Bee Frenzy....

Globe Artichokes full of pollen...

cue Bee frenzy!!!

Bee Hotel and other info

We all need to learn as much as we can to help support the wildlife we share our space with...

 I've just found a really lovely site so thought I'd share http://www.foxleas.com/bee_house.htm

Lots of advice for planting good things for pollinators, bee hotels and creating a wildlife friendly garden...

Why not take a look!!

A lovely bubble bee I rescued last year...

A new season under way!!

I just love this time of the year blossom on the trees, tadpoles in my ponds, birds nesting, bee buzzing, my garden bursting into life but most of all lots and lots of little seedlings reaching for the sky for the start of a new season of growing in pots inside and out... and another opportunity to design my allotment for another year... what fun!

So how is the allotment you might ask?? well nature carries on without much input from me now so the Comfrey is back...

The white flowering type the first to get our bees going...

... and later the taller purple flowering Comfrey.

The Cleavers (you can see) and baby nettles I  juice to make a lovely spring time tonic...










Things already growing  at the allotment are

Broad Beans to the right, I find spreading the netting easier to do at the same time as planting.
Then as they grow I just raise the netting up.


To the left White and Red Onion sets


Bottom left Rocket that survived the mild winter




Behind there will be my French and Runner Beans in wigwams I grow nasturtiums there too to distract the black fly... it works very well.

Black Nero Kale for its leaves and flowering sprouts,

Behind the Purple Sprouting.

















The next bed along has my lovely Leeks, fourth generation. I let a few go to flower each  year the bees love them. Once the flowers turn to little baby Leeklets  I just lightly sink the head into the earth.
Next years Leeks!! and plenty to swop or give away...

These are a great old French varity


To the left  French Parsley


Sadly the camara battery died so I can't give you a complete guided tour ( you'll be relieved) but a few other things...

Spicy Mustard leaves,  Swiss Chard, a pretty  Sorrel and two more rows of Parsnips!

I'm very pleased that I was able to prune the bountiful Blackberry and Raspberries and give them a dressing of  RockDust  for info www.seercentre.org.uk/     which went down very well last year throughout the plot and I'd thoroughly recommend...

Rats were a problem for a couple of years up here, I don't mind sharing with nature but these critters were being very greedy, especially with ripe strawberries, the year before last I didn't have a single ripe one from my allotment. We found little stashed groups of them everywhere.

I was not impressed!!

BUT then someone moved into one of the houses behind with three cats,  the rats vacated and as none of the cats seem to be interested in the bird life all is well...

Till next time..

Spud planting this Saturday and some cold frame maintenance...

AND   a look at sheds around the site...