A beautiful Indian Summer

Right now the UK is in the grips of a beautiful Indian Summer. At least that is what the news is calling it. I prefer to think of it as our summer weather just being REALLY late. Aside from having a few last BBQs and spending time outside we spent this weekend getting the garden sorted out for when the weather does decide to take a turn for the worse. We've harvested the carrots, made some new flower beds, planted the blackberry vine we've been training and lots of other little odd jobs.

The best part of this sunny lovely warm weather is that our tomato plants are still really going for it. Just holding out that we have a few more weeks before the first frost! Here are some pictures of how the garden is not that it's settled in.

The carrot harvest (1.799kgs!!) 

The new flower bed

Two new fall bushes and the blackberry vine

Two big fall roses!

Looking back up towards the house!

The garden update (late summer)

I know this makes a lot of posts all going up in one day, but I'm feeling industrious and there is a lot to show! We've definitely been busy this summer.

The garden has now had plenty of time to settle in and we're pretty pleased to say that almost 99% of everything has survived. The only casualties so far are a daisy bush that didn't like the severe pruning I gave it while follow instructions and the geraniums. I'm not sure if it's slugs or what, but one day they were lovely and green with lots of flowers and the next day...bare stalks. Anyone have any insight? I've not seen lots of snails/slugs around, but that doesn't mean they don't go for it while I'm not around.

The biggest successes are definitely the roses and the tomoatoes. They are going for it! We're also trying to see if we can get the wild blackberry vine to root so we can train it along the fence and enjoy lots of lovely berries next summer.

Here is our more mature garden. Now I've just got to start figuring out what to do as the weather turns colder. Once again tips and hints gladly received just comment below.

Some baby strawberries. We didn't get many, but they were very tasty!

 The cherry tree in all its glory (unfortunately not edible cherries)

 The vegetable patch going strong

 A nice shot of the bed plants

 Plus a couple of shots of the tomatoes. 

The garden update part 1 (Early Summer)

The garden has obviously been the big focus of the summer here. In fact we made the decision to put up with not having a fully functioning bathroom for four extra months so we could get it finished. The last post saw the veg patch only going in and a bunch of dirt in the middle.

The turf is now in and thriving, as are the vegetables. We have made a strategic decision and replanted to tomatoes closer to the house so they get more sun. It appears to be the right decision because they are growing like weeds and have tons of little yellow flowers, which will eventually turn into yummy little tomoatoes. Can't wait!

Plus we've gone further with putting in some nice plants that aren't edible because after all what's a garden without a bit of color? We've put in roses, clemantis, hydrangeas, lavender and lots of other plans. Here are some pics.

 This is proof why you should never listen to the people who say "Wait five weeks before cutting your turn for the first time". Totally out of control!!!

The Garden

Well I can only apologise again for another huge gap in the blog posting. That doesn't mean that we haven't been doing anything, just that my camera has broken so I don't have any lovely photos to upload and show off!

So that was before I got an iPad for my birthday from my Wonderful husband. This means that I can now take photos again with the iPad,but just have to work out how to upload them without having to email em to myself first. Hmmm...suggestions gratefully accepted.

Anyways the big exciting news is that complete death trap that is our backyard is now more like a garden. By more like a garden I mean that there are no longer random pits and the whole thing isn't covered in gravel anymore. We had them lay a new patio and a new hard standing in the back for when we get a new shed. We also had them sieve and level the rest of the garden.

So just a reminder of what it looked like when we moved in.

Here's what it looks like now:

The patch in the back has got vegetables and herbs. We'll see if anything grows. Trying out tomatoes, carrots, parsnips and strawberries. We also bought an apple tree and are getting a cherry tree as well. Not bad for a small city garden I would say. The turf comes middle of this week so will put more pictures on soon!!