My dad was trimming the twisted willow for me as it grows at a ridiculous rate of about a foot a week in weather like this! I was directing him, but The Boy decided to take over and was doing a much better job of it!
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Tags: 366, gardening, Learning Through Play, The Boy
Saturday morning beckoned, bright and sunny. It was a refreshing change to the grey drudgery of the past week and so, after a slow start to the day, we headed down to Cardiff Bay Barrage to get some fresh air and blow the argumentative cobwebs away.
The Boy is becoming so confident on his scooter, it's fabulous to see. I just need to get daddy to have more confidence; he rushes over everytime he stumbles or crashes, whereas I'm the one who is standing back and saying "stand up then, brush your hands down!" to The Boy. It's hard work, but maybe it's the teacher in me, he'll cry if he's hurt himself and he's got a helmet on to protect his head. It's working too, so those parents who smirk at it can bugger off!
While on the barrage I managed to take these two photos, which I'm quite proud of. There's a lot of interesting angles and lines down there: the whole barrage is a real work of art. In the right hand picture, the 1950s style hut is actually a bright pink, but it didn't come out properly so I desaturated it.
And so to Sunday: I declare the 2012 season of sandcastle building well and truly open!
We built sandcastles, we went paddling in the sea (in our wellies), we played football, we ate sausage and chips on the beach (I had cheese and chips), we scooted along Barry Island promenade and we had a Mr. Creemy ice-cream. It was a balmy 15°C; madness for a Sunday in February!
When we came home, we decided to get a head start on planting some seeds we'd been sent.
I have a feeling that The Boy is going to love gardening this year.
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I'm linking this up to Country Kids
Tags: beach, Cardiff Bay Barrage, gardening, sandcastles, scooter, Spring, weekend activity
Last week, the doorbell went and, as usual, The Boy rushed to the porch door.
"Postman!" he shouted, and turned away. I went and rescued the dejected looking postman and the large box that he was carrying, which ironically was addressed to The Boy. When he realised this, he squealed with delight and was eager to open it up.
This lovely gardening kit was sent to him from innocent so that he could plant his own seeds and take part in the exciting promotional project that is going to be featuring for the next few weeks. Throughout March and until the end of April, every box of the innocent kids’ smoothies or fruit tubes will come with its very own pack of easy to grow seeds. There are six different varieties to collect including carrots, tomatoes, cress, basil, violets and sunflowers – all of which will show little ones how a garden grows.
So yesterday afternoon, we did some gardening. First we made some eco-friendly newspaper plant pots, the brain-child of Christine from Climbing Rainbows.
Then we planted our seeds into the newspaper pots, but we saved one set of seeds for a special pot to be kept in a secret place. More on that in a bit!
In total, we planted sunflowers (my favourite flower), violets, basil, tomatoes, carrots and cress. We'll be planting more seeds over the next few weeks; peas, courgettes, leeks, and seed potatoes. Gardening is an important activity to help teach your children about the world around them, how things grow, what is needed to keep plants alive, etc. While planting these seeds, we discussed that they needed water and warmth to start them off, and then once the leaves have appeared that they need sunlight. We counted the scoops of soil we put in, talked about textures and materials. Gardening is such a fun and educational activity, that really provides children with a sense of achievement.
While waiting for our seeds to grow, we'll be visiting the innocent gang's garden and uploading photos of our plants' progress. Join in with the seeds that you get from the innocent smoothies 4-pack boxes and learn some top gardening tips, upload photos andyou could be in with a chance to win cool prizes from innocent's friends at Rocket Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society.
And so to the competition.
But not quite yet. In about a week's time, I will be posting on my blog, a photograph of one of my plant pots but in a secret location. I'll also be posting photos on twitter and instagram of the seeds as they grow, using the hashtag #innocentseeds. The competition will involve guessing where the special pot is, and what is growing in it. Correct entries will be placed in a virtual hat (otherwise known as Rafflecopter) and one of those clever souls will win a innocent smoothies gardening set like I received.
I like trees.
I like to sit underneath them hearing them rustle gentle in the Summer breeze, and see the dappled patterns on the green carpet of grass. In the Autumn, I look out of the kitchen window and watch the wind blowing the curly leaves off my twisted willow while the branches sway gently to and fro. During the snowy Winter period, the willow and silver birch are alive with fieldfare, sparrows and robins, making them resemble a block of flats. The cycle starts again in the Spring when the mallow (so big it's almost a tree in its own right) and its protective branches provide fodder for the blue tits and a safe haven for baby sparrows.
During the seven years that we've owned our house, the three trees that I planted have flourished and their protective arms provide shade in the hot season and a place for nature to rest and feed in. We've one of the few gardens with trees and with a south-facing garden they are essential for the eco-system's growth.
There's a reason why the rainforests are called the lungs of the Earth; their role in maintaining eco-systems, both large and small, is vital to its growth and development. However, did you also know that they can help with the Earth's digestive system?
You've now got an image of a few hundred miles of colon haven't you? I don't think there's enough antacids in the world (ba-boom) for that.
More simplistically the food that we eat contributes to carbon emissions. 30% of all carbon emissions more specifically. That's a hell of a lot and therefore Provamel and Tree Aid have come up with a campaign to help our poor planet. Consider it a giant digestion tablet in the form of five thousand trees.
Admit it, you're wondering where I'm going with this now aren't you? Watch this and see what I'm waffling on about.
This is a sponsored post. My love of all things flora is not.
