One of the things I love about the garden is the bird life - indeed, one of the first things we bought for the garden was a decent bird feeder. It just happens to be positioned so that when you take from the patio door you get a nice out of focus green background...
Its led us to at least one dilemma though - our cats have always been house cats (I used to say "flat cats" because we lived in a flat, but people used to ask what squished them...) and we had planned to let them out following the move. But it doesn't feel right to encourage the birds and then let the cats at them.
This is one of the coconut feeders that William chose from the garden centre last weekend. Seems to mainly attract Starlings but never mind. My main problem is that it keeps reminding me of that scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail...
Here you go... Youtube
[About the photo: Less than ideal as its a dull day and I was shooting with my old D80 which doesn't have particularly good high ISO performance. But the 70-300mm on my D80 gives me an effective focal length of 450mm which is great for getting into the action]
"But then of course, African swallows are non-migratory, so they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway..."
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Lighting up the garden
A quick product review - Solar Garden Lights by Gardman
Hmmm, not bad. Four solar lights for £5. They look pretty good in the brushed steel look that's so common these days. The solar cell and light sensor is built into the top with no cracks for water to seep into. So far they've been subjected to one of the wettest periods on record for September and they seem to have survived.
Even on a dull wet day they charged up enough to come on around 7pm and they were still on when we got up for work at 6am the next day. The light isn't particularly bright, but that's not really the idea. They don't screw together as well as I would quite like and I'm not sure they'll survive repeated run ins with a toddler, but we'll see.
But for £1.25 each I'm quite impressed. Not sure I'd have paid £14.95 for four (the advertised retail price) for them, but for a fiver they make a nice addition to the garden.
[About the photo: a long exposure tripod shot, slightly over exposed. Its a rainy night and the low lying clouds are reflecting the orange street lamps giving my something of a white balance problem here!]
Hmmm, not bad. Four solar lights for £5. They look pretty good in the brushed steel look that's so common these days. The solar cell and light sensor is built into the top with no cracks for water to seep into. So far they've been subjected to one of the wettest periods on record for September and they seem to have survived.
Even on a dull wet day they charged up enough to come on around 7pm and they were still on when we got up for work at 6am the next day. The light isn't particularly bright, but that's not really the idea. They don't screw together as well as I would quite like and I'm not sure they'll survive repeated run ins with a toddler, but we'll see.
But for £1.25 each I'm quite impressed. Not sure I'd have paid £14.95 for four (the advertised retail price) for them, but for a fiver they make a nice addition to the garden.
[About the photo: a long exposure tripod shot, slightly over exposed. Its a rainy night and the low lying clouds are reflecting the orange street lamps giving my something of a white balance problem here!]
Monday, 17 September 2012
The real beginning (2)
William had just turned one and I decided it might be fun for him to watch something grow. I'm not sure who bought us the yellow pot with smiley tomatoes on it, but I decided to plant the seeds and see what happened.
Bear in mind we lived in a flat with no garden. And that at the time I didn't know that not all tomatoes grow on small perfectly formed bushes! These were a cordon variety and quickly took over the window in our lounge. But William loved watering them, and we did get some fruit off them in the end.
Problem was, I think William thought by this stage that they were a member of the family, and refused to eat them... But I'd certainly got the bug for growing veg!
Bear in mind we lived in a flat with no garden. And that at the time I didn't know that not all tomatoes grow on small perfectly formed bushes! These were a cordon variety and quickly took over the window in our lounge. But William loved watering them, and we did get some fruit off them in the end.
Problem was, I think William thought by this stage that they were a member of the family, and refused to eat them... But I'd certainly got the bug for growing veg!
The real beginning (1)
In the beginning... No garden for me, just a flat in South London with a shared patch of grass and a contract gardener who pruned the rose bush next to the garages. I never did get around to suggesting we did anything with it.
