The Modern Housewife Series Vol. I

my oven runneth over

Pepper stuffed with this sunflower seed, lentil roast mix stuff, one of last years leeks from garden mixed into stuffing. Served with Cat's potatoes au gratin and a salad of green leaves and beetroot.

I put the potatoes in the oven first and forgot about them, but all turned out well in the end...everything was delicious and I had to clean the oven which would never have happened otherwise...

new growth

dog having mad roll on grass beyond crocuses...

I find it awe inspiring that no matter how weedy and and covered in winter detritis the garden gets, the chives always push their way though, remarkably early :)

Flowering currant buds.

Walking round the garden today I felt slightly overwhelmed at how much weeding and tidying there is to do... but starting to plan what to put in the raised beds this year cheered me up. Deciding (or deluding oneself) that all the weeds will pull out really easily is an uplifting thought too...

growing my own

I just typed a post and lost it so I'm not best pleased here. The condensed version is that I try to grow my own veg but it all dies or gets blight or rots or gets destroyed by moles, except the kale. Always the kale survives. The other post was funnier though...

Why I like photographing my garden

I have noticed that when I photograph my garden it looks sensational. It looks luscious, bursting with colour and it looks packed. I love looking at the photos. I love looking at them because it hides the reality of what is really a chaotic and dismembered garden. In the photos you can not see:

• all the dog poo
• all the scorched grass from where the dog has peed 
• the collapsed and rotten garden shed which just has a front and a decomposing base and no roof
• the mounds of turf that never got disposed of and now grow grass which can not be mown because of the lumpiness and height of the mounds
• the moss
• the dead mice and birds brought back and deposited in the long grass for lawn mowing surprises
• the yellowing and decaying plants which didn't get planted out in time so although they are now in the ground lets face it, they'll be dead soon

It's no wonder I'd rather look at the photos.