Chickens Learning About Nature

Hello everyone, its Gill,

I hope you have all been enjoying your gardens in the last week. Mine looks like a disaster zone at the moment, we let the chickens out of their run yesterday and they created mayhem!!! I will be tidying up today so no problems. My lovely chickens are going to a new home in the next 8 weeks. We sold our house on Saturday and as neither of us can have them at our new abodes they have to move on. Luckily my daughter Michelle has a friend with acres of land and she is kindly taking them on. I have already shed a tear, you grow so close to them, they all have different characters, and are more intelligent than people think, although being thick at the same time, if you understand what I mean lol!!! I will miss 'Lucky' my bantam more than anything. When I was a small child we had chickens, mind you I grew to hate them because I fell in their run when I was about 3, I can actually remember it, and I thought they would eat me. Ridiculous but when you are small they must seem huge. My two Aunties in Crawley had them, Auntie Dorothy and Auntie Bess. I loved going over to Auntie Bess' she had 8 children and it always seemed that there wasn't a second without noise everywhere, I absolutely loved it there. We used to chase after the chickens, naughty us, but we were young then. There was always a huge plate of chicken for dinner. Of course my favourite part as always was collecting the eggs.

One of the reasons for me getting the chickens was because I was opening up a bag of compost that I had folded the top down on after using it before, and out came a spider. I am scared of spiders, I mean really scared. This was a black widow, I froze on the spot, then stood up and went to my brother and sister in law who were staying with me at the time, and told them. My brother did what all brothers do, laugh, but my sister in law said, "Look at her face she's serious". We went back to the bag and of course it had gone. I got straight on to the net and found that it was a false black widow. All I remember was that its body looked like a shiny black marble, perfectly round. They are prevalent in the south of England and have been here for about 35 years, apparently the first one coming over in someone's suitcase after holidaying. (how they know that I will never know). Hence the chickens, nothing grows or lives anywhere near them lol. Yesterday when I was in the garden with them, I heard a little scream and found 'pepper' pecking at a little frog. Poor little thing, I saved it, I didnt know they could scream.

Obviously the main reason for people loving gardening comes from their parents, but also what we used to call the 'nature table' that we had as infants. Most schools unfortunately don't have them now. Also nature walks, I loved going on those learning the names of all the plants in the area. They apparently can't do these now because of 'health and safety' what absolute RUBBISH. Never did us any harm, in fact it started off the seeds in our brains for the love of all things to do with nature.

I cannot tell you how much I love to see old gnarled trees, and I am certain that came from my infant teacher, I know I learned the names of them from her. I can remember a marshy place not far from our school absolutely full of oxlips. I have some now in my rockery, I bought them from the garden centre, I wouldn't dream of digging them up from the wild.

I have the predicament at the moment of which plants to take with me, and which to leave. At least it will be the right time of the year to dig up small trees and bulbs (my lilies and gladioli) mainly. I am hoping that my friend Wendy will take all of them to stand in her garden until I make up my mind what to do next. I hope that my son and his wife sell their house soon then I could have a wooden chalet in the garden of their new house. Luckily I have several places I can go until we all get sorted. My plants are my main priority right now.

If you have patches in your grass, March and September are the best months to seed your lawn.

Okay folks thats it for this week. I won't be doing a blog next week, sorry. I am going to France tomorrow to visit my brother who now lives there, for a week. Hope you have good weather and get all the tidying up jobs done in the garden. Take care,

Gill

Gardening in England & Fruit

Hi all its Gill,

Hope you are all well. I can't believe another week has gone by already!

At this time of the year there is so much to do, especially dead heading if you want a succession of flowers through to the autumn. Also (my favourite thing) gathering seeds ready to scatter next year. I always think I am getting something for nothing hehe.

We had our first pickings of runner beans tonight for dinner and they were succulent. I said before that I would tell you the outcome of my `trials` as to white or orange flowered runners. So far the orange ones have far more beans on them.

This year looks to be a bumper year for fruit (I bet that doesn't reflect on the shop prices though). My neighbour has several apple, and pear trees and one damson. They are heavily laden which is nice because they allow me to go in and pick what I like.

I pick up the windfalls and chop them up for my chickens, they love them. I have a tiny victoria plum whose boughs are almost touching the ground from the weight of the fruit. There are also loads and loads of hazelnuts this year - one of my favourites. If you buy from local farms the fruit seems to be a lot cheaper than Tescos, but then again that's not surprising!

Don't tell me that you don't have enough room to grow your own runners because unless you are in a flat, you do. Mine this year are in three tubs with canes making them into a wigwam shape on the patio. Actually my friend Irene has a small balcony with her flat and it is absolutely full. There are herbs, trailing tomatoes and strawberries in baskets, and loads of flowers too. She has feeders everywhere for the birds, and she seems to get more variety of them than I do.

Going back to fruit trees, yes they can be expensive but last year Wilkinsons was selling plum, peach, cherry, apple and pear for £5 each and they were about 6 foot tall. Whether they have them this year I don't know. Most garden centres sell them for around £25.00 each. Last year from one of the cheapy shops I bought a gooseberry plant for £1.25, that little plant had several gooseberries on it this year.