Instead, I found myself getting involved with Crystal Palace Park. We'd lived near it for years, and I fell in love with its decaying glamour, its Italian terraces, its Greek Statues, its Sphinx, its dinosaurs. Its a unique place.
But my involvement in the Friends of the park group was frustrating. Lovely people, but meetings about the future of the park were mired in past disagreements, and all the time I felt there was something more we could be doing. So in the end I stopped going to the meetings and started organising some volunteers.
We met in the park and got our hands dirty! Pulling up brambles, planting bulbs, pruning trees, painting fences, laying paths. We weren't meeting politicians or arguing about future strategy, but we could certainly turn to our handiwork and say, "I did that".
[About the photo: Shot at f/22 to get a nice sunburst. Even though I'd stripped off all the filters, I still got a bit of unwanted lens flare that I may get around to editing out at some stage. Hardest part was getting the position right so the sunburst was where I wanted it]
Instead, I found myself getting involved with Crystal Palace Park. We'd lived near it for years, and I fell in love with its decaying glamour, its Italian terraces, its Greek Statues, its Sphinx, its dinosaurs. Its a unique place.
But my involvement in the Friends of the park group was frustrating. Lovely people, but meetings about the future of the park were mired in past disagreements, and all the time I felt there was something more we could be doing. So in the end I stopped going to the meetings and started organising some volunteers.
We met in the park and got our hands dirty! Pulling up brambles, planting bulbs, pruning trees, painting fences, laying paths. We weren't meeting politicians or arguing about future strategy, but we could certainly turn to our handiwork and say, "I did that".
[About the photo: Shot at f/22 to get a nice sunburst. Even though I'd stripped off all the filters, I still got a bit of unwanted lens flare that I may get around to editing out at some stage. Hardest part was getting the position right so the sunburst was where I wanted it]
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Looking for inspiration...
Its wet and windy up here in Northumberland. The patch of ground I'd earmarked as a potential vegetable patch has turned out to be full of roots for the nearby conifer trees, so a bit of a rethink is needed (am thinking some large pots to form a raised bed that I can easily move when we eventually get the garden done...)
But in the mean time, here's some lovely inspiration from the cut-flower garden at Seaton Delaval Hall, our local National Trust Property. I'm not sure I have the patience for flowers, growing vegetables feels much more practical, but the colours on display here are fantastic and its tempting to try... Anyone know what its called?!
But in the mean time, here's some lovely inspiration from the cut-flower garden at Seaton Delaval Hall, our local National Trust Property. I'm not sure I have the patience for flowers, growing vegetables feels much more practical, but the colours on display here are fantastic and its tempting to try... Anyone know what its called?!
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Bordering on the ridiculous...
This is one of the borders that are in such a state... Its been fun watching stuff pop up, flower and then die back over the summer but they're in a real state and we need to think what we want to do with them longer term. Aside from the maintenance time they require, they're just too big for the garden and they really make the lawn feel small.
They're also doing quite a lot of damage to the lawn. With mum's help we trimmed the borders back to the retaining walls and discovered that they'd completely trashed the lawn underneath - the only thing growing was moss. I had some turf left over some work on the front garden so all the moss has come up and we'll see if the turf takes...
On the bright side, they do protect the greenhouse from stray footballs and our toddler!
They're also doing quite a lot of damage to the lawn. With mum's help we trimmed the borders back to the retaining walls and discovered that they'd completely trashed the lawn underneath - the only thing growing was moss. I had some turf left over some work on the front garden so all the moss has come up and we'll see if the turf takes...
On the bright side, they do protect the greenhouse from stray footballs and our toddler!
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Hedging my bets...
Okay, I admit, I just wanted to use that title!
With the garden comes its boundaries, and it this case, some massive conifers out back and a beech hedge out front. This is the Cotoneaster Franchetii (I think!) hedge under the front window.
