Gardener To The Big House.

Moving Home.

2010-08-18T19:59:00.000+01:00

I have moved here:

http://rob-agardenersdiary.blogspot.com/

http://thediaryofanenglishgardener.blogspot.com/

Hope you can visit me sometime.

Newby Hall Visit.

2010-08-07T08:47:00.002+01:00

Today we are going to visit Newby Hall in North Yorkshire http://www.newbyhall.com/ I will take plenty of pictures for you which I will post on here next week. If you can't wait until then or want live up to the minute updates of our visit click [HERE].

Some More Pictures From The Weekend

2010-08-02T20:00:00.007+01:00

Here are some more pictures from the weekend. There are a few more on my mobile blog for those who are interested.

This picture was taken from Keswick when me Vicki and Tommy took a walk.

This is the main street of Appleby, if you would like to see more of Appleby visit this site for some nice pictures: http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/appleby.htm

One of the many stone barns that feature greatly in this part of the country.
Tommy enjoying another paddle. I was very pleased with him this weekend. He has been away with us in the past but never to a guest house and we've never walked him around town before but he behaved very well which means he can look forward to more trips out.

An old train at Hawes.

Take A Break.

2010-07-30T20:27:00.003+01:00

This weekend me and Tommy are taking a break. We are going to Keswick in the morning to pick up Vicki who has been away at the Christian convention for the past week. We then intend to spend the weekend sight seeing. We will spend tomorrow night at Appleby and then take a long road home on Sunday. I will try and keep you up to date on my mobile blog at Coconuts From A Palm Treo

A Wet Morning.

2010-07-12T12:37:00.001+01:00

I've just had to endure my first wet morning in a long time. I managed to get some soft fruit picked before the worst of the weather set in.

Better news from the dowager house, although still in hospital the gentleman is said to be feeling improved from what is though to be some kind of an infection.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone

Taken To Hospital.

2010-07-12T08:32:00.001+01:00

It seems that while I was away at the weekend the dowager gentleman has been taken to hospital. I don't know if they kept him there or for what reason he went but I sure hope he's okay. It just goes to prove the health is better than wealth.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

From Yesterday's Walk.

2010-07-11T10:39:00.000+01:00

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Dogs Come Out To Play.

2010-07-03T19:30:00.007+01:00

Tommy refusing to look at the camera.

Because he wants to play ball instead!

Scampi spotted something over there.

Tippy has sniffed out something down here.

GRRR!

2010-05-14T15:09:00.003+01:00

Well I am SO angry at this intrusion in to MY life that it's best I if I don't say another word until I feel better. If the boss wasn't around I wouldn't even bother to stay until clocking off time because I just can't be bothered anymore.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Oh Lord Please Give Me Patience.

2010-05-14T14:45:00.002+01:00

This is one of the questions I just got asked, 'have you had any training on how to lift weights'. I could see Dick Dastardly grinning and I couldn't keep a straight face. I mean for goodness sake I've done manual labour from even before I left school if I don't know how to lift things by now I should just give up. She then asked what weights do I lift, I was dumb struck by this point and all I could think of was the weight of the shopping that Vicki brought home last night so I said, 'about 5 or 6 Asda carrier bags full of shopping'. Everyone laughted, even Danger Nanny. She then went on to explain the 25kg is the recomemded weight for one person to lift.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Rat Lungworm.

2010-05-13T21:49:00.003+01:00

An Australian man has been left in a critical condition after eating a slug for a dare. If you would like to know more please click [HERE]

News Of A Visit.

2010-05-12T10:08:00.002+01:00

I've just been informed that on Friday we are to get a visit from Danger Nanny so no doubt that will be my weekend in ruins. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against health and safety just against people who waste my time for no good reason. I mean after surviving forty years on various farms and gardens what do they thing is going to befall me in the next ten? Im hardly like to suffer death by hoe.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Work Book 11th May (Week 19).

2010-05-11T19:44:00.009+01:00

See to the sheep
08:00-08:15
Misc
(Field)
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:15-08:45
Glasshouses
1) Water round.
2) Put out the trolley

Taking cuttings
08:45-09:15
Indoors
(Potting Shed)
Took cuttings of Border Princess Dahlia.

Potting on
09:15-10:00
Indoors
(Potting Shed)
Potted on
1) Begonia's grown from seed.
2) A couple of strawberry plants.
Also sowed some sunflower seed and Actaea Alba own seed.

Top dress plants
10:00-10:10
Walled Garden
(East Wall)
Top dressed the roses with Growmore and the fruit with blood fish and bone.

Top dress raspberries
10:10-10:20
Walled Garden
(Veg Garden)
Top dressed with blood fish and bone.

Top dress the gooseberries
10:20-10:30
Walled Garden
(Veg Garden)
Top dressed with blood fish and bone.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50
(Home)

Dig out the artichoke.
10:50-12:45
Walled Garden
(Veg Garden)
Dug out two Artichoke plants as there were to many and erected the supporting wires.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
(Home)

Hoe the rose beds
13:30-15:00
Walled Garden
(Memorial Gardens)
Also top dress with bone meal.

Tiding up.
15:00-17:00
Walled Garden
(Lily Pond)
Weeded and forked over the rose borders and generally tidied round.

Cleaned and put away the tools
17:00-17:20
Indoors
(Potting Shed)

See to the greenhouses
17:20-17:30
Glasshouses
Moved some plants from the greenhouse to the conservatory.

Notes
1) fireweedmeadow asked me if I ever found out what was the cause of all the smoke yesterday. Apparently it was some tyres that were burning which would explain the black smoke. That’s all I know really but I think one can assume that they weren't meant to be as such things are not allowed so either someone must have done it deliberately or they caught on fire accidentally somehow.

2) Carol asked me who I originally intended to feature as my Sunday song, well I think the best thing to do is tune back in on Sunday and I will feature that version for you this week.

3) Pam asked how hardy are Wallflowers? Well they are regarded as being very hardy, if you want to know more about them click HERE

Another Late Frost

2010-05-11T07:11:00.001+01:00

This morning I've woken to a quite a keen frost. Over the past few years we seem to have avoided such late frosts but I think this year we are back to the times before global warming when the golden rule was not to plant out tender plants before the last week of May.

Work Book 10th May (Week 19).

2010-05-10T21:49:00.005+01:00

08:00 - 08:20
See to the sheep
( Field )
( Misc )
Checked and counted the sheep.

08:20 - 08:30
See to the greenhouses
( Glasshouses )
Had a check round.

08:30 - 10:00
Tidying up
( Potting Shed )
( Indoors )
Did some tidying up in the potting shed.

10:00 - 10:30
Burnt some rubbish
{Burn Pile}
( Misc )
Got all the boxes and rubbish from the potting shed burnt.

10:30 - 10:50
Break for tea
( Home )
( Misc )

10:50 - 11:40
Go to the garden centre
( Misc )
Bought a bucket of growmore.

11:40 - 12:45
Fork rose beds
( Iron Gates )
( Main Garden )
Fed and hoed the two rose beds

12:45 - 13:30
Break for lunch
( Home )
( Misc )

13:30 - 14:30
Feed wallflowers
( South Front )
( Main Garden )
Applied Growmore and worked in with the hoe.

14:30 - 16:00
Tidy window borders
( South Front )
( Main Garden )
Fed and hoed the borders and tied up the Clematis.

16:00 - 17:00
Weed gravel
( Summer House )
( Main Garden )
Hoed and raked the gravel outside the summer house.

17:00 - 17:10
Clean and put away the tools
( Potting Shed )
( Indoors )

17:10 - 17:20
See to the greenhouses
( Glasshouses )
Closed the vents and put in the trolley.

17:20 - 17:30
Make a todo list
( Main Garden )
Made a todo list for next weeks work in the main garden.

A Big Black Cloud Hangs Over The Big House.

2010-05-10T13:16:00.004+01:00

I'm not sure if I should be working outdoors today as there is this emormous cloud of black smoke covering the big house. I've heard no warnings so assume its nothing too toxic. I've no idea what is the cause, maybe its a volcanic eruption in Wakefield. I even turned on the news this lunch time to see if anything was mentioned but as usual that was a total waste of time.
>>

Sing For Sunday (Week 18).

2010-05-09T17:39:00.005+01:00

During my time at work, particularly during the more tedious jobs (and when I feel like being anti-social) I will listen to music on my Sony Clie PDA or phone so I thought that on a Sunday as there is no gardening to be done I would share with you one of the songs I’ve enjoyed during the past week. I know you aren’t supposed to broadcast music and stuff but the video’s are from Youtube so are already there for people to see so I don’t think my little weekly addition will bankrupt any pop stars, also a lot of what I listen too is by has beens or never beens so who knows, maybe someday someone who reads this might like something and by it for themselves.

So this weeks song is called ‘Vigilante Man’ and is taken from an album called ‘Sweet Nothings’ and in this case is performed by Chihana Ohnishi. I was originally listening to it being sung by someone else and came across but I quite like this version and also the album that it’s from so I chose to put this link on here and not the one I originally intended.

What Do Your Eyes Say?

2010-05-09T11:38:00.001+01:00

If I looked in to your eyes today would I see them full of sunshine or clouds of grey?

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Todo List For Week 19.

2010-05-08T18:09:00.004+01:00

These are some of the jobs I hope to get done next week, as you will notice there are no jobs for Friday as yet, I don't have the day off, I just haven't got round to adding any jobs yet.

