Another quick update

This time it's on my £5 (originally £15) Strawberry planter that I bought a few weeks ago in a fortunate visit to Homebase when they were selling off the damaged pots cheaply. I noticed that on Aldi's special buys for today they had a pack of 6 strawberry plants for £2.99. Perfect, I needed six. 5 for the 5 intact cups on my planter, and one for the top. So I zipped to Aldi and got a pack of Elsanta. I've had Elsanta before (before the evil weevil got them). I liked them. They fruited well and were tasty. I know people can get all snobby over taste, and that some are bred for supermarket mass-production, but Elsanta suits me. There was a choice of another 2 varieties, Christine (early season), or Red Gauntlet (late season). Elsanta is a main season strawb (in case you were wondering).

After getting the plants I popped over to Poundstretcher. They sell bags of 20L Multi Purpose for £1.29. It's quite good stuff, although this bag had a few large twigs in it. But generally the compost is light and fluffy stuff. And 20L is a good size for me to pick up and carry to the car. Another reason to buy.

Back at the ranch and I've planted up the planter. I've blocked the broken cup with a piece of broken terracotta pot that I had for crocks. I could have used some of the compost bag turned so the black interior faced outwards and made a barrier for it that way. Or, in fairness, I think if I'd have put a strawberry plant into the half cup it would have blocked it up enough so the compost didn't escape. But the broken cup is facing North, so I'm not sure a plant would do very well in that cup anyway. And I know people moan about these type of planter that the plants don't get any water because they are in the cups, but even my smallish plants' roots went through to the main bit of the planter, so if I water over the whole top surface they'll get watered. It's only really the crown and leaves in the cups, which i think is good because they aren't supposed to sit in damp and wet.

So, there you have it. A planted up strawberry planter for under a tenner. Bargain. I only used half a 20L bag of compost to fill it, so I've got some for potting on and earthing up the spuds in bags. The plants should last me a couple of years if I can keep the evil weevil out. And the pot should last too, if I keep it in a sheltered spot over winter.

I actually think even at full price these planters are not bad value. You can get them in terracotta like I've got, which is that lighter sort of peachy terracotta. It's heavier than the darker terracotta. The planter is fairly weighty even before it's filled with compost, so I don't think it's going to blow over. This is it in terracotta - http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=200596 (Keep an eye out for a 15% day, if you fancy one. They must be due one soon.)

A quick flower update

These daffodils have just appeared from my £5 for 50 Morrisons bulb pack. They are really nice. Kind of pastel lemon yellow petals with a darker lemon yellow centre. Multi-headed. And they are tiny. Only about the size of a 50p. I'm in the process of trying to identify it (what I mean is I've put a pic on the Gardener's Corner forum for the member to identify for me, I will update if anyone gets it. Edit - they're one of the Jonquilla family of daffs - they're very goon on GC).

The other flowers doing really well, apart from the yellow tulips on the post before that are from the same bulb pack, are my pansies that I bought in the autumn. They've flowered all winter, and are putting on a really big flower display at the moment. I confess, I keep forgetting to deadhead the plants, but they are flowering away in spite of that. Very good value in the end. (I nearly fainted at spending around £6 on 6 plants when I bought them. Very unlike me to spend that sort of money on plants.)




I'll do a quick veg update soon. I've got a few young plants, and I've just sown some beans, mangetout and peas, so the veg season is starting again. Brilliant.

Our New Shed

We did it. Me (Bodgit) and the other half (Leggit) managed to put our new storage shed together. It's been an epic paint and build, but we've got there. Gawd knows how people manage to build a 'proper' sized shed from scratch. I'm not bad at DIY, or at instruction reading. And I'm pretty good at interior flat pack furniture building. But this seemed a challenge to put together, even with a picture and text instruction sheet. One of the problems was the sheet had been photocopied, probably one too many times, so the pictures were practically blurred out. Especially the ones where the text instruction was a bit vague. This is where the bodge bit of the build comes in. We just did what we thought was the best solution to the bit we were stuck on. It probably wasn't the best solution, but it got the build moving again. And as it took us about 7 hours to complete this build, due to various hold ups, any solution to keep it moving was used. I may need to go over the shed again with some after-build fixes. Like sealing some of the gaps that are there from where even an electric screwdriver couldn't get the screws tight into the panels. And there's a couple of splits in the wood where some nails came through where they weren't expected.

