Wildlife – Plot7 Marsh Lane

The Time is Now

The month of May and the may (hawthorn) in the hedgerow have been very busy. We’ve done so much tidying, digging and finally clearing parts of the plot which have been harbouring slugs and snails for months. Seeds are germinating at home and in the polytunnel. Some seem rather slow but that may just beContinue reading “The Time is Now”

Walk on the Wild Side

British Summer Time is here – the weather doesn’t realise and it’s been mostly dull and windy plus we’ve had a lot of rain; 35mm in the last week. That sounds a bit moany considering we had a pleasant few hours on the plot on Sunday afternoon and lots more flowers have bloomed in theContinue reading “Walk on the Wild Side”

Painkiller

It’s been a busy working month so weekends at the allotment have been most welcome. We even had some unexpectedly warm, sunny days. I’m looking forward to early morning pre-work plot visits, but not quite at that stage yet! Last Saturday was very windy with Storm Otto passing by to the north of us. ItContinue reading “Painkiller”

Chim Chim Cher-ee

We had two visits to the allotment this cold weekend and yesterday (Sunday) everything was looking beautiful encrusted in frost. The likelihood of pretty frost was mainly what dragged me outside. It’s so easy to just remain indoors but of course, once out and surrounded by birdsong on the allotment I was glad I shiftedContinue reading “Chim Chim Cher-ee”

Happy Together

I learnt a new word today after spotting this teasel amongst the dried flower heads. Vivipary– when seeds germinate whilst still on the parent plant. Viviparous germination isn’t uncommon, particularly when it’s been rainy and warm. I have noticed it before on Nigella and calendula but it’s a bit more obvious on a teasel. WeContinue reading “Happy Together”

Look Up

I spent quite a lot of yesterday looking up. It was so lovely to return to sunshine and blue sky after a few days of feeling rather Autumnal, and it feels too soon. I have a few very welcome days off making it a very long Bank Holiday weekend. The weather yesterday was perfect andContinue reading “Look Up”

In A Moment

Hands up who else was flagging like this yesterday! “When leaves show their undersides, be very sure rain betides” says the Farmer’s Almanac. Well, the rain reached Swindon but missed Hungerford, so I think it was wishful thinking for the beans, or perhaps they wanted us to do some more watering. Watering just isn’t the sameContinue reading “In A Moment”

First of the Year

The last couple of weeks have been mostly warm, with much less rain than was threatened so we had to water every day. And there have been really windy days with sun-cloud-sun. Stupid weather doesn’t know what month it is! I like this photo of a mallow flower on the wildlife plot, with its ownContinue reading “First of the Year”