Digging In

The trees are so great. It isn't exactly Vermont around here but you still can't help looking up.

Flash hasn't been out of his house for a month so I put him in the dirt to see if he was ready to dig in for the winter.

The light is great at the moment. Artists everywhere must be getting their brushes out.

Can you spot Flash?

All offically tucked in before the leaves have fallen.

Lousy chickens

Plans to plant my onions this week have been foiled by the chicken pox. Grounded again!

Winter lettuce

My winter lettuce is tucked up in the greenhouse. The children planted them from seed that I got from the Gardeners World Live show in summer. My sweet pea is still giving it some in the garden. I haven't been picking them either. It is obviously determined to stay for as long as it can.

Finally I've Been!

I have finally been to plant my garlic. It has been three shameful weeks since I have done any work on the allotment.

As I got closer to the plot I saw this gorgeous sunflower. I was a bit envious I must admit because ours weren't much to write home about. When I got closer I had a nice surprise. It was ours! What a dingbat.

I came home with spinach, baby corn (more like medium corn), runner beans (which are still running and producing new beans, I thought they'd be all dried up now and ready to collect for seed), some baby leeks and some chives.

The weeds were pretty bad, you couldn't even see my asparagus because the weeds have grown over them. And they hate the weeds, poor things. If Monty Donn saw it he would probably have to go and lie down for a bit with the horror of it all. I got through some of it, there's more to do another day.

This is the pinacle of my shame. The radish on the left is a normal sized radish. The two on the right have grown to a cartoon size. The one in the middle has even got so sick of waiting to be picked that it has started to grow another mutant baby radish underneath it (see the white one, that is attached). Shameful radish picking.

The change

A bee having a rest on my vebena, one of the successes grown from seed this year.

I spotted this cyclamen under the acer tree the other day. It is so tiny and delicate.

The weather has turned quite nippy now. My garlic is waiting in the porch to be planted, it is not impressed that I haven't done it yet. Flash the tortoise has stopped eating now and has not been out of his house for a couple of weeks now, I will be taking away his house in a few weeks so that he can hibernate. Summer is over!

Special apple

I haven't been to the allotment for a while. My plans to go this week were foiled by children getting stomach bugs. I have mowed the grass at home though, so at least I have ventured outside.

We picked our special apple yesterday. It is special because it is our only apple. It managed to survive the summer of other peoples children trying to fell it with plastic golf clubs. To reward its resilience we cut it into pieces and ate it. Another bountiful feast where everyone gets a slice each.