With a May bank holiday weekend coming up, and everything settling back to normal life after the arrival of sproglet two, I’m hoping to spend quite a bit of time out in the garden.
Everything, but everything, needs attention. The weeds are rampant. There are veg seedlings in the greenhouse outgrowing their tiny planting modules and getting far too leggy, because I still need to prepare their outdoor beds. Two flower beds are completely empty of plants. (Well, intentional plants, anyway, like everywhere else they are stuffed with weeds.) The plum tree needs a prune. The apple tree needs thinning. There are empty pots waiting to be filled and seedlings waiting to be potted on.
Basically, everything that didn’t happen when I was heavily pregnant needs some serious attention right now.
But still, in amongst the chaos, there are a few bits and pieces of loveliness to be found. Like this little plant, which I am unable to identify, but find very beautiful.
The plum and apple trees seem to be putting out a bumper crop. Since studyin’ deep at hortikulcher last year, I now know I need to thin them to get some decent healthy big ones (and prevent next year being a year of famine…)
The biggest success story out there right now, is this campanula (or, at least, I think that’s what it is), which is thriving in pots as well as most of the flower beds.
Out in the front garden is bee heaven, thanks to the Verbena bonariensis…
… and the phlomis
Pootling around looking at the plants and flowers is more interesting to me than the rest of the family.
But luckily there are other diversions at hand too.
A favourite pastime for the sproglet is finding some snails, pouring water onto them so they think it’s raining (taught to him by Daddy) and then waiting for them to come out of their shells.
And if the excitement of the snails pall at all, then we all head off to look for spiders.
Joining in with Mammasaurus and How does your garden grow?
Wolves in London 
So nice that some of your garden brings you happiness. I have found myself so sad for being unable to do anything out there after having a baby. I am disconnected. And the aweful Spring weather murdered so many plants. I wish you an abundance of childcare to be able to go out and make your garden happen.
Love,
Shalagh
Yes, it’s hard juggling children and gardening isn’t it? Luckily, the toddler loves being out there, and he is (more or less!) past the stage of trying to destroy everything out there (or himself)… And the baby is still small enough to go into a sling, which does make bending over a little more tricky, but I’ve managed to do a bit of weeding that way!
The sling is a tricky wonderful thing when it allows you to do what you need to fill your soul. A the breastfeeding while writing too. Happy for you.
That white flower is beautiful and I love the snail and sproglet story!
I love the photo’s of your garden. I must confess that mine is over weeded at the moment also. Hopefully I’ll be able to tackle it during the may bank holiday. My son loves to find snails in our garden also and I am going to try the water trick the next time we see one, so thanks for the advice. xD
The water trick never fails! The sprog loves sitting there waiting for their heads to appear…
Those purple flowers are campanula, there’s lots of it growing around where I live. I planted some in our garden but they aren’t flowering just yet. I use to love snails as a kid!
What beautiful pictures! We do secretly like snails but war has been declared as they have eaten so many of the vegetables.
We collect the snails in a flower pot and take them to the park! I feel a little bit of a loser even confessing to that, but I do love the snails, but not the damage they inflict on my plants. Slugs, on the other hand, tend to get a boozy death in a beer trap.
Oh my a baby, a baby! Congratulations – and very inconsiderate of the garden to have a simlutaneous growth spurt *shakes fist outdoors*
Loving those snail photos, we’ve not seen any here yet so I’ll have to sit Ozzy down to look at your photos instead!
Thank you so much for making time to join in again, hope you are getting lots of rest x
I love your photos. EVrything looks so soft and cuddly. I ahve never in my life thought that I would describe flowers cuddly at all but they are cuddly looking. Lovely photos. Ok I will stop gushing now =) #HDYGG
Ha! I love the ideas of the flowers being soft and cuddly. I think I must be drawn to that sort of plant!
Your photos are gorgeous … it is great that you are getting out to the garden … some well deserved me time … the snail story is lovely … and thanks for the apple tree tip … I’m off to investigate thinning now … have a great weekend … Bee xx
You too, Bee xxx
PS, here’s a bit more on thinning, from the RHS: fruit thinning
Great to see lots of colour growing in your garden, weeds do have a habit of growing very fast, I remember having to look the other way when I was expecting!! Love the snail close-ups. #hdygg
naughty snails and slugs scoffed most of my bulbs this spring – very upsetting! Would love to know how to manage them better in my mostly container garden… 😦 As to the white flower – could it be some kind of speedwell?
Oooo lovely photos, your plant photography will always be my favourite. I am pretty proud of our garden right now, we have some fruit on the trees and roses out, AND no construction waste, woohoo. We have also finally tried to sew a proper lawn, I think I might need you for some plant consulting though, you have time to figure out what grows well in DC right?