Spring sowing and planting

After all these breaking pictures, it's time to speak of spring planting and whilst we had the unseasonal hot weather and exactly 366 days since I last did it; potatoes, onions, broad beans, artichokes and cabbage plants have all been planted out.  I think I've got my spacing wrong - as usual.  Chris always says I plant my potatoes too far apart but I like to leave room for earthing up.  His approach is a little more agricultural than mine and he earths up at the time of planting.  Needless to say, as the apple trees are coming into bloom, so the weather has turned cold and blustery again.  

The raspberry patch has new canes this year and it looks as if a couple have failed so I'm glad there are a few spares in the corner. Saturday saw the top lawn border weeded and top dressed with compost.  It was a pain digging out all the Bryony but - better out than in!

Aga simmering device available!

Looks what's new! 

A break from the garden to show you a simple device which ensures even simmering on an Aga.  No more saucepans with half the contents boiling rapidly and half not boiling at all.  This is an Eclipse solid stainless steel simmering device and has been made by a Nottingham university student: Chris Lewis.  They are available from him at the_eclipse@live.co.uk  for £15:00.  The advantage of this over using coins is that it can be picked up with no burnt fingers!  Congratulations to Chris for his device.  It deserves success.

Of course, it goes without saying that Aga won't allow their name to be connected as they are far too busy ensuring that their new Aga's are sold with inferior components. This ensures their franchised distributors have to pick up all costs involved in the travelling, call out and parts involved when a brand new and expertly installed Aga (in this case ours!)  by 'Aga trained' experienced, dedicated and concientious engineers keeps going into meltdown!  Thank goodness for brilliant sales support from the distributors, salesman and engineers alike!  Thumbs up to Hill's of Ledbury for their prompt and attentive service on every occasion.  Thumbs very definitely down to Aga!  They deserve to pay all the costs incurred!  What a shame that such a legendary cooker is bespoiled with modern dumbed down components.   Sorry but I felt I deserved a rant after all the inconvenience that has been caused to all involved!

Well done to an innovative student, I hope he makes some money out of such a worthwhile and much needed invention.  I thoroughly recommend his invention.

And now back to gardening....................

It's looking a lot like spring

Not just at PTC (above)

https://picasaweb.google.com/peartree.pam/ItSLookingALotLikeSpring#

but, also at Lynn & Mike's!!

How nice is their garden???

https://picasaweb.google.com/peartree.pam/LynnMikeSSpringGarden2011#

Not so free roaming anymore.....

Black Betty

For more Comments from (within) the Coop check out:

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  ...and, given her expression - we are not amused! 1

The Hen Pen

More work on the Henclosure!  Today was spent digging out a trench for the new beech hedge which follows the curve of the mesh.  The beech trees were VERY kindly donated by Chris and dug up from his wood.  Hopefully it will soften and eventually hide most of the weldmesh panels.  Yes!  I KNOW it's a tad late in the season to be planting a hedge.  It's just that none of this work was anticipated prior to Monsieur Le Reynard's murderous visit!  I do need to paint the fence post finials without dripping paint on the new hedging plants.

The Henclosure

David's Gate

David Lane (of J.W. Lanes Ltd - Agricultural Engineers of Stanford bridge)  made a really lovely gate in a Victorian style and delivered it in person just in time to hang it this morning.  Lanes can always be relied upon for all things sensible and useful and  -at all times.  Chris now wants to lay some pretty bricks from the gate and around the House for Hens.

Other jobs involved lowering the hedge in front of the Banana Bench allowing views across to Woodbury and Abberley Clock Tower whilst seated.  It takes MUCH courage to cut a great chuck out of a mature hedge and this was very radical move (gulp)!  It just needs to green over now!

The Banana Bench

Original hedge height seen on right

Original  hedge height seen on left

Hopefully, it will  even thicken out.  From a seated position, half the vistas would have been obscured and we would have been left with a close-up view of a less than perfect and very old hedge.



It would be nice to find some pretty Victorian railings of a suitable height to disguise/obscure the rabbit netting.

Wall repairs

While fox defences were being built, the other Chris (Genever) and builder extraordinaire was also hard at work demolishing and rebuilding an unsafe retaining wall with no help from anyone.  And! Talking of curves - how well did he do??  It looks so much nicer than it did before and the addition of the clay drain pipe adds to its character as well as being so practical.  All ready for the Aubretia and pinks to trail over!

As if that wasn't clever enough, he also straightened the lamp post which did have quite a list.  This meant digging out and relaying all the granite sets around its base.  Another beautifully neat job.

Foxproof Fortifications for Fowls!

This is the last photo of Sandy before she was killed by a fox. What a pity Zach wasn't on guard duty when Monsieur Le Reyard came killling!

Since then, we have spent the better part of 5 days building foxproof fortifications for fowls! Trying to make fencing from 8' x 6' panels of weldmesh not look too much like a prison camp has been a bit of a challenge to say the least. However, we have managed to get some pretty elegant looking curves (if I do say so myself!) and the plan is to plant a wild beech hedge in front. In the meantime the 'house for hens' has been repainted inside and out and moved. It now nestles amongst the bamboos and looks the nicer for its move.  Lanes are making a (replica Victorian) entrance gate and we await electrification and  the arrival of pretty fence post finials.  I'm desperate to soften the look as much as is humanly possible and, when the beech hedge grows, not much of the mesh will be visible.

In the meantime, Al is making a new hatchway in the adjoining Hennery so the girls can come and go as they please.  It goes without saying that Chris has headed all major construction and brilliantly so!  We still  need to do a bit of replanting and move a couple of grasses and then lay some slabs in what has become known as the Hen Pen (that being shorter then Henclosure!)  Of course - now we have room for more hens..............

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