Living in a Box: General Catch Up

About Living in a Box

2007 will be the year of change in this little house and garden we call "The Box". We have been renting this house for 2 years, and never did much with it (or the garden) as we thought we'd be buying our own home. But we are likely to be here another few years before we can buy, so we are making the house and garden more comfortable. I am also looking for an allotment nearby.

Tuesday, 08 July 2008

General Catch Up

Just a general catch up today. I am so busy at the moment - looking after grandkids, housekeeping, gardening etc. etc. You know how it is...especially as we move into warmer weather. We always seem to be doing something. Baby Erin is walking now, and needs constant watching. I need eyes in the back of my head.

The weather is really improving here in Oxfordshire. Mind you, we have had such a lot of rain in the last few days, and it's set to continue for the next week. The little garden is sopping wet. I picked an armful of flowers this morning. I don't normally pick for the house, but they are being ruined by all the rain, so I thought we would enjoy them more in the living room. They look lovely...and what a sense of satisfaction to know they were grown from seed by my very own hands.

This is one of the most wonderful sights in the garden right now - well...to me it is. Last year I planted so many crocosmia bulbs that I thought I would have a wonderful display. Not even half of them came up. The few that did grow formed a small clump (I'd wanted a large drift). but they didn't flower - not at all. I was very disappointed, but that's a gardener's life, isn't it. You can't win them all. This year, however, the clump has doubled in size, and there are flowers appearing. I'm absolutely thrilled !!!

Another thrilling sight are the flowers on the Day-lily (Hemerocallis). I put a very small plant in last year - I think I bought it at a garden sale (can't remember). I split it in 2 as it was dying down in the autumn. I now have 2 clumps - large clumps, flowering profusely. Wonderful.

The next photo is Cerinthe (behind the Sweet Williams). I've never grown them before, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I sowed a lot of seed (late), and this was one of the packets that came free with a gardening magazine last year. I thought I'd give them a try. They are doing really well. The photo was taken at the beginning of last week, and they are now about to flower.

The garden is looking lovely - like a real cottage garden...just as I want it. But no matter how I love it, I stand drooling at the back fence, looking out at the allotments just 30 feet from my back door. Oh how I want one. I've noticed one of the lotties, the nearest one to my house, hasn't been worked at all yet. I'm wondering if the allotmenteer has given it up. I'm going to phone the allotment officer tomorrow and find out. If you hear any whining coming from Oxfordshire tomorrow, it'll be me. I may have to beg a bit.

If I can't get the allotment this year (I'm on the l...o...n...g waiting list), I thinking of redesigning the back garden, and going for raised beds - might even turn the whole thing over to veg next year. I'm seriously thinking about it. Of course it would involve a discussion with the owner - who might not be too pleased with my idea. But if I can guarantee that we'll leave him with a clean and tidy garden, as we found it, he might go for it. When we moved in it was half paving slabs and half lawn (not very good lawn either). We'll see what happens.