Interplanetary Coffee Day

Day 3 started with the delivery of the aggregate and sand, and ended with quite a lot of the blocks being laid. We’re not allowed to walk on them yet, though!

Last Monday evening I wandered out into the garden to shoo off a pigeon that was wandering around in my leek bed. On my way back inside I noticed the first flowers were appearing on my courgettes, and I did a little happy dance. Then, because this is the 21st century, I took a photo and posted it on twitter.

Well, it’s the last day of National Gardening Week, and I hope you’ve been enjoying the vicarious harvests from my garden! I have enjoyed really focusing on what’s in season, and what we should be (and are!) harvesting and eating. It’s easy for me to forget that this garden is still very young, and it’s still maturing and I am still learning its quirks.

Work started on the garden yesterday, and involved digging out where the paving will go, and removing the soil. The paving blocks were delivered and the spoil (very stony soil, I am keeping the best stuff to reuse) has been removed. Two fence panels and the gate have been removed temporarily, for access. The terrain looks very different now.

Biochar

Here in the UK it’s traditional to take a couple of weeks off work over the summer and head off to somewhere with better weather – or at least somewhere that you can get away from it all for a little while. It’s one of the ironies of life that this takes you away from the garden at a time when it really could use your help. If you have a gardening neighbour then you can rely on them to take care of your garden while you’re away, but if you don’t and don’t want to come home to dead plants, weeds and giant marrows then there are a few things you can do to prepare your garden for your absence.

Earlier this year I was absolutely horrified when the flat footed fence fitters trampled all over my wild garlic. It was just starting to leaf out, and I don’t know why the sudden garlic smell wafting up from their feet didn’t give them pause, but it didn’t!

This week is National Gardening Week, and the theme for 2019 is Edible Britain – a chance for gardeners across the country to show their love of home-grown produce.

Today, the first Saturday in May, is World Naked Gardening Day. The idea is to pop out and do some gardening in the altogether (‘as nature intended’) to help improve our sense of what is normal and acceptable in terms of body shapes and sizes.

By the end of the day on Friday, the landscapers had finished edging the paths. The garden has a very different feel to it now – it feels like you’re standing in something, rather than the blank canvas that was there before. It’s taking shape, and it’s very exciting. The patio already has a magnetic quality, drawing you out of the patio doors (although it’s currently a big step down!) into the garden.

I have been out in the garden a bit more over the last week. Rather than wait until later in the day, when I generally don’t feel like going outside, I have started going out to do something first thing in the morning, before I sit down at my desk. The weather is very mild, and a lot of days have been dank and overcast, but on the brighter mornings I can happily potter about for an hour before coming inside. It’s quite often the nicest part of the day, weather-wise.

And so it’s done – the paving is complete. We have a shiny new path from the front door to the garden gate, which extends in front of the patio doors and widens into a large patio. At the top of the garden another strip provides hard standing for sheds/ a greenhouse and the arbour.