Day 139 - I am being stalked.

Sunday 19th May

Lots of flowers on my strawberry plants means lots of strawberries.

Not such a lazy Sunday today as I see we have a dry week ahead and that has to mean 'painting house' week.  It is not often we get a whole week dry and our house is a 5 bedroom farmhouse and takes some painting.  So, today has been about the final prep at least as far as I can reach.  Pete can tackle the ladder later! 

Thankfully, I am up to date in the polytunnel having potted on my mints this morning that have grown lovely strong roots while in water.  Cuttings are never easy and many fail despite what they show you on gardening programmes so we shall have to wait and see.  All I really need to do is plant my strawberries, tomatoes and courgettes into their grow bags this week and the tunnel should run itself apart from the evening watering. 

Neighbour's cat stalking me!

As soon as the painting is done we can get back on with planting out into new beds.  My cosmos and dwarf sunflowers all need to get into the open ground as does my next lot of snapdragons.  Everything will push on with the sunshine that is due so next weekend it could all look very different.

I am not a fan of painting but it will get done between Chelsea Flower Show programmes at lunchtime and in the evening.  My favourite bit of the show is the small gardens as they are closer to what we all do with our gardens.  The large gardens are beyond most of us and costs thousands to put on.  Home school will have to fit round all of it as well so I am thinking a busy week ahead. 

I have retreated to my bedroom to write a couple of pieces that have been promised and then to work on One soul, many hearts.  I am quietly working away at the structure and the different pages.  I have a small but perfectly formed team emerging but there is room for more people if you fancy it.  I am especially looking for short articles with photos from small corners of the world that you might have visited.  I want to avoid the more commercial destinations and focus on places where people have been truly touched by the place.  If you have been anywhere that has moved you in some way and would like to share it do get in touch.  I am also looking for young people who have positive stories to tell.  It may involve them but it doesn't have to.  I want to ensure that young voices have a platform on this site so any art work, photographs or short films would also be of interest. 

For those of you Chelsea bonkers like me don't forget the preview show at 5pm today. One of the areas on my new site will be dedicated to soulful gardening as I share ways to connect with your outside spaces and the Earth more generally.  I am hoping to be moved by at least one Chelsea garden this year and then to try and extract the essence to be used on Hazelbank.  We shall see...

There is still time to enter my little quiz for my 10,000 page views - see Fridays post. 

Until tomorrow. xx