On balance...........

I believe there are more good, decent people in the world than bad; maybe it's just because I've had a good day, but I believe this to be ture.

What say you?

Bardsey apple

Great excitement here - my little Bardsey apple has two flower buds on!!! :)

See here for more info on Bardsey apple:

http://www.bardsey.org/english/subs/apples.htm

Making compost

If you leave living/dead plant material in a heap for long enough, it will rot down and become compost, returning to feed the earth. No science, no artfulness, no alchemy, no mystery really, all the work is done for you. The only rule I follow is to give it a good mix occasionally, ensuring there are no big piles of any one material in one place - mix it through to distribute it evenly, keep it open to the elements, and there you go.

What's in the picture is two years old, and has just been emptied out of the bins we are replacing. They were falling apart, having been in place for about 9 years now, so no complaints there. Once the site is cleared, I'll build a new one asap and off we go again!Everything goes on to mine - teabags, coffee grounds, wine making left overs, eggshells, old dishcloths, cotton clothing, wool and odd bits of otherwise useless fleece, paper, cardboard, grass, orange peel, spent hops, the lot. I don;t put naything cooked on, though, anbd try to avoid perennial weeds, although the heaps can get hot enough in the centre to destoy them, but I try to avoid where I can.

The picture shows it spread on one of the veg beds, now ready for planting.

Off to pick dandelions for wine in the glorious sunshine now :) Hope everyone's weather is as nice.

Tree audit

I've just taken half an hour in the early morning April sunshine to do a tree audit. I did one a couple of years back, I think, but we've added a few since then.
Here's the result:

Davidia involucrata, snake bark maple, contorted willow x2,lilac,catalpa,tulip tree,miniature ornamental cherry, pawlonia, field maple, conifer,Judas tree, maple, blackthorn x 2, bullace, crab apple x 3, quince, pear, cherry, greengage, damson,elder, eating apples x 3, plum x 3, sorbus x 2 mulberry x 1, medlar, hazels x 8, black elder, white elder, sugar maple, cider apple x 3 perry pear, holly, birch, bay silver birch x 5, willow, oak x 2 white horsechestnut, red horsechestnut, evergreen oak, ash x 6, hawthorn.

These were here before us:

elder x 6, lilac x 3, hazel x1, hawthorn x 1

To save you the bother (lol), that's 71 trees planted by us (mostly me), and 11 already here, totalling 82 in all. That's a lot of trees. All I'm hankering after now is a cooking apple tree and a walnut, but am really of a mind there won;t be room!

The best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago; the next best time is today (old Chinese saying)

Earth Day, 2009

Today is Earth Day - what are you going to do for the planet today? Leave a comment and let us know, it's always inspiring and thought-provoking to read others' thoughts and actions.

Thanks.

Round and round the garden...........

A few pictures of the back garden so far this year; lots to be getting on with, but it's coming together nicely so far.

Queen of Night

No caption necessary, I think. :)

Sloe gin and beeswax

Sometimes, it takes ages to getting around to actually buying or acquiring a book, and this is one of them, for me! I've had this one out of the library before, but never got around to getting a copy for myself, but I have now, at a good price on Amazon. It's a lovely book, thoroughly recommended, all sorts of interesting things and recipes, bits of information, inspiring pictures. Divided into seasons, with appropriate recipes, etc for each one.
Ones that caught my eye - rosehip marmalade, centerbe liqueur,almond and honey hand salve, sponge fingers (langues du chat), bird cakes - so many things to try, it's a wonderful book. by Jane Newdick, ISBN is 1-85238-333-x