Itchy fingers.....,

Oh ho, I feel a purchase coming on. How can I justify it this time? Or maybe I will just be a 'man' about it and not have to defend another purchase for the garden. All around Newport and in some places in Cardiff, there are references to the Ryder Cup that starts here tomorrow. It's a huge deal for Wales and the children have a day off because of the expected volume of traffic. How is it that when we were kids our only chance of a day off was if the school's huge Victorian radiators by which our milk used to warm decided not to work on a very cold day. Anyway, this is a gardening blog, I'm not going to reminisce. Well, anyway, back to it: as I say, there are mini golf courses planted up in Roath Park, on almost every roundabout in Newport and references to the 2010 golf tournament everywhere you drive. Why am I telling you this? To justify my need to spend more money on a few plants, it was like a diversion technique which I've had to confess before I was even asked!
Quite simply  all I want to do it plant up my little wooden ornamental wheelbarrow with some winter colour. I want to get some ornamental cabbage (Luke grew some from seed for me but only one leggy creation has survived the slugs and that one is too huge to fit in a container). I've visited the garden centre twice in  the hope that their three for two offer will have started but still no joy on that score so I'm going to have to resign myself to paying full whack for it.

So, I'm hoping to get a couple of purple ornamental cabbages, a little ivy (which I'll swipe from one of my other containers) and a Heather. I'm hoping they will survive in the relative warmth of the conservatory. They would happily live outdoors in all winds and rains but I want to be able to see them from the comfort of the living room. I'll photograph it once I've done it so you can see.

I'm also thinking of potting up the tall old chimney pot I cadged off Codge (as in old Codger, my Mum's friend) who had been wisely using it to force his rhubard. It now sits on my little elevated deck at the front of the house and I think I will top it with a couple of pink Heathers to make it look like it's got a little puff of smoke coming out of it. That sounds too fanciful I know but let's see how it goes. Who'd have thought that a few cabbages and a couple of Heathers would set me back twenty pounds? Life ain't cheap when you are a gardening enthusiast!

Bargain plants

Those bargains I bought months ago are still flowering like good 'uns. I've photographed a few of them today to show how, almost into October, they are still providing cheer in the garden. Although we planted our tomatoes and sweetcorn too late we have received bundles of beans, a good stash of potatoes, a bounty of artichokes and now a fuzz of green carrot tops which the chickens have been feasting on without my knowledge. It's completely our fault for letting them out of their run to enjoy the entire garden. Too late I discovered they had fallen foul (no pun intended) to the lure of the young leaves. In an afternoon they had nipped the tops out of all of them. They will grow back but I've had to criss cross bamboo over the area to keep the hens off it.

Hello Leighton!

Imagine my delight when logging in to see I had another follower and one who didn't feel obliged to join up through family ties (not forgetting that I inadvertently put myself as a follower and have no idea how to take myself off of the list!).
For those of you who don't know Leighton, he's the lovely chap we bought our greenhouse from. Although many times as we were erecting that glass edifice I cursed buying it, meeting Leighton and his family was a pure joy. Whilst taking the greenhouse down from it's original home we were furnished with tea, sandwiches and GOOD biscuits (as opposed to those ones you buy as an emergency). Not only that Leighton helped us take the monster down and it was a good six hour job.
We've kept in touch via e-mail and here he is, on my blog, checking out his old lady (the greenhouse). When I got up this morning (it's Saturday and yet I have to go to work, blast it) I sat in the conservatory and looked out at the garden with it's early morning dew and pink sky backdrop. The greenhouse is steamed up and I just love knowing we can extend our growing season or bring on new cuttings with it's warmth. I hope it's some consolation to Leighton that though he's greenhouse-less now at least it's found a good home.