Thursday 15 May 2014

Goodies from England

Posted by Rosie

I do like to pop into a garden centre when I am in England and this time I thought I had missed the chance as when I passed one I just did not have the time to call in.  I then missed the turning for the one in Salisbury on the way to the port so I thought I was scuppered.  However I was given one more chance and found one just before the motorway, which is just as well because whilst other ladies have a thing about shoes or handbags or suchlike I have a thing about seeds!

Stocking up on seeds


As I am already fairly well stocked I was actually quite restrained on my purchases and just bought:

  • Purple Mangetout - because they are so much easier to find when harvesting compared to green ones
  • Cavolo Nero - because it's hard to find here in France
  • Purple Sprouting Broccoli - because you cannot get that here at all
  • Calabrese - just because I may not have seeds already and it did really well overwinter in the polytunnel this year.
  • Black and White Kidney Beans - because I have a bit of a thing about different beans and these look great
  • Climbing flat yellow beans - because a friend had bought some for me and then forgot to bring them when we met up!

Oh and I also bought another mystery plant to test your horticultural knowledge.  Any ideas what this plant is?  No name clues this time Mrs Peanut Lady aka Annie aka Mammasaurus!


Another Mystery Plant
As for how the garden is growing this week - shall we say I really need to get out there and do some weeding ... and planting ... and earthing up spuds ... and tying in tomatoes and and and ....which is why if you are reading this on Thursday morning I am doing NONE of these but instead I am at market buying plants to go in the polytunnel!!  On my shopping list I have aubergines, peppers, cucumbers and anything else not on my list but that takes my fancy.  Hopefully by next week I'll have a nice tidy polytunnel and neatly planted out veggies to show you all!

In the meantime why not pop over to Mammasausus's How Does Your Garden Grow linky and see what other gardening folk have been up to this week.



Mammasaurus and How Does Your Garden Grow?

30 comments :

  1. ooo we both had a spurge this week! happy planting, hope you make it out there, sounds like you are going to be busy xxxxx

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  2. Goodness knows, I don't know the names of the things in my own garden! Sounds a great selection of veggies you are going to grow though

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  3. Enjoy planting those then and here's to a tidy polytunnel!

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  4. it's surprisingly high maintenance this gardening lark isn't it!

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    1. Indeed but at least you get to eat the end result! Not sure you could do that with shoes!

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  5. I'm such a seed obsessive too - I always buy enough for a farm! A polytunnel full of crops sounds amazing...

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  6. It looks like something we have just planted - Stevia?

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    1. It is - I knew I'd not get this past a Downsizer! Would you suggest I grow it outside or in the polytunnel?

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    2. Hmm. not sure, it does well outside here but we're probably a bit warmer - ours only lasted a season had to buy new this year that's why I recognised it. We like it and now use it dried for infusions etc. Very sweet.

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    3. I might put it in a pot then, outside for now and move it into the polytunnel (or inside) come the colder weather.

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  7. I sympathise with that need to visit a graden centre!
    My sweet peas are zooming off in all directions too -
    a weekend of tying in and tidying up for us all!
    Emma :-)

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    1. I didn't sow any sweet peas this year (I forgot) but I plan to sow Morning Glory up the bean poles with my runners.

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  8. My guess for this week is oregano! #HDYGG

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    1. Not oregano although it was on the herb section.

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  9. Had to smile at your reasoning for purple mangetout. That's why I switched to yellow cougettes. Harder for them to hide. Hope you enjoy/ed your market shopping. I'm going to guess the plant smells of lemons. #HDYGG

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    1. I actually prefer the taste of the yellow courgettes but grown both .. and round ones too.

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  10. If I didn't know you better I would have said Wallflower!! xx

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    1. Nope! Keep guessing and I'll let you know next week.

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  11. WAH I DONT KNOW! But I have emailed the photo to my mother in the hope she can tell me! I will win! I will I will! *lands in crumpled heap on the floor*
    Best of British with the seeds :)
    Much love and thanks for joining in again *refreshes inbox to see if mothers emailed*

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  12. Replies
    1. Nope, although I can see why you ( or was it your Mum?!) thought that.

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  13. yellow beans sounds great how strange purple sprouting broccoli sound sophisticated and something the French should have

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    1. Cultural differences are strange aren't they? Like the French like their asparagus blanched and white which looks so odd to me.

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