I've been neglecting an old friend ...

My garden.

We've been busy working on our allotment and I am sad to say that my poor little garden has been a bit neglected.

I was out there this evening planting some more seeds (courgette and purple sprouting broccoli) in the greenhouse. I wish we had smell-o-vision on the computer as the aroma was amazing! The air was thick with the scent of lilac. It was so so beautiful.  Mmmmmmm

Here are a few pics 

Lilac and cherry blossom

Apple blossom

I have officially given up growing tomatoes ...

About five years or so ago I first tried growing my own veg ... I didn't have a garden at the time, just a very small patio area. I had one large plant pot, a tomato plant, a courgette plant, a pepper plant, an aubergine and some basil. All in the one pot. My mum had seen an article in The Times called the "one pot garden" or something like that ... and I gave it a try. I had a whole summer of beautiful ripe tomatoes and other veg ....

In 2007 me and Mr Plum bought our flat with a garden! Yes ... A GARDEN! In 2008 Mr Plum bought me a greenhouse for my birthday ... and the growing began!

But .... I have not had a very successful time with my tomatoes .... here is most of this year's crop ... I still have a few more to pick.

If you look closely you will see three ripe tomatoes ...woopie!

Green tomato chutney, again, anyone?

No ... I couldn't face it again, either! I still have a fridge full of jars from last year! So I have chopped them up and stuck them in the freezer. I don't think that I will bother growing tomatoes next year!

In the garden

Poor Mr Plum ... I think that even though everyone has said that it is highly unlikely that our baby would arrive today ... he was secretly hoping that I would wake up this morning and be in labour! Which ... I wasn't!

We have spent a few hours in the garden ... I haven't been able to do a huge amount as it is too much effort to kneel down (and even more effort to attempt to get up again!).

Here's the veggie patch ... the courgettes have been brilliant this year and are still going strong! I have a few green tomatoes - but I don't think they ever recovered from their neglect earlier this summer .... the squash are flowering so am hopeful that I will get some veg off them this year too!

My strawberry plants which I ordered from The Guardian arrived yesterday. They are late strawberries - so, you never know, we may get some fruit this year .... Mr Plum very kindly dug over this bit of soil and planted them for me.

Three cucumbers growing in the greenhouse ....

More tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse!

Blackberries at the back of our neighbours half of the garden (which they never use). Mr Plum is currently out there hacking away at brambles at picking fruit! Hopefully we will get enough to make some lovely jam!

Late potatoes in pots which will hopefully be ready for Christmas ...

Lavender picked for sachets ...

Cup of tea and a piece of cake for me ...

What have you been up to today?

Mr Plum makes a discovery in the garden ...

This is our third summer at Plum Cottage ... and we often moan about the large tree in our garden whose roots have destroyed our lawn, and we think that this tree will eventually be responsible for the entire building crashing down around our ears!

Something is different about this tree this year ... something which has made Mr Plum question whether it is an ornamental cherry tree ... or an edible variety ...

We had noticed that there was a lot of very ripe fruit falling onto our garden table, into our food and onto our cat. Mr Plum was CONVINCED that the cherries were edible...I preferred to err on the side of caution.

This afternoon, brave Mr Plum tried one of the cherries ... and declared that he believed it was edible, and went straight onto t'internet to do some more research - as Mr Plum does ...

He is now busy in the garden picking away ... it would seem that our cherry tree is indeed an edible variety!!

Maybe all we needed was a perfect summer to ripen the fruit?

I think that I may wait until tomorrow to see if there are any side effects, before trying some myself!

Here's a quick veggie patch update picture ... I can't believe how much has grown in the last week!

May Day Greetings!

Good afternoon this bright and sunny May Day!! I hope that you are enjoying whatever you are up to today!

We have spent the morning having a bit of a sort out (which means Mr Plum emptying every drawer and cupboard ... spreading it over the floor and then vacating the room ... hmmm) trying to make space for "baby stuff".

