MY WEEKS : 46 & 47 ( 4TH & 11TH DECEMBER )

Hello all once again, I don't know where the time goes it doesn't seem 2 weeks ago since my last update. The weather has been very wet and windy over the last couple of weeks as I'm sure you have all experienced up and down the country, but it has remained exceptionally mild. There have been reports of many Spring flowers emerging and trees starting to produce new leaves, my own Fuchsias that I have in a planter on my patio are still flowering along with a Camellia that usually flowers in February/ March starting to bloom. I'm sure that most of you have noticed similar things happening in your part of the country as well.

The last two weeks has been that wet that I have not been able to continue to prepare the ground underneath my new tunnel, however there is plenty of time to get this done before I need for planting in May/ June so I will leave this until the ground is drier. I have continued to harvest Calabrese, Carrots, Parsnips and Celery from my allotments over the last couple of weeks, the Brussels Sprouts are ready for harvesting as well but as we only tend to eat them on Christmas Day I shall leave these until Christmas Eve to harvest.



Over the last two weeks I have been busy making fresh Holly wreaths, Holly balls and table decorations for various friends, family and neighbours and their friends. It is surprising that even though I did not make any attempt to advertise or promote the fact that I made these, I have received plenty of repeat orders as well as additional orders as a result of word of mouth which is nice. My hands feel like pin cushions though after handling the Holly, but I do enjoy being creative and it is a lovely thing to do during the Winter while I am waiting for the new growing season to come around.



EXCITING NEWS & OPPORTUNITY

In the last couple of weeks I have been approached by a couple who are in the process of converting a lovely country house nearby into a Hotel, for some advice and ideas regarding the Walled Kitchen Garden which was used up until recently to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for the Hall. When I went to visit them and the Kitchen Garden I was amazed at what greeted me when we walked into the Walled Garden. It was just like something you see in books and on the television, although it has been neglected and looks scruffy the walls are adorned with fruit trees and as you can see from this photograph there are Box hedges around the different beds. The glasshouses and greenhouses are in need of some attention and repair but they do have Orange trees, Grapevines and Peach trees in them. I was so excited as a gardener and ex-chef to see this and was soon able to imagine being there and cultivating it and also to think of ideas of how else it could be used. Their main priority is to provide fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables for the restaurant in the Hotel which is becoming an ever increasingly popular trend. With this in mind I have offered to start to restore and prepare the Walled Kitchen Garden with the view of producing the fruit and vegetables ready for when the Hotel opens in late Spring. At this moment in time I do not know whether my health has recovered enough for me to resume working on a full time or part time basis as after my breakdown 5yrs ago I have endured numerous problems as a result of feeling under any form of stress, the type of work required is very similar to what I do for myself and family but on a bigger scale. Over the next few months I will try to do this as if it were my new and bigger allotments with the view to making it a job if my health does not suffer as a result of doing it, I will have to wait and see how I get on. It is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities and I must give it a go, otherwise I may regret not trying to do it in years to come, hopefully I will succeed.
This will mean that I will continue to run this website as normal and it will be combined with my efforts at the Walled Kitchen Garden as well which I intend to operate as a larger version of my allotments, I hope that you will enjoy the experience with me as I go along during the next year.
Below is a slideshow of the Walled Kitchen Garden as it is at the moment which I hope you enjoy looking at as much as I did.

May I take this opportunity to thankyou all for following my journey through the last year, I would like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and I will speak to you again in two weeks time just before the New Year, thanks Steve.