Garden And Gossip Forums

Wrong!! Its 3 and a half chickens and Ted.

I assumed the other half of the chicken was still attached. You didn’t cut chicken in half for the photo     .

I had a 50/50 chance on naming dog correctly, I blew it     , sorry ted   .

[attachment=2905][attachment=2906]
What can you see in these photos? 
This was a raspberry and potato garden last year and this is what happens when you turn your back over winter.

Spud , ted & 4 chickens in photo 1.
Spud & ted in photo 2
And a lovely wild flower meadow in both.

[attachment=2908]

This is how it looked last May, after I'd cleared the old raspberries and prepared the ground for the spuds and squashes.
Who'd have thought that forgetmenots and landcress, plus campion, kale and sundry strays could grow back so quickly!!

[attachment=3005] [attachment=3006]

Its nearly the end of No Mow May - or in my case, No Mow 2021!
The paths are virtually non-existent, apart from the couple that are the main routes to the end of the garden.

I had an Aunt -in law who had a new carpet on the stairs. To avoid wear on the middle of the carpet, she had the idea of going up the left or right side of the treads, not the middle! Each week, the side would change so, when we'd visit, the first question (almost) was "Which side of the stairs is it, this week?"
I've been trying out this theory on the garden paths - walking down the edges, not the middle to flatten the encroaching grass and weeds.. Sometimes I straddle the path, one foot either side and waddle along looking as if I've just got off a very wide horse.
I need to devise a circuit that includes every path in the garden and do several laps of it daily. If I can trample the grass, there'd be no need to struggle with a lawn mower.

I have this image in my mind of a small mad Welsh pixie waddling like a toddler who's filled its nappy, going up, down and around the paths muttering to herself about which path to do next.

Have you been spying on me this morning, JJB?
I really need bigger feet so thinking about wearing swimming flippers or tennis raquets like snowshoes?

Remember that trend of BIG slippers - great huge things, often in the shape of animals? I wanted some Garfield the Cat ones - and had some as a Christmas present. First time of wearing them, I fell flat on my face!! After that experience, I only wore them when sitting down. Maybe bigger feet in the garden would not be wise.

Another image:  mad welsh muttering pixie wearing tennis racquet shoes upside down in a hole with said racquets waving about in the air.  I wish I could draw!

[attachment=3012]

I've been having a serious think about the garden and how I use it.

I can grow more veg of better quality in the small space of a GH than I can outdoors in a far larger area. Its not so much the protection of growing under glass, more with being easy to look after.

I can walk  into the GH and not feel overwhelmed in the way that I am in the garden, not knowing which bit to tend first - and often its the veggies growing at the far end of the garden that suffer. They also suffer when the dogs and chickens run through/eat them.

New plan - starting today -
Three areas the size of large GHs have been fenced off from furry and feathered creatures. -  the pea house #62 and the bean house #63; and the patch alongside them which needs some TLC.
I'm going to grow most of my veg in these 3 GH shaped "rooms" - not feel obliged to grow lots of veg just because I have the room to do so.
Also, I'm going to mostly grow the easy things that I like to eat and not struggle to grow basics like spuds or pest-attracting brassicas, apart from a few kale. 
I'm hoping to enjoy the garden without feeling that I should be striving for self-sufficiency by making the most of every available space. Its time for an easy life.