Chitting and sowing

The mornings are getting lighter (more chance of putting my makeup on in the right place) and I'm driving home from work in the light which is such a relief as I hate tackling the country lanes in the pitch black.
I am eager to get out in the garden and keep wandering down to my veg patch and inspecting the purple sprouting broccoli. Still no sign of flowers but I didn't plant them out till later in the season, so I shouldn't expect yummy broccoli until the beginning of spring. Whilst on one of my inspections I noticed in one of the veg beds some shoots coming up out of the soil. It seems that some of the garlic which I planted out last spring and then disappeared, have decided to have another go and have started to grow again. I will leave them in the ground and see what becomes of them.
It is still a little bit chilly to brave the outside, so I have set to work inside by sowing some chillies and chitting my potatoes.

I have decided to buy a greenhouse and have seen one on the Internet http://www.simplygreenhouses.co.uk/Metal-Greenhouses/Palram-Silverline-Polycarbonate. It looks very good value for money and I am very excited about my prospective purchase but I need to clear a space for it first. I have the very spot at the top of the garden but there is an awful overgrown rockery (I use the term very loosely) which needs dismantling first. My plan is to have the space ready by Easter, my favourite bank holiday as for me it signifies the start of spring, I just need to break the news to Andy - wish me luck with that one!

With Love On Valentines Day

Today is St Valentines Day. You should let your loved ones know everyday that you love them but today it's time for extra special love!
There was an early knock at the door this morning, which usually means that someone has knocked their ball into our garden, so I told Andy to ignore it. After all today, being Sunday, is our day to have a delicious lie-in and Valentines day to boot, surely the kids can wait but no Andy sprung out of bed to answer the door and returned with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Oh my gosh they are gorgeous.

Rose

Lisianthus

Anthurium
He was also busy in the kitchen this week and has made me some white heart shaped chocolates with scrummy milk chocolate squidgy centres. I only have one left, they were so delicious.

I am not the only lucky lady to receive such wonderful gifts, as you will see if you click on the video below. Last week I blogged about meeting Joe Swift but he was not the only gardener I met. I had the pleasure in meeting James Alexander-Sinclair. He is an absolutely charming man and this week he sent me a link to a YouTube video he, Joe and Cleve West made in a series called Three Men Went to Mo; very apt for Valentines Day.
Hope your day is filled with love......................................

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NGS Yellow Book Launch

Not even the grey London skies could put a dampener on the joy I was feeling, as I travelled up by train, on Wednesday for the launch of the NGS yellow book.

It was very busy with, as one lovely person I met put it, 'the gardening mafia' but it felt good to connect with people who shared my interest in garden writing and imagery.
I met Joe Swift and no I didn't explode but gave him my card and had a nice conversation with him about the NGS. He has taken over the role of President this year and I couldn't think of a more perfect ambassador for the organisation. On television he is usually seen in his gardening gear but I can happily report that he scrubs up very well, in his suit and crisp white shirt.
He gave a speech and cheques were handed over to Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support and Cross Roads Hospice. Amazing amounts of money is raised through people opening their gardens in aid of the National Garden Scheme, it really is a fantastic organisation.
During a talk about the different kinds of gardens open around the country, an image of one the gardens from my project appeared. This was from the garden of Mr and Mrs Cleall at 1162 Wimborne Road.

An absolutely lovely suburban garden and well worth a visit.

I am absolutely delighted to say that the following four images from my project, appear in this years book.

Wild Garlic from Wincombe Park

Nora Barlow from Herons Mead

Noel Road (this appears in black and white)

Betty's cake from Knowle Farm

I shall carry on supporting the NGS with my photography this year and if you can support them by visiting a garden, you won't be disappointed. Teas, cakes and gardens, what a perfect combination!

Dotty Designs

I have licensed 4 of my images to a company called Dotty Designs http://www.dottydesigns.com/ for them to use on their storage cubes.
They produce a range of British designed products including the aforementioned storage cubes, aprons and shopping bags, plus many more, all with interesting photographic images on them. All their products are made from natural cotton fabrics, they use minimal packaging and are mindful of their carbon footprint.

This week I have been preparing for my trip up to London for the launch of this years NGS yellow book. My train ticket has been booked and collected from the station. My outfit chosen, a dress with my favourite shoes, red with a wedge (well being only 5ft 2in I don't want to be dwarfed by all those tall chaps) and a new batch of business cards to give out, should the opportunity arise.

