To weed or not to weed?

Found this lurking in an old pot which was full of weeds (although quite pretty lilac weeds!) and was just about to pull it out when it struck me that it seemed a bit more substantial than a normal weed.
This was the best I could come up with as far as close-up photos, but I need a bit of an expert eye as to what it is. Posting this in the hope that my Dad will be able to deduce what it might be.

Any ideas? Rare variety of something which'll make me rich and famous? Probably just a weed. :)

Berries and bees

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that I think I may have bees in my birdhouse! It's been there since September last year and as yet hadn't seen any birds anywhere near it. While out there yesterday however I did see a bee (or two bees!) go into the house twice. Not sure what type of bee they are though. Definitely not the bumble bee, more like the thinner bees. Think some research is needed.

Also planted two berry trees (though they're more like twigs at present); one blackcurrant and one gooseberry. Hadn't planned to go into growing soft fruits but each plant was just £1 in the Pound Shop so I couldn't resist! Certainly worth a try. Will upload some photos of them soon.

Tidying and treasures

Made the most of the sunshine today (and a child-free Bank Holiday) and got out in the yard for the first time and had a tidy up. My first port of call had to be the little lean-to shed at the end of the yard.

It's full of old bits and bobs from previous tenants, most of which is destined for the bin really. I cleared out the obviously rubbish, saving and old bucket, dustpan, and two large plastic boxes.

I found some treasures too! Look, an old metal coffee advert. I gave it a clean and it looks fab.

Also found some nice yellow flowers on the roof of the lean-to (probably weeds but still pretty).

There's an old bookcase/cupboard in the lean-to which I'm yet to tackle. Had reached my bravery limit in terms of spiders and potential animals living in there, so will save it for a time when I'm braver. I'll be keeping the cupboard as it'll be useful for storage. There's also a mysterious boxfile underneath it which might hold something intriguing. Tune in for the next exciting instalment!

As you can see there's a drastic improvement after a bit of sweeping! I will get rid of the junk from the cupboard, honest.









After a bit of weeding and general tidying things are beginning to look quite pretty. Definitely more inviting. Now all we need are a few more sunny days and I can continue.

Spuds and sheds.

Just found this link for growing potatoes in a small space. http://lifehacker.com/5202849/grow-100-lbs-of-potatoes-in-4-square-feet

Not sure I'd attempt potatoes but if I can get the container it would be tempting to try.

Am hoping the sun comes out tomorrow as I'm desperate to get out there as it's my first opportunity since deciding to do this. First thing will be a trip into town to get (if nothing else) compost. Am planning on composing at some point but need to research wormeries etc first to decide what's best.

Am delighted to be inheriting a lean-to shed from my parents, which will be surplus to their requirements, so that will be my outdoor store for gardening things. Can't wait!

Will update with more photos tomorrow once I've been out there. Am off to cut loo rolls in half now. :)

Of course!!

Loo rolls as little pots!! Brilliant!

Grow seeds in cut up loo rolls then just plant straight out as cardboard will disintergrate!

Genius!

(Think I might cut mine in half though... guess it depends what I'm growing...!)

Pots and innovation

Right, so I've had a quick chat with my Dad who is my guru regarding most things of a practical nature, particularly of a gardening nature, and he thinks my plan is more than possible. He's suggesting I use decking planks, or similar, to fashion a raised bed at the house end of the yard. I suggested 100cm x 100cm but I think Dad's suggestion of 200cm x 100cm might be better.

I'm thinking that I am going to go down the reduce, reuse, recycle (reclaim?) route as to the materials for this. I'm sure there will be some things which could be used as raised beds rather than creating something (or dare I say buying something) new! Ooh, imagination running wild. I wonder how potatoes would grow in an old bath tub, or carrots in an old tea chest? Could be fun finding things. I'm thinking I need to investigate the possibilities of Freecycle in my area to see if anything is going spare. I might also visit the dump and see if anything is crying out to be planted up!

I have a feeling I may be jumping the gun a little in terms of this project, though it wouldn't hurt to have that in mind in case I see anything in the meantime.

Drawing on my limited knowledge of agriculture, if I'm planning on growing vegetables from seed I'll need some sort of propagation system. I'd then plan the more mature seedlings out. I think I know what's needed for this though the challenge would be to find it on the cheap, or put an existing item to an alternative use. Innovation.

I can imagine a basic frame with maybe 3 or 4 shelves on it, which can then be covered by clear polythene to act as a mini greenhouse. Old buggy raincover would do it. I can see the challenge may also be to make these reclaimed/reused item aesthetically pleasing too!

So that's another thing to look out for:

• greenhouse frame
• greenhouse cover (unless buggy cover is usable)
• raised beds/alternatives
• seeds (obviously)
• and POTS!! Lots of them, seedling trays initially. Might be a Pound Shop visit at some point then. :)

Potential

This is the extent of the 'garden-ness' off my back yard. Nice isn't it?!

The lean-to is just to the right. Am too embarrassed to include a photo of that as it's full of rubbish and quite obviously has a leak as there's a plastic box full of rainwater in it so will show that when it's transformed! Or at least when it's tidy.

Am thinking "potential" is the word which springs to mind....... amongst others..... :)

Finally finding something worth blogging about

Have decided what to use this for. I live in a small, rented, terrace house, 2-up 2 down, which only has a small back yard. The outside area literally consists of a concrete floor and lean-t0 shed by the back gate. It's tiny. My Dad is a Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winner and I've grown up with things growing up around me. I currently have an array of pots (donated by my Dad!) containing various things, herbs, a rose tree, bedding plants, a bay tree etc, but I'm wanting more!

The sun's come out consistently now for at least 3 days in a row so spring must have sprung, finally!

It's got me thinking that this "something meaningless" should be something meaningful one day, so I've decided to see if I can turn this rented backyard into a YARDEN!

I want to grow my own veggies, try my hand at composting, and basically see what is possible when you only have a small area to play with. I also want to see what's possible when I ultimately have to remove anything I do out there when I move out.

I like a challenge.

This is going to be credit crunch eco-friendly gardening. Can't wait!!