Escapea

Due to the pigeons and the pheasants I erected a mini Fort Knox around the little pea plants to protect them and keep them safe.
All went well and the peas are flowering and producing peas!

Then a problem occured.

I could not 'break-in' to pick the peas! 

Some dismantling went on and now peas can be harvested as they ripen. 

However, with all my defences one pea has escaped.

The 'escapea'.

On a completely different note!

Look at the lovely strawberries that we have grown.

Plenty more where those came from, warm and succulent, straight from the garden.

Just Another Day Digging

Forgot to take a pic at the beginning but here is one after 2 hours of digging.
Don't forget that the soil is mildly damp thus a lot easier to hack through with the pick axe. 
it was a lovely sunny day, so there is the chance that the ground will be too dry to work with tomorrow. I really have to do this when the weather dictates. 

This is the end of 6 hours, really not a lot to show for the ache in my back and shoulders and still lots more left for another day.

Of course while you do this the weeds grow behind your back.

However, there are a few cheery things to see. 
Here are a couple of lovely purple clematis (and a few weeds).

Then on a walk this evening saw this enormous roll of huge hose and the water spraying out further down the field. I should be watering too.

Green Barley

The barley is a sea of green.
However, there seems to be the faintest hint of gold in the right light. A sign of the year progressing.

and a low down picture from a climbing insects view.

Attack From Below

We do not seem to have many worms, the few that we do have are encouraged as they are good for the soil. To that end we have put netting over the Root Bed (celeriac, leeks, beetroot carrots and parsnips, if the parsnips ever decide to germinate,) in an effort to slow down the blackbirds from pecking up our precious worms. Blow me, this morning there is this.....

A mole hill!
Which means that under the ground is a little brown fellow digging AND eating my worms from below.The mole is only doing what he is supposed to do, but really?

It did not help when I went to plant a spaghetti squash and the plant just disappeared down into a mole tunnel running under where I want the plant to grow. Plants do not grow when their roots are surrounded by air.



I also picked peas. We are not going to end world hunger with these, they were yummy, but, I think eating the pods earlier as mange tout is more useful.

On a more productive side strawberry season is beginning!

Early June garden pics

Selection of pics from around the scrappy bits of garden.

 morning view

spaghetti squash

barley growing

strawberry ripening

barley

Runner beans

 beetroot seedlings

 onions, lettuce and spinach

 lettuce

 celeriac

broadbeans 

 tomato

 peas protected from pheasants

 weeds round the lamp post

 front wall potatoes

Swifts and the cuckoo

The cuckoos have returned and now the swifts.
Along with the swallows and house martins, the nesting season and I presume summer has begun.

The flowers are still very springlike with the bluebells.

Swallows

Last Saturday there were 3 swallows flying around, 

One swallow doesn't make a summer

however, I do hope that it is the start of the summer. There are still daffodils out along with tulips and the bluebells are just beginning to show in the woodlands. 

Some clematis flowers over the staunch.

Blossom is on all the trees with the promise of apples, plums, pears and cherries and for the lucky peaches. All, if we can beat the birds to the delectable fruit.