Cheating at Gardening: Free Plants

At the end of January I decided it was time to get gardening again. I sowed a few seeds and a few more and a few more. My greenhouse is too cold still for seedlings so I have used any space in the kitchen, utility room and hallways and I have a feeling the family will shortly need to check into a hotel.....

In February I foolishly popped into a well known garden centre  for 'just a look' and left clutching some gorgeous fuchsia plug plants and a couple of clematis. These plants are doing splendidly and so today I have decided to tripple my investment. The 8 annual fuchsia have become 24 and the 2 clematis have become 8. Obviously I took cuttings. I'm no Monty, but I'm pretty sure I followed advice given on the web and am hopeful that my new babies will thrive. [Even if I can't spell Fushcia/Fuscia on their labels!!!]

Having taken cuttings from these plants, I fed them well with Lou's Poo plant tea and the clematis were repotted to larger pots with a good layer of Lou's Poo Beans at their roots.

A normal day..... !!!!

So, it was a normal Saturday. The children got ready for school (Saturday school and sport matches being the norm for us...) The 12yo had a singing exam in a far off place, a mere 50 miles from home after dropping the 10yo to school, so off we went.

Exam went well (fingers crossed for good results) and by 1pm we Archers were all back home.

After a snatched lunch in the baking sun, it was time to see to the sheep. We rounded them up, stuffed them in the stables and brought them out, one by one, to a makeshift race where we each had a job: There were ear tags to clip in, worming injection to administer, feet to check and a spray paint brand to be given to the lambs who would stay on farm as breeding ewes.

It didn't all go to plan; two lambs escaped in the process but were eventually caught and sorted.

By 8pm family Archer had showered, (absolute necessity, in fact; thinking of burning the jeans I had been wearing!!!!) and were sat in the garden, surrounded by cats and chickens, consuming a take-out Chinese.

By 9pm my back insisted I go and lie down and so we all piled into our bed. I conked out, no doubt snoring over Harry Potter film, but all family members seemed quite happy.

This morning a cat, Tabby, woke me at 4.30am... Being as I'd slept from 9pm (a mere 7.5 hours) I was ok about this and duly followed him downstairs to give him biscuits and make myself a coffee. Turns out he was actually telling me (Lassie-style) that the sheep flock was in the garden eating my flaars!

In pjs and wellies I set about rounding up 30 sheep from the garden who had discovered that self-seeded rocket was delicious! Tabby looked on, not interested in auditioning as a sheep dog.

And now I am sat, coffee in hand, so many jobs to do: cleaning, ironing, washing, plant those blasted tumbling toms into the hanging baskets, check on the soon-to-be-mums in the alpaca fields, pack Poo for customers, water garden, pick strawberries before the blackbirds do, mend fence where sheep keep getting through, wash floors and bathrooms, finish a business plan, sort lunch for Grandma visit..... So many jobs, that I can't do any of them.

So I'll just sit awhile and watch the flowers grow.

Gardening in Pictures

Though the sun has been missing from this spring and the temperatures have therefore been reserved, the garden is still thriving thanks to Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Fertilizer and the lush rainfall. 

Our garden (ex paddock c1960 really,) has always been a tadge rough cottage garden; the grass is coarse and the moles have been very naughty. However, the Hubby is now an expert mole-catcher, ably assisted by the cats, and the mower is trying to tame the grass. In order to divert the eye from the rubbish lawn, I planted mini-meadows in wooden raised beds last year filling a metre square with our magical alpaca poo and tons of plants, mainly perennials or re-seeders. Eh voila! this year we have been rewarded by pretty mini-meadows that afford us tons of cut flaars for the house... win, win.

Learning to blog again.....

If you don't use it, you lose it.....and it is with these words ringing in my head that I will now attempt to blog a post or is it post a blog?

It's not that I haven't anything to say, anyone who knows me is patently aware that I can't shuddup! No, it's time; it keeps escaping me. In the early days of this blog, when I managed to write quite often I was busy too but it was a different kind of busy. I mended fences, painted walls, created gardens, pruned jungle..... if I didn't do these jobs, no one died, no one really suffered, lives were not desperately affected. Sure, there were a few well-loved chickens pottering around the property that I cared for, a couple of rat-catching cats and two lovely sproglets I was obliged to feed and clothe (kids not cats), but now there are many more mouths to feed: Pregnant ewes and alpaca insist on love, attention and a good feed at least daily. They look at me reproachfully if I'm late and I put myself under pressure daily, trying to keep up with PB of twice daily poo picking! (Sad.)

Spring 2014

2015 should be good for increasing my workload. Our ewes have all been scanned and all are carrying lambs; most are carrying twins, though there are a few triplets on first-time mums so I'm a little nervous for them about that. They are all healthy and so far we have had minimal poor weather with odd days of snow (I may regret that statement,) and the girls are therefore all fit and well. We're also hoping the alpaca have gorgeous cria in late summer.

