Dogs don't care if you're tired.

Well, I feel like death warmed up. I'm exhausted beyond words, but I've just dragged myself out of the house to walk the dogs for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Its the only way I'm ever going to get any peace today.

I did have to get rescued by a man on a bicycle when I was walking though, as a pair of swans with babies would not let me get past them. The man used his bicycle as a shield so that I could run the dogs past without getting attacked. What a nice man.

Ha! I might have killed her with exercise.

New beds.

We went out and bought the dogs new beds on Saturday on my way to work. 

She looks very comfy and happy doesn't she? I think this just proves just how stupid she is though because this morning I woke up at 6 am and she'd ripped her bed into a thousand pieces. :'( 

I'm sure she thinks she'll be moving onto Niches bed next. I'm going to do my utmost, to keep her away from Niches bed, but its so difficult. Shes such a *£$!&.  

Weeding.

I'm getting there with the weedy boarder.

I'm keeping the poppies until they've done flowering. FOR THE BEES :D

It's looking much clearer now. Once its all clear I'll be sowing lots and lots of annuals.   

Do you see how much weeding its taken? Lots. So now I'm going to enjoy a rum and coke. :) Well... I'm not sure about enjoy as I've never had a Bacardi and coke before but I'm going to give it a go. :)  Ciao. 

Quite a bit of a chicken day today.

The chickens have had a very good day today.

They've been cleaned out.

And we've enlarged their run temporarily.

Its not all been chickens though. I also planted a climbing cobra french bean.

I'm experimenting but I've given it one pole. I might regret it when the weight of the beans pulls it down, but we'll see. Its not in the picture but I've also planted a dwarf sunflower at the back of this bed.

I've made a start on the horribly weedy 'permaculture' boarder.

I've left the evening primrose, raspberries and I missed some dandelions, but I'm getting there. 

I've kept some of the prettier flowered 'weeds' as they are, after all, good for the bees.

I'm not used to the chickens being this far away from me. :S

Video of my chickens.

Chickens need space.

Busy.

Well after almost two weeks of being busy, busy busy out of the house I have finally found the time to clean the house and to do some much needed maintenance in the garden.

So this is what the garden was like. I cant really mow all of it because of the primula in the grass but I gave what I could a good strim and mow. 

The boarder still needs some serious work, but I keep picking at it a bit every day.

At least its cover for the wee beasties.

My mimulus or monkey flower has flowered already. :) Its a perennial and should get big enough to fill the space I've left for it.

I'm going to need some rhubarb home-brew after all of the work I've done today

I've strimmed, mowed, poo picked (oh the poo the poo) done some weeding. I've also cleaned the kitchen, done all the pots, washed, dried and put away. I've changed the bedding, done two lots of washing, hoovered all downstairs and made some French flour baguettes. Not to mention walked Trouble and still need to walk Niche. 

I'm really pleased with this shot. Please ignore the terrible weeds in the garden and look towards the bird feeder coconut on the metal wash line post. Do you see the little bird? 

Uncooked baguettes. 

The finished article. I'm hoping to talk the OH into making me an egg sandwich with one of them. :) 

Rain.

Its been raining pretty much since I got up. I got maybe a thirty minute window of dry. It didn't stop me from taking some pictures though.

This is next doors lilac tree.

This is my lilac tree. >_< I'm hoping that one day they will look beautiful together.

This is my permaculture boarder. I am using the term loosely as I don't know all of the ins and outs of the permaculture principles. 

I am slowly removing the more useless weeds. 

and adding in fruit/veg and flower plants.

This is my winter-sweet. I have made a little channel in the weeds, so that it can breathe. Again this is a work in progress. 

I can't remember the last time I sweated so much in the garden.

It is 24 degrees outside and well over 30 degrees in the greenhouse.
I have mown the lawn.
Finally put the tomatoes in their grow bags.

I know that four of the tomatoes have seen better days and probably should have been potted up/put in its bag a week ago but unfortunately its just not happened. I have two gardeners delight, two sweet aperitif and two sweet baby. All cherry tomatoes. :D

I've planted out my courgettes between my broad beans, which will hopefully be harvested and gone before the courgettes need space. 

I'm hardening off the sweet peas and Japanese anemone as they are growing SOOOO fast. And I've been weeding the garlic bed and around my winter-sweet. I'm not done yet, but its getting better.  

Ignore the weeds, ignore the weeds.

Most of my tulips have gone over now, and look a bit sad. This one, however, is just opening with five others the same, and look how beautiful it is! I wish the photo wasn't so blury but it was a bit windy. 

This is the climbing yellow rose that I bought for 39p at a shop that was closing down. I have to keep them in pots as next doors hedge has really impoverished the soil.

My three year old yellow rose that seems to be struggling a bit. Have you noticed I'm trying to create a bit of a yellow theme? :D

Pictures, and I hate weeding.

I told you I don't like weeding. I will have to roll up my sleeves with this lot though. My wintersweet is under there. 

 

 This is a tiny lilac tree. Taken as a cutting from the lilac in dads garden. The one that got pulled down in that hurricane.

The red current I bought last weekend.

My leafy greens bed.

The one large seedling you can see in this tray is a sunflower 'teddy bear'. The smaller seedling you might struggle to see is a tagetes. Next to the tray you will see two moringa and eight rudbeckia.  

My tomatoes and a sneaky thistle. Yes I know I said I was going to put the tomatoes in their bags, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. 

The poor brassicas, just starting to recover from their earlier chicken attack. Blasted chickens.

Dahlias. 

Dwarf sunflowers. 

Ogen melons.

Sweet peas and the sneaky thistle again. I have no idea where I'm going to put my sweet peas. 

A close up of the rudbeckia and moringa. 

My achillea

And the pea and lettuce bed with two rudbeckia at the very end.