Good Friday

The garden is looking lovely in all this glorious sunshine. We have been cracking on with the veg - the lettuce and salad leaves are in, as are the courgettes, carrots, broad beans and sweetpeas. There are lots of promising looking blossoms on the strawberries, and the mint is riotous (of course).  The tomatoes are coming along beautifully behind glass, and it's Good Friday today so the 'tatties will be going in tomorrow - not an old wives tale I'm reliably informed, but related to the lunar calendar...

Meanwhile, I've been taking study breaks from my 'Fin de Siècle' and 'Race and the Victorians' essays to tackle the thistles in the lawn with my trusty fork - most satisfying!

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My boyfriend loves the garden more than he loves me

Eccentric weather conditions - lashing rain, tropical sunshine and freak bouts of humidity have turned the garden rampant.

We have glorious flowers: stargazer lilies opening white petals flashed through with pink, abundant perfumed white roses, delicate purple clematis clinging on to the trellis in the random gusts of wind coursing up the passageway.


The veg patch - annexed by The Boy as his own fiefdom - has suddenly become exciting. Red buds promising runners beans have taken over the vines, which outgrow their supporting canes as rapidly as we construct them. I've also been feasting on ripe, sweet homegrown strawberries. The pumpkins have escaped the beds and are valiantly making for the other side of the garden, uncurling fresh trendrils everyday. We're in danger of being taken over!

So far, so edible!

I am also reliably informed that we are two weeks ahead of our competitor veg growers in Manchester, which makes us smug! Sorry, Aged Parents!

Feeling seedy ...

This evening, I've got plans for some indoor gardening.

The boy and I, feeling crafty and eco-friendly, made paper pots from recycled newspapers a couple of days ago. Now they're dry and ready for action.

Going in:

• Pumpkins (we are addicted and need a supply)
  
• Runner beans (nothing better, steamed and slathered in butter)
  
• Cherry tomatoes (much sweeter when you grow your own)
  
• Sunflowers (cheerful, makes me think of France)
  
• Sweet peas (purely for the colour and smell, heavenly)
  
• Herbs (an unusual Valentine's gift)

On hold for sowing direct into the new raised bed:

• Lettuce (multiple varieties, thanks to the boy's mum)
• Spinach (with pine nuts on pasta with a splash of extra virgin)
  

Makes me happy just thinking about it!