The Blackbird

Out of all the visitors to my garden,  the blackbird has always been one of my favourites.  With dark brown plumage for the females or black for the males, they aren't the most eye catching birds and they certainly can't compete with the finches, blue tits and great tits.  I just like them though.

At my old house, I had a pair of blackbirds nesting in my jasmine.  In the spring I would hear the cheeping of chicks in the nest and see the mother flying in and out to feed them.  Now I like watching them in the autumn flying up and down, stripping the honeysuckle of its berries.

Whenever I see a blackbird, I always remember evenings spent in a village pub near Winchester where the landlady would sit at an old piano and lead the assembled drinkers in a raucous singing session.  My favourite song, which was a regular in her repertoire, was "The Blackbird" by the West Country band The Wurzels.  I will never forget the rousing chorus with the landlady singing at the top of her lungs.  Happy days!

[Chorus]Where be it Blackbird to? I know where he be,
He be up yon Wurzel tree, And I be after he!
Now I sees he, And he sees I,
Bugger’d if I don’t get ‘en
Wit a girt big stick I’ll knock ‘im down
Blackbird I’ll ‘ave he!
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
‘Ow’s ‘E Father?
(Audience Answer) Allright!
All me life I’m on the farm, Workin’ for me keep
Tendin’ pigs and chickens, and they cows and sheep
But everywhere I’m workin’, there’s one who always mocks me
He hidin' somewhere in the trees, blackbird I’ll ‘ave he!
[Chorus]
Underneath the open sky in spring we loves to dine
We likes to ‘ear the flappin’ of the missus washin’ line
We listens to a tuneful song, a blackbird or a tit,
But on me vest and underpants he scored a direct hit!
[Chorus]
If I goes out poachin’, a creepin’ through the fields,
With me old retriever, a followin’ at me heels.
If I aim me shotgun at a pheasant in the hay
That bloody blackbird starts his row and frightens him away!
[Chorus]
No longer can I sleep at night, get peace of any kind,
That bird’ll be the death of me, he’s prayin’ on me mind!
If I chase him long enough, I’ll get ‘en by and by,
And celebrate me vict’ry with a girt big blackbird pie!
[Chorus]

Share and Share Alike

I love browsing the aisles of the local garden centres.  We are lucky enough to have a few really good ones near us which not only have a huge selection of plants and gardening equipment but also really good gifts and cafes too.  I could quite happily spend hundreds of pounds on all sorts of fabulous pots and plants.  Needless to say sense and the budget manage to keep a tight rein on me though!

It is surprising how much a few plants add up to.  I needed to restock a few items in my garden following the long winter and heavy snow.  Sadly a few plants in pots didn't make it, neither did the pots for that matter, suffering frost damage.  I was quite restrained and bought 6 geraniums, 3 Moneymaker tomato plants, 12 lobelia, a yellow flowering plant (I need to go and look at label!), a small tray of bedding plants and a bag of compost.  That little lot set me back £33!

I also wanted to get another half barrel as the metal band running around my current one has rusted and snapped causing the sides of the barrel to move outwards and apart.  A new on in the same size was £35 though, so I decided to leave that for now.

A cheap way to add variety to your garden is swapping cuttings with other gardeners.  A couple of the shrubs in my garden were cuttings from my mother-in-law and sister.  This year, I gave some of my surplus red onion sets to my mother-in-law and got a courgette plant, some runner bean seed, some basil seedlings and teasel seedlings in return.

Even if you don't get around to swapping cuttings or seeds, you can share your produce.  It is a great way to deal with gluts of fruit and vegetables, or if you have a small garden, a good way to increase your variety of home grown produce.  Let's not forget either that sharing just makes you feel good!

Does My Bum Look Big In This?

Watching the pigeons trying to squeeze themselves onto the bird table does amuse me. They land in the garden, waddle across the lawn and then somehow manage to fly up and into the bird table.  It is quite a haphazard affair to say the least!

The other day, I took pity on the pigeons and threw a load of stale bread onto the lawn for them.  Sadly my good deed didn't really do one poor pigeon a favour though.  One minute I looked out the back door at my two cats sunbathing on the lawn debating the origins of the saying "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" and literally the next minute I heard a squawk.  I went back to the door and was confronted by one cat mauling a very dead pigeon whilst the other cat was looking on with glee.

The poor pigeon had obviously flown into the garden and quite literally landed on two unsuspecting cats!  I can't begin to tell you how guilty I felt.  I definitely won't be throwing bread on the ground for the birds anymore. 

Potatoes & Plant Pots

No matter how small, or large for that matter, your garden, you can always add interesting features using different planters.  As long as it has drainage, you can use pretty much anything you like to put plants in.  Obviously the size of the planter will dictate the plants that it can accomodate but otherwise, the possibilities are endless.  As well as various shapes and sizes of pot, I have used a pair of old work boots in the past and even had a small pond in a half barrel on my patio.  It was so successful, a frog moved in!

Two of my favourite planters at the moment are a pair of chimney pots and my woven witch hat hanging baskets.  I like hanging baskets but I find the usual half sphere ones a bit traditional.  I found a pair of witch hats at the local dump a few years ago, so recycled them into my garden.  Salvage yards are a perfect place for finding unusual planters too, such as old kitchen sinks.

The chimney pots were a great find.  I have always hankered after a couple but they are really expensive and much sought after.  You can imagine my absolute joy when I found a couple for sale in a local charity shop.  They look fabulous planted up with the purple and white Senetti.  Notice anything odd though?  Well, if you look really closely, you might just notice that the chimney pots are moulded plastic and not terracotta!