I have just spent a glorious hour in my greenhouse rescuing seeds which fried earlier in the week and getting more seeds into propagators. I'm a bit behind with this, but I'm hoping that as Spring took a while to show her face, it shouldn't matter too much! I've got more seeds to get in over the weekend - I'll do a garden update at some point! I've also got my beady eye on some beautiful bluebells which are growing in one of the sadly neglected gardens next to mine ... I'm tempted to go and dig some up and put them into my garden -

is that wrong?

Later on, me and Mr Plum are heading into town for a friends 30th birthday celebration at Tiger Tiger on Haymarket (yes, the bar "they" tried to bomb...). I'm not particularly looking forward to a busy bar, as I hate places like that at the best of times ... but as it is my friends birthday, I will just have to grin and bear it!!

Earlier this week, me and Mr Plum joined some friends in Carshalton for a trip to their local theatre to see a production by a local am dram society. It was "City Of Angels" and was brilliant!!

Thank you to all those lovely people who have entered my giveaway!! I will pull a name out of the biscuit tin and let you know who has one later on!!

The Edible Gardener

Did you watch Alys Fowler's new programme on BBC2 tonight? It was called "The Edible Gardener" and I'm sure you will be able to catch it on i-player if you missed it. The programme accompanies Alys' new book: 'The Edible Gardener - How To Have Your Garden And Eat It'.

It was inspirational - I really must get out into the garden and sow some veg! The Peatini's looked fab! I must remember those when Baby Plum has arrived!!

I'm back!

Hello!

I haven't been anywhere ... just too lethargic to think about blogging, or to do anything worth blogging about! I have just felt sooooooo tired the last few months and haven't done an awful lot except sleep (staying in bed until the afternoon at weekends - and for those who know me, will know how unusual this is!) or sit in front of the tv (watching Glee, Desperate Housewives and the Vampire Diaries ... and far too many soaps ... I even cried when Bradley died in Eastenders ... GET A GRIP MRS PLUM!!)

Don't worry - I have been keeping up with all your wonderful and interesting blogs ... and leaving the odd comment here and there ... and I am glad to say that for the first time in a long while - I feel like me again .... Victoria Plum has returned!!

So, with the return of the sunshine this lovely March weekend, me and Mr Plum have been getting up bright and early ... have taken delivery of a tumble drier (not particularly environmentally friendly, I know ... but I now have three weeks of dirty washing cleaned and dry ... and our little flat doesn't smell of a dirty laundry for once!

We headed out to have another look at prams ... we have narrowed it down to two favourites and will make our final decision when we head to the Baby Show in May.

Last night I even baked!!! I have not done a bit of baking since before Christmas and the constant nausea started ... I have a batch of cupcakes in the kitchen ready to ice ... more of that later!

We let the kitties out into the garden for the first time yesterday ... Pansy was the braver of the two and has been out and exploring ... poor little Twister - he has found the whole experience extremely traumatic and I'm not really sure what to do about it. He is very nervous and clinging to me all the time ... hopefully he will get a bit braver.

The picture at the top of the post is of my lovely tidy greenhouse! I haven't put any seeds in yet - and will leave that until next weekend. I spent this morning tidying what I should have tidied last October ... but never got around to it ... and then it got too cold/wet/snowy ... and I had no desire to be out there!

So here I am ... on a lovely sunny Sunday, enjoying catching up with things which have been ignored for so long!

Rightyho ... I'm off to put the kettle on and get my seed potatoes ready to chit!

Hampton Court Flower Show and the Further Summer Adventures of Victoria Plum - Part One

I went to my first RHS Flower Show last Friday!!! It was great ... I was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, but it was worth it to see all the lovely gardens and we did manage to escape the hoards by heading to the champagne bar! I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a Country Living tent! With a Joules stall (yes, this is truly an obsession!).

I spent my pennies on seeds from Rebekah's Vegetable Seeds (peas - Feltham First, turnip - Manchester Market, tomato - Roma, squash - Waltham Butternut, onion - White Lisbon, Chinese Chives) and Growing Old who specialise in Heritage and Heirloom seeds (tomato - Yellow Grape, pepper - Long Red Marconi, basil - petra red for my Dad as he loves purple basil, sweet pea - Everlasting and Grandiflora Mixed Collection and some mixed lettuce). I also got a lovely flower for the garden ... but I can't remember what it is called!

