ever since.

The original delivery date came and went ... pushed back to early May, then Mid-May ... by when the weather had started to change and we were trying to find other options for planting on our leeks and other bits and bobs that seriously needed getting into the ground.

Martin emailed to find out when they would be due ... with a sob story about our veg being desperate and the wife seriously fed up of looking at bags of dirt on the patio.

Finally ... 3 June they arrived and we were so excited ...

It then pretty much rained non stop for what felt like ages ... but in between the showers we built them up and messed about with different shapes and sizes and different options of how to position them.

Finally we decided on the sizes and the location and, last week, Martin got them fully built up and all of the protective film removed and they started looking a bit more like we were expecting ... 

... A cross between an old tin bath and an Anderson shelter ...

This Sunday we had a small window of opportunity to dig out the turf for the first one ... 

We then had the problem of how to edge it to solve ... our main concern being about Bill, our grass cutting man, strimming right up to them and damaging the paintwork.

We tried lots of options ... could we just have a strip of soil, should we fill it with pebbles, should we brick edge it? Nothing felt quite right ... we wanted something easy and whilst a brick edge to match the rest of the garden will be our long term plan we just want something fairly easy that we can do ourselves and will work for now ... but will look good too.

After a lot of faffing about and chopping and changing I decided to try just positioning a few terra cotta pots on a border of raised bricks, salvaged from round the back of the shed, and all of a sudden it all seemed to feel right ... so right size, right place and right edging ...

We left it there for Sunday ... happy to have a plan in place.

Monday morning we had a quick trip to the garden centre to buy some weed proof membrane and some pebbles to infill the gap between the bricks and the planter. Martin's job for Monday afternoon, whilst I was at food bank, was to level up the bricks ... ready for popping down the weed proof membrane and finally placing the bricks and filling in the pebbles ... before filling with a mixture of some of our donated top soil, farmyard manure and compost ...

Tuesday we made the most of a dry morning trying to get a few bits and pieces planted and have now filled this bed with a courgette, some leeks, iceberg lettuce and beetroot ...

We now need to fill in the turf gap and re-position the stepping stones across the lawn and then repeat with the second bed. Sadly there are no more bricks lurking at the back of the shed so the next job is to try and source something similar.

So ... so far, so good. It's not perfect ... not by a long means ... the bricks are a bit wobbly and we wish we'd put a bit more soil in ... but it's fine and will certainly serve a purpose. It also looks in keeping with the style of the garden and the positioning feels quite balanced. 

I think long term we may opt for a more permanent and professionally finished brick edge, but for now ... we're both looking forward to reaping plenty fresh fruit and veg over the summer 🍅🍒🍓

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A Big Day Out

Hi there everyone 😀

Whilst we haven’t really missed anything at all being pretty much confined to barracks since March ... we were really pleased to be able to manage one of our big days out last week.

Having really enjoyed getting out to explore Elford Hall Walled Garden a week or so ago we thought it would be nice to try and find somewhere for a bit of a day out once a week ... assuming the weather is on our side.

We've decided that, when it comes to venturing back out and about we are going to be extremely cautious ... you will not be finding us amidst hoards of people crammed on beaches or squeezing past each other on popular narrow walking trails. We will be taking it very slowly ... very mindful of the possibility of a second surge.

Last week we stumbled across an opportunity that was just too good to miss ... in fact on first glance it seemed almost to good to be true ... but it was ...

We made our first visit to Felley Priory, which is a beautiful garden, during the summer last year and had intended to make a return visit this spring to see the daffodils and tulips ... sadly this was not to be as, like everywhere else, they had to close as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Along with a number of other venues of this type they have now tentatively reopened to the public, deciding to start with reduced hours during June. I found this out from their Facebook page, which I’ve been following as they’ve been publishing photos and virtual tours around the garden whilst they’ve been closed.

To us it did feel a bit early to be visiting a garden ... with no idea as to how busy it might be. However, I did notice they were offering private appointments for the periods that the garden was not going to be open to the public.

Well that seemed like an opportunity not to be missed and I booked us a slot. This was soon followed by a relaxing of our lockdown rules which meant I could invite some of our good friends to come with us ... they jumped at the chance and suggested we order an afternoon tea for delivery that we could take with us to have as a picnic.

So that was it ... big day out sorted.

There was a little bit of drama with our journey as the motorway was closed at the exact same time we needed to travel but the satnav did us proud and we arrived on the car park, pretty much the same time as our friends ready for our visit which was booked for 1.30pm.

Armed with a variety of cameras ... the Canon, the Lumix and a selection of smart phones ... as well as our 'glass ball' we were off ...

