Tuesday 23 June 2009

Veggie progress

Everything is growing like mad without too much interference from us!

Peas are flowering and setting their pods - just a few more days before we start picking I reckon.  After giving them one final go last year we seem to have found our pea legs - they were a big success last year, and this year looks to be going the same way.  This is a dwarf variety - Early Onward.



We're also growing sugar snap peas and mangetout.  The mangetout are purple-podded, and have the most beautiful flowers - almost good enough to pick!



Courgettes are coming on nicely - I inspect them every day for fear of growing a marrow!  Madly, we've got three plants this year - Bianca, Defender and Soleil.  This is the first Defender just coming to picking size.



The greenhouse is cleared and home to the tomatoes and chillies - a bit further behind than I'd hoped, but there's still time for a good crop.  We've also got four hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes which are setting fruit nicely.




The chard and overwintering onions came out the other week, and more onions and carrots went in.  This is our second sowing of carrots - very poor germination of the first lot - I wonder if the soil was just too cold.  The bed behind supposedly has broccoli, chard and calabrese in - but the poppies seem to be hiding them from sight for the time being.



The potatoes are looking abundant - too early to peek yet though, these are second earlies.  Have to resist the temptation until next month.  Hidden by peas, the dwarf beans, runners and borlottis and runners are all starting to set pod.  And in any spare gaps there are spring onions and beetroot.



So with the veg garden vaguely under control we've started digging a path.  Well.  I use 'we' loosely.  What I actually mean is that Wilf and Himself (my nephew) have started digging a path, and jolly fine it's looking too.  

Fantastic flowers

Despite not having paid any attention to the flowers in the garden in our quest for more veg, everything seems to be flowering well.

The opium poppy crop is, as usual, beautiful and appears in all sorts of places and in glorious colours



Lavender and Lady's Mantle sit side by side



We moved this rose - Margaret Merrill - from Wilf's mum's garden a couple of years ago.  It's in memory of Aunty Peg and flowers away valiantly every summer and smells beautiful.



The honeysuckle is finally established and smells divine



And in the corner Philadelphius Belle Etoile is quietly flowering.



All we need now is some properly warm weather to sit out and enjoy it!