Ravendale House

It’s now almost a week since the plug plants arrived, and to be honest the jury’s still out. The begonias certainly look better than they did, but neither they nor the geraniums have done much in the way of growing. Perhaps I should just be glad they’re still alive.

(more…)

The dandelions are back. Sometimes it feels like I spend my entire gardening life doing battle with weeds. One particular battle which I’ve been fighting, and losing, for the last 10 years is against the dandelions in the field and now they’re back.

(more…)

Today we had a day at the seaside, Skegness to be precise. The nearest thing I did to any gardening was watering the plants before we set off and again when we got back. Not a moment too soon for some of them, I was amazed how they’d dried out in just 4 or 5 hours.

(more…)

Another sunny, if cool day and I did one of my most favourite gardening jobs. Planting things that I’ve grown from cuttings or seed out of their pots and into the ground.

(more…)

Our cat, Dulcie, is quite old now and doesn’t have the best of appetites, so during each day the food she leaves goes outside. Originally it was intended for the local stray cat and the hedgehog, and I know the food I put out after dark certainly goes to those two, as I saw the cat last night and the hedgehog the night before.

(more…)

Today we have tadpoles. Not as many as previous years, and not as many as the amount of frog spawn earlier in the year would have indicated, but we do have tadpoles. The pond level was pretty low, so I carefully filled it up, that’s the second time this year, just shows how dry it’s been.

(more…)

I’m very fond of my garden birds as you know, and one of my favourites is the robin, probably because he’s so cute and so cheeky. All robins are born with the ability to ‘strike a pose’, usually a cute one, perched on the handle of a fork or spade for ultimate ‘ahhhh’ effect.

(more…)

Today my plug plants arrived, 40 begonias and 40 geraniums. First impressions were good, well packed in strong cardboard boxes, 84 little modules. (They send extra to allow for casualties).

(more…)

The flowering cherry trees are an absolute picture at this time of year, I’m so glad Peter made us have white ones and not pink. Against a blue sky they are majestic, trouble is the sky isn’t blue this year, so I’ll just have to use my imagination.

(more…)

As predicted, today was little better than yesterday, so I decided to pot up some of my 126 hardy perennial seedlings.

(more…)