Other than that though, it's a nice shed. It looks good from the outside. It's just the right size for what we need. It fits the space perfectly. I'm pretty pleased. It was a nice price too. Considering I've seen a very similar shed in the main high street stores and online shed sites for, at it's cheapest, £140. But that shed has only got 8mm panels, this shed has 12mm panels and was only £118 with free delivery. We also had a problem with the staple of the hasp and staple door catch being broken. One call to the supplier and we've got another one on it's way. No problems at all there. Very good customer service. So this is the shed - http://www.elbecgardenbuildings.co.uk/Storage/3x2-Shire-Shiplap-Tall-Store - although the one in the pic isn't actually what you get. The actual shed you get is this one - http://www.map-gardenfurnishings.co.uk/Public/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?product=00337&mid=36&desc=Shire+Handy+Store (this one is a particularly dear option, but it had the shortest link to add to this blog). As you can see from my pic of our finished shed, the 2nd link pic is the shed you get.

I forgot to mention something else I've picked up for the garden recently. I've been keeping an eye out for a raised bed for the veg bed. Just something to stop the grass path I've got round the top edge from encroaching onto it. This month I've had a go at tidying up the growth from winter and the grass was halfway across the bed. Anyway, I noticed on Homebase that they had reduced their 2 x 1 metre raised bed from £30 to £20. Perfect. That's the exact size of my veg bed. So we went along and picked one up. After a bit of swearing when trying to fit it in the car  (2m is just about the size of my car interior, the other half had to ride home in the back while the raised bed took up his front seat and all the way to the back of the boot), we got it home. They were all stacked up at Homebase in a big wet pile, so I tried to look along the length to find the straightest pack. Turns out it was still slightly warped when we put  it together (bare in mind if you get one of these that there are no pre-drilled holes, so you need a drill and an electric screwdriver might help get the screws in too). The gaps in the joints aren't too bad though, and it's doing the job that I wanted. It's got in built stakes in the corners so it hammers securely into the soil. Plus as it's pressure treated I don't need to treat it and I can keep is as bare wood which matches my trellis on the fences. I like that. This is the one (still reduced too) - http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=773453 - I should have mentioned it earlier though because they've just had a 15% weekend at Homesbase this last weekend. Nevermind. They'll soon have another one. They seem to be every other week.

The pots you can see next to the raised beds are the old potato bag compost from last year that I planted a pack of 50 bulbs that I got from Morrisons into. I think the bulbs cost me a fiver. Not too sure what's in them. I've had a few miniature daffs come up and open so far. There a lot of tulips on the way. Don't know what colours they'll be though. All part of the fun. I'll try and update as things open up.

More Shed Chic

In honour of us getting our new shed, I decided to create some decoration for it. I had an ornamental bird box that has seen better days. The paint that had been used originally I don't think was for external use because it was all flaking and peeling off. The roof wood was warping and cracking. I don't think shops should be allowed to sell things aimed at the garden unless the materials they use are weatherproof. Or they should state it's for interior use only. Anyway, I also had some vintage plates with chips in the rims, so I decided to try my hand at Pique Assiette. Basically, it's mosaic made up of broken china, or ceramic. I sanded back the paint on the bird box, cut up a couple of the plates and added the mosaic to the front of the box. I then painted the rest of the wood with weatherproof paint.

I painted the roof blue to match a shade in the tiles and then I artificially aged the roof by overpainting it with some green wood preservative. I'm quite pleased with the end result. For a first attempt. To be honest, I've always thought things made with the Pique Assette technique were a bit, well, twee. But I think my bird box has a touch of vintage style about it.

The shed isn't here yet. It's due next week. I will get a picture of it in all it's glory as a before and after blog. It might even get me started on the Moroccan Courtyard I've been threatening to create because the shed will be one of the boundaries of that area.

I've just gone and found my original plan for the garden from April 2011. The shed is going exactly where I planned it. The pond is in. The new lawn and bee border are made. It's coming together.

Shed Chic



Mosaic Heart Slate Flower Pot Garden Hanging Decoration


This week we had to buy a shed due to our old garden storage finally giving up the ghost. I spent hours trying to find one in the size that would fit the space (very small), within budget (very small), and that looked like it wouldn't blow away in a light breeze. Not easy, but I have finally found a tool store that is perfect. I am really looking forward to sprucing it up, when it arrives, with a lick of paint and maybe some decoration. (If the quality of the shed is good, and the delivery service is good too I'll recommend the shed and the place I bought it from. Actually if it's all rubbish I'll warn you off them, so you'll hear from me either way on this.)

