Busy greenhouse.

Things are not working quite as I would like them to.

My greenhouse should work in steps, as one thing is ready to go out so another can come in.

There's a bit of a backlog, a kind of plant queue at the minute.

It's not warm enough for the many geraniums to go out, so they are taking up quite a lot of space.

When they are out, the 12 tomato plants that are growing, fast, in my Conservatory, can come in.

When it's warm enough for the Dahlias, and the beans and peas to go out there will be space for the tiny new annual seedlings to have bigger pots.

It's a bit like supermarket queuing , waiting for the ones in front, but thankfully not having to keep social distancing.

The Clematis Montana has suddenly scrambled

over everything that it can reach, including the shed.

It's a pretty pale pink and is a joy every year.

Maybe its a bit over the top, but I can't bear to cut it back!

Mask making.

Together with many others, I have been sewing fabric masks . These are to give to my husband's Carers.

The agency doesnt seem to have enough of the 'proper' ones,

so some of the girls said 'You sew. Can you make some?' 

I have to make it clear to them that these are not what is known as 'medical masks', but they feel they would be happy to have even a slight protection against sneezing or coughing.

So after a quick scurry round Youtube, and a bit of fabric searching, I found that this is the most used pattern, pressing in pleats that then open up when the mask is worn.

As you can see.

I leave them in  a basket in the hallway with a notice saying Help yourself.

Azalea

Now that my tulips have just about finished I had to search for flowers to put in the sitting room. 

These are just a couple of branches from a vibrant  magenta coloured Azalea.

It's somehow rather Japanese l.ooking

The bush was here when we bought the house, perched on the edge of the garden by the road. Every year it blazes its colours forth, and people stop to look at it.

The first Rose of Summer is always Darcy Bussell.

She is a deep velvety red, with a slightly citrussy scent.

Her flowers will get larger as the season continues.

Those are my garden bits for today.
Stay safe.

Preparing for rationing!

Having vowed not to grow vegetables this year, here I am in full wartime mode.

My son laughed at me, but I am of the generation that remembers rationing. (I've promised to share with him when I reap my harvest)

I have little pots of French beans growing.

My tomatoes are ready to transplant.

I have three bags of potatoes planted.

It's such an easy way to grow them.

Below is a similar bag to the ones I am using.

Radishes and carrots are just beginning to germinate.

In May I hope to plant courgettes, cucumbers, peas and broad beans.

Next step is to dig up the lawn in true Blitz fashion.

That's not going to happen!

Just a photo of my Camassia plants, so pretty.

PS, Captain Tom's walk made 20 million pounds as of yesterday.

Captain Tom's final lap

Just a quick add-on to the last post.

Captain Tom finished his 100 laps of the garden today.

He has raised more than £13 million pounds.

Thirteen million!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52303859

The soldiers of the Yorkshire regiment were there to cheer him into the final lap.

There is a link above to see more. It's a bit faint but I cannot get it to change.

Captain Tom

This lovely gentleman, Captain Tom Moore , has astonished us all with his fundraising.

Captain Tom is 99 and wanted to raise £1000 for the NHS.

He decided to complete 100 laps with his walker, round his garden in Bedfordshire before his 100th birthday on 30th April.

Today, the sum he has raised has just surpassed £5million!

170,000 donations have come in from all over the world. Apparently the JustGiving site crashed momentarily as so many people were trying to leave donations.

Captain Tom served in WW2 in India and Sumatra. 

He has recently had a hip replacement and says that he is so grateful to NHS staff for all they do. 

He says......

 It’s marvellous for our doctors and nurses on the front line. In the last war it was soldiers in uniform on the front line. This time our army are the doctors and nurses uniforms. They’re doing such a marvelous job.

Isn't that an inspiration?

Easter Sunday

Very little traffic on the coast road behind us.

No visitors.

No Easter flowers, chocolates or eggs!

No distractions.

It's been an Easter Sunday like no other, with everything 'normal' stripped away.

Time just to be silent, to listen to an Easter service on the radio, to have a quiet lunch on our own.

Time to think.

Birdsong is louder due to there being so little traffic noise, and how very noisy those blackbirds can be!

Time to watch the bluetit pair as they pop in and out of the nesting box.

(This is not our box but is exactly the same shape.)

Time to quietly plan the garden lay-out.

A different way of life.

A calmer way of life.

For a while.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said today  

After so much suffering, so much heroism from key workers and the NHS in this country and their equivalents all across the globe, once this epidemic is conquered here and elsewhere, we cannot be content to go back to what was before as if all was normal. There needs to be a resurrection of our common life, a new normal, something that links to the old, but is different and more beautiful."

Easter blessings.

(Image from The Leprosy Mission shop)

Blossoms

Blossom time in the garden.

It does my heart good to see these buds unfurling on the Crab 

apple tree.

The Cherry tree is just beginning and will soon be a sea of pink.

I wait for it each year.

This is a tree that I planted a few years ago. I feel I have added something to our landscape with it

Finally, my cushion of Pasque flowers, the Easter flower.

This is a little different from the deep purple ones I had in France, but still lovely.

We have been watching a couple of Bluetits going in and out of the nest box, taking a little moss each time, so there is hope of a nest being made.

Little delights!

Tiny shoots

So good to see some tiny new shoots.

This is a Tomato, the only one that germinated in this pot.

More tomatoes, finally growing after nearly three weeks germination.

There is a huge return to 'growing your own' here, as our Garden Centres are closed. This is such a pity, as it is the time of year when thousands of new Spring plants are almost ready for sale. What will happen to them?

One enterprising local centre has started doing deliveries, and I have ordered bags of compost from them.

But the fun of going to a Garden centre and looking, smelling and choosing, is no longer possible.

I want our world to return to normal as soon as possible, though I'm not sure what 'normal' will be.

**********************

On another subject , it was so comforting to see Her Majesty the Queen broadcasting to the nation last night.

She has all the right words. She urged the world and the nation to unite in the fight against Coronavirus.

'We will succeed', she said, 'and that success will belong to all of us'.

My conservatory.

Do you think people are posting more often at the minute?

Normally I write something about once a week, but somehow I feel we all need to connect a little more.

This is a small part of my sunroom. The geraniums have been there all Winter and have now come into flower which is such a delight.

One of them has  sweetly scented leaves, with small pale pink flowers. I've taken half a dozen cuttings from it, all of which have rooted.

 There is a white geranium, cuttings brought from France, and two pink ones. Pink geraniums always bring to mind Elizabeth Goudge's 'Little white Horse', a childhood favourite book.

Do you know it?

And on the other wall, my untidy place.

Completely unstaged, this is how my sewing area looks today, bits and pieces everywhere.

Normally my machine is closed up in the unit and it looks tidier.....but this is reality today.

An easy lunch.

It's years since I made stuffed red peppers.

I think it was Delia Smith who produced lovely recipes for them in the 70s.

Today that's what we're having for lunch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roasted_pepper_with_19108

It's a very simple vegetarian recipe found on BBC good Food website, link above.

Shallotts, courgette (zucchini), tomatoes, rice, garlic, herbs and salt and pepper.

I've added red beans to it, just because I had some leftver..

It looks a little 'untidy' but I'm hoping it will taste good!