BLOOMIN BRILLIANT

the allotment is looking at its best with bright foxgloves out in their full glory. Some lovely marigolds planted by charlie are just peeping out and the gem lettuces are looking well... like gems. As we are sadly leaving Durham so soon, we have harvested some of our veg a little prematurely for an allotment feast. That means the potatoes are grubbed up for a delicious accompaniment to the radishes and spinach. We also have a fantastic garlic crop, on the small side but very flavoursome!

some protective measures have also had to be put in place for some of the veg, this includes small pots of beer to catch slugs and snails as well the ingenious use of holy to ward off would be attackers from the peas (a solution demonstrated by Sally).

animals around and about

i have come across these fellows in the last few days, they were very friendly.

Radish & Buttercup

the allotment is looking fantastic. the wet april followed by the latest hot spell has greened everything up and the radishes have grown quickly and are ready to eat. the wild spaces between the well tended beds are teeming with buttercups, foxgloves and bluebells. the garlic is growing strong and some careful investigation showed me they have grown some lovely big garlic bulbs. i weeded among the potatoes and around the garlic today, it is so nice to be out in the sun and in the allotment.

beach hound

recently came across this cheeky fellow on north road, a beautiful example of street art, and amazing detail considering its made entirely from sand!

april primroses

mothers day april primroses

the sun is shining and its time to pot up some basil

basil plants are easily germinated but if you can't wait you can buy ready to use plants in the supermarkets. these however never last too long as they are crammed into a tiny pot and soon run out of nutrients. to get the most out of my basil i tend to split it and replant it into several larger pots with good amounts of compost/manure/topsoil mix, it soon thrives and fills them out and will provide you with lots of lovely basil for the rest of the summer.

Oil on floppy disk paintings

this is a couple of experimental paintings onto old floppy disks, turns out its a really nice medium to paint on. the first shows an oversized Cuckoo chick and its foster parent. and the second a ladybird on my hand.