The previous owners were kind enough to leave us a set of electric hedge trimmers, and I'm now beginning to understand why... I swear if you watch the cotoneaster long enough you'll see it grow, its that quick. The big beech hedge is slower, but trimming it with electric trimmers at the top of a step ladder is NOT my idea of fun! And as for the conifers, I think we'll be paying for someone to sort them out for us...
[About the photo - another close up macro shot with my trusty 105mm Sigma lens. Shooting wide open (f/3.3 at this close range) to throw the beech hedge in the background completely out of focus.]
With the garden comes its boundaries, and it this case, some massive conifers out back and a beech hedge out front. This is the Cotoneaster Franchetii (I think!) hedge under the front window.
The previous owners were kind enough to leave us a set of electric hedge trimmers, and I'm now beginning to understand why... I swear if you watch the cotoneaster long enough you'll see it grow, its that quick. The big beech hedge is slower, but trimming it with electric trimmers at the top of a step ladder is NOT my idea of fun! And as for the conifers, I think we'll be paying for someone to sort them out for us...
[About the photo - another close up macro shot with my trusty 105mm Sigma lens. Shooting wide open (f/3.3 at this close range) to throw the beech hedge in the background completely out of focus.]
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Lili, Lili, Lili! (*)
One of the joys of acquiring an established garden is waiting to see what grows. When we looked around the house in late September last year we either didn't notice these Lilies in a pot in the corner, or they'd died off. Either way, its been great to watch them grow this year and wonder what they'd flower into!
We've had similar experiences with the rest of the garden - splashes of colour developing unexpectedly all over the borders. The borders are still a mess (more on that another day) but in the mean time we're just watching and making a note of what's there rather than diving in redeveloping...
[About the photo - shooting close-up with a macro lens, a tripod was essential for the depth of field I wanted. I dropped a white Lastolite background in behind the plant to give me the white-on-white effect I was looking for. With hindsight, white-on-black would have had more punch, but would lack the sense of softness that I feel this one has]
(* Bonus points for those getting the Blazin' Saddles reference!)
We've had similar experiences with the rest of the garden - splashes of colour developing unexpectedly all over the borders. The borders are still a mess (more on that another day) but in the mean time we're just watching and making a note of what's there rather than diving in redeveloping...
[About the photo - shooting close-up with a macro lens, a tripod was essential for the depth of field I wanted. I dropped a white Lastolite background in behind the plant to give me the white-on-white effect I was looking for. With hindsight, white-on-black would have had more punch, but would lack the sense of softness that I feel this one has]
(* Bonus points for those getting the Blazin' Saddles reference!)
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
In the beginning...
... Was a mess...
Ah the joys of taking over an established garden and trying to make it your own. We moved out of London about 6 months ago and the garden was one of the main attractions to the house we bought, but it needs a lot of work.
This summer I've limited myself to growing a few cherry tomatoes in the old greenhouse as we slowly get the rest of the house sorted, but I'm starting to make plans for the garden. I've just about cleared the plot to the left of the greenhouse and the plan is for a small vegetable patch although I've not yet decided what to grow. The green house needs a good clean, a pane of glass replacing (mainly to stop the snails getting in), reflooring, new shelving.... But it'll do for now.
The aim of this blog is to cover the trials and tribulations of trying to tame the garden over the coming year and get a few things to grow where I want them to!
Ah the joys of taking over an established garden and trying to make it your own. We moved out of London about 6 months ago and the garden was one of the main attractions to the house we bought, but it needs a lot of work.
This summer I've limited myself to growing a few cherry tomatoes in the old greenhouse as we slowly get the rest of the house sorted, but I'm starting to make plans for the garden. I've just about cleared the plot to the left of the greenhouse and the plan is for a small vegetable patch although I've not yet decided what to grow. The green house needs a good clean, a pane of glass replacing (mainly to stop the snails getting in), reflooring, new shelving.... But it'll do for now.
The aim of this blog is to cover the trials and tribulations of trying to tame the garden over the coming year and get a few things to grow where I want them to!
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