Seeds are expensive when you consider how many you get from one plant, so why not go along to Campo girls seed swap site, great idea and free. I always ask for seeds for Xmas but never specify which ones, that way you get lots of little surprises. I give lots at Xmas too especially for the men, because I find them hard to buy for.

One of my favourite stories I am going to share with you. My Dad bless him passed away at a youngish age 27 years ago. When he was 3 years old and lived in Notting Hill back in 1922 he had several brothers and sisters so they were not what you would call affluent hehe, the opposite actually. My Nan always put the rent money on the side every week waiting for the man to collect it. One day he came and it was gone! Everybody looked frantically for it but to no avail. I dont know if my Dad was looking guilty but they asked him if he had taken it for ages, then bribing him with a freshly ironed shirt. He took them to the front garden where he unburied it and placed it in Nans hand. Asked why he had done that he said that he was growing a money tree!!!!!! How lovely is that, awwww.

I will love you and leave you with that, happy gardening. Gill x

butterflies this year

Hi all its Gill,

Aren't you just sick and tired of this weather? Day after day of miserable damp and its warm which is awful!!!! The only bright news in all this is that I have more butterflies than I have had before since moving here over 3 years ago. On television last week they were saying that there is a shortage of peacock and red admiral butterflies this year. THEY ARE ALL IN MY GARDEN. What a wonderful sight, I have loved butterflies ever since learning about them in junior school. This year I have four buddleias and a huge hydrangea in flower in the front garden and they are smothered with these adorable creatures. Piccies to follow.

Last year we all heard of the plight of bees, scary but I saw about the same amount as usual and didnt think much more of it. This year however I have noticed that there are very few about. Its a very worrying situation.

My girls are laying less this summer and I am wondering if they are fair weather layers lol. From the 10 chickens I seem to average about 4 a day, lazy beasties!!!! I think they are spoilt too much and dont realise that they are here to lay eggs for me. In fact I am just about to collect the eggs, lets see how many there are.

That's it they are for the pot, 3 measly eggs.

Whilst I was outside I looked at the lavender, I have about 10 shrubs, and there were 2 bees on them, that used to be buzzing. That reminds me of the time I went round to my friend Lornas in Winnersh, Reading. She has a huge lavender hedge all the way from the road to her front door, probably about 70 foot, and ~I am not lying about this, she stands and strokes the backs of the bumble bees as they forage in the flowers. But then she is a special person. I have also seen her stand in her back garden, put her hand out and a robin flew to her and sat in her hand. He also used to tap on the lounge window, she would open the window and crumble up a digestive for him. One day whilst watching this, a little field mouse climbed up her cotoneaster and sat with the robin eating it together. I wish I had whatever she has.

To tell you the truth I havent dont any gardening this week, maybe a bit of dead heading but thats all. My runner beans are covered in flowers, and I have quite a few plum tomatoes in the greenhouse, but they arent anywhere near ready. I have a few cucumbers in there too, about 5 inches is my largest so they have a way to go yet.

That's it for now all, got to water the greenhouse. Take care and enjoy your gardens, Gill

Gardening, Spain and England

Hello fellow gardeners its Gill again,

I was in Spain last week staying with my son and daughter in law. Phew it was hot!!! They have my favourite tree in their garden, a jacaranda, wish I could grow them here. The highlight of my week was going to a garden centre out there and seeing all the exotic things you can buy that you definitely dont see here in Hampshire. They bought a mango tree that had 6 fruits on before we forced it into the car along with several other plants, and had one fruit by the time it got home! Also they bought a paw paw tree for €5.75 what an absolute bargain, thats what the mango cost too, and guess what else, something I thought I would never see, my favourite nut, a macadamia tree also that price. By the next day they werent looking too happy being planted out in all that heat but I have my fingers crossed for their survival. It was a wonderful experience going there.

What a shock to come home to half of that temperature at Gatwick and rain. When I drew up into the drive though, my hydrangea had bloomed whilst I was away. I have a piccy for you, but dont know how to get it onto here, something else I have to learn hehehe! All this technology is fairly new to me, I take a long time to learn.

As soon as I dumped my luggage my first port of call was my girls (chickens), then the greenhouse. Woohoo I have some baby tomatoes, thank goodness for my neighbours watering and looking after for me.

Yesterday I went to Frensham garden centre. I like that place, they make the most delicious shortbreads for only £1 for a huge one. Their plants are healthy and the prices are similar to most centres. There is so much to see there its well worth a visit. They have a good range of acers my second favourite trees (I think I have about 8 in my garden).

I go to a garden centre every Wednesday with two friends of mine, and we always eat out there too, there must be about 18 that we go to regularly. If any have any bargains I will let you know of them although I know that most of you are in Spain. Hopefully we have some English readers too. Guess what, yes its raining again, thank goodness its summer else it would be worse!!!

Okay peeps Im going to love you and leave you, enjoy your gardens, catch you again soon, take care, Gill.