10 th
Feed wallflowers

Fork rose beds

Tidy the rock garden

Tidy up the Japanese garden

Tidy window borders

Trim the ivy

Weed gravel by the summer house

11 th
Dig out the artichoke.

Dig over the west shrub border

Finish off the west wall border

Hoe the memorial garden rose beds

Tidy up round the lily pond

Top dress plants on east wall

Top dress raspberries

Top dress the gooseberries

Weed bottom of big conifer hedge

12 th
Apply Fertiliser to Courtyard beds

Apply fertiliser to North Front roses

Cut down rubbish

Edge the borders

Edge the grass

Strim round

Tidy back borders

13 th
Mow all the lawns

Mow rough grass

Mow the Courtyard grass

Mow the main lawn

Mow the North Front

See to the bins

Gardeners Lunch.

2010-05-07T19:06:00.002+01:00

Today the gardner to the big house enjoyed fresh radishes for lunch. The radish you see are called Ilka and can be bought from Marshalls Seeds. Unlike a lot of radish these keep for a good amount of time without going woody. As you can see from the picture these are quite a size yet they were still crisp and tender. For more info on this variety click [HERE].

Work Book 7th May (Week 18).

2010-05-07T11:43:00.001+01:00

08:00 - 08:15
See to the sheep
{Field}
( Misc )
Checked and counted the sheep.

08:15 - 08:30
See to the greenhouses
( Glasshouses )
Checked round and put out the hardening off trolley

08:30 - 10:00
Potting up
{Potting Shed}
( Indoors )
Potting on some Petunia’s, I didn’t finish though as the former lady was worrying in case her yards didn’t get cleaned so I went and saw to them.

10:00 - 11:00
Tidying up
{Pumpend}
( Hall & Pumpend )
1) Weeded the wall border.
2) Swept the yards.

11:00 - 11:30
Break for tea
( Misc )

11:30 - 12:00
Sweep the drive
{Main Drive}
( Public Gardens )
Swept the main drive and church yard steps.

12:00 - 12:30
Sweep all hard surfaces
( Main Garden )
Swept off the hard area’s in the main garden.

12:30 - 12:45
Apply fertiliser to Pumpend pots
{Pumpend}
( Hall & Pumpend )
Pumpend wall borders and Fuchsia troughs.

12:45 - 13:30
Break for lunch
{Home}
( Misc )

13:30 - 16:30
Plant the greens
{Veg Garden}
( Walled Garden )
Planted out Brussels, Cauliflower and Cabbage.

16:30 - 17:00
Planting
{Potting Shed}
( Indoors )
Finished potting in the Petunia’s in to the six packs.

17:00 - 17:20
Moving plants
{Greenhouse}
( Glasshouses )
Had to make some room in the greenhouse for the Petunia’s I potted on earlier.

17:20 - 17:30
Clean and put away the tools
( Indoors )

19:00 - 19:10
See to the greenhouses
( Glasshouses )
Closed the greenhouses and put in the trolley.

Lawn Mowing Day.

2010-05-06T12:44:00.000+01:00

Today is lawn mowing day at the big house.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Work Book 6th May (Week 18).

2010-05-06T11:36:00.002+01:00

See to the sheep
08:00-08:15 (Field)
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:15-08:45
Checked round and put out the trolley.

Mowing
08:45-09:45 (Courtyard)

Mowing
09:45-10:15 (North Front)

Break for tea
10:15-10:35 (Home)

Mowing
10:35-12:30 (Main Lawn)

Break for lunch
12:30-13:15 (Home)

Mowing
13:15-16:15 (All Lawns)

Mow rough grass
16:15-18:05
Cut all rough grass.

Clean and put away the tools
18:05-18:15 (Potting Shed)

See to the bins
18:15-18:25 (Hall)
Put out the green bins. (Note 1)

See to the greenhouses
20:50-21:00
Took in the trolley and put on the heaters as it was quite cool although I don’t expect frost.

Notes:
1) Had to do overtime today in order to get all the cutting done in the day.

Work Book 5th May (Week 18).

2010-05-05T11:24:00.002+01:00

See to the sheep
08:00-08:15 (Field)
checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:15-09:00
1) Watered round.
2) Tied in the grape vine.
3) Thinned out the Apricots.

Pricking out
09:00-09:30 (Potting Shed)
Pricked out some Petunia's for Pumpend walls.

Prune Hydrangeas
09:30-10:30 (Potting Shed)
Pruned the two Hydrangea’s by the gardeners cottage (Which the keeper lives in).

Break for tea
10:30-11:00 (Home)

Fetch petrol
10:50-11:30
Fetched £24s worth in my can.

Strim round
11:30-12:30
Cut off any long grass etc. where I can’t get with the mower like around wall sides as I prefer to do that every three weeks than see a brown spray strip.

Break for lunch
12:30-13:30

Forking
13:30-14:45 (Herb garden)
Tidied up the herb garden.

Edge the boundary
14:45-16:30
(See note below)

Servicing
16:30-17:00 (The barn)
Serviced the Allett mower ready for tomorrow.

Clean and put away the tools
17:00-17:15 (Potting Shed)

See to the greenhouses
17:15-17:30
Close the vents and take in the trolley.

Note: Because I don't have the time to eadge all the garden every week I split it in to three so it all gets done over a three week period. The punblic gardens get done one week and the second week I do all the main garden plus the inner beds in the walled garden and the third week I edge what I call the boundary edge although it doesn't actually stick to the boundary of the garden as it deviates around shrub borders and paths but it is one long cut starting and ending at the greenhouse.

Work Book 3rd & 4th May (Week 18).

2010-05-04T11:14:00.003+01:00

See to the sheep
09:00-09:15 (Field)

See to the greenhouses
09:15-09:30

See to the greenhouses
20:00-20:30

----- 04 May 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:00-08:20 (Field)
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Cleaned out the hay rack.

See to the greenhouses
08:20-09:30
1) watered round.
2) Put out the trolley's.
3) Potted on some plants.

Forking
09:30-10:30 (Barn Wall Border)
Forked over and edged the barn wall border.

Break for tea
10:30-11:00 (Home)

Unpacking and taking away boxes
10:50-11:20 (Pumpend)
Helped Jane unpack two bedside cabinates and took boxes away for burning.

Servicing tractor
11:20-11:35
The keeper wanted to borrow the tractor so greased and oiled it.

Forking
11:35-12:45 (Barn Wall Border)
Finished the barn wall border.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Forking
13:30-17:00
Forked over the soil and took out any weeds.

Clean and put away the tools
17:00-17:10 (Potting Shed)

See to the greenhouses
17:10-17:20

Made a todo list for next week
17:20-17:30
Had a walk round and made a list for work to be done in the main garden next week.

Note: This week I start my summer hours which are from 8 am to 5:30 pm.

Favourite Spring Job.

2010-05-03T21:49:00.003+01:00

Hello Red Clover its nice to hear from you again. You asked what is my favorite spring job? I really like most of the jobs I do with the exception of spraying and having bonefires. I do enjoy the greenhouse work though with all the seedlings coming on and the indoor plants putting on growth.

Sent from my Palm Treo Smartphone.

Work Book (Week 17).

2010-05-03T11:32:00.008+01:00

----- 26 April 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)
Checked and counted the sheep.
Put out some minerals.

See to the greenhouse work
08:50-10:30
Watered round.
Put out the hardening off trolleys.
Trained the sweet peas and geraniums.
Repotted a standard pelargonium.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Planting
10:50-12:00 (Veg Garden)
Planted maincrop potatoes.

Planting
12:00-12:45 (Veg Garden)
Planted lettuce, rocket and spicy greens mix.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Forking
13:30-16:00 (Rose Garden)
Finished forking over the rose garden.

Repairing the earn
16:00-16:50 (Main Garden)
Glued the top of the repaired earn to it’s base on the wall.

Clean and put away the tools
16:50-17:00 (Potting Shed)

See to the greenhouses
20:45-21:15
Shut the vents and took in the trolley’s.

----- 27 April 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)
Checked and counted the sheep.
See to the greenhouses

09:50-10:50
1) Checked and watered round.
2) Removed the insulation from the hot house.
3) Potted up the Melons into their permanent positions on the hothouse staging.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Seeing to the strawberry bed
11:10-12:45 (Veg Garden)

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Seeing to the Strawberries
13:30-17:00 (Veg Garden)

----- 28 April 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)
Ckecked and counted the sheep and lambs.

See to the greenhouses
08:50-09:50
Water round.

Clear boxes away
09:50-10:00 (Pumpend)
Took away some boxes and a couple of old brushes.

Cleaned filter
10:00-10:30 (Potting Shed)
Cleaned the diesel filter on the tractor.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Clearing up
10:50-11:00 (Veg Garden)
Picked up the rubbish from yesterdays work on the strawberries.

Mowing
11:00-13:00 (Lawns)
Mowed all the lawns in the walled garden with the tractor.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Mowing the rough grass
13:45-15:30 (The Green)

Mowing
15:30-16:30 (Courtyard)

Clearing up
16:30-17:00 (Lawns)
Raked and picked up some of the grass from the cutting this morning. The tractor blows the grass in to rows so its not a big job to pick it up and the job looks better for it.

