Papaver somniferum

Thanks to Mr. Mcgregor's daughter who identified this beauty as Papaver somniferum or common name Bread Seed Poppy. Stupid question but are these the little black seeds on bread rolls?

After reading up on it also seems to be commonly known as an Opium poppy. I didn't know these grew over here in England, i thought these type of poppies were some sort of tropical plant that only grew in hot countries for drugs etc. It is growing in the shadiest part of the garden although it apparently prefers a sunny location, i think a bird must have dropped the seed.

Unidentified Flowering Plant

Can anyone tell me what this plant it? It was not in the garden last year and i have no idea where it has come from. I liked the look of the leaves so let it grow and it just kept on growing and growing. It now stands 4 foot tall has numerous flower heads and the flower stalks have fine thorns on them that you may just be able to make out from the picture. I hope someone out there can help me out and identify it.

Organic Slug Control

I was out pottering outside in the garden and i could hear rustling, in the overgrown grass. At first i couldn't make out what it was (yup the eyesight ain't as good as it once was!) Then out the corner of my eye i saw them... "Meet the Frogger's" two of 'em clambering alongside the greenhouse. Frogs, my organic slug control, i think they had come in from next doors garden because as soon as they saw me they were off hopping and diving back under the fence.


So that's it,my next project is making a wildlife pond in the plot to encourage them and other beneficials into the garden. I have got an old Belfast sink that i want to use for the project, I don't have alot of space but if anyone has got any ideas or suggestions i would welcome them.

I keep up to speed with the other blogs that i like to read, but I've really not kept on top of mine , sometimes life gets in the way, other times i just don't have anything to say, but a month is way too long without an update!

Ripe for the picking.

The sweet strawberry aroma that greeted me as i went into the greenhouse was just too much. All thoughts of taking a photo of the big juicy red berries for my blog went entirely out of the window. I picked the best of the bunch for my tea, then went back with my camera, talk about doing stuff in reverse!

The variety is "Elsanta," i got them last year as a pack of six seedlings, which did fruit, though i wasn't that impressed with them.

They have just sat in the greenhouse and i haven't paid them much attention really, just the occasional watering when i remembered. I even thought about composting them to free up some room in the greenhouse but when i saw the flower buds i decided to give them another chance. Am i glad i did or what? They are so deliciously sweet, from now on i will be nurturing them all the way! Now where did i put that cream?

My Veg Plot.

After procrastinating for long enough, the bottom of the garden has been fenced off to keep the dog off what is to become my home allotment. I have already got a couple of raised beds down there which i grew stuff in last year.
The two guys that made it happen! Notice the supervisor overseeing the work from the chair, ha ha. The partners in crime are my DH and daughters boyfriend. They both worked really hard that day. No post auger just a spade and a lot of sweat. They hit bricks and coal while digging out for the posts but tenacity won the day.
Finally posts in and boards on.
now the work is down to me on this side of the fence!

Not a bad size to grow some veg's, i feel like i got my own allotment. After years of gardening in a small courtyard with containers and grow bags this area seems huge!

In the far corner of my plot I had an area that had been neglected and used last year as a bit of a dumping ground for lawn clippings, pruning's and leaves, after i had gotten out the old branches that hadn't rotted down i was left with the most workable dark rich soil, in fact the best bit of soil in the garden. I decided to use this as my potato patch and 10 days ago, in went 20 well chitted Kestrel seed potatoes.


Because i am working on a heavy clay soil with crap drainage, in wet weather its waterlogged in dry weather it bakes hard and deep cracks appear on the surface. My long term plan is to grow most stuff in raised beds, but there's still loads to do and i reckon it will be a bit hit and miss this year as to how successful my growing efforts will be as i am having to put anything else i want to grow straight in the ground, with some exceptions such as the cucumbers going into grow bags

This year I've got white and red onion sets and garlic occupying about a quarter of the space of one bed in the other half of the bed i am going to transplant my leeks that i grew from seed and squeeze in some peas at the end.
I have got butternut squash and french beans ready to go into the other raised bed. i'm lucky to have a friendly neighbour that has supplied me with well rotted manure which i have already dug in a couple of weeks ago in anticipation for the massive squash and bean harvest! I hope :)

Out of Hibernation

well it's been a long 3 months since i posted, but i have finally come out of hibernation and ready to get to work in the garden. The bulbs i planted are looking good but a bit sparse in places because of the bulb thief. There is a lot of clearing up to do as i want to clear the far end corner of the garden to hopefully put in my potatoes which I've got chitting ready.

i bought some Rainbow heirloom Mix, Tomato seeds while on holiday in America which I'm gonna try out this season and also Ruby Queen Sweetcorn so it will be interesting to see how these do here in Yorkshire.

Happy New Year.

It's snowing!!! but i can't help thinking it is 10 days late for that elusive traditional white Christmas as depicted on most of the cards of the season.



There isn't much happening in my garden at the minute but covered in a thick blanket of white felt, it looks beautiful. The sky still looks like they may be more snow to come so I will be snapping away with my camera.