Hens / Blossom / Herbs - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Monday 10 March, 2025

by Rosemary at 9:10am in Smallholding No comments Add your own

Tuesday 4^th March

This week seems to be starting on Tuesday. Very windy; not especially cold but quite unpleasant in the wind.

Diesel has been with us for ten years

Handsome Diesel.

Wednesday 5^th March

Still really windy; lovely inside, looking out.

I will start shutting down paddocks and excluding the ponies, so that the grass startes to grwo for the sheep. We need our tractor repaired soon. So frustrating.

Good to see that the ponies are eating the rushes.

Field the ponies have been in.

Home, where the ponies haven't been.

Thursday 6^th March

Finally feels like spring – mild, sunny and NO WIND. At least not until about 5pm, when the sky clouded up and the breeze sharpened, but by that time I was pretty much finished outside.

Finally did some seed sowing; tomatoes, chili peppers, sweet peppers, Balmoral Brussels Sprouts, coriander, chives, basil and parsley. Lots of sweet peas and some Salvia Oxford Blue. Dottie likes the heat pads.

Dottie, feeling the heat.

Murdo was here; he cleared out the old herb bed in front of the greenhouse. It’s never been cleared in our time, and boy, did it need it. There was oregano and lemon balm already there, so they have been left, and Dan bought sage, rosemary and thyme the other day, so they’ll be planted out this week. And I found a pot that I think is mint.

Refurbished herb bed.

The fork gave up the ghost. It's been operating on three tines for some time.

Dead fork.

Dan was out for lunch, but planted some trees this afternoon. We’ve bought some aspen.

Friday 7^th March

At a funeral.

Lovely blossom. Pity I can't remember what it is.

Blossom.

Saturday 8^th March

Beautiful spring day – mild, sunny, almost no wind. This morning, we prepared the hens’ summer palace – checking the fences and putting in bedding.

Dan planted more trees in the spinney.

Spinney almost planted up.

Then he did more work on the informal paths in the front garden. This is the last section. There are seven heathers left, but we’ll need more to finish it.

I tidied up the “Buddha bed”, pulling out load of ground elder. It won’t be cleared but it’s taken a hit, for sure.

The Buddha bed.

After lunch, I cleared out the lavender, which had gone horribly woody. I’ve left it on the path for now, so that any wee beasties can escape. I’m planning to plant it up with hardy geraniums, collected from around the garden.

Former lavender bed.

After dark, we moved the hens, with their equipment, up to the Summer Palace.

Sunday 9^th March

Another lovely spring day. The hens seem happy in their new abode; I cleaned out the Winter Palace, raked and reseeded the pen.

Summer hens.

Dan finished the final informal path in the front garden. Need to get more heathers this week.

Final section of informal path and heather bed.

I started weeding. I didn’t want to start clearing beds for another couple of weeks, but if I don’t make a start, I’ll get way behind. Did the bed under the living room window and the aubretia bed, and cut back the Vinca by the West Range.

Bryn and I had a wee snooze while Spurs v Bournemouth was on, then I planted the gathered geraniums in the former lavender bed. I’ll need to add more. Then I planted the remaining heathers. Finally, I started to pull out the Brussels sprouts that are done, but stopped while I asked Alistair if he wanted them for his sheep. Ours used to love them. (He does)

So, slow start to the week but productivity improved. Murdo’s here two days next week, so the tree planting should be finished, the orchard tidied up (sounds like a fire is due). Dan’s got a few bits on his list, but a return to the sunken garden can’t be far away. Yay!

Tiny daffodils