Rhubarb Crumble, the best cure-all for rainy day blues.
Despite our dread of getting mired in the soggy slough that is the outdoors, we pulled on our wellies and splashed down to the allotment for our first pickings of the season: 510g prepped for the pot. Oh bounty!
A lavender bag panel inspired by the Natural History Museum's Dippy.
 |
| Tubby tabby, Angel, investigates the pong. |
The rain has kept the kittehs indoors, the boredom is driving them batty. What cruelty then, when this big ball of tarred sisal marline arrived in the post and it proved too pungent to play with.
We ordered this marline to repair some cane grilles we lashed together a couple of years ago. We plan to use them to keep the wood pigeon off the peas.
 |
| Young Garden Spiders |
Some pics we took in celebration of Earth Day today when we nipped down to plot 57b to plant out our recent purchases.
We saved the post lauding our Walthamstow Farmers' Market for the plant fair, market day.
Our haul for the allotment: Hyssop, Rue, Vietnamese Coriander, kale and brussel sprouts (we plant just enough for Christmas dinner and Boxing Day lunch). Now all we need is some sun, bring it on!
We ♥ our local Walthamstow Farmers' Market.
We had a GRAND day out today with our local Roots and Shoots Gardening Club. We attended the Plant Heritage Spring Plant Fair, a RHS National Gardening Week event at Hyde Hall.
We bought this liquorice plant for the allotment (...and won a box of Allsorts in the raffle on the coach journey home! Bonanza!).
Hotel Coleoptera. We ♥ it.
We did some essential weeding and clipping of grass down on the allotment this morning, to keep on top of things. But, it being windy and cold, we did not tarry for long. In fact we shivered so much most of our intended update snaps came out blurry.
We did away with the maple seedlings (don't tell the Ents)...
...but took care to weed around the self-seeded Heartsease.
This is the insect habitat/log pile sculpture project we started over a year ago and then we got waylaid. We might get it finished this year, who knows...
Meanwhile our fit and athletic friend kindly forked over and levelled the footprint for our future shed. We might get it finished this year, who knows... Thanks, S.
April showers and the chill (eeek!) have kept us indoors and we've been getting on with things.
The tomato plants have been potted on - windowsill space is now at a premium.
The lavender bag project is in Phase IIIa (though we've not yet agreed what that means!).
 |
| Strangefruit: Horsetail strobili |
We ♥ willow.
The fritillary meadow was the highlight of the trip.
Motivation, to mend and extend the provision for the creepy crawlies of plot 57b.
Berkely Bat House. A reminder we should be doing something to mark the Year of the Bat.
Today we were out with the bumblies on Tottenham Marshes, minutes' walk from plot 57b. We brunched on cake and buns!(It being happy hols and all that.) We walked it off and had a gander at the houseboats moored at Stonebridge Lock. A good day!
The view from Chalk Bridge. The chimney is Edmonton Incinerator, the largest in Britain. Yes, we worry that we're riddled with dioxins.
Tottenham Marshes (and the incinerator).
Redtailed Bumblebee
Common Carder Bee
Our homemade brunch of secular bun and lemon curd cake. Oh joy!
We ♥ the Lombardy Poplars.
Another slow Sunday afternoon down on the allotment.
This fat Woodpigeon, gorging on the plum blossom, heralded the new month's feasts and festivities.
We were dazzled by the show put on by the neighbour's plum tree.
The Marsh Marigold was out in its gladrags...
Allotment kitteh marvelled too...
and the the Cowslip exuded sunshine in glee.
We also put up the bean poles in anticipation of planting out seedlings in a couple of weeks' time. Now to go sow some beans.