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to sit in it and survey my garden (there's just enough room for a set of shelves and a garden rake). But, it got me thinking about how I would dress up a full-sized summerhouse / garden room shed.

Every week I pick a selection of items from one of the craft sites that I am on as a themed collection called a Folksy Friday. As this week's Folksy Friday is my pick for a complete shed makeover, I thought it might be interesting to anyone reading this blog too. Quite a large selection too because there was too much to choose from. Click on the link to see the collection on my Pinterest board and see what you think -

*** Folksy Handmade - Shed Chic ***

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Nearly Spring. Meanwhile, Bridlington.

It's been a bit fresh up this way over the last couple of months. Nothing really to report on the garden. I've had a nicely timed visit to Homebase a couple of weeks ago. It must have been just after they had a delivery of garden containers, which they decided to kick into place, or something. I managed to get a massive 48cm glazed pot (with a hairline crack in it, but I'm going to seal it, and if it breaks, I'll stick it back together and use a plastic pot inside it) reduced from £30 to £7.50. And a lovely terracotta strawberry pot with 6 planting cups (one of which has been half broken off, but I can always put that to the back) reduced from £15 to a fiver. Pleased with them. Pics when they are in the garden. I've got them indoors at the mo until I can seal them so they are reasonably frostproof. Not sure what I'll put in the large container yet. I might transfer my apple tree into it. Or I might get a different tree to go into it to add to my container tree collection. I need some more height in the garden. If nothing else to tempt the birds back in. I'm not sure what's happened out there but the sparrows and starlings are avoiding my bird feeder like the plague. I can see them in a garden with fat balls out a few doors down. And everywhere you walk round here there are sparrows in the hedges and starlings in the trees. Just not in our garden. The only birds we occassionally get in are a couple of wood pigeons.

Bridlington South Beach.



Anyway, due to it being too snowy/wet/windy to do anything in the garden, I'll give you a quick look at Bridlington in the snow. I love Bridlington. It's just like I remember seaside resorts being when I was a kid. With a touch of modern about it too. I'll do a proper 'Walking East Yorkshire' review of Brid in the spring/summer when I can get lots of spring/summery shots. But in the meantime here's a few pics of Brid in February. It actually wasn't too cold, even though there's still some lying snow on the beach. We sat outside at a cafe for a brew and didn't die of exposure. It was quite pleasant.



The promonade kids' paddling pool. It could be Spain.



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Down on the promenade on the South beach there's some lovely beach huts with dark wood fronts to them, and the kid's paddling pool with it's terracotta walls really add a Mediterranean feel to the area. I know that sounds a ridiculous thing to say about Bridlington, but honestly if you time it right the sun beats down on that Prom and the way it's been designed down there is really great. I love it. You can see the glass balcony that overhangs from the road on the paddling pool pic too. A lot of the design along the top is done like a ship with masts and white railings and decking. I will take proper pics of it all in my spring/summer blog post.



North Beach with it's shingle and pebbles looking round to Flamborough Head cliffs



If you like beaches you'll love Bridlington. The South Beach is just miles and miles of gently sloping golden sand. And the North Beach is miles and miles of sand with shingle and pebbles which I love to pick through to find interesting things. Usually sea glass. I'm collecting it up to make a mosaic from. In the centre of the two beaches is the harbour, which I will again get pictures of for the spring/summer update. You can get boat trips from there on a pirate ship, or one boat will take you up to Flamborough and Bempton Cliff bird colonies. There's a fun fair. Slots. Crazy Golf. Pitch and Putt. The Bridlington Spa a historic venue which has lots of summer shows on. A land train that runs from town to the end of the North Beach where Sewerby Hall and it's gardens and mini zoo are. What more could you want out of a seaside resort??!!

Gardener's Gift Ideas (pt. 2)



Sunbleached Ripple Bird Bath



If you are still struggling for gifts for gardening family members and friends, or if you just fancy something a bit different that you won't find in the shops, I've just done a blog post on my designing blog with an updated list of handmade items from Folksy.com. If you think handmade might be a bit naff for a Christmas present, have a look at these items and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised -

Gift Ideas for Gardeners

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