Tags: Christmas, gardening, Silent Sunday, The Boy
As I've had the heating on today, looking out at the grey sky I wondered if it was only a month or two ago that The Boy was still playing in our gardens in his t-shirts and shorts? Only a matter of weeks since he was digging for worms, listening to the sparrows in the giant, triffid-like mallow, watching the bluetits dart amongst the honeysuckle looking for aphids? And was it only such a short time that I ran screaming up the garden upon discovering a frog in amongst the undergrowth?
Screaming silently so as not to instill a ridiculous fear in my son, I'd like to add.
Yes, there was a frog. And no it's not the first time but yes it still scared me. We seem to have quite a few in our garden (which I avoid telling my mother when she's kind enough to do the weeding). I know why we have them; we have a shallow water-feature with a dark and damp area just behind. Filled with moist bark chippings, housing woodlice and creepy crawlies, the bamboo plants providing a perfect camouflage. I decided it was the perfect reason to stop weeding that area.
However, in all seriousness Jordan's would be proud of me! The cereal manufacturer has worked with around fifty British farmers over the past twenty five years in order to prevent the decline of British wildlife. These farmers have committed to turning over 10% of their farmland into wildlife habitats.
Now Jordan's want you to do the same and it is super-easy. You don't need to create a rambling meadow at the bottom of your garden (however kudos to you if you do because that's tip number six), there are ten really simple things that you can do in order to help take up the 10% Challenge, I bet you're already doing a load of them! I've watched this video and I know that we're doing seven of these tips without even trying; the remaining three are no problem.
Watch this and see how many you're already doing!
This is a sponsored post. My words and ramblings and the frog are genuine. And I really did run away like a big girl's blouse.
I love my garden, it is without a shadow of a doubt one of the favourite areas in my house and I feel truly relaxed and at ease in it. When I was a child, I spent hours daily in my garden, it was my playground, my theatre, my wonderland.
I want this for The Boy.
That is why I took part in the Bosch Garden Makeover Challenge. That is why I've worked hard to make our garden a safe, educational, fun place for The Boy so that he can have somewhere to run freely, play, explore, learn.
Update: I didn't win, but thanks to everyone who voted for me. It meant a hell of a lot. I'm content in the knowledge that I have a fabulous garden anyway, which all three of us enjoy immensely.
Tags: gardening
At the end of the Summer, I posted how I had been invited to take part in the Bosch Garden Makeover Challenge. As a keen gardener who has been feeling a little distraught for the past year about two areas in my otherwise idyllic (for me anyway) garden, I was very eager to transform these, making them work for us at the stage that we are: young family with a little one who needs a safe place space.
I posted here, highlighting the two areas that needed attention in my otherwise perfect paradise:
The two vegetable patches hadn't been used in ages and I was lacking inspiration; my seedlings kept dying and the weeds kept growing. In the picture on the right, is what was my herb garden. It was because a gale-force wind saw the fence panel behind it being blown halfway across the garden; it crushed most of my rosemary, and all of the thyme and coriander. Then when my dad fixed the fence (thanks dad) he did in the remainder of my rosemary with a spade and his size tens! All that was left was an overgrown lavender. In addition this 'herb garden' (pah!) was edged with sharp stones and I just had visions of a nasty accident.
During the past two months we've received a lawn treatment from Green Thumb which highlighted that my lush, green lawn was in fact 85% full of weeds. The very lovely gentleman who explained about keeping the lawn healthy also kindly explained that I really needed to keep The Boy's toys off the grass when they're not being used. This set my mind whirring, one of the main culprits was the Little Tikes Playhouse which was crushing the grass underneath. I therefore decided to remove the left vegetable patch, pave that creating a base for the playhouse, and use the railway sleepers to edge the now-defunct herb garden. During the Winter months, the other vegetable patch (on the right) is going to be used as a digging plot for The Boy, before we plant seeds together next Spring.
When it came to the completely pointless herb garden (which, if I'm entirely honest, was never used anyway because I couldn't be bothered to be that creative with my cooking!) I decided to turn it into another flower bed, but this time full of vibrant plants to give colour from my kitchen window during the forthcoming grey season. With the lavender bush long-gone, and now edged in railway sleeper, I chose shrubs and Winter flowering plants. In this flower bed we now have a beautiful mix of plants including a dogwood, berberis, a new lavender (which I shall keep controlled!), a globe thistle and a nice selection of Lenten and Christmas roses.
Here's some other gratuitous shots of my garden to give you an overall feel.
Our garden is now a much more user-friendly environment, the specific user being a two year old tiddler by the name of The Boy. It also has a finished feel to it and I'm very grateful to Bosch, Coblands and GreenThumb for providing us with the resources to make this happen.
If you'd like to vote for us to win this competition, you can do so below.
We were provided with Bosch tools, a lawn treatment and plants in order to complete this challenge. My opinions and actions are independent.
The inimitable KateTakes5 has set us the challenge of revealing the top five searches on our blog.
Some people have exciting results like "surfing on jelly" or "nakes bananas". I don't. On WordPress, I have three variations of my blog name and twelve variations for a cosmetic review I did. Oh and an ostrich.
I'm going to check Google Analytics instead…
They're just as bad!
I'm going to sift through the review referrals and pick out the next five that are about content instead.
- Learning Through Play: this makes me happy as it's one of the things that I'd like my blog associated with.
- Composterium: and now it's going through my head again! Thank you Mr. Bloom!
- We Went To The Animal Fayre: ah, that was a good weekend.
- Helen Jessup: I kid you not.
- I Need a Wee-Wee: ah, famous for my potty-training posts.
I can't believe number four…
Tags: family days out, gardening, Learning Through Play, listography, potty training