Clean and put away the tools
17:00-17:15 (Potting Shed)

----- 29 April 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)

Water the Monteray pine
08:50-09:00 (Cemetry)
I was told there was water in the cemetry so I went with an empty watering can but could find no water anywhere so it was a wasted journey.

See to the greenhouses
09:00-10:00

Water the troughs
10:00-10:30

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Mowing
10:50-12:00 (Lawn)

Mowing
12:00-12:45 (North Front)

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Plant out Gladioli
13:30-14:00

Removed blanket weed
14:00-14:30
Remove blanket weed from lily pond.

Weed the gravel
14:30-16:30 (Herb Garden)

Clean and put away the tools
16:30-17:00 (Potting Shed)
Put out the black bins

----- 30 April 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)
Checked and counted the sheep and lambs.

See to the greenhouses
08:50-09:30
Watered round, put out the trolleys and added more compost to the potatoes in pots.

Cut down the Laburnums
09:30-10:30 (Main Drive)
There two self set Laburnums growing from the base of the house wall so I cut them down before they got any bigger.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Planting
10:50-13:00 (Veg Garden)
Planted
Red Onions
Leeks
Two types of Lettuce
Peas
Beetroot

Break for lunch
13:00-13:45 (Home)

Hoe gravel
13:45-16:40
Hoe the gravel on the South Front

Clean and put away the tools
16:40-16:50 (Potting Shed)

See to the greenhouses
16:50-17:00
Close the vents and take in the trolleys.

See to the bins
17:00-17:10 (Hall)
Put back all the bins and tubs.

What Planet Are They From?

2010-05-01T10:35:00.011+01:00

Hello everyone,

As some of you know we in the UK are enduring the build up to a general election at the moment. As I've said before I refuse to watch news broadcasts on the grounds that they are nothing more than media propaganda shows that are broadcast to manipulate people in certain directions, a bit like a sheep dog. Anyway the thing is that from time to time I can’t help but notice an item of news however much I try to avoid it, which just goes to prove how bombarded we are by it. I logged out of my Yahoo account just now and there in front of me was this statement by our present prime minister,

'Asked whether the transport budget would be among the areas targeted for cuts if Labour won on May 6, Mr Brown responded: "We are going to be moving from road to rail so you will not see the same levels of expenditure on roads.'

Well on reading that I involuntary burst out laughing because he’s obviously not been driving along South Yorkshire roads of late, or at least not the country lanes because if they reduce spending on these roads any further they will be just dirt tracks! The thing that gets me is that the roads are full of pot holes so where do they put all the tarmac? In great heaps in and around housing estates (So called sleeping policeman) and such places so that one minute you’re driving over big holes the next over big heaps of tarmac, maybe one day someone will have the brains to realise that if they put the mounds in the holes things might run much more smoothly for the same expenditure. Maybe if they weren’t using our money to buy their second homes and packets of Polo’s etc they would be able to finance both road and rail at the same time. As for rail travel I would like to see Gordon Brown, or anyone else for that matter try and get from here to Askern and back five days a week by train, you've got a 3 mile walk before you even see a train, not sure how far a walk it would be at the other end. To me that shows how out of touch these idiots are and what a waste of time voting for any of them is.

Anyway thats enough of this rubbish, I promise not to blight this blog again with election crap.

Pics Of Last Weeks Walk

2010-04-29T20:16:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone, Bob has just posted some pictures of his last walk over at the Hiking Gardener blog. Just click [HERE] if you want to take a look.

Bring back any memories? (Part One).

2010-04-28T23:17:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone, here is something my brother in law John sent me, some of you may enjoy the memories, others may enjoy the laugh.

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite 'fast food' when you were growing up?' 'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.' 'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?' 'It was a place called 'home,'' I explained. ! 'Mum cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.' By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I'd figured his system could have handled it: Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card. My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 10.It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at 10 pm, after playing the national anthem and epilogue; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people... I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line. Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --My brother delivered a newspaper, seven days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive. If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing. Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

The Joke's On Us.

2010-04-26T20:16:00.004+01:00

Today I finished off forking over the rose garden borders, I also got the last of the potatoes planted plus some more lettuce and the first of the rocket and spicy greens mix salad leaves. I have a few more things to get in as soon as possible.

I opened a new bucket of blood fish and bone this morning and was quite amazed at how much wasted space there was in the bucket. I thought when I bought it the bucket looked way bigger than normal now it seems its just another of lifes scams.

I don't feel cheated about the lack of fertiliser as it says 10kg on the bucket but what really gets me is that the hippys of this world are forever going on about saving the planet yet never seem to bother about scams like this, there is twice as much plastic involved as there needs to be, all of which needs getting rid of, when the truck that was hauling the stuff half way round the world was full it was still half empty yet I'm the one made to pay for running my car on a weekend. This bucket is only one example, every darn thing you open is half empty, and whats it all for? Its just to con us in to thinking we're getting more than we are. Talking of bonemeal or any fertiliser there was a time when you could get 25kg bags of the stuff, how come now you can only get it in these stupid buckets which no doubt adds another couple of pound on to the price of the product as well as halving the amount you get. Anyway if you want me to take global warming seriously you're going to have to set a better example than this, then I might follow, until then its just a joke.

Thank you for your comments on the last walk I did. I have added some pictures in to the posts now if you want to go back for a second look.

New Lease Of Life.

2010-04-24T19:52:00.000+01:00

I seem to have developed a new lease of life. My legs are no longer sulking and my foot doesn't hurt so much any more. I probably gone and lost all feeling in them or something. Anyway we're on the home stretch now just two miles of level walking. Oh I just got a smile from a nice young girl! What more can an old bugger ask for? I will point out that she was on a bike so I guess she felt pretty safe being all rash with her smiles and my legs the way thwy are.

A Palm mobile post.

Back Tor

2010-04-24T17:08:00.000+01:00

My Poor Legs.

2010-04-24T16:00:00.002+01:00

After the decent of constant sorrow and climb of endless breaks my legs or on the verge of conking out. My foot is getting more painful due I think to the slightest of creases in the insole but there is nothing I can do about any of this except keep pressing on. I could murder a beer.

A Palm mobile post.

The Path From Win Hil.

2010-04-24T14:29:00.002+01:00

View From Win Hill.

2010-04-24T14:18:00.001+01:00

What More?

2010-04-24T11:29:00.003+01:00

I'm sitting here in the sunshine on a stool provided by God

looking out over a view

also provided by him and I can't help but wonder what more do we need to make us happy.

A Palm mobile post.

Of Walking.

2010-04-24T10:29:00.000+01:00

Today Bob is off on another walk. It looks like being a nice day with some sun and a gentle breeze.

A Palm mobile post

Mountain Bothies Association.

2010-04-19T20:14:00.006+01:00

Hello everyone,

I spent most of today tidying up the path in to the walled garden, I forgot to take a picture before I started so you will just have to make do with the end result. It had basically go so there was a path about foot wide so I put an edge to the lawn and skimmed off the grass and weeds to return the path to its proper width, it just needs a bit of fresh gravel on it now but I doubt that will happen any time soon but it looks better anyway.

In a previous post about my last walk Woody Wilbury left this comment 'I knew I recognised those photos!! You've done the circuit I occasionally do, but in the opposite direction. I usuallly have a fry-up brunch in the shooting cabin in Lower Small Clough.'. As it happens I took a few pictures of the shooting cabins that he talks about so I will show you them tonight.

There are two, this being one.

This is the other.

Inside the second one there is a table and some chairs and benches, these buildings are very welcome on cold wet days and can be life savers on occasion even though the accomodation is very basic. There is even a visitors book.

There is an organisation that maintain shelters such as this, most of which are in Scotland but there are a few in England and Wales. As far as I know though this particualr shelter is not one that is maintained by them. If you would like to read more about their work click HERE .

Forking The Long Border.

2010-04-16T12:28:00.001+01:00

Today I'm going to be forking over the long Dahlia border. I left some tubers to over winter in the ground but I doubt there will be many come up after last winter, or let's put it this way, if they do come up why have we been digging them up to store all these years. Thankfully I took most of them out so any losses can be easily replaced by cuttings or division.

A Palm mobile post.

Extracts From The Day.

2010-04-15T19:08:00.007+01:00

I just can't tell you what its like where I am now. I'm on a piece of land in a fork between two streams the sun is shining and all I can here is water. I wish I could bring all my friends here one at a time because I know they would remember it for always and when they remember it would be sure to fill their hearts with joy.

I just reached the first big peak in the walk, everything is good. Got a little hot but I tend to be a hot person so it doesn't take much. Now I have the downhill before the last big up. Just having a break now though, the only sound is the grass whishpering in the warm breeze. I love these places.

Stretching out before me is the last big hill, one mile of steep climb. I could of course say begger it and take the short cut along a level tarmac road but where would the challenge be in that?

There are no real problems other than my legs ache a little as does my back and eyes. I forgot my sunglasses but its ok no big deal. I'm cool now under these pine trees so that's good.

Can't send this right now as I don't have a signal, will try later when a little way up the hill.

Well that wasn't to bad. Its amazing when you get to Alport Castles, there is this brill view down the valley to the Snake Pass road. I have a very tame sheep for company at the moment, no funny business though I promise.

There now follows a steady walk along the ridge overlooking Snake Pass before dropping down to the car. I then need to find some dinner and go visit my sister at Bakewell. I don't know how many of these posts have been published but I will take a look tomorrow and also add some pictures I've taken. Take care everyone.

A Palm mobile post.

