Damian The Sheep Shearer

Today the annual event of sheep shearing took place at Rectory Farm.  Our six girls had there hot fleeces removed to reveal skinny bodies underneath and much relief as the cool breeze washed over them!
Damian is so good with them and checks them over for any signs of problems, one sheep is getting a bit old so no more lambs for her, but apart from that they are looking good. Timothy gave the lambs a pedicure whilst they waited for their mums to be shaun.  We have put the fleece on the verge free to a good home.  Last time we did this a lady came back with a couple of egg cosy hats that she had knitted from the wool. She took it home and washed it in the bath then spun the fleece, amazing.

Damian our trusty shearer!

Tim giving a pedicure

One sheep seems to come back to find her coat!

Potatoes!

Last night I thought I would just check out the potato situation in the Vegetable garden. Low and behold small gorgeous new potatoes fell off the fork onto the grass path. The best sight on a warm balmy June evening. We gobbled them up for supper leaving just enough for Timothy to share at the pub later that evening (showing off that we had a first in the group!!), we had been brave enough to plant them on Good Friday and are now rewarded. Can't say the same for the rest of the veg. but it will come along in time.

Josh in the Man Apron

Here is Josh, came over the other night so I collared him to try on my new Apron, same styling but with a plain edge and small bake lite buttons from the 1940's . Josh is our Godson and is now a landscape Gardener, he came to Timothy Garden Design (my Husband Timothy's business) for a school placement and loved it. Well I think he looks just the part in the Apron, £28.00 made of hard-wearing 100% cotton twill with the usual handy pocket with 4 compartments for all the stuff you carry about in the garden.  Can't believe what I have in mine so many bits and pieces, mainly seed packets with a few seeds in the corner, lots of off cuts of twine, a few sweets, flower snips which I must confess I use for everything, mobile phone, gloves and quite often a trowel, always my mini dibber and a pencil. Let me know what you have in your garden apron pocket!

Today Mandi who helps us in the garden lost her phone, we all searched high and low but nothing. Poor Mandi was getting quite upset and thought she had lost it so we phoned her number and could hear that it was on the lawn, eventually after many calls it was located at the bottom of the trug full of weeds!! She should have put it in her apron pocket!

Its Chelsea time!!

Yea! Its time to catch the train down to the Chelsea Flower Show. I will be donning a Must Have Smock in sage , so hopefully the weather will stay fine so that people can see the great design and want one too.  We have some other people on stands that have said they would love to wear a piece Pinks and Greens garden wear too so that's great. Will take lots of photos to share with you.

The Half Aprons will be there so let me know if you see anyone wearing them!  So excited....hope I see you there!

Tulips at Last!

This year so far my Tulips have been a disaster. As soon as there poor leaves came up we had the ice colds winds which scorced their leaves leaving them burnt and twisted.  On these rows the flowers now emerging are looking quite sad.

However some are later to come into the world and are looking quite pretty though a little short. The variety Gavota is showing most colour at the mo but I am really looking forward to Shirley and Black Parrot making a apperance as the two together are amazing , I will post a picture when they are out. So for now here is a picture of Gavota a striking red and yellow tulip

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There are a few Shirley which I could't resist cutting they are so gorgeous so I have used them in a new photo of my Childrens Garden Box , I think they make for a great fresh Spring scene!!

I really love the maroon edge and inside is a complete joy with a dark maroon centre, I love Tulips and can see what the fuss was all about in 1637 when each bulb was sold for a small fortune! What do you think of the new photo? Hope you like it, took me a while.....

Gorgeous Garden Day

I have had the best day!! Woke up and sprung into action. Seeds need to be sown and today was the day. Popping on the Gardening Apron from my collection, I filled the pockets with packets of seeds and a pencil and went forth into the greenhouse.  Sadly on reaching the warm glass building I realised that I had quite a lot of sorting out before I could start. So the morning became a hive of activity with my husband Timothy and by lunch time the benches were clear and pots of dead overwintered geraniums discarded. It was even warm enough for lunch in the garden, bliss!!

With Gardeners Question Time on I was swept away into a fug of seed sowing and visions of future produce gracing the table.  Pippa Greenwood , one of my favourite garden experts made me smile over her love of straight lines in the garden and how it was great to have a hand turned garden line to use, shame she has one as I sell a lovely beech hand turned line made about 6 miles from here. It will be lovely when the soil has warmed up enough to use it!

Spring has Sprung

Today I have felt the sun on my back, our new born lambs are springing around and the birds are singing!

This is Doris first lamb of Martha so so cute born on Good Friday. We have 3 lambs at the moment and await the arrival of a few more it has been so cold for them so have put lots of hay in the shelter to snuggle down in.

We managed to plant a row of potatoes on Good Friday and have put a cloche over them, just to say that we have kept up with family tradition! It will be so good to get into the garden at the weekend to get the beds ready and the rest of the willow wound round the arches. I will get my dungarees on which are covered in mud but who cares thats what they are for at least my clothes underneath keep clean and they are so comfy I could wear them all the time.  In fact they are great to cover over all the chocolate I have consumed this Easter! 

Going back to the lambs.  The children have been letting them into the garden to eat all the lush grass in the orchard (the mums that is) so now when you step fourth into any part of the garden they run upto the fence and are so noisy demanding to be allowed in, it is hard to resist, but Martha is quite a handful and difficult to entice back to the field even if you carry Doris with you as bait!