Saturday 11 June 2011

Yet another update...

Remember this rose?  It now looks like this:
 Ok, so it's not a very clear shot, but the close-up shot with the camera phone was overexposed.  The fact is, I'm really quite pleased that where I planted a twig, I now have a rose bush.
All along the wall is a mass of sweet peas.  They're growing steadily and will hopefully fill up the netting placed there for them to climb.  Should look quite spectacular...
And the lavender, which arrived in a tray about 6 inches by 10 inches now looks like this.  Sure, we lost a few along the way, but given they started life as mini plugs a couple of seasons ago, it's nice that they've made it as far as this (again, it's not a hugely clear shot, but it's the strip of green at the bottom of the hedge).

 Some of them have even had the courtesy to produce flowers.  Last year we had one single flower along the entire row (I think there are about 60 plants), and this year most plants have a number of flowers each!  What progress :)
Very pleasing, all in all.  The runner beans are poking their heads out of the pots, the toms sown recently are about an inch or two tall.  Nothing from the pumpkins yet, nor the b'nut squash.  The pansies are growing steadily.  We continue to lose a bunch of them, but given they're from seed from last year's pansies, they are completely free.  Sunflowers are a bit ropey - considering sowing some and planting others along the long bed out the front (where the marigold were last year).
Anyway, bedtime.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Behold a revolution.

It has arrived.  The sideboard of solution has landed.
Yes, it does take up an extraordinary amount of space on the patio, but so does the junk that's there at the moment. You'll see there are five drawers along the front (which is why I'm calling it a sideboard rather than a table).  These very drawers are cunningly going to hide much of the detritus.  (I know what you're thinking; you're thinking, 'he doesn't mean detritus, he's just trying to be fancy'; you're thinking, 'detritus is matter produced by erosion, what erosion is happening on Nick's patio?!'  Well, it's the erosion of order and harmony, if you must know)
This is a seminal moment for the outdoors space.  It is a turning point.  I strongly suspect that once the patio is better organised, I will be able to begin to make headway into the equally important matter of world peace.  So it's really all for the best.