Daring do

Having rattled on about the high winds and the trouble with low pressure in the past week you would think me mad. I’ve created a central axis of poles above the flower barrel in the potager.

Will it blow over in a trice? Possibly. But it was fun to construct.

I found the longest of the chestnut poles which I had cut last year and tied them to the supports of the potager paths.

I had to use a step ladder to get the tops tied together and even managed to get them centred on the lilies and tulips below.

And it was a happy distraction from mulch.

But to the mulch I did return. I have four sacks left and I wanted to put them to good use.   First up was to cover the last bit of the bean quadrant.   Just a few feet, but it means that every part of the vegetable garden is under a healthy layer of mulch.

And to celebrate, I sowed around 100 dwarf french beans.

Two long rows that seemed to go on for ever and ever.   This quadrant is under a net which is vexing to work with but should keep off any deer.

It will teach me not to wear a shirt with buttons when next I go under the net. I swear every button on the shirt seemed to have made close friends with a piece of net.   I was well snagged every time I moved.   But it did mean I could get the sweet peas and sunflowers into the central poles while I was crouching underneath.

Out to get some more mulch (and battle with the net) and then I even lifted the net using small pots as stoppers on the central poles. I’m not sure it will be a long term solution; I tried it a few years ago and found wasps trying to make their nests in the upturned pots.

So I shall keep an eye on it and try and come up with a better solution before the beans and sunflowers reach the height of the net.

Next up was to mulch the area where I’m going to put the swiss chard (blette). I’ve run out of room here, despite it being a massive size, so I’m doubling up.

There are rows of germinating carrots and parsnips here. But they are going to have to share their space with the leafy chards.

I didn’t dare use the hoe to clear the area of small weeds.   Some of the parsnips have wandered away from their arrow straight rows.   So I knelt down and carefully removed any small weeds and inspected the carrot and parsnip seedlings to see if there were any gaps. None. Brilliant. It does pay to take great care when sowing these seeds.

I’ve mulched for now, and will plant out on Thursday. That’s the plan.

For an encore I planted up the other barrel.   And it was getting decidedly late by now.   But I wanted to dig up all the tulips (they can dry off and be replanted in the autumn) and add something new.

There are some lovely lilies in here, so I carefully removed the gravel mulch, dug over, added a sprinkle of bonemeal and put in some plants.   I’ve added six calendula Neon which Andrew sowed for me, plus a dozen little rocket seedlings for fun.   I love the idea of grazing as I walk past.   But it’s a risk as they are small.

And that was my fantastic Sunday outdoors.   Indoors it’s all French election specials and new governments and fun and games.   But I think I’ll avoid the endless punditry and instead head off to bed.