Well ... it was exactly as described ... there was not another soul visiting the gardens ... we did stumble across a number of gardeners who were very happy to chat for awhile, but we did literally have the place to ourselves ... a definite positive of our lockdown experience.

Martin was on the Canon, with the macro lens ... trying to be arty with his close ups and depth of field ...

I was on the Lumix mainly taking in the bigger picture ...

On this visit I was particularly taken with the white garden which was looking just lovely ...

It was lovely to be able to not only wander around not having to worry about keeping our distance from strangers but fabulous being able to take photos without having to wait for other visitors to move ... we loved it.

We found the perfect spot to pause for a while to have a play with the camera ball ... all having a go ... with mixed results. These are from Martin and the Canon ...

... Me and the Lumix ...

... me and my Huwawai Smart phone ...

Best shot of the day though had to go to Steve with his iPhone ...

There was the obligatory socially distanced selfie ... not the best, but a good memory of a lovely day spent with the best of friends ...

... and one for the family album ...

There were plenty of my favourites ...

 

Conscious of time we headed for the nursery for a look round before heading back to the car for our afternoon tea ... couldn't resist a few minutes with these guys though, who were certainly happy to have visitors ...

We also had a really good wander round the nursery where there were plenty of bargains to be had ... I only wish lupins would thrive in our garden as they had a fabulous display ...

We certainly didn't leave empty handed though ... we bought a basket full of plants from the rescue corner for £3 and 5 big galtonias for £5 ... and also picked up two tomato plants that we definitely didn’t need but were completely free, so we just couldn't leave them there.

There was a tantalising glimpse of the one place that we couldn't use on this visit ...

... but we had our afternoon tea picnic, which we ate in the shade of the woodland on the deserted car park ... and it was absolutely the business ... but sadly no decent photos to share.

At 3.58 we were all,packed up and ready for the off ... just before the gates were locked up at 4.00pm.

We’d had the loveliest of afternoons in what felt like a very safe environment ... thank you so much Felley Priory.

Now where to for our next outing ... I think we will be hard pressed to beat this one 💜💜💜

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The Reading Corner :: May

Hi there everyone 😀

You may have noticed the absence of April’s reading corner post ... in spite of being confined to barracks for a full month I only got round to picking up a book on the 29th and just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for reading it quickly ... in spite it being by one of my favourite authors, who is sadly no longer with us, having passed away in February of this year ...

The Rising Sea
Clive Cussler & Graham Brown

It started off, as is becoming the norm in these books, with a comprehensive list of characters which is always handy to refer back to.

There was also the usual prologue consisting of an historical event back in the realms of time. This time it was very difficult to imagine how this event would become relevant to NUMA’s latest challenge but things did soon begin to fall into place.

Kurt and the gang were soon heading off for what seemed like a simple meeting but unknowingly there were other forces afoot and they were oblivious to the dangers awaiting them.

The timing was very fortuitous ... key information required to help solve the mystery of rising sea levels just presented itself ... literally as all hell let loose and our heroes were under attack. Robbed of any technological advantage a certain level of creativity was employed to ensure that this was not the end of the road for Kurt and the NUMA team.

If I'm really honest I found the book a little hard going ... I’m not sure whether that would be the fault of the book or the fact that I felt like I had to keep on reading for the sake of my objective of reading more this year, rather than the pure enjoyment of a good read.

It took me far longer than usual to finish and it may even have felt just a little bit samey ... perhaps it’s time to move on to something a bit different, if only for a while.

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It’s currently 9 June and I’ve not even had the slightest inclination to sit down with another read ... whilst the weather has been good I’ve been gardening and whilst it’s been bad I’ve been crafting ... its a very strange state of affairs 😕😕😕

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Random Ramblings :: Out for Lunch and other Tales ...

Hi there everyone 😁

It was last Wednesday and I was excited ... we were going out for lunch 😀

I was up early ... thought I would bake some scones to take with us ... only to realise we had run out of milk ... I was just googling whether I could use yoghurt instead when Martin remembered the emergency carton of long life semi skimmed we’d bought just before lockdown when it looked like shopping may get a bit tricky.

So, in no time at all there was a batch of freshly baked sultana scones cooling on the rack ...

It was a glorious day ... and looked like it could stay that way for the next few days so I put something other than my gardening scruffs on ... I even wore a bra 😲

There was a bit of nervousness as the time approached for leaving ... as me and my weak bladder are always very wary of going anywhere where I know there are no facilities ... I am definitely not a girl that will go behind a tree.

