I love sweetpeas

I adore sweetpeas, they're my favourite flower and they remind me of my dad as he always grew them when I was young. I bought some seed at last year's Chelsea Flower show, the important things were the colour and the scent. They had to smell like proper old-school sweetpeas. And they certainly delivered on both fronts! I started them off in the late autumn last year. The plants on my roof terrace are now about 7 foot tall and producing so many beautiful blooms. We have some at the allotment too. Stunning.

On another note I bought some seed in a half price sale, mostly winter veg - kale, sprouting broccoli and some savoy cabbage. The seedlings are just poking through now. I'll plant them out at the allotment once they're bigger we've got some space!

What's been chewing on our broad beans?

Something has been having a go at our broad beans! Whatever it is, its got sharp teeth...squirrels maybe?

Its been dry weather so Seamus and I have been mostly watering the lottie in the last few weeks. I've sown a couple more rows of peas, they're doing really well this year and you can't have too many gorgeous fresh peas.

The redcurrants are glowing a deep red, we've got some flowers on our french beans, the early potatoes look like they're nearly ready for the pot and we've got some teeny courgettes on one of our plants.

It all seems good. But a lot of our plants and veg seem to be lagging behind a little. We can't decide if its the lack of sun our plot gets or the compost we dug into the beds in spring...

Anyway, onwards and upwards, if we get the very hot summer we're being promised then the shade that creeps over our plot at about 2pm may save our veg from being scorched. Fingers crossed.

Daz & I went up to the lottie today for the fist time in a week (slack I know) but we've been busy in my garden planting lovely Roses as a tribute to Loulou and making a lawn for Daz to roll around on as he loves grass. Things have grown loads we have Onions big onions which we thought were Shallots, ah well you live and learn. Tanya's sweet peas are flowering and I ate a Strawberry it was gorgeous. I watered everything really well, Tanya had planted Beetroot last week and they are looking good.