Forking.

2010-04-14T15:45:00.001+01:00

Today has mostly been spent weeding and forking, at the moment I'm
trying to get some more of the rose garden forked over, I must try and
get it done sooner than this next year if the weather will allow. I
also need to get the cutting deck on the tractor before I finish
tonight as I will hopefully need it tomorrow.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Party Time!

2010-04-12T19:14:00.005+01:00

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good day. I'm on my own this week as Vicki is away at a Christian convention at Skegness so it's party time for me and the dogs.

Today I have been cutting the conifer hedges around our cottages. The house nextdoor is empty at the moment so they wanted the hedge cutting before the new people move in so while I was at it I did the hedge around our garden too. Before you all go saying how Bob is taking advantage of his poor boss I will point out I had to use our electric to power the cutters so I think it's only fair that I got to cut our hedge in work time. I don't think the boss would really complain anyway.

There isn't a lot more to report today, I will post the pictures from my lastest walk shortly.

Fairholmes-Deer Holes-Alport Castles.

2010-04-09T18:58:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone, how are you today? I’m good and just been busy getting my stuff together ready for another walk tomorrow. The route card for which is below. This walk will be a few miles shorter than the last one but if you were to compare profiles you will see that where as the last one was mostly down hill this one has more up hill, I’ve even planned a sting in the tail as well so that should be fun. I see it says I will be walking fourteen miles but it could be up to a mile more than that after all the dodging about. Anyway it doesn’t really matter about that as the main thing is to keep on pushing the toughness of the walks, I need to do more hills.

[Click Pic To Enlarge]

Jim asked me the other day how often I walk, well I walk just over two miles most nights with Tom and I’m trying to do a day’s walk every other weekend because if you leave it to long between walks you don’t develop the distance. By the end of May I want to be doing twenty miles with hills.
I will think of you all and take some pictures for you although it won’t be as interesting for you as the last walk in that respect but this walk is not a sight seeing trip.

Some More Pics.

2010-04-07T22:43:00.002+01:00

Today Bob is over at his hiking blog showing the last pictures from his previous walk. Click [HERE] if you want to take a look.

Do You Like My New Wheels?

2010-04-06T18:01:00.004+01:00

Today has been the first mowing day of the year, I didn’t get it all done because for the first you’re forever having to stop to pick things up or empty the grass box. Before you start you don’t think there is much grass to cut but you soon find there is more than you think. It should be easier after this though.

What do you think to my new wheels?

I know, most guys would only be this excited if it were a Ferrari not a hardening off trolley but I love it. I reckon its twice the size of my old trolley because what you see on there now filled the old one and I still have another three shelves I can add if I need too. Vicki asked her boss if he could spare one and he said yes so we went over yesterday to pick it up, I only set it up this morning though. So that was very kind of him and I am going to making sure I buy my compost from him from now on.

There is a new post on the Hiking Gardener for those interested, click [HERE]

What's This Then?

2010-04-04T15:30:00.002+01:00

If you want to see what this is click HERE

Moscar - Rowsley Walk.

2010-04-02T21:19:00.002+01:00

Click [HERE] if you wish to see some pictures from my latest walk.

Earthing Up The Potatoes.

2010-04-01T20:36:00.004+01:00

Thank you chzly for becoming a follower of my blog.

Today has been seed sowing day which normally would be Friday but given I have to take another holiday starting tonight I had to bring it forward by a day. I already missed last weeks seed sowing day so I couldn't afford to miss this one as well. All the seeds sown were indoors as the ground is not fit to walk on let alone work down and sow seeds in.

I also noticed the potatoes in pots are starting to put up good sized shoots so I put more compost in the pots to just leave the tips of the new growth showing.

Pricking Out Day.

2010-03-31T18:20:00.005+01:00

Today I've spent most of my time pricking out and planting, thankfully the weather has not been so good again so I haven't minded spending all my time indoors.

Below are some Begonia's that I'm growing from seed, these are so small and difficult to transplant but I wanted to do it so as to avoid damping off if possible.

Here are some of the other things that I've been pricking out, there are Lobelia, Nicotiana, Chilli Peppers and some Petunia's here.

These are Petunia's and trailing Lobelia for the South Front wall.

I also planted the Tomatoes in the greenhouse border this afternoon as they were getting too big for their pots.

Tenax Mastic.

2010-03-30T22:33:00.004+01:00

Thank you The Gaudy Garden for your comment. The stuff I'm using to try and repair the earn is a mastic that is intended for sticking stone and marble. You have to mix a hardener to the resin at a rate of 3 parts hardener to 100 parts resin. It goes off pretty quickly even on a cool damp day such as today. I also bound the whole lot together with some wired so that it didn't try and seperate before it was set. I slid the earn around on the board tonight and it seemed solid but I will leave it as it is for a couple of days to be on the safe side. I don't know how long it will last as only time can tell us that.

Earn Repairing.

2010-03-30T10:45:00.004+01:00

Good morning everyone, I hope you’re having a good day. This morning Bob has been trying to repair the earn that got broken by the frost last January. I’m not sure if I will be successful but at least I tried. It doesn't want to fit together very well in some places but its not too bad and will weather over as long as it doesn't fall to bits again before hand.

Chatsworth Park

2010-03-27T17:43:00.000Z

View Of Carl Wark.

2010-03-27T12:17:00.000Z

Everything is going ok apart from a slight sore spot on my left heel. Walked 6 of the 17 miles so far. Stopping for a break.

Going for a walk.

2010-03-27T07:33:00.001Z

Today bob is going for a walk, click [HERE] if you wish to see some of the details of the walk.

Serendipity

2010-03-26T15:12:00.001Z

We've just arrived in Richmond after our visit to Leyburn which is the home to one of Vicki's favourite shops which is called Serendipity.

Richmond

2010-03-26T13:05:00.000Z

Today me and Vicki are taking a day trip to Richmond via Ripon and Leyburn in North Yorkshire. This is Weaver Of Grass country but I haven't spotted her or the farmer yet.

Work Book (Week 11).

2010-03-24T21:20:00.004Z

[Click on the page to enlarge]

Friendship.

2010-03-23T14:40:00.001Z

Friendship isn't a big thing
its a million little things.

Birthday

2010-03-23T11:04:00.000Z

Today we have gone home to Derbyshire as its my mums birthday and we are taking here out for the day then tonight we are going for a Chinese meal with the family.

Wentworth Garden Centre.

2010-03-22T22:18:00.003Z

Today me and Vicki went to a garden centre, thankfully there was a bit to see indoors as the weather outside was not pleasant hence the fact that the picture below is devoid of people. This particular garden centre is nice to visit as they have a little garden that is open to the public for free so if the weather is nice you can have a walk round and a sit down. Also there are other retail places there besides the gardening side of things.

I’ll tell you what Emily, if I’d had a can of Stella I would probably be more capable of doing two things at the same time!

No Gardening.

2010-03-22T10:34:00.000Z

This week Bob is on holiday so there won't be much in the way of garden work being done but no doubt I will find something to talk about even if its only to say 'I just fell over a mole hill'. That'll teach me to blog and walk at the same time. It also proves I'm not a woman!

New Table And Chairs.

2010-03-21T17:46:00.002Z

Our nextdoor neighbours are moving out this week and are unable to fit their dinning table in to their new kitchen so as they were selling it Vicki decided to buy it from them. Its a very nice piece of furniture made from solid oak.

Pics Of Last Weeks Walk

2010-03-20T14:29:00.003Z

Today Bob is over at his 'Hiking Gardener & Misunderstood Dog' blog posting pictures of last weekends walk so if you want to join him I'm sure he will be pleased to see you all, just [click here].

Work Book (Week 10).

2010-03-18T21:24:00.003Z

Here is my work book for last week, I've had to post it the old way by scanning the actual pages from the 'Work Book' whereas I have been copying straight from the computer but for some reason its not turning out right tonight. Anyway for a better view click on each page to enlarge it.

Bindweed Barrows

2010-03-18T07:56:00.006Z

Well spotted Emily Anyone who sticks around long enough will realise I'm like the seasons that govern my life, I blow hot and cold, have dull days and sunny days and in general repeat myself on a regular basis. Anyway just out of interest for those who don't have as good a memory as Emily here are yesterdays bindweed barrow and last years bindweed barrow.

2010

2009

A Rabbit Tail Is Best.

2010-03-17T19:21:00.017Z

I managed to get the ground between the soft fruit forked over and the bean trench dug out so I'm pleased about that.

Also today I noticed that a few flowers on the Apricot tree in the conservatory were starting to open so at lunch time I gave them a little tickle with my paint bruish.

As you can see I use a very small brush but in actual fact the best things to use for polination is a rabbits tail but its the devils own job trying to catch one and even worse trying to polinate flowers with it, the darn things drive you nuts the way they keep on wriggling!

This morning whilst checking round the greenhouses I noticed chew marks on the small lemon tree that I have.

I can only assume its the mouse up to its tricks again as I doubt even a slug would tackle something that large.

Hopefully this next picture will give those hope who struggle with the likes of bindweed. I'm sure there have been those in the past who have said, 'its alright for Bob he doesn't have to contend with all this bindweed like I have to'. Well its true there isn't a bit of bindweed in our garden, Vicki sees to that, she is a proper bindweed terrier so so the stuff wouldn't dare even look at our garden. My boss on the other hand isn't so lucky and there are certain parts of the garden where its a never ending battle to keep on top of it, the Raspberry patch being one such place, so you can see from the picture Bob does understand and he has the back to prove it.

