Monday

Good morning.  Yesterday was gorgeous here, wall-to-wall sunshine in the afternoon and very pleasantly warm too.  Today?  More of the same, I hope; fingers crossed.

I got to the allotment by nine yesterday to water the babies (all survived overnight!) and do some of the ever present weeding.  It's a bit of a drag but the only way to keep on top of it is to do some every visit.

Then I set off to find this nursery in the expectation that, as it opened at ten, it wouldn't be so crowded at the start.  I was right, it was reassuringly spacey.  Not a fancy place.  No perfume, fruit liqueur or birthday cards.  Just plants - loads and loads of plants - in what was really a huge poly tunnel with more outside and sprinklers working  so there were no-go areas here and there unless you were dressed for swimming.

The plants looked quality.  Nothing shabby or tatty that I could see.  I got things for Beth now that she has planting space - rosemary, thyme and lavender (she wanted the first two but the herbs were three for a tenner so why not) plus some trailing flowers for her containers (also wanted).
They also had tomatoes.  More importantly, they had sungolds!  I now have three sungolds and am happy!  I know I should have some coming but I have little confidence that they will be in any kind of a decent state when they arrive and anyway, a bird in the hand . . .

I'm now eying up all my larger pots, including some that were tucked away in the garage, so I can keep as many tomatoes as possible.  I think all but the very smallest will go out this week - as many as I can manage, anyway.
And I may be going back to the garden centre for large pots and potting compost!  lol

It's so nice to find another centre that doesn't involve a trek through or round town.  I suppose it's a sign of having a good agricultural college in the village, that Writtle has three big garden centres dotted around the outskirts.

Once back home, I gave the new plants a good drink before having breakfast and then took Beth's plants round to her and we had a good old (socially distanced) chatter while we were at it.  She got them planted out later on and sent me a photo; they do look nice!

The warmer weather has brought the flowers on and I have my first Ooh La La flower, very showy and bright.

Three days ago . . .

. . . and this morning.

It's smothered with buds this year and will look a real picture soon.  It's its third year, so nicely established now.







Today, allotment will be the first port of call.  I don't want to do too much as Beth will be coming down some time this week, maybe more than once, as she starts getting out again and we need something to do, but there's always watering, there's always weeding and I really MUST thin out the radishes.  I know it sounds silly but I hate thinning out - it feels such a waste, somehow.  However, it has to be done.

Then I want to plant out the gherkins at home, get all available pots into the garden for tomatoes and start thinking about where they need to go and I think I will need to move the blueberries as there's wires along the fence behind them and it's perfect for keeping the tomatoes stable.

Inside, there's the usual - wiping around, keeping the kitchen clean and tidy, etc.  I'm not terribly fussy where tidiness is concerned and also more organised nowadays so it won't take all that long.  I might go out for a walk later on, maybe round the estate or maybe out into the country.  If the latter, I can check whether the damson bushes are fruiting.  That damson gin I made last autumn was stunningly delicious and I'd like to make some more this year too.

So that's my day's plans.  I may not stick to them but that's OK.  As long as the basics don't get neglected, the rest is pure pleasure.
Take care, everyone, stay safe and have a great day.  xx