Sunday 30 March 2008

Lizzie got busy

It's 5 o'clock in the morning, and I've just said goodbye to my son, off back to Hull after his Easter break from uni. His dad drives him up, and then comes straight back, a 9 hour round trip if the traffic is OK. I was hoping to get in the garden today, but the rain is beating against the window, so unless it gets better....
Back to the title of this post, the busy lizzie seeds are coming through, little dots of green. Too small to handle yet, but a few more weeks should see them bursting with colour. The electric heated propagator is great. The pre-germination of parsnips worked, just in the kitchen, but a bit too quickly in one way. They began sprouting on Wednesday, but with OFSTED coming into school for Thursday and Friday, I haven't got anything done with them. Still there are plenty more seeds in the packet, and if they sprout that quickly it won't take long to do some more, timed to be ready in the school Spring Break. It seems strange not to be calling it the Easter holiday.
The lettuce in the greenhouse are really looking good now, and the dwarf peas I planted in the same pots, to take over once the lettuce are cut, are opening their first leaves. I wish I had more space! If it would only stop raining and let the ground dry enough I could perhaps get some stuff in to the ground. The next planting of lettuce seeds are through and will need pricking out next week.
Talking of pricking out, I did 45 lavender plants yesterday, 9 to a pot, and there must be as many again still in the seed tray. Hopefully some of the gardening club will want some! The clocks changed last night, and as I went to bed at 1.30 (last minute packing), and was up again at 4, (new times), I think I will close this and try to get some more sleep.

After a bit of a snooze, and a much needed tidy around the house, I finally made it back outside around 3 this afternoon. The sun had come out and I felt spring might be back. In the greenhouse an enormous bumble bee was battling against the glass. I opened the vent and she flew to freedom. On the way back to the house I realised there were at least 5 bumble bees busy in the spring flowering clematis. I made a cup of tea and intended to go back out and sit on the bench to watch them work, but by the time the kettle had boiled it was raining again!

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