So picnic bag packed, into the car and we were off ... heading to one of our local villages for a walk round their walled garden, by the side of the river, hoping to find some new bits to explore and a nice spot for our picnic lunch. It's a beautiful spot that is very local and well tucked away, so we were hoping it would be quiet.

There were a few cars on the grassy car park, so we decided we’d have a wander ... it’s just the second time we’ve been out anywhere for a walk since lockdown began and it was lovely to be out in the warm sunshine ... and good to spot that a home had been found for some of last year's scarecrow festival exhibits ...

We made our way down the narrow lane which leads to the garden, you really do feel that you are heading for a very 'secret' garden ... it's definitely not the kind of place you would be likely to stumble across by accident ...

We decided to start off with a wander round the outside of the walls of the garden, starting off down towards the river ... but we couldn't resist a sneaky peak through the first of the green wooden gates leading into the garden ...

It looked beautiful ... so well cared for and lovely and quiet. We were really looking forward to exploring. It was the first time that we'd visited, other than on a scarecrow festival day, so it would be completely different seeing it so quiet and peaceful.

We headed off down towards the river, following the walls of the garden ... a route we'd never taken before ...

As we headed through the trees at the bottom end of the garden we came across a few more old friends ... shading from the heat of the sun beneath the canopy ... 

This was all brand new to us and we found another entrance into the garden ...

A pretty fish pond with lots of fish ...

... and the boathouse bird hide ...

... complete with fairy garden ...

... frisky ducks and drakes ...

... and a close up view of the river ...

From here we headed back up the far side of the garden ... through the sensory garden, which is always a real treat, with lots of interesting bits and pieces to catch the eye ...

It was in this part of the garden where we found the perfect shady spot for our picnic ...

We were soon tucked in the corner ...

... with our very civilised picnic lunch, and a fabulous view, laid out before us ...

After a while chilling in the sunshine, listening to the buzzing of the bees, we were ready to move on ... saving our scones for a bit later on.

I really love the sensory garden ... it is a real treat ...

On the fourth side of the garden ... or as I would say, the top ... you will find the orchard ...

... where there are bee hives ...

... and a pretty cottage garden around the back of the head gardener's house ...

We took the main gate to the garden from this side to be greeted by a plethora of old gardening shoes, all planted up with succulents ... which we'd never noticed before ...

We took a clockwise route around the garden ... passing the rose garden ...

... which is looking stunning ...

It's definitely not all about the roses though ... there were plenty of wild flowers ...

... the most fabulous lupins ...

... more roses ...

... the most vibrant of irises ...

... huge allium ...

... and a few more roses ...

All was watched over very competently by the head gardener ...

The interior of the walled garden was stunning and an absolute credit to those volunteers who tend it. We were now ready to find a shady spot to enjoy our scones so headed back out the way we had come, where we found a lovely spot in the shade of the garden wall with a view of the head gardener's house ...

... where our freshly baked scones, topped with clotted cream and jam, went down a treat ...

We couldn't resist a cucumber plant for £1 from the plant table before waving to the head gardener as we headed off for a walk to the church ...

The church is just a short walk from the garden and whilst it wasn't open it was lovely to have a walk around the church yard ...

It was time for us to head for home. We'd only really been our for a couple of hours but it had been lovely to explore the garden properly on a beautiful quiet and sunny afternoon.

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As well as enjoying our lunch out there has been a bit of crafting going on with plenty of face coverings being made up ...

... the most unhealthy rocky road ever ...

... and my first attempt at potato printed wrapping paper ...

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In other news entirely our lockdown is starting to slowly ease with us now being allowed to meet up with small groups of friends or family ... be it outside and at a social distance. Whilst I guess this is good news I have been shocked and saddened by some of the things that I have seen ... fools ‘tombstoning’ at Durdle Door, huge crowds on beaches, swathes of litter left behind on beaches and in our beautiful countryside, fires on moorland from disposable BBQs left behind and our emergency services being called out to incidents left right and centre.

I really can not get my head round how some people ... who apparently are really desperate to get out into the beautiful parts of our country ... are showing it so little respect ... I would have thought after all we’d been through, and have had to do without, that now we are allowed a little bit more access to the things that we love we would treasure them a little bit more. 

Clearly for some this is not the case and it makes me both angry and very sad. I’m sure it is the minority and there are lots of people who feel the same way I do. I take my hat off to those who have to, or choose to, follow around clearing up the mess of others ... to the countryside lovers collecting litter and our emergency services, lots of whom are volunteers, helping those in need, however their problems occurred.

I'm sure if nature could talk she would have a few choice words for some of the Human race right now ... and rightly so 😒😒😒

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