In the garden

Whilst our winters are cold and frosty, the days are generally sunny with lovely blue skies. With a few sunny weekends, I have been able to get out into the garden (one of my favourite places) and plant our winter veggies.  I haven't done much winter veg growing in the past, so this is a bit of an experiment for me, so far everything is going well (if only the cat stops lying on top of the veggies).  My dad is my advisor, so when not sure, I get on the phone and ask.  And thanks to dad, I discovered that snow peas grow very well in winter so I planted lots of them and so far they are doing very well. 

This was taken just before I covered the bed with sugar cane mulch to keep it warm.

I use spinach all through winter, both in soups, pastas and stews but also as a salad veg - I have planted lots of this and can't wait to use it regularly.   I grew spinach last year and it did very well - this time I have tripled the amount!! One can never have too much spinach.

I pick the spinach when it is young and tender. 

I have never grown broad beans before so not sure how this crop will go, but they look very healthy and growing very well - I will just wait and see. I plan to plant another crop a little later in the year. I have also planted garlic as I don't like buying the garlic they sell in the supermarket (it comes from China, where it is sprayed and bleached and who knows what else), parsley (another popular food in our house which I like to grow organically), several Asian vegetables include Bok Choy, spring onions (that don't appear to be doing very much) and beetroot (which I discovered grows in winter!). 

Last weekend our hardware store was selling raspberry and red current plants - I've never grown them before - first time for everything. I bought 4 raspberry canes (just sticks at the moment) and 2 red current bushes. The red currents are in pots and the raspberries are planted in the ground with plenty of room to expand - as according to my dad, they will need plenty of space.  I am quite excited to see how they go.  I can't wait to have fresh raspberries (but the wait will be sometime as the first real crop is over 12 months away!!). 

Besides edible plants, I have also planted 22 jonquils and 6 hyacinths in the garden.  

Something else new this year - I'm trying for the first time to grow hyacinths indoors in these special vases - I have 2 growing and so far, so good. I will report back in a few weeks and let you know how they are doing. Has any of my readers growing hyacinths indoors? 

Being a fan of indoor plants - I bought one of these  yesterday - I'm told they are very fussy and die easily, so I will see how I fair!! According to my dad (his plant died) I need to place the pot into a bowl of water for 10 mins (warmish water) and not to water the top of the pot.  Only water every 5 days. I will let you know how it goes. 

And to finish up - just look at these gorgeous roses - I adore roses but don't have a great deal of success growing them.  Each week I buy a bunch of flowers for the house - an easy way to brighten up a room - last week it was daises, this week these beautiful roses. I have placed shells in the bottom of the vase to allow the roses to stand - and they also look nice to. 

May you all have a blessed week.  I do hope those of you who have had colds and other illness are making a full recovery.