February update

Ok so I still haven't actually made it to the allotment this year. A combination of shocking weather and illness. The weather has been very strange this year pretty mild but lots of rain. My allotment plot is a nightmare in the rain, it becomes claggy clay and there is no point even standing up there to assess you just end up sinking or coming away with wellies 6inches taller.

There has been a couple of frosty mornings this week so I was hoping that I could have popped over today to check on progress but the rain returned here so trip postponed.

The willow will need its annual haircut very soon and given that the daffodils are already flowering in the garden I expect my daffodil bed will already be in bloom. 

The last week has also seen extremely windy conditions, so at times like these it reminds me of the time when my shed blew across the allotment plots. Needless to say it isn't up any longer so I don't have to worry where it might be lying.

I will sign off now and return to the planning, at least I have my seed catalogues and a new magazine to flick through for inspiration.

Lets get planning

Well the weather turned cold and frosty for about a week and we were blessed with glorious blue skies with it. Today has dawned stormy; rainy and windy and 10c again.

In a determined effort to do better this year I ordered some seed catalogues yesterday. Just a couple you understand but hopefully great ones full of inspiration from Kings Seeds, who also have the fabulous Suffolk Herbs Range, Chiltern seeds and the goddess of flowers Sarah Raven. Now just need to start thinking about the grand plan before they arrive. What better to do on a stormy Cotswolds day.

My dad and the end of 2015

This morning I decided I should make a better effort of keeping the blog up to date. The idea behind starting it was as a record of the successes and failures on the lotty and the plans that did and did not come to fruition. A kind of journal and record of what has happened both visual and written.

You could argue that the blog hasn't been updated for a while just as I feel I have neglected the plans and looking after the lotty. 2015 turned out to be a difficult year with the loss of my dad who was immensely proud of my lotty plans. This is one of the key reasons I have decided to make a better effort this year in terms of the blog and the success of the lotty. My dad was of the generation that did not engage too much with computers but he had developed a fascination in later years with the ability to blog and for others to read about adventures. I owe it to him to make a concerted effort. He would always ask to see photos and ask about who was following me on twitter and whether anyone had actually viewed my blog pages.

I know I generally ramble and actually looking back a lot of them just seem to be photos so I will promise to make a better effort. The blog was my escape to writing something and this is going to start again.

OK so I guess I need to start to formulate some lotty plans then, perhaps this year will see further improvements in the lotty.

Mini beds working well

Current plot shots

Fruit trees looking good

Willow bed regrowing