Forking Between The Raspberries

2010-03-17T09:30:00.000Z

Today I am going to be doing more forking between the Raspberries and also digging out the bean row in readiness to incorperate plenty of grass clippings.

Who'd Be A Woodpecker?

2010-03-17T07:51:00.001Z

I'm out with the dogs at the moment and welve just been watching a Woodpecked looking for breakfast high up in the branches of an old Ash tree and I couldn't help feeling that its a hard way to make a living.

Signs Of Spring.

2010-03-16T20:46:00.003Z

I think that we all have a little something that tells us that Spring is here, for some it maybe the first sighting of a Daffodil or buds swelling on the trees or even the ground drying after a long soggy Winter. All these things are pointers to me that Spring is close by also I can feel it in my bones but the two things that really make me feel that the worst of Winter is behind me is the arrival of the first Formula One race of the season which was last Sunday and also the removal of the bubble wrap insulation from the greenhouse which I removed this morning. Or at least half of it was removed this morning. I really hate having that stuff up but unfortunately it’s a necessary evil of the times. How I would have loved to have been a gardener when all you had to do to compensate for heat loss from the greenhouse was to throw on an extra shovel of coal although had I been around in those times I would have cursed having to turn out last thing at night to stoke up the boiler so really I am satisfied with the way things are although it often comes to mind that the more the human race progresses the more backward it becomes but anyway that’s another matter. You’ll note that I only removed half the bubble wrap and the reason for this is that the hot house still requires heating at night so it would be a waste to remove the insulation from that end of the greenhouse. I wanted it gone from the cool house though because that is where the seedling will be going in time and they need all the light they can get also it needed taking down before it got filled with seedlings and other things.

The cool house with and without bubblewrap.

The rest of the day has been spent forking over a border on the north front, there were also a few more roses to be pruned there but nothing to serious, mostly it was forking and weeding and the time passed quickly enough.

Dwarf Iris

2010-03-14T08:37:00.003Z

Hello everyone. Today Bob is taking a day off from the garden as I have to get all my hols done with before the end of this month so as Vicki has Mondays off I thought it a good day for me to take a holiday unfortunately her boss saw fit to have off the same day so Vicki has had to work but never mind.

Sue or maybe it was Martyn from Green Lane Allotments asked me if I know the name of the Iris in the picture below.

Well if i remember right its called Katharine Hodgkin and we got it from Bloms Bulbs about 3 years ago. I've included a link to their website below where you will see they have several varieties of dwarf Iris. You actually treat them more as you would a bulb than a normal Iris as all their foliage dies down in a few weeks and there is nothing to be seen of them until next February/March time.

Bloms Bulbs (Dwarf Iris) .

Grindsbrook

2010-03-13T15:11:00.000Z

Lunch Break

2010-03-13T12:40:00.000Z

Hello everyone. I just stopped for a lunch break. The walk is going well although the weather is much colder and very windy up here on the hill. I'm taking plenty of pictures to show you when I get back.

Walkies

2010-03-13T07:47:00.002Z

Today Bob is off walking, I will try and keep you poted through the day if I get the chance. I'm not sure how the posts will turn out as I can't always attach pictures the same post as the writing for some reason so you may get writing in one post and pictures in another but we will see. Also if any pics are posted they won't be of great quality, the good ones will be on the hiking gardener blogspot after I get back.

Its a nice day here at the moment and I'm raring to get going which is always a good sign so I will be off now. Take care and have a nice day.

Seed Sowing Day

2010-03-12T11:32:00.002Z

Hello everyone. Here it is not such a good day as far as the weather
is concerned but that's okay as its seed sowing day and I would have
been working indoors anyway. Tomorrow I'm hoping for better for my
walk though as the places I'm going are pretty exposed. Right - what
seeds am I sowing then? Well I will tell you there are several lots of
Petunia's, some trailing Lobelia, Impatiens, Sweet Peppers, and a fun
thing I want to try and grow called an Echium. Well best go riddle
some compost now. By the way its always a good idea to buy a good
quality compost for seed sowing also protect from slugs even if you
think you don't have any because they can come in the night and take
all the seedlings as they come up and you'll end up blaming the seed
company for bad seed or something. I usually just put a small piece of
glass over the pot or slip it into a freezer bag. I'll take a picture
later to show you what I mean.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Breakfast time

2010-03-11T09:06:00.001Z

Breakfast time in the village.

The Flower Garden (Week 10) [Part 2].

2010-03-10T20:54:00.003Z

Here are a couple more pictures of the spring bulbs, the first one is an iris and the other one is of snowdrops of which we have quite a few dotted around the place.

Did I Prune The Wrong Plant?

2010-03-10T15:07:00.001Z

This morning I did more rose pruning but this afternoon I'm having a break and burning pampas grass instead.

Whilst watching for signs of the situation getting out of control it suddenly came to me that maybe my life would be easier if I burnt the roses and pruned the pampas grass instead. I'm off to dig up some bind weed now so that will be a fun way to end the day.

The Flower Garden (Week 10).

2010-03-09T19:52:00.007Z

Tonight I'm going to show you some pictures of Crocus that I took yesterday, I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Before I go Matron asked me if the sheep had any lambs yet, so I will just tell you that they haven't, they usually start around the end of this month.

Another Rose Pruning Day.

2010-03-09T15:49:00.002Z

Oh dear my poor back aches and my hand feels like the misunderstood
dog spent all day chewing on it. I've spent most of today pruning and
tidying the rose beds on the North. Front. I've also applied a general
purpose fertIliser and worked it in with the hoe, in around a months
time I will apply a dressing of rose fertiliser or something with a
higher percentage of potash. I try to give them a dressing every four
to six weeks through the growing season. Included in tidying the rose
beds is edging the grass, mainly with the shears but if the edge is
broken down I made a new one with the half moon edging knife.

Well I can't stand here talking to you all day as I still have more to
do before I can clean and put away my tools for the day.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Same Places Different Times.

2010-03-08T19:56:00.006Z

Today I've top dressed the wallflowers in the main garden with Growmore fertiliser. I think now is a good time to give your spring bedding a feed. I know with these cold nights nothings growing but it takes a couple of weeks for the feed to get through to the plants. Any balanced feed like Growmore or blood fish and bone will do. I use growmore because its easy to apply at a rate of roughly one handful to a square yard. Also if I use any animal based fertiliser the dogs tend to dig up all the plants looking for it which is not good. The one thing you have to remember to do after applying feed is to work it in to the soil or it will just sit there, especially during periods with no rain.

I'm going to show you something now that I find quite interesting and shows what a difference a cold winter can make. I've got the angles slightly different but as you can see its of the same places in the garden the top picture of each set being taken on the 8th March 2008, the bottom one of each set being taken 8th March 2010. The rose in 2008 has shoots two inches long where as the same rose today has no shoots at all and when you look at the bottom picture you would think I went and dug up all the scilla's for all you can see of them yet and its the same story through out the whole of the garden.

8th March 2008

8th March 2010

8th March 2008

8th March 2010

Cool Morning Dog Walk.

2010-03-08T07:46:00.002Z

This morning is spring like in every sense except for the temperature
which is as cold as many a January morning.
I recorded a temperature of minus 7 in the garden yesterday morning while the rest of the day
was as sunny and as pleasant as now.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Work Book (Week 9).

2010-03-06T16:23:00.003Z

----- 01 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
3) Put out some minerals.

See to the greenhouses
08:50-09:30
Checked and watered round.

Put the logs in to store
09:30-10:30 (Summer House)
Put the logs from the cherry trees in to the summer house log store.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50

Trim Ivy
11:00-11:30 (Office Steps)
Trim any on office steps and border.

Prune roses
11:30-12:45 (By The Iron Gates)

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30

Pruning
13:30-15:45 (Barn Wall Border)
Pruned and tied in some of the shrubs growing in the barn wall border. The Pyracantha taking up most of the time as it had become over grown and out of control so I rewired the wall and tied in some of the branches.

Prune any Fuchsias
15:45-16:45 (Japanese Garden)
See to the greenhouses
16:45-16:45
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Clean and put away the tools
16:50-16:55

Make a todo list for next week
16:55-17:00

----- 02 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
3) Put out some minerals.

Clearing snow
08:50-09:00 (Office Steps)
There was more snow last night so swept off what there was on the steps to the office.

See to the greenhouses
09:00-09:30
Checked and watered round.

Potting up
09:30-10:30 (Potting Shed)
Potting up some more Dahlia tubers.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50

Prune fuchsia
10:50-12:45
Fuel tank passage and pumpend trough.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30

Prune the roses
13:30-14:15 (Courtyard)

Trim the ivy on the walls
14:15-16:45 (Courtyard)

See to the greenhouses
16:45-16:45
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Clean and put away the tools
16:50-16:55 (Potting Shed)

Make a todo list for next week
16:55-17:00

----- 03 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50
Checked and counted the sheep.

Seeing to the greenhouses
08:50-09:30
1) Checked and watered round.
2) Repotted a fiscus.

