Had an amazing time at Chelsea Flower Show - Photos to follow soon!

The hanging baskets above are what I planted up a month ago, after a very cold wet April/May the plants are now eventually starting to grow and flower, hopefully I'll be able to hang them up soon.

So EXCITED off to CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW on Saturday - watch this space hopefully i'll have lots of photos to put on this Blog to show you (if I can fight my way through the crowds)

Another recycling idea that will save you money and your plants

Local Farmers Market Eggs
After using your eggs for cooking , save the shells lightly bake them in the bottom of your oven until they have dried out - and then crush them (the children love doing this bit, I would do it outside because it can get a bit messy) and then scatter them around the base of your plants e.g. Hostas, Lupins, Sunflowers, Courgettes,Lettuce, etc. Hopefully this will keep the slugs and the snails away.   

12 Hanging Baskets to make - shall I do a colour theme - Red, White and Blue - or just go for a massive colour explosion  or soft gentle pastel shades?  I'll let you know when I've done them with photos.

Beautiful Blossom Cherry Tree
Full of Fluffy Barbie Flowers
Getting Ready for a Pink Explosion of Colour

Granmas Garden  by Stephanie Batstone

Flowers, plants

Shrubs, trees

Bugs,butterflies

Birds & bees

In the garden everyday

Nothing can ever stand in my way

Through the rain & the shine

The garden is all mine

Everything that I grow

All the seeds that that I sow

Are wonderful in every way

And they are there to enjoy everyday  

I was looking for some Wild Garlic Recipes (as I have loads in the garden) came across this article!!!! Recipes to follow

Wild garlic 

in season

In the UK, wild garlic has many peculiar identities - 'bear's garlic', 'devil's garlic', 'gypsy's onions' and 'stinking Jenny' are just some of them. It's no surprise that this seasonal ingredient is called so many names - it gives off an incredibly pungent smell in the wild. Unlike common cultivated garlic, it's the leaves that are eaten rather than the bulbs. The taste is more delicate too, similar to the flavour of chives.

Honesty - Euphorbia

Acer - Maple Tree

Good Morning - looking a bit cold and cloudy in North Devon today

Just loving these April showers - with the sun sparkling on the raindrops it looks like fresh diamonds in the morning -and now noticing  the Devonshire hedges and trees are now really starting to turn green - April is one of my favourite months

More recycling ideas
You can use cardboard tubes (toilet rolls!) the same as jiffy pots.
 Stand the tubes upright in a tray. Fill the tubes with seed compost - water well - sow Sweet Peas, Peas, Sunflowers or Courgettes/Marrows /Squashs etc into the tubes leave in a warm place(window sill).
When the plants have grown and has been harden off you can plant the whole tube into the ground - where the cardboard will decompose into the soil. This way the there is no damage to the roots.

Twin lambs born over Easter only a few days old - so adorable

Marsh marigolds growing in a wooden barrel - later on in the year there will be Iris and Lilies

Happy Easter Everyone - good luck with all your seed sowing and gardening - and eating lots of chocolate

another recycling idea - cut your plastic drink bottles in half and use them as mini propagators - happy seed sowing

larissa photos- an old wood in Exmoor - Doone Valley

spent the day walking through the beautiful Doone Valley on Exmoor on Good Friday

i was so excited, in the front garden, in the warm morning sunshine i saw the Orange Tip butterfly sunbathing on a polyanthus 

the caterpillar feeds off garlic mustard,dames-violet,and ladys-smock - all three plants that were growing in the garden last year.

the chrysalis or pupae must of overwintered in the garden.  so i 'm hoping to spot a few more over the next few weeks.

6/4/12 - Good Friday

These Seed Bombs are what my daughter - Charlotte - brought back from New York,

hoping to sow these seeds in the greenhouse today - when its warm enough to adventure outside!!

Jenny Wren Gardening Services Advert

Recycling my strawberry container as a seed tray.

After I ate my strawberries, I recycled the container into a seed tray propagator for my 'cut and come again' lettuce. After 3 days the seedlings are already appearing!

The start of Spring and my new blog!!

 Thyme, chives and mint.

 Mint

Chives and mint

The April showers have given my herbs the refreshing drink they need.
Up until a week ago the herbs were congested and over grown in a pot, I split the herbs and replanted them into fresh compost into terracotta pots. I will eventually use the herbs for my cooking, I will let you know how this goes.