This has been an ideal opportunity for people to get out into their gardens. Sales of compost, fence paint and plants have been doing well and are even out of stock in some places. My local garden centre, though closed, has been running an excellent online ordering and delivery service so we’ve been busy, especially during this nice weather, in the garden. Thank you Merryhatton garden centre!

Ours is a new garden, (originally a block of new laid turf on a slope) so this time last year we had a wee man round to make me three raised beds, a patio area and dig out another bed so shrubs this year are coming into flower for the first time. Pieris and exocorda (Bride’s Bouquet) are in flower and remind me of our previous garden, while clematis montana is coming into bloom as well as a dwarf rhododendron.

pieris

exochorda (bride’s bouquet)

clematis montana

dwarf rhododendron

But my pride and joy are the cabbages! I planted seedlings in the autumn, covered them with fleece and left them to get on with it. We ate the first one the other night and it was so tasty and no doubt very good for us.

Along with the cabbages, I put in carrot seedlings. They are also doing well but I’m not exactly sure what in fact they are. Typically, I can’t find the wee stick with their name anywhere so they’re either old style yellow carrots or perhaps, parsnips. The foliage is lush but not quite as carroty looking as what I grew before. Any ideas folks?

I planted potatoes in two of the raised beds after last year’s roaring success with a crop. The chips were to die for! I got criticised last year for writing more about them than publicising my books but hey ho, you can read my books any time. And if you want to buy them, the link for one of them is at the bottom of the page.

Anyway, the potatoes are starting to appear though the ground though it will be a while before they’re ready. I wonder if we’ll still be in lockdown then? But we will hopefully have a crop of new spuds to eat with melted butter dripping over them. Yum!