The weather was very kind last week. We seemed to have skipped spring and jumped straight into summer. 

We have had four very productive afternoons at the allotment as well as some long walks with Ruby. This means this post is longer than usual but if you want to read it in two parts, there is a natural break which I will indicate when you arrive there.

One down side of sunny, dry weather is that the watering can is busy again but I mustn’t complain.

One of our first tasks was to prepare the area that we had earmarked for a row of raspberries that had been waiting in a pot in the greenhouse since they arrived last year. The raspberries have now been planted.

Whilst, Martyn was busy with the raspberries, I sowed more chitted parsnip seeds. They were sown in shallow trenches filled with multi-purpose compost. As the soil is now quite dry the trenches were watered before adding the compost.

We erected a bamboo framework for our climbing beans and planted two varieties of runner beans and one of climbing French beans.

We also planted a batch of Pongo dwarf French beans. The seeds were collected from beans that we grew last year. The original seeds were gifted by Bill and Val our YouTube pals. We intend to sow more of the seeds to grow plants purely to provide us with seeds for next year.

We continued our successional planting of brassicas by adding some young cauliflower plants and some that were more like large seedings. This bed is now full.

I planted some tomatoes in our repurposed cold frame. These are supposed to be blight resistant varieties.

In the space at the end of the frame, we planted some beetroot and lettuces. The lettuces have been protected under wire mesh as left uncovered they would be devastated by the pigeons.

Our final planting was our first batch of sweetcorn. These were planted in a block to hopefully produce better pollination by the wind. I usually give the wind a hand by shaking the plants once the male flowers at the top of the stems are dropping their pollen.

You may remember that Martyn sowed some broad bean seeds the previous week. The first time we visited the plot after he had sown them, something had dug them all up. Whoever the culprit was didn’t eat the beans which were left on the soil.

As well as planting and watering, we netted our jostaberries and strawberries. Left unprotected the birds will clear the jostaberries before they even ripen and the wood pigeons also strip any fresh leaf growth.

 As well as planting on the allotment, Martyn has planted tomatoes in our garden greenhouse.

We even managed a tiny harvest of a few radishes.

One meal that used some of our homegrown produce was chicken risotto. Into this went some of our frozen leeks and peas along with fresh parsley and rosemary from the garden. I also added some mushrooms, baby spinach and grated cheese.

If you wish to take a break – this is a good place to do so.

Varieties and more details about our planting can be found here.

As well as gardening we have also had some afternoons out with Ruby.

One afternoon we went to Temple Newsam. Usually, at this time of year they have an impressive rhododendron display but this year it has been quite subdued. There doesn’t appear to be many flower buds either. I think that last year they did some serious pruning so maybe this year’s display had been sacrificed.

There are still a few plants sporting some lovely flowers.

In the wooded area, the bluebells have faded and wild garlic is taking over. Strangely in our garden the wild garlic flowered before the bluebells.

As it was such a lovely afternoon we sat outside in the courtyard area to enjoy a cup of coffee and in Ruby’s case a dish of water.

Another afternoon we paid our regular visit to Nostell, where the picture is coloured with the fresh green of new growth. I think it is the time of year when the trees are at their most beautiful.

The hawthorn is in full flower, as would be expected in a shrub that has the alternative name of May blossom. Blackthorn, which flowers earlier in the year, is often mistaken for hawthorn. Blackthorn flowers on bare branches whereas hawthorn flowers after the tree or bush is in leaf. 

The horse chestnuts are spectacular at the moment

Up close the flowers are really beautiful.

There is sad news, however, from Nostell. Two of the cygnets were missing during last week’s visit. The remaining six are growing quickly. They certainly are not ugly ducklings as they are referred to in the song. I do hope that we don’t lose any more.

There are no signs of any ducklings. No doubt they are hidden in the reeds, unlike the coot who has made a nest in the middle of the lake on the lilypads.

I hope that you have managed to stick with me to the end of this post.

Anyway, that’s all for this week – until next time as always stay safe and well.