What a lovely day ... and the rain held off! What a lovely start to my slightly longer than usual weekend!

On Saturday we popped to Wimbledon village to have a look at the Joules sale (!) I got a lovely dress and skirt - both were half price!

I also ended up in the Cath Kidston sale .... and got a new mac ... so ended up spending a bit more than planned, but I have sold some old stuff on ebay this week - so that has made me feel slightly better (such a once for impulse purchases when egged on by Mr Plum! No more shopping for Victoria Plum this summer :)

After a lovely breakfast in the local Giraffe we headed off to B&Q to pick up a few house bits and of course ended up in Ikea ....

Saturday night was spent watching Prisoner of Azkhaban and Goblet of Fire whilst knitting something for the Sleepover Swap I am doing. I can't wait to see Half Blood Prince!!!!!

Sunday was much lazier ... housework and gardening before heading into town to join my brother for drinks to celebrate the 10th anniversary of him moving down to London to start his job at Claridges! He doesn't work there anymore, but had some drinks there - which was very luxurious and completely excessive - but a rather nice treat for a Sunday evening!

All in all, a lovely weekend! The good news is that I have booked this Friday and the following Monday off work - woohoo! We were going to go camping, but have decided that as the weather is a tad unpredictable, we will stay at home and do a few bits at home. I hope that you are all having lovely weeks!

I'm nearing my first blogging birthday - time for another giveaway methinks! Keep reading!

What's occurring in Victoria Plum's Garden?

Lots of lovely things growing in the garden!! Have a look at a previous post here to see how things have come along in the last month!

Mmmmmm .... purple spouting broccoli ....

Peppers and aubergines in the greenhouse (it was 35 degrees Celsius in there this morning - phew!)

Pretty aubergine flowers ....

Broad beans!!!

Tomatoes!!!

Potato barrels!

The plot .... from left to right ... broccoli, red onions, carrots, fennel, leeks, courgettes and squash with broad beans and peas at the back.

Today's harvest! Ha Ha Ha ... two pods of broad beans, eaten raw with our bbq this evening - delicious!!

Courgette is looking a bit sad, but have plenty more healthier ones on the plant!! It's not a lot - but it's homegrown and that's all that matters!

Summer Days

The UK has been blessed with glorious summer weather (well, up until the torrential thunder storm of 0630 this morning!) ... so Mr Plum and I have been spending lots of time out in the garden, but also out and about enjoying touristy stuff in London.

We have been taking advantage of National Rail's Two for One offer on major tourist attractions (if you travel by train)....which makes a day out in London a bit more affordable!

So far we have been to Kew Gardens and London Zoo - both of which were fab days out and places that I had wanted to visit since moving down to London almost 10 years ago, but always felt that two adult tickets would make it quite a pricey day out.

We have spent this weekend at home doing housework and jobs in the garden.  The vegetable patch is looking GREAT! I have my first head of purple sprouting brocolli, lots of flowers on my tomatoes, flower buds on my potatoes, and my first little courgette appearing! Hurray!!!  Such a shame that I have the back to work Sunday blues ....

Busy in the Garden

I have spent this lovely bank holiday Monday pottering in the garden and tending to my veg ... my parents-in-law were visiting over the weekend and drove us to a nearby garden centre to get various plants (we don't have a car so are somewhat limited in how much we can carry back from our nearest B&Q!) ... here we go, a little update on what I've got growing in the garden this year .... I'm not sure my father-in-law was ready for me to load the car up with 4 bags of compost, a grow bag, some orchid compost and pretty flowers to attract bees!  Oh well, they did offer to take us out!

From left to right we have got ... fennel, sunflowers, squash, cucumber and some lettuce on the top shelf ... 

and on the bottom we've got some peas, peppers, a tub of rocket and a propagator with some pansy seeds in.

Here we have various tomatoes (due to the gales I am not sure what variety is which ...), aubergines, marigolds and propagators with violas, lupins and stocks ... on the bottom shelf there is a grow bag with 4 strawberry plants in ....