Fitbit Flex

I recently gained a Fitbit thanks to a change of phone. The Carphone Warehouse in Malvern couldn't have been kinder btw and this free technological bracelet came as part of the package. It's amazing to track your life while merely wearing a bangle (and without committing a crime) the thing interacts with the computer and tells me the steps I've taken during the day (generally 10,000+) how much undisturbed sleep I've had (not enough!) and whether my BMI is any good (not so much!) It tells me that I tend to fall asleep within 6 minutes of hitting the pillow, a record I'm rather proud of, though hubby's less keen if I conk out before him, then snore. #sorryhubby. Anyhoo, I think the 6 mins illustrates that I've generally had a busy day.

My website is doing well with plants, alpaca bedding, knitware and more all selling well. Sales of Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Manure exceeded all expectation this Christmas. Merry Chrimbo to you if you got a bag this Chrimbo.

If you'd like an idea on how to use the product, look no further. I've just started sowing seed for this year's flower display and have sown trays of dahlia seed (as I'm too mean to buy or overwinter the corms and I love the fact that I can get many more plants flowering by using seed.)  Dahlia are hungry critters so as soon as I'm ready to pot them into their final containers - probably June, I'll pop in a good handful of Lou's Poo Dried Alpaca Manure to their planting hole, and this will help keep them fed for the season. If they flower well I'll also treat them to a Lou's Poo Tea! Deeeee-lish.

2014 Toms

If you'd like to purchase some Lou's Poo either use the website or toddle off to your nearest retailer. (More retailers joining the throng next month):

• Ludlow, Shropshire: The Plant Centre
• Leominster, Herefordshire: Hintons Country and Garden
• Shifnal, Shropshire: Apley Farm Shop
• Little Venice, London: Clifton Nurseries
• Kings Road, Chelsea: World's End Nursery
• Church Stretton, Shropshire: Coco Alpacas  

BTW If you think you know of a retailer near you who'd like to sell Lou's Poo! Let me know and I'll ask them nicely. Ta.

A Gentle Autumn....

The 11yo and Fudge, one of the baby alpaca, really do love each other. While I'm busy with hay or food troughs or poo picking, they frolic, snuggle, chill. Occasionally, Sproglet1 will bring her iPod into a paddock, sit on the bank and play, keeping me company. Fudge, who is not too keen on Minecraft, is content to sit beside the girl resting a Thompson Twins hair-styled head on Sproglet's lap. They are an item.

See? Almost no difference.....

Thompson Twins

Last night was a particularly lovely evening, though overcast, it was warm and dry and, having harvested the last of the pumpkins..... and a black cat for luck! [Honest, the 11yo and I are not witches!] we set off to see to the alpaca. Sproglet2 couldn't help as he was detained by Anthony Horowitz!

The alpaca girls were in a particularly social mood so we chatted about what was on telly last night....

Discussed the latest fashions (in welly boots)

..... and then had a snog..

and something to eat. Ouch!

Don't forget to sign up for the Newsletter from my new website TheArchersAtTheLarches.com 

Lovely products for lovely people.

Shushhhh.... soft launch, new online store

Shushhhh, I will say this only once... [yeah right!] ... My website has launched. You can reach it by clicking on the store sign on this website or by putting TheArchersAtTheLarches.com into Google. All feedback gratefully accepted, orders more so.....

If there's a gaping silence I'll worry, so feedback is what I require peeps!

Love
Lou
xx

Lou's Poo to the rescue.....

And here is the result - the power of Poo. A little goes a long way.

Repatriated hydrangea cuttings, from our last Cornish holiday at the fantastic Trevella Holiday Park, are doing well. A beautiful array of colours.

This Geranium (name anyone????) is so gorgeous, with dark maroon foliage and crazy purple flowers.

I love the jungle approach. The only way to contend with mass grass invasion.

Looking neat in the walled garden after a haircut last night. The broad beans have been very delicious this year.

Helianthus, pepper and rhubarb all on track and performing well

Raspberries are taking over the world (yum) and the lupin and shasta combo might stay in pots this year in order to make monumental plants for next year. I'll need to put them in a cooler spot but far from the slugs and snails.

The strawberry pots, filled with Poo and very little soil, are giving us fruit for breakfast every day now

Splendid delphinium

Globe artichoke: I only grow them as ornamentals... too much fiddle as a veg!

Bit of weeding to do Mrs Archer!!! (... in my spare time then..!.)

More borrowed cuttings... I did ask, honest.

This antirrhinum loves living in the wall. 

We found a way to contend with Mr Mole: eye-catching planted squares in the lawn. 

The cornflowers have been insane. So tall. I cut a few for the house and they last so well.

This bed is looking far better since I banned the children from jumping out the downstairs windows!

I do love a lupin

The bees love all the flowers but particularly the knautia

The grass is as high as an elephant's alpaca's eye

Sleepy sheep. Being shaved next week. 

Our planted Christmas trees seem very happy. They have solar, blue twinkly lights in the night... 

The arum lily is just beginning to show off

Land of wellies