"How does your garden grow...?"

I wish it was with fairy magic! 

It appears that not even Mini Magpie's magic, dressed in her over-sized wellington boots and  tatty, "I not want new wings mummy", could help "Magpie's Patch" this year. 
The weather has put an end to everything I have tried to grow in my new veg patch. Which is why I have had nothing to report of late. I was so excited at the beginning of this year with all the seedlings that what grew.
I had high hopes for my new patch but with lingering frost in April, scorching sunshine and all the rain we've had, I just lost my battle to grow my own : (

I seemed to have reared slugs and snails, no puppy dog tails but an abundance of earwigs instead. I've never seen so many!!! Arrrggghhhhh!!  They have all munched their way through my potato leaves, which was all I had left. I've never really thought I had a phobia of any creepy crawlies, but until now, I had forgotten just how much earwigs freak me out!! 

My 'Marto Pants' (MM's name for tomato plants) grown from scratch at the beginning of the year never materialised for me and every time I planted out the courgettes I'd grown from seed, they would disappear quicker than I could plant them again. It was like the scene out of Wallace and Gromit 'The Curse of the Were Rabbit' where all the carrots kept disappearing. I would come out the next day and POOF!! GONE!! Curse you slugs!!!

Still I live and learn.
I've written it all down on paper and I'm hoping that my little helper can wave her magic watering can (it's almost as big as her, so I'm hoping it holds a lot of magic) and put a plan in place for next years crop. 

Fingers crossed!! xx

Hooky Love

I am well and truly, 100% madly, deeply in love with crochet. Just to bring my new treasured followers ( Hello to you! so glad you popped in to say Hi! ) up to speed, this year I decided I must learn to crochet. So in January this year my challenge began. 


I didn't get very far very fast, I have to admit BUT... in February I was set a challenge by the lovely All4meggymoo that give me the kick up the behind I needed. I haven't looked back since, here are my results. 


This got me thinking... I must do more to make myself keep this craft up so I am working on little project, " Learn a Stitch a Month " (W.I.P title), open to all crochet beginners to hopefully encourage others to join me and post their results of the chosen stitch that month and we can compare notes.


I guess the idea is by the end of this year we should be a step further on with our crochet know-how and have learnt some basic crochet stitches thoroughly. I'm hoping that I will see light at the end of the tunnel, with new skills learnt, I could be on my away (one foot on the ladder) to  being like you fabulous crocheters who simply dazzle my mind with your talents. We shall see, it's definitely food for thought and work in progress. If nothing comes of this, at least  I could eventually make a massive blanket, maybe use it as reference for the basic stitches.


In the mean time I have started my birdie decoration with the help of All4meggymoo, we didn't get very far, the evening just run away with us but I am now able to say that I can crochet in rounds (as above) as I just get repeating what I learnt and I'm loving every minute of it.


I heart crochet!! 


xx


**Update** **Update** **Update** **Update** **Update**  **Update**  **Update**            


I also have 'Marto Pants' news, it's not much really as the rain and frost that we have had recently has prevented me from establishing my tomato plants in the new Magpie's Patch but I did transfer them from my house into my potting shed (a.k.a, at one time, the summer house). They seem to be loving it in there as they are thriving. 


Here they are, waving from their new home, for the time being aways.

Magpie's New Patch

Still in the very early stages but very eager to share as I can't contain my excitement (yes, I'm SAD, I know) any longer...

For a while now, I have anchored after my own space to grow my own 'bed-ee-tubles' as Mini Magpie calls them (that will be veggies to you and I, haha! don't worry I'm still getting to grips with 2 year old talk, Love it!!). 


So Mr Magpie and I have constructed a Veg bed to accommodate my green fingers in our garden. It's in a good spot that gets the sun, shade and a fence as a wind break.


Ermm...well, I shouldn't take any of the credit here on the building side. I just sat watching Mr Magpie from a very nice, dry, comfy spot in our living room  with a hot cup of tea in hand, while he tackled this out door project in the rain. Clearly the heavens were just topping us up with some much needed rain, it certainly loosened our clay soil so it did make it easier to stake the bed in. 


The April showers don't appear to be letting up in my neck of the woods or do the cold nights. Too cold to plant anything out, so at least I can get our new 'bedee-tuble' bed kitted out before planting out. I do have veggie news though, so if you have time, please pop over to Magpie's Patch for a 'Marto Pant' update.


Will keep the pics of the 'patch' coming...if this rain ever stops!! : )


Thanks for popping by


xx