See to the logs
09:30-10:30
There was a load of logs delivered this morning which needed to be thrown down the cellar. One of the ply wood covers broke in half as I lifted it to gain access.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50

Dig over the Dahlia beds
11:00-12:45 (Memorial Gardens)

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30

Dig over the memorial Dahlia bed
13:30-14:45 (Memorial Gardens)

Forking
14:45-16:45 (East Shrub Border)

See to the greenhouses
16:45-16:50
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Clean and put away the tools
16:50-16:55 (Potting Shed)

Make a todo list for next week
16:55-17:00

----- 04 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:50-10:00
Checked and watered round.

Clear up rubbish from the borders
10:00-10:30
Picked up the rubbish from the area’s that I dug over yesterday.

Break for lunch
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Finish tidying up after cherry trees
10:50-12:45
Raked up what was left of the rubbish from the felled cherry trees and laid turf over where I dug out the two stumps

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Clean table and chairs
13:30-16:30 (South Front)
Washed off the outdoor furniture from the South Front.

See to the greenhouses
16:30-16:45
Turn on the heating and check round.

Clean and put away the tools
16:45-16:55 (Potting Shed)

Put out the black bins
16:55-17:00 (Hall)
Put out all the black bins and recycle tubs

----- 05 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
08:30-08:50 (Field)

Prune Fuchsia's
09:00-10:00
Indoor Fuchsia’s

Fetch compost
10:00-10:30

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Home)

Start dahlias into growth
10:50-12:45 (Potting Shed)

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Home)

Sow seeds
13:30-14:45 (Potting Shed)

Pot on maroon ivy leaf
14:45-14:50 (Potting Shed)

Pot on green woodpeck cuttings
14:50-15:00 (Potting Shed)

Pick out the celery
15:00-15:10 (Potting Shed)

Prick out aubergines
15:10-15:15 (Potting Shed)

Prick out early sunflowers
15:15-15:20 (Potting Shed)

Finding a home for everything
15:20-16:50
All the work I'd done to this point was standing around waiting for me to find it a place to live.

See to the bins
16:50-17:00 (Hall)
Put back all the bins and tubs.

----- 06 March 2010 -----
See to the sheep
10:20-10:35 (Field)
Checked and counted the sheep, there was one ewe out on the cricket field which I left there.

See to the greenhouses
10:35-10:55
Checked round.

I'm Your Man.

2010-03-05T19:52:00.005Z

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a great day and looking forward to the weekend. You know there was a time back when I used to work pretty much seven days a week, or if not actually working I had the responsibility of work 24/7 which is often harder than the actual physical stuff so now when Friday comes its like breaking up for a holiday and even after having had five years of weekends off I still don’t take them for granted.

Anyway Dame Judi mentioned about the fact that I was talking earlier of bringing on Dahlia’s so as to take cuttings. Apparently this is not known to be possible by some of you which is a shame because it’s an easy way to increase your stock of favourite Dahlia’s so for those who missed it last year here is a link to a post I did back then.

[Click Here] to see how to take Dahlia cuttings.

Also with regard to the Rhubarb post last night, you are right about the special forcing pots Layanee These are intended more for outdoors where they are on show as they would look better than a plastic bag but if you aren’t bothered about looks – I’m your man LOL!

Sorry, as I was saying if you aren’t bothered about looks then what I’ve done with the bag will be okay or you can use some sort of tub placed upside down over the crown of the Rhubarb, the thing you are aiming for is to cut out all the light and this is what gives you the nice tender stalks. I don’t eat Rhubarb myself but apparently it tastes much better when forced. Also whilst I’m on the subject you must never eat the leaves of Rhubarb as they are poisonous. Don’t force a new plant as Rhubarb needs time to develop, in fact as with Strawberry plants you shouldn’t even harvest for the first year. The Rhubarb I’m forcing is part of an old root and will be thrown away once finished with.

Rhubarb Covered,

Indoor Friday.

2010-03-05T16:18:00.002Z

Friday is a busy day at this time of year as I try and reserve it for
indoor jobs such as seed sowing, taking cuttings and bringing things
such as Fuchsia's back to life. Today I finished potting up all the
Dahlia tubers that I want to bring on early in order to take cuttings.
The Fuchsia's have been brought out from under the staging and tidied
up and will be kept moist from now on to encourage growth. Another thing
I did today that should earn me a gold star one day is to pot up 12
early seed potatoes.

I put one to a large pot and they are now under
the greenhouse staging along with the Rhubarb and Dahlia tubers.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Forced Rhubarb

2010-03-04T21:13:00.003Z

I think tonight I'm going to show you a little something I have hidden under the table. As I'm sure you can tell its a root of Rhubarb that I'm forcing in a pot under the greenhouse staging. When you aren't looking I slip a black plastic bag over the pot and as it grows it pushes up the bag. Hopefully there will be a boiling for the boss next time he visits.

Spring

2010-03-04T12:00:00.001Z

This morning it seems that spring has come to the garden. No doubt it
will be short lived as it often is at this time of year but its a good
day to be in the garden so if its the same where you are drop
everything and make the most of it is my advice. If you do nothing
other than admire the snowdrops it will be well worth it and is sure
to make you feel good inside.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Sheep

2010-03-03T22:51:00.003Z

Hello everybody. A few of you have been expressing an interest in the
sheep of late so I will just tell you a little about them tonight.

There on 25 in all until the lambs are born at the end of this month.
The main reason for me counting them every morning is because its the
easiest way to make sure they are all there. If I can count them all I
don't need to walk all over the place looking to make sure everything
is ok.

The breed are St Kilda or Soay., they are a rare breed and we just have them
out of tradition and not for commercial reasons. I keep an eye on them
to help out the farmer, it saves him having to come over when he's
busy as he has plenty to do without running round after 25 sheep. If
you want to know anymore just ask. Below is a link for more info on the breed.

http://www.kilda.org.uk/soay-sheep.htm

--
Sent from my mobile device

Work Book (Week 8).

2010-03-02T20:16:00.003Z

Hello Everyone. Someone mentioned last week that the Category for one of the jobs was 'Palm Record'. Its actually got nothing to do with palm trees or palm of your hand but refers to the operating system of my handheld computer. If for whatever reason I don't enter a category for a job it automatically enters it as 'Palm Record' so I hope that explains that for those who were wondering and Jeanette gets a gold star for spotting that and asking about it, those new eyes of yours are obviously working well!

Whilst I'm on the subject I will point out that the between the first brackets is the location of a particular job with in a category. In the second lot of brackets is the category, the category being different area's of the grounds of which there are Main Garden (the area closest to the house) Walled Garden (Withing the private grounds but once removed from within direct view of the house, this is where the greenhouses and potting sheds are). Public gardens (Where the residents and visitors live or have access too). Hall & Pumpend (The big house and dowager house). Glasshouses (Greenhouse and conservatory) Indoors (This covers Potting Shed work or maybe painting in the summer house or servicing the mowers in the barn). Misc (Is anything that doesn't really fall in to any of the above.

Anyway here is my work book for last week.

Monday, 22 February 2010
08:30 - 08:45 Looking for my keys ( Misc )
My keys were missing from their usual place, eventually had them in my CAT body warmer.
08:45 - 08:55 Remove snow and ice ( Office Steps ) ( Public Gardens )
Removed snow from office steps and put down grit there and along the front passage.
08:55 - 09:15 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
09:15 - 09:30 Lit the range ( Summer House ) ( Indoors )
With the covering of snow still with us it seems a good day to paint the final garden bench so lit the range to take the chill off the place, make the paint easier to apply and dry.
09:30 - 10:30 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Painting ( Summer House ) ( Indoors )
Painting the 4th garden seat.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:15 Removing trees ( Barn Wall Border ) ( Main Garden )
Dug out 2 of the 3 cherry trees that are being removed.
15:15 - 15:55 Painting ( Summer House ) ( Indoors )
Painting the 4th garden seat.
15:55 - 16:00 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
08:50 - 09:30 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round.
09:30 - 10:00 Servicing ( Potting Shed ) ( Misc )
Cleaned out the diesel filters on the tractor.
10:00 - 10:45 Went for hay ( Farm ) ( Misc )
Brought back 6 hay for sheep and one straw for the strawberries.
10:45 - 11:05 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
11:05 - 12:45 Painting ( Summer House ) ( Indoors )
Painting the 4th garden seat
12:50 - 13:35 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:45 - 14:45 Removing the branches from the 3rd cherry tree ( Barn Wall Border ) ( Main Garden )
14:45 - 15:45 Carting off rubbish ( Barn Wall Border ) ( Main Garden )
15:45 - 15:50 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.
15:50 - 16:00 Clean and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )

Wednesday, 24 February 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
08:50 - 09:20 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round.
09:30 - 10:30 Potting on ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Potted on Tomato seedlings, auricula and some primula's
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:15 Sorting out plant pots ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Trying to get the plant pots under control ready for the planitng season.
12:15 - 12:45 Repair work ( The Ride ) ( Misc )
Repairing the fence in to the wood.
12:50 - 13:35 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:45 - 14:15 Cleaning the childrens bicycle ( Potting Shed ) ( Misc )
14:15 - 15:00 Removing trees ( Barn Wall Border ) ( Main Garden )
Richard came to cut down what was left of the cherry trees.
15:00 - 15:30 Take the bike for servicing ( Misc )
One of the childrens bycicles has a puncture and needed repairing also it needs a check over. When I got there the shop was closed so will need to go again tomorrow.
15:30 - 15:40 Clean and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
15:40 - 15:55 Went to the garden centre ( Home ) ( Misc )
Doing some work on my calendar.