After the reception, I intend to make my way along the South Bank to the Tate Modern where there is a Monet I want to see again.

I feel very thankful that I have been sent this invitation. Not only is it an honour and very exciting but it will give me the opportunity to step out of my weekly routine, which is something we all need to do every now and again!

Ranunculus to the rescue

What a week I have had. I have a gut complaint, which flared up this week and completely knocked me for six. Thankfully, with the help of the meds, I am feeling tons better and ready for action!

Today we went on the hunt for a greenhouse. We have seen some on the Internet but thought we would see if we could source one locally and I am so glad we went out and about, because I visited a garden centre, which I hadn't been to before.
I have been visiting garden centres since I was a child and just love the thrill of seeing what plants they sell and Stewarts in Christchurch have a fantastic range of plants, I was not disappointed. They had a greenhouse very similar to the ones we were looking at on the net but also a polytunnel, which also looked very promising. Decisions, decisions.................

Inspite of having one of the largest gardens on the estate, it is so lumpy and bumpy and with three very tatty levels at the back, I have so much space but nowhere to grow anything, without lots of hard work first to make it possible. It's funny how we focus on what we don't have, instead of what we have. I am happy for the space but completely daunted at the same time.

At Stewarts I bought some Ranunculus corms but also saw some in flower, which I just couldn't resist. They have the most beautiful petal structure and the colour of these are a fuchsia pink - gorgeous.

In dark and dreary January only the hard hearted could not feel happiness from looking at these scrumptious flowers. They certainly soothed my soul.

A Wonderful Invitation

On Wednesday I was jumping for joy around my kitchen, after receiving an invitation to the launch of this years NGS Yellow Book. Last year I completed a self funded project, photographing NGS gardens and their owners, on their open days, giving the images to the National Garden Scheme for them to use if they wish. The pleasure I got from the project was reward enough, so this puts the icing on the cake. The president of the NGS is Joe Swift, so if I get to meet him, well I might explode with happiness. Hopefully not in front of him; don't want to make a mess!

I took a stroll up the garden path this morning, in the sunshine. It was markedly warmer than of late; almost spring like. Gosh the garden's a mess. Lots of work to do, digging over the raised beds and replacing fences.
I inspected my purple sprouting broccoli. Nothing to eat yet but they looked healthy enough. Boots helped me check them out.

I have been buying from the Marshalls kitchen garden catalogue http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/index.html my favourite seed catalogue. As potatoes take up so much room, I have bought some bags to grow them in, which come with tubers and free potato fertiliser. I have gone for the taster bags, as you get 3 varieties of tubers, Charlotte, Swift and Maris Peer. I have also bought some chili seeds and salad bowl, cut and come again lettuce.
This is our 3rd year of growing our own veg. I still have lots to learn but one of the most important lessons I have learnt so far, especially if space is at a premium, is to only grow vegetables which you know you will take pleasure in eating and also that the summers are too damp for outdoor tomatoes. Two years of the tastiest summer crop being decimated by blight, has put me off growing them again; outdoors that is.
You just watch, this year we will have perfect tomato growing weather!

New Polaroid Cameras unveiled

Polaroid is set to revive its instant business as it unveiled two new cameras at the Las Vegas CES show - one digital and one film-based to be released alongside new instant films produced by the Impossible Project

The new film camera is named PIC 1000 and is a modern version of the formerly-popular Polaroid OneStep camera. The camera will be available in two models - one in a light grey metallic plastic finish, while the retro model will sport a wooden finish. Both models feature a self-timer, flash and red-eye reduction option.

The PIC 1000 will work with Polaroid 600 Color films, which are set to be produced by a joint venture between Summit Group and the Impossible Project, the latter having worked for the past year in the redevelopment of instant films after Polaroid pulled the plug on the business in 2008.Polaroid is also planning to continue its foray in the instant digital market with the release of a 12 million pixel resolution digital camera that will instantly print 3x4-inch images using ZINK technology. Previously, Polaroid released a PoGo printer and camera which produced 2x3-inch prints
The new digital camera will be fitted with a LCD screen to allow users to check, crop and alter their images before printing them.A stand-alone 3x4-inch printer will also be released in the second half of 2010, along side the instant digital camera. The PIC 1000 will be available in the first half of the year to coincide with the release of new Impossible Project's instant films.

Source: Article taken from British Journal of Photography online http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=872445