Fairies for the garden

For Christmas last year my wonderful husband gave me two beautiful fairy statues, Ellen of the Elder (pictured) and Rhea of the Oak. I am so pleased to have these fairies and think they are so gorgeous I don't want to put them outside in the garden for fear they will weather and become damaged. I know they are fairies and that's where they belong, but I'm sure they can stay inside a little longer...

Eggplant curry and Dahl dinner from the garden

I love this Chettiar aubergine curry and Tadak Dal, and what's more, I love how much of this meal is home grown and home made.

Caged Watermelon

I have had to put cages over my growing watermelon (sugar baby) to stop the chickens eating them. Let's hope it works!

Raspberries

The canes are taller than I am and they are producing these delicious berries. I think I'll scoop out some bowls of ice-cream and put these on top. Yum.

Patterns in corn

How interesting that corn can grow kernels in lines and swirls. I wonder why this is so...

More dinner from the garden

Zucchini slice and vegetables for dinner. Zucchini, eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, beetroot and corn from the garden. Yum.

Garden to plate

Here is my harvest plate ready for me prepare tonight's dinner. I'm hungry just smelling it all fresh in front of me.

And how good are those colours together!

Grug and I have a lot in common

Recently I bought a copy of 'Grug and his garden' by Ted Prior. I fondly remember Grug books from when I wad a child and I see now how the simplicity is appealing.

In this story Grug has his garden but realises that something is eating his cabbages. He goes out at night with his torch and discovers a snail is to blame. The next day he plants enough cabbages for himself and the snail.

I'm with his way of thinking. I just wish I only had one snail to worry about!

Big decision made

I made a big decision yesterday. It wasn't easy to make and I'm not sure if it was the right decision still. Last year I ran a lunch time gardening club with some of the junior school children at my work. I have decided not to continue with it this year.

I realised that I have a lot on my plate this year. Well, I knew that I would when I applied for my study scholarship, but I really realised it. I have started my studies and been enthused by, well, getting better at my job. I am loving doing the readings, I think about the lectures, I'm working on my assignments and I'm planning how I can improve myself as a teacher and coach at work. I am loving it.

But even though it is a part time study load, it is on top of my part time work hours. I have committed myself to a full time load!

I really enjoy Gardening Club. The kids all want to be there, they are enthusiastic and it is such a fantastic learning opportunity in so many ways. I plan for the club like I plan for lessons, I grow seeds and seedlings to take in for us to grow at school, I put in a lot of my own resources and half hour that it is supposed to be, often has me shooing kids to class after 40 minutes and me having no lunch break. it is time consuming and requires thought, planning and money.

Unfortunately when I was considering what things I can let go of to increase my chances of successfully getting through work and study this year, I realised that gardening club is one of those things. Without gardening club I still have a half hour duty, but it's regular duty. No planning necessary, except maybe a spare pair of shoes so I don't have to walk around the oval in heels...

I do feel like a bit of a gardening sell out here, but hopefully it will give me that bit of time that I can be out in my own garden and not getting things ready for the garden at school.

Corn

We have started harvesting our first ears of corn and they are tasty! We know corn is ready to harvest when the 'silk' poking out the top (the bit that the pollen needed to fall on to pollinate the corn so it would grow) turn brown and dry up.

My girl was so keen to pick and eat one that we peeled a few leaves to check that it was ready. It wasn't quite ready, so we had to cover it back up and wait a few days... Oh the waiting! It sure tasted good eating the first, eagerly awaited corn if the season.

A hens nest

Since our second hen started laying a few days ago, she has only laid one in the nesting box... But she has made her own little nest in the garden by the back door of our house.

It seems she has enlightened the other hens to the concept of out door laying, too. Today there were four eggs in there!