The potatoes and onions I planted a few weeks ago are really starting to take off.  Both varieties of potato have come up and true to form I have no idea which is which!  I think the ones at the top of the photo are the salad potatoes.  I'll find out when they are harvested, so no worries.  I was going to plant another batch but I think it is too late.  The seed potatoes in the shed seem a bit soft and I am not sure I can be bothered to be honest.

The onions have also all come up.  I planted them deeper that last year and earlier I think, so I have high hopes for them.  I will definitely plant some more in pots on the patio in a few weeks. 

Really need to crack on with the salads too now that the weather has perked up.  Hopefully I will have a bumper harvest!

Container Vegetable Gardens

No matter how small your garden, even if you just have a window box, you can have a vegetable garden.  You can grow so many vegetables, particularly salads in containers.  I quite like growing mustard & cress, alfalfa and mung beans in dishes in my kitchen, as well as herbs on the window ledge.  They are all so easy to grow.  You just need to scatter the seed onto some wet kitchen towel in a shallow dish and leave them to it.  As long as you keep the tissue moist, you will have a harvest in a week or so.

Last weekend, I finally managed to get my potatoes in.  I am definitely a fair weather gardener.  The potoatoes could have gone in between February and April but it was too cold, wet and windy for my liking until last weekend.

Having bought the seed potatoes weeks ago, they have been sitting patiently in my kitchen, happily sprouting.  I think this may have been good though as someone told me you are supposed to let them sprout before planting.  Needless to say, I have no idea.

I grew some potatoes for the first time last year.  I always thought you needed a large vegetable patch to grow potatoes and then discovered by chance you could grow them in barrels.  I found a polypropylene barrel was available which seemed ideal as it could be easily stored when not in use.   The barrels have handles at the top so that you can shift them around and a flap on each side at towards the bottom which you can open to harvest your potatoes without disturbing the plant at the top.  The flap simply stays closed with Velcro.  I ran a copper band around each barrel to stop slugs crawling up to the plants.

Planting is so easy, you simply fill the bottom half with compost, pop in your seed potatoes with the sprouts upwards and then cover with more compost until the barrel is about 3/4 full.  One barrel can take 3-4 seed potatoes but I put 6 of the salad variety in as I figured the potatoes are smaller and will take up less room.

I was quite surprised at how well my potatoes did last year, despite me forgetting to water them half the time!  I don't even know what I grew last year, they were red ones, that's all I know.  One important thing I did discover last year though is that I am really allergic to potato plants!  Having spent an afternoon brushing past them on the way to the shed, I came out in a really itchy rash that nearly drove me mad.  When I went to the chemist for some cream, I was told that potatoes are related to Deadly Nightshade and can cause highly allergic reactions.

This year, despite the late planting, I am trying to be a bit more organised with the potatoes.  I have bought two varieties, Red Duke of York and Charlotte salad potatoes.  I can't remember which barrel is which but I will find out when I harvest them.  I don't think I need to know - hope not anyway!

I also tried my hand at growing some onions in plant pots last year too, which were quite successful.  For Christmas my parents-in-law gave me a wicker planter which I have decided to use for my Red Baron onions this year.  The wicker surround is partly decorative and also helps to keep the polypropylene liner in shape.  The liner is split into two sections, so you could grow a couple of vegetables in them.  Again, when not in use, the planter just folds down flat for easy storage.  Each section measures about 45cm square, so it does not take up a huge amount of space.  You could easily place it on a balcony or on a patio.

As the weather improves, I will be planting more vegetables in containers.  I will put some tomatoes in a grow bag, salad leaves in a hanging basket (away from the slugs!) and I may try some runner beans in a large pot too.

Little Faces

One of my favourite plants is the Pansy.  They just make me smile with their petals that resemble little faces.  I'm not the only one who thinks that either.  The Afrikaans name for Pansy is "Gesiggies" which translates to "little faces".

I have to admire the resiliance of these winter flowering ones.  I bought them from a local DIY store at the end of November, as in my usual fashion, I forgot to go and buy any earlier.  There the were stragglely end of line ones which nobody else had bought.  They were quite small, not overly healthy looking and didn't get planted until the second week of December.  Add to that the three feet of snow that was dumped on top of them in January, I am amazed they even survived!

But survive they have.  Not only that, they are flourishing, as you can see.  They are planted into a metal basket which is attached to the South facing fence, so quite a sunny position until mid afternoon.  All I need to remember to do now is remember to water them as the basket is quite shallow.  Hopefully, if they can survive the winter, they can survive me too!

Blooming Late

It's Easter Sunday and Spring has finally well and truly sprung ..... apart from in my garden!  Everywhere you look there are swathes of yellow daffodils swaying in the breeze.  All of mine have yet to realise it's Spring though.  I did put some extras daffodil bulbs in during December, so I would expect those to be late but all the rest have no excuse.  A quick inspection around the garden revealed one miniature daffodil in bloom, with the rest no where near flowering yet.  No idea why.

I can't believe how much damage has been caused through the winter.  I think the prolonged cold weather, rain, wind and let's not forget the snow has really impacted on the poor plants.  Some of the pots which I have had for years have suffered bad frost damage and even my wooden half barrel has come apart.  Quite a few of the plants in pots need to be replaced including a really good lavender which is now half dead and a couple of fuschias.

On a more positive note, the birds are enjoying the continuous feast I put out for them.  As well as the usual suspects of the Robin, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Sparrows and Blue Tits, I have finally managed to attract a pair of Goldfinches with the niger seeds I put out.  Hopefully they will make my garden a more permanent stop now.

Daisy cat is definitely enjoying the better weather and variety of birds to annoy.  She spends hours waiting under a bush in the hope of catching one but always fails.  The other morning I opened the curtains to see her thoroughly entangled in the Dogwood.  I can only assume she took a flying leap at a bird and misjudged the landing.  She was having real trouble unhooking her back legs from the branches much to the amusement of a robin sat a few feet away!