A completed shed & a happy wildflower spot...

Today I spent another lovely and peaceful 4 and a half hours at the allotment. I really love the summer holidays! It's lovely and quiet down there and I was able to potter about and get some useful things done!

My shed is now completely finished! I now have two hanging baskets on the side filled with violas which are on the verge of flowering. The box on the front of the door seems to be doing really well too! I think next year I might use the boxes and baskets on the front for strawberries. 

I also got the gate painted (to match the shed of course!) and the inside of the door needed a few coats of blue as well. I'm really happy with the blue and cream combination. 

 I also got all the gardening tools hung up and even cleaned the windows inside and out! It's now spotless! 

The plants on the inside seem to be pretty happy as well. Plenty chillies, cucumbers and peppers coming along nicely. 

I noticed some of the sprouts have started to properly show themselves as well! Hopefully I'll get a decent return on them- the plants are pretty big now!

And here are just a few photos from around the pond of the wildflower section- I think it's looking pretty awesome- exactly as I wanted it to be honest! And every visit something new keeps poking it's flowery head above the rest. 

5 hours of shed painting...

Today was officially the first day of the summer holidays. So I spent the day as I mean to go on- productively!

I was at the allotment for 5 hours simply painting the inside of the shed- and enjoying the pond for a portion of that!

It's doing really well at the moment. The plant life around the outside is really starting to hide and protect the pond and other animals around. There are plenty frogs being spotted in their too now. Every few days there seems to be a new lily pad unfurling so hopefully it will flower at some point! Not sure if that will be this year or next thought.

I've really got no idea about what's growing around the outside. I did scatter a fair few wildflower seeds a few months ago, and there are some really pretty flowers coming up, so I'm assuming there some sort of wildflower. There are plenty of other things as well, from buttercups to dandelions and dock leaves, but for the moment I'm just going to leave it all. 

The Brussel sprouts are coming along really well now too! I had a peek under their leaves today and there are little baby sprouts sitting above every leaf, so hopefully I'll get a good harvest from them in a few months time! I have plenty people in my family who're looking forward to home grown sprouts on their Christmas dinner! 

And of course- a photo of my hard work today.

I painted the inside cream. I needed to paint it to protect the wood, as some of it is fairly old and has been left outside for a while (one wall is from an old fence) so it needed protecting on the inside and outside. I wanted the cream colour to lighten it all up. It took hours, but I'm happy with the final product. Now I just have to give the outside one final coat of blue, and then I can start attaching things to the inside and out. I have some hanging baskets for the outside and I want some shelves up on the inside, as well as hooks to hang my tools on. Project for next week I think!

The jalapeños look pretty happy in the shed too!

The summer holidays have finally arrived...

The summer holidays are now here!! Yes, I'm fortunate enough to have 7 weeks off work over the summer (if it makes you feel any better- I don't get paid for it!) But I really do cherish the time off. 

 Especially this year! Now I really have no excuse to get things looking as good as I can until the winter comes around and I can start my winter project.

Over winter I am going to create raised beds across the plot. 

 While I have actually discovered that yes, clay soil is a bit of a pain because it's quite hard work, but to be honest, everything I've planted so far, flower or vegetable doesn't seem to care! Clay soils retain much more nutrients. Unlike sandy soils where when it rains everything is washed away, the clay soils helps retain that, and retains the water so things don't have to be watered as frequently over the summer. I have realised that despite it being a relatively heavy clay soil on my plot, it fortunately seems to drain really well. However, I think raised beds will help manage things. I have learned already that I don't need to plant a million of one thing! After all, there's just me and my husband (and our bunny) so I'm thinking smaller beds but a fair few- then I will be able to grow a range of things and a sensible amount!

However- for now, I am working on taking advantage of the sunshine and the warmer weather. 

 My shed is getting there! There's now some cute little flowering plants in the pot on the front of the door. I am going to add a few paving slaps in front, then I'm going to plant some things around it and add further plants up the left side.

I am also going to sort the inside out. Here is my little shelving unit at the moment. We currently have cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers, aubergines and there are some leeks waiting to be planted out which I've grown from seed. 

 I am going to paint the inside of the shed as well (in cream- why not?!) not only will it make it even nicer but it will also help protect the wood. 

 I'm also going to add a few shelves and hooks to spread things about. 

Always scowering for useful free things, my husband came across these windows in our back alley. They're lovely old windows, perfect for making cold frames from! Another project for the winter!