Busy.

What a great few days it has been!  I love it when we get just a taste of Summer's heat early in the year.  I love it when boys are out playing barefoot all day and reluctantly come in late, muddy and tired - and I especially love little dirty feet.

The violets are out in our spring bed.  This was such a beautifully planted border, which we inherited when we moved into the house.  Over the years, children running through it, footballs,  and marauding hens have taken their toll, but it still does its best every Springtime and never fails to cheer my heart as I walk past.

I am very excited to be growing this ancient and rare variety of Kale.  Kale is a most excellent vegetable here in the cold north - it was one of the few greens that we were able to pick fresh during the Winter.  I imagine this one will be super hardy, so I have planted a lot.  I sowed some on Friday, which was a blossom day, according to the moon calendar, and also more today, which is a leaf day.  Hopefully I will have enough fresh green leaves to see us through another year, and enough plants going to seed to save for next year too.  It is the first time I have really consciously planned this - normally I am just glad to get out there and rush around getting as many things sown, planted and moved around as I have time for. It felt good to be taking the time to think and plan before acting.  I look forward to seeing this working.

I am very keen on the use of herbs - culinary and medicinal.  I  have herbs planted all over the garden at various points.  This is fine for the less frequently used ones, but when I need a sprig of sage, the thought of trekking away down to the very bottom of the plot - through the 2 new hen proof gates,in all likelhood during heavy rain, slithering through the mud -  well, most often I do without, ditto chives and parsley. Finally it has occurred to me to have these things nearer the house (duh!). So I enlisted the help of my 2 super strong masculine presences to heave these old sinks round to the sunny south facing side door for me, and set them up.  Now filled with this fabulous compost, (3 free bags from the council for every citizen!) they are ready to become my kitchen herb planters.  I have already sown some coriander seeds (leaf day - see above) and I have parsley germinating in the greenhouse.  The basil and oregano will go in when it is a bit warmer at night,  and I plan to add sage, thyme, dill and marjoram.  I already have 2 rosemary bushes in the front garden and chives and sorrell in pots.  My big herb idea is to plant a medicinal herb spiral based on  the book 'A Woman's Herbal', by Elisabeth Brookes.  I am hoping to start swing some of the seeds for this tomorrow, and I am really quite excited by this project.  I will write more in future posts about this - it is very exciting.