Red Strawberries!

So Wimledon started this week and look! The strawberries are turning red! How wonderfully English :-)

We're away at Glastonbury for the week so unfortunately we won't be sampling the delights just yet.

Back on Monday so after we've scrubbed ourselves clean we might enjoy a nice bowl with a glass of Pimms. That's if our friend whose kindly watering the garden for us while we're away doesn't decide to eat them first!!

An Emergency of Tiny Proportions

Oh no! Look at our poor leeks!! I was doing my morning check and putting the Basil out to get some summer sun when I saw the monstrosity that one of the local felines had created. What was once a little patch of leek seedling wonder had been turned upside down into a big earth mound.

So I had to forgo my early train to work this morning and do some emergency gardening. I managed to salvage some of them - albeit with some leaves missing on most. I quickly put them into pots for now - I think we'll leave them to establish themselves a little more first before they go back into the ground.

Can you believe it! We've got wire cloches dotted all over the garden to protect the seedlings from cats. On the little leek patch we stuck garden canes throughout it to stop them digging but whoever the culprit was just dug around the canes. Beetroot last year and now our leeks...

I saw you Tabby this morning... sitting on top of our shed - surveying your work were you?! You wait - next time you won't just get a shooo from me - you'll have a water pistol to contend with.

Grrrrrrrrrr.

Yip-Pea!

Well, would you look at that! A yummy, deelish, hard to keep your mitts off, baby pea! This is our first year of growing peas, thinking about it I have no idea why we didn't grow them last year, I mean, they have to be one of THE best tastes of the summer. Nothing beats eating raw peas out of their pods.

We've gone for a dwarf variety and they're doing brilliantly. To be honest, we hadn't noticed the pods growing, we'd just been looking at the lovely white flowers. It took us a little by surprise but now, every day I pop out and check how they're doing. I absolutely cannot wait for the first peas ready to eat. They are SO not gonna make it as far as the kitchen!

Blooming Marvelous!

Lots of flowers in the little garden at the moment. None just for show – oh no, these flowers have work to do! Can you guess what they all are? Some are dead easy, others not!

A Little Adventure

Check him out! This is one of our little Great Tit babies that are hanging out in our garden at the moment! They're pretty timid so stay in the tree most of the time crying to mum and dad for more food. I have to say, mum and dad, hats off, you have been working like crazy.

But this little fella decided to brave it and go for a little adventure. Hopping around the garden, getting stuck in, looking for insects no doubt. We got a little worried at one point as we thought he was going to hop into the house. But instead he flew up onto the neighbours roof – hence the shot above.

Here (s)he is in the tree at the bottom of the garden.
What a cutie!

What a Great Pair!

What a lovely start to the Bank Holiday weekend. I came home from work to such a racket in the garden! And what do I find – two Great Tits razzing around like nobodies business.

They had three little fledglings in the big tree at the back of the garden – no wonder they were busy! Well they were doing a great job – I put out some dried mealworms for them which they lapped up instantly.

Also saw a Wren running backwards and forwards, hopefully he's got a brood on the go – with the hard winter we had they need to boost their numbers. Historically Wrens have been pretty good at bouncing back so fingers crossed he's doing his little bit. Imagine how small a baby Wren would be! Incy teeny weeny – bet they're so cute!

Dead chuffed about the Great Tits, we've also had a baby Starling, Blackbird and a little Dunnock. Waiting on the Goldfinches now... come on Gary, don't let us down!

Say Hello to Alfie

Alfie is our new tree. He's a Japanese Maple – otherwise known as an Acer. We think he's just beautiful. He's sitting in our front garden looking very majestic. If you walk by give him a little stroke, he's wonderfully soft.

We hope you like him.