Three potato barrels! 

And finally, the "plot" ... from the left we've got purple sprouting broccoli, red onions, leeks, broad beans, courgettes and some parsnip and beetroot seeds .... when the peas are a little bigger I will transplant them outside.

What have you been up to this bank holiday?

Springtime in London

It's been a while since I last posted ... sorry! 

A big sorry to Sue, the winner of my 100th post giveaway - your prize will be in the post very soon ... and a huge sorry to Tracy .... your heart swap goodies will be on their way to you in the next week, or so!  Hope that's alright - I'm usually much more organised than this, but it has been a rather hectic month or so....

Well, anyway - I'm back and in the garden so will be blogging more regularly (and hope the lovely readers who were leaving me such lovely comments are still reading!).  

Here's a few pictures to bring you up to speed with what's been occurring at Plum House ....

Pretty flowers in the garden ....

Gorgeous blue forget-me-nots

Window boxes ... the herb one is looking a bit sad for itself - hopefully a bit of sunshine will perk it up a bit!

Pink hyrdranga! I love these, my Nana had one in her garden and I always thought it was the most amazing flower - such wonderful colours! I just need to get some of the proper compost for it!

Tomatoes ...

Peppers, aubergine, leeks ...

Marigolds (to put near my tomatoes and keep pests away!) ...

I'm now off to the kitchen to knock up some rock cakes for afternoon tea! Yum!! When we woke up this morning we thought about heading to B&Q and getting paint to decorate the bedroom, but instead have spent the day pottering around listening to Radio 2 ... suddenly it is 3.30pm and having spent an hour or so in the greenhouse attempting to transplant flower seedlings into hanging baskets  ... I can no longer be bothered!

Mr Plum's Nanna sadly passed away at the beginning of March ... here's her wedding picture - doesn't she look glam? She will be sorely missed by all ....

Spring has Sprung!

Wasn't yesterday beautiful? The beginning of spring .... finally, after months of grey skies ....

We went for a lovely walk - well, caught the train to Balham and walked to Tooting to investigate a possible furniture purchase and then walked back along Tooting Common - in glorious sunshine! 

Today we have been slaving away in the garden! It's been hard work, but worth it!  We have cleared all the leaves and rubbish which had accumulated over the winter months ... oh, and picked up the fag ends from the people upstairs (don't get me started on that one!) - Mr Plum unblocked the drain (again, the people upstairs ...) and turned over the soil underneath our tree.  I have put some grass seed down and will be putting some wild flower seeds down, too!

I had a pleasant afternoon with my old friend ... the greenhouse! Oh - poor little greenhouse, you have been neglected over the winter ... not any more! 

I re-potted my sweet peas, and have sown more flowers for bedding and hanging baskets ... and of course ..... my vegetables! Tomatoes, cucumbers, (more) broad beans, aubergine and peppers are all in seed trays in the greenhouse -so exciting!!!

So, after a nice long bath I thought I would take a moment to blog - which I haven't done for a while!  I hope you haven't missed me too much! 

Victoria Plum - wannabe Market Gardener is back!!

Potatoes!!

My seed potatoes arrived today!!

I have three sets of five tubers which need to be kept in a dark, dry place until March/April when it will be warm enough to get my three potato barrels on the go!

I have been sent three different varieties (early, middle and late cropping) ... I can't wait to get started on these!

Seeds!

In anticipation of the Spring (!) I have just ordered my seeds for next year - how exciting!  I have spent ages looking through Alan Titchmarsh's "The Kitchen Gardener" (a birthday present from Mr Plum) and "The Greenhouse Expert" and have chosen the following to be planted next year:

February/March: 

Aubergine

Courgette

Leeks

Onions

Peppers

Potatoes

Tomatoes (4 different varieties!)

April:

Cucumber

Fennel

Petty Pan Squash

Lovely Lavender!

This morning I finally got around to picking the remaining flowers on my lavender plant.  I have managed to get a good sized bunch, which is now hanging in my kitchen to dry, before I make scented sachets for my drawers!