Thursday, 25 February 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
08:50 - 09:20 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round.
09:20 - 10:00 Take the bike ( Misc )
10:00 - 10:30 Shopping ( MG Garden Centre ) ( Misc )
Bought 5 bags of compost, 3 for planting the dahlia tubers in and the rest for seed sowing and raising.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:05 Pruning ( Memorial Gardens ) ( Walled Garden )
Pruning the roses in the memorial beds.
12:05 - 12:45 Fetch a load of leaf mould ( Memorial Gardens ) ( Walled Garden )
Devided the load between the two rose borders.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:45 Forking ( Memorial Gardens ) ( Walled Garden )
Forking over the memorial dahlia beds
15:45 - 15:55 Put out the tubs. ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
15:55 - 16:00 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
16:00 - 16:05 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Glasshouses )
Check round

Friday, 26 February 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Checked round.
08:50 - 09:30 Sorting plant pots ( Indoors )
Sorted out some plant pots threw out all the odds and ends as I have an abundance.
09:40 - 09:45 See to the bins ( Hall & Pumpend )
09:45 - 10:30 Seeing to rhe logs ( Hall & Pumpend )
Took up ten baskets of logs.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
11:05 - 11:50 Planting ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Planted the garlic
12:00 - 12:45 Sow the seeds ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:15 Bring he dahlia's out of store ( Greenhouse ) ( Glasshouses )
Put compost around the tubers and place under the greenhouse staging.
15:20 - 15:25 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.
15:25 - 16:00 Collect the bike ( Misc )

Weekend Walk.

2010-03-01T20:37:00.002Z

Hello everyone. Bob went for a walk at the weekend and took a few pictures for you all as I went on my way. If you would like to see them they are on my 'Hiking Gardener' blog [Click Here]

Work Book (Week 7).

2010-02-25T20:01:00.002Z

Monday, 15 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 see to the sheep ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Put out some minerals.
08:50 - 09:30 See to the greenhouses ( Palm record )
Checked and watered round,
09:30 - 10:30 Painting ( Indoors )
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
10:50 - 11:45 Clear leaves ( Main Garden )
11:50 - 12:00 Clear leaves from tramoline ( Main Garden )
12:00 - 12:15 Pick up sticks under beech trees ( Main Garden )
12:15 - 12:45 Trim bushes ( Main Garden )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:40 Tidy gravel ( Main Garden )
15:40 - 15:50 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
15:50 - 15:55 See to the greenhouses ( Palm record )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.
15:55 - 16:00 Make todo list ( Main Garden )
Make a list of jobs for next monday.

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 see to the sheep ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Take across some hay.
08:50 - 09:30 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round,
09:30 - 10:30 Turn the compost ( Misc )
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:15 Clear leave off corner borders ( Public Gardens )
12:15 - 12:45 Cut down Japanese Anemone ( Public Gardens )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:40 Trim back the shrubs ( Public Gardens )
Any shrubs by the barn and buddleias
15:40 - 15:45 Make todo list ( Public Gardens )
Make a list of jobs for next monday.
15:45 - 15:55 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
15:55 - 16:00 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 see to the sheep ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
08:50 - 09:10 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
1) Checked and watered round,
2) Took off some dead leaves.
09:10 - 09:20 Spray against whitefly ( Glasshouses )
Sprayed all greenhouse plants with
09:20 - 09:30 Put down grit ( Public Gardens )
Put down grit on the office steps as they were icy.
09:30 - 10:30 Turn the compost ( Misc )
Turned the first bin.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:15 Turn the compost ( Misc )
Finished turning compost.
12:15 - 12:45 Set the pump working ( Walled Garden )
Lily pond
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:00 Have a bonefire ( Misc )
Burnt some boxes and other stuff that had been gathered over the past few weeks.
15:00 - 15:30 Prune the Gooseberries ( Walled Garden )
15:35 - 15:40 Make todo list ( Walled Garden )
Make a list of jobs for next monday.
15:45 - 15:55 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
16:00 - 16:05 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 see to the sheep ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Put out some minerals.
08:50 - 09:10 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round,
09:15 - 10:30 Plant the new roses ( Walled Garden )
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:05 Plant the new roses ( Walled Garden )
12:05 - 12:45 Plant the old roses ( Public Gardens )
Planted the old roses dug up from the Memorial gardens.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:15 Clear leaves ( Walled Garden )
Clear leaves from around the Lily pond and tidied up the raised beds.
15:15 - 15:45 Harrow gravel ( Public Gardens )
15:45 - 15:55 Put out the black bins and tubs. ( Hall & Pumpend )
15:55 - 16:00 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
16:00 - 16:05 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.

Friday, 19 February 2010

08:30 - 08:40 Put down grit ( Misc )
Gritted the office steps and front passage.
08:40 - 09:00 see to the sheep ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Take across some hay.
09:00 - 09:40 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Checked and watered round,
09:30 - 10:30 Tidy potting shed yard ( Misc )
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
11:00 - 12:30 Tidy potting shed yard ( Misc )
12:30 - 13:15 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:15 - 14:00 Sow seeds ( Indoors )
14:00 - 15:00 Walk round with the boss ( Meeting )
15:00 - 15:20 Sow seeds ( Indoors )
15:20 - 15:40 Sort out some Chrysanths ( Glasshouses )
Cut back old growth, potted on and put in to the conservatory.
15:40 - 15:45 Clean and put away the tools ( Indoors )
15:45 - 15:50 See to the greenhouses ( Glasshouses )
Check the seedlings and set the mouse trap etc.
15:50 - 16:00 See to the bins ( Hall & Pumpend )

Mickey Mouse Strikes Again.

2010-02-23T17:49:00.003Z

I noticed this morning as I was going about my work in the greenhouse that there were bits of Clematis that I have growing in a hanging basket all over the floor and on closer inspection there were many chewed up bits in the basket itself, I can only assume that this is a mouse that’s done this. I grow it in a hanging basket because when in flower its highly scented so fills the conservatory with its fragrance. It looks like they’re going to have to manage without fragrance this year.

The chewed off pieces to the left of the pot.

Shorter pieces left in the pot.

Maureen thought I may have trouble digging up trees in the snow. I can think of times when I may not be able to get motivated to dig trees up in the snow but when you have the threat of Dick Dastardly and his chainsaw hanging over you there is ever incentive to limit his time in the garden as much as possible hence the trouble I went too yesterday to remove the trees completely and today I removed all the branches from the tree that I couldn’t uproot so all that’s left from him to do is saw up in to logs the trunk and thicker branches – should take him ten minutes at the most.
As for snow being a blessing really I just take everything that comes my way. As you will know Weaver being farming people yourself you just have to get on with it whatever the weather. I think these days weather plays little part in peoples everyday lives other than it being pleasant or unpleasant and I think this is why whenever there is any kind of extreme they can’t cope. So actually yesterday was actually a good day for digging out trees because it was cold and there wasn’t a lot more to be done on such a day. Had it been a spring like day I would most likely have been doing some border work. It’s the way it is when you work outdoors with nature, she is your boss.

Plans.

2010-02-22T19:40:00.004Z

Its amazing how you make plans only for them to get thrown up in the air and come crashing down all mixed up. I had planned on going for a walk this weekend but had to put it off as there was no one to look after the dogs so that meant Saturday was dog sitting day for me. Then for some reason my computer developed this manic installing sickness where by it was constantly trying to install something but it seemed that something somewhere was doing the same manic thing trying stopping it so all it would do was this install/cancel, install/cancel at such break neck speed that it drove you crazy just to watch it so the only solution to the problem that I could see was to wipe everything and start over. It was over a year since I had to do anything like this so it was about due for a fresh start so that’s what I spent all day Sunday doing. Its easy enough to wipe everything and re-install windows, the hard and time consuming bit it getting everything talking to each other again afterwards. There were several drives that proved illusive in particular for the sound, Ethernet and video. Anyway everything seems to be back in order now and will hopefully see me through another year without too much trouble.

Because we have another covering of snow I divided my time today between painting another garden seat and digging up a couple of Cherry trees that had become stricken with something. There is another one to be removed but it is too big for me to dig out so I have to wait for Dick Dastardly to come with his chainsaw and cut it down for me. Then I think next winter we are planting some more trees of a different sort in their place.

Veg Garden (Week 7).

2010-02-17T20:00:00.001Z

In the veg garden this week there are some nice Broad Beans coming along. As you will notice they aren’t actually in the garden yet but have spent the winter in the unheated conservatory. They would have been ok outside but I why put them to the test if you don’t need too. I’m hoping they will reward me with a few extra beans to say thanks for letting me stay inside all winter.

The Flower Garden (Week 7).

2010-02-16T20:00:00.001Z

If anyone is planning on growing their Sweet Peas from seed it’s about time you got cracking. Just remember that they are a favourite of mice so make sure you protect them somehow. Don’t assume you don’t have mice just because you’re not seen one. Chances are that if you put you seeds in the greenhouse there will be a mouse not far away. If you go one morning and find something has made holes in the compost you can be sure it’s a mouse that’s been and taken the pea. The plants you see in the picture we sown last November and are just about ready for having their tips nipped out.

Greenhouses (Week 7).

2010-02-15T20:00:00.001Z

Under glass this week one of the things in flower at the moment and for the past few weeks is this Camellia. There is also a white one but that is only in bud at the moment. This has actually spent the last couple of months in the heated greenhouse. The plant itself is hardy enough but I believe the frost can kill off the flower buds. Now it is back in the unheated conservatory which will hopefully now keep of the worse of the frost that is left.

Work Book (Week 6).

2010-02-14T15:06:00.003Z

Monday, 08 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Put out some minerals.
08:50 - 09:30 Put the letter box and stand back ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
09:30 - 10:00 Deliverying wine ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
The hall had a delivery of wine which was brought on a big truck which couldn't get in the courtyard so I loaded it on my tractor and trailer and helped the guy take it in to the hall.
10:00 - 10:30 Fetch a new gas cylinder ( Farm ) ( Misc )
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Removing tree roots ( The Ride ) ( Public Gardens )
Removed some tree roots that were sticking ou out of the ride as they were becoming liable to trip some one up.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:55 Potted on some seedlings ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
15:50 - 16:00 Clean and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )

Tuesday, 09 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.
2) Put out some minerals.
08:50 - 09:00 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Checked round.
09:00 - 09:15 Take some wine down to the cellar ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
Took down 11 crates of wine.
09:15 - 10:30 Find a better cover for the water tank ( Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Made a better cover out of wooden batterns and stone slates for the water tank.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Tidying up the conservatory plants. ( Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:30 Finished off tidying the plants in the conservatory ( Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
15:30 - 16:00 Made a new todo list ( Misc )

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Took across some hay.
2) Checked and counted the sheep.
08:50 - 09:15 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Watered and checked round
09:15 - 10:30 Potting On ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Potted on some standard Fuchsia's and strawberry plants for indoors. Also cleaned off some Gloxinia corms.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Pruning ( Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Pruned the Fuchsia and Plambago on the back wall of the conservatory.
12:45 - 13:00 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:00 - 15:45 Made a start on changing the soil. ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses ) Changing the soil in the greenhouse border and where the new roses are to go.
15:45 - 15:55 Put the plants back ( Greenhouse ) ( Greenhouses )
Had to take plant outside so as to work in the greenhouse.
15:55 - 16:00 Clean and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )

Thursday, 11 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
Checked and counted them.
08:50 - 10:30 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
1) Checked and watered round,
2) Finished off pressure washing the floor,
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Replacing the greenhouse soil ( Greenhouse ) ( Greenhouses )
12:45 - 13:45 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:45 - 15:50 Removing old roses ( Memorial Gardens ) ( Walled Garden )
Took out the four roses which are to be replaced in the memorial beds. Also removed the obelisks as they were concreted in and the roses planted on top of the concrete which is no good at all. I will remove the concrete and paint the obelisks before replacing.
15:50 - 15:50 Clean and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )

Friday, 12 February 2010

08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
08:50 - 10:30 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Watered round and took some plants from the greenhouse to the conservatory.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Cleaning the rust from the obelisks ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
12:45 - 13:45 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:50 Painting ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Painted three of the obelisks
15:50 - 16:00 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Lit the heater and checked round.

Saturday, 13 February 2010

09:00 - 09:20 See to the sheep ( Misc )
09:30 - 09:50 Check the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
17:00 - 17:15 Check the greenhouses ( Greenhouse & Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )

Roses Grown In Concrete.

2010-02-10T20:02:00.006Z

In the Dahlia beds of the Memorial gardens there are four roses that are supposed to climb over Metal obelisks and for some reason that have never done very well so we’ve decided to replace them with some new one. I got the replacements before Christmas but have yet to plants them as I wanted to do it when I changed the soil in the greenhouse border because when you plant new roses where old ones have been you need to renew the soil as well so as I needed to change the soil in the greenhouse border as well it would be a good chance to sort both jobs out at the same time. So today the time had come to do this and I was surprised when I started to dig out the old roses to find them sitting on top of six inches of concrete.

Before removal.

This isn't right surely!

Whoever put in the obelisks had concreted them in to the ground and then planted the roses on top of the concrete. I don’t pretend to be a rose expert but to my mind this doesn’t seem right – I don’t know what you all think. If you look close at the pictures you can see the roots of the roses all curled up like that would love to go deeper but can’t get. Anyway unless someone tells me that is how they’re supposed to grow then I’m going to be knocking hell out of that concrete before returning the obelisks and planting the new roses.

I guess another alternative would be to plant the roses to the side and train them in to the middle as they grow, I think I’m going to try and bash the concrete off though.

Work Book (Week 4).

2010-01-31T12:12:00.008Z

Sunday, 24 January 2010
10:00 - 10:20 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
Checked and counted the sheep.
10:30 - 10:45 Checked round ( Greenhouse and Conservatory )

Monday, 25 January 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
08:50 - 09:20 Took the seed orders to the office ( Misc )
09:00 - 10:30 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Made a start on digging over the second plot.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:50 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )

15:50 - 16:00 Clean and put and put away the tools (Potting Shed) (Indoors )

Tuesday, 26 January 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
Put out some minerals, checked and counted sheep.
08:50 - 09:15 Take apples to the hall ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
Took in approx 30 apples.
09:15 - 09:40 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouses )
Had a check round and did some watering.
09:40 - 10:30 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Made a start on finishing off digging plot 3. The extension to the plot was dug over before Christmas so I was just left with the old part of the plot to finish.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:50 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Finished off digging plot 3 also forked around the currant bushes up to the bean row.

15:45 - 15:55 Clean and put and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) (Indoors)

Wednesday, 27 January 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
08:50 - 09:10 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouses )
Had a check round and did some watering.
09:10 - 10:30 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Made a start on digging plot 1.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 12:45 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Made a start on digging plot 1.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:50 Digging ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Finished off digging plot 1.

15:50 - 16:00 Clean and put and put away the tools (Potting Shed) (Indoors)

Thursday, 28 January 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.2) Checked to see if they need more hay.
08:50 - 09:10 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse and Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Had a check round and did some watering.
09:10 - 10:30 Moving Red Currants ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
I had a couple of Red Currant bushes in Plot 1 of the veg garden and after seeing some grown against the north facing wall at Ripley Castle last year I thought I would try the same as it seems a better way to grow them. The two bushes that I moved were only two years old so should take no harm from the move.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 11:40 Moving a Tayberry ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
The Red Currants I moved earlier were a little close to the Tayberry so I moved it along the wall a few feet. I only planted it last summer so it should move ok.
11:40 - 12:45 Moved a Black Currant bush ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Now that the red currants are gone from Plot 1 I decided to move one of the new Black Currants along a bit to give it and the other new one more room.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 13:55 Plant Rhubarb ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Plant a new Rhubarb called Victoria.
13:55 - 14:45 Split and replanted one of the old Rhubarbs ( Veg Garden ) ( Walled Garden )
Dug up one of the old Rhubarbs from the east shrub border and split it before moving it to the veg garden. Saved a piece for forcing in the greenhouse.
14:45 - 16:00 Plant the Peach tree ( West Wall ) ( Walled Garden )
Planted the new Peach tree against the east facing wall.
16:00 - 16:10 Clean and put and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) (Indoors)
16:10 - 16:20 See to the bins ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
Put out 1 green bin, the black bins are still there full and now overflowing from last week when they once again never got collected. Also put out one recycle tub.

Friday, 29 January 2010
08:30 - 08:50 See to the sheep ( Field ) ( Misc )
1) Checked and counted the sheep.2) Took across some hay.
08:50 - 09:35 See to the greenhouses ( Greenhouse and Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Had a check round and and planted a root of Rhubarb in a pot for forcing under the greenhouse bench.
09:35 - 10:00 Tidying up ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Tidied one of the benches that was full of Begonia's that had been drying off. Also swept up.
10:00 - 10:20 Took in some logs ( Summer House ) ( Misc )
Took in some logs ready for the beaters shoot day tomorrow.
10:20 - 10:30 Change a light bulb ( Pumpend ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
Put a new light bulb in the bathroom.
10:30 - 10:50 Break for tea ( Home ) ( Misc )
10:50 - 11:55 Sweeping up ( Main Drive ) ( Public Gardens )
Swept the main drive and path through the churchyard.
11:55 - 12:45 Harrowing ( North Front ) ( Public Gardens )
Harrowed the gravel on the North Front and in the Courtyard.
12:45 - 13:30 Break for lunch ( Home ) ( Misc )
13:30 - 15:50 Sowing seeds ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
Sowed any seeds that it was time for.
15:50 - 16:00 Clean and put and put away the tools ( Potting Shed ) ( Indoors )
16:00 - 16:10 Put away the bins. ( Hall ) ( Hall & Pumpend )
Took back one tub and one green bins, the rest were still overflowing with rubbish.
23:00 - 23:10 Check round ( Greenhouse and Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Had a quick look round and checked the heaters were working as they should be as it was frosty.

Saturday, 30 January 2010
08:30 - 08:40 Check round ( Greenhouse and Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Had a quick look round
21:15 - 21:25 Check round ( Greenhouse and Conservatory ) ( Greenhouses )
Had a quick look round and checked the heaters were working as they should be as it was frosty.

Digging (Plot 3).

2010-01-27T20:56:00.005Z

Today I have spent all day digging over the third and final veg plot, plot one. Like the other plots this has been extended but unlike the others I didn't manage to get the new bit dug over before Christmas so today I had some heavy digging to do. Yes I know when you look at some of the finished pictures you'd think I had help, infact looking at that picture you would think he dug the whole flippin' lot all by himself, well he didn't - ok?