Today was Mother’s day and I got some wonderful gifts from Emily, George and Kai. No beer or wine, but then my birthday is in a week, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed I get some then. Still I had plenty in the fridge so that was fine. The kids clearly know me very well, as they got me a lovely chicken tea towel and mug, as well as come lovely fudge (not the smooth kind but the stuff that melts in your mouth which I prefer), and a couple of posh bars of soap so I can try and get my hands clean after a day in the garden.

We had a simple breakfast of freshly baked croissants and fruit juice. A platter lunch with french bread, salad, meats, cheeses, olives, sausages rolls and loads of other bits. For pudding some lemon butterfly cakes and as it was a special day they had fizzy and I had a beer. Look it’s the weekend and it’s Mother’s Day. I’d also worked very hard all week, and worked on Saturday tidy four large beds and then planting them up for our local pub. I’ve not worked on a Saturday for 16 years…..I don’t know why I’m trying to justify to you all why I had a beer with lunch. I’m a grown up and forty mumble, mumble, mumble years old so I can do what I like. Dinner was roasted chicken drumsticks in a BBQ marinade, couscous and roasted veggies…..and another cake for pudding.

But in between all the meals I went into my special place to have some fun of my own.

I had more pricking out to do, so that was the first job. More tomatoes had grown, so I did the Spanish Supermarmande, Gardener’s Delight and the Spanish Minibel Cocktail. They are all now in their individual square pots with the other ones I pricked out last weekend, so hopefully they’ll all be happy together and get on well with no arguments.

Over the last week the Kaberi Aubergines have grown well, so it was time for those to be pricked out as well. When pricking out these and putting them into their individual pots, make sure you plant them shallow. What I mean by that is make sure that only the roots and the small white part at the base of the stem is below the soil. The main part of the stem needs to be above the soil.

Aubergines don’t like to be sown deep, if you do they won’t be very happy and are likely to rot.

Many of you are asking where I get my pots from so here is the link from H S Plastics. These are the square pots I use, the seed trays, and the propagator lids. You may want to get together with some friends to buy some, for most people this is too much.

Once all the latest load of pricking out was done, it was them time to do a load more sowing. Right are you ready? I’ll start with the veggies first and then move onto the flowers. Here goes…..

I’m still harvesting the last of the Brassicas from last year, but now is the time to start sowing for this season. A good selection, some for us and some for the chickens, got to keep everyone happy. Kale “Smoothie Mix“, Brussels Sprouts “Trafalgar”, Purple Sprouting Broccoli “Red Fire”, Calabrese “Ironman”, Cabbage “Advantage“, “Cabbage “Greyhound”, and finally Cabbage “January King 3”. Some of the cabbage seeds are out of date, so if none germinate I’ll throw the seed packet away. But brassicas usually have a very good germination rate. All brassicas need to be sown in the same way.

Other veggies now. Artichokes “Green Globe”, Just sprinkle on top of some damp compost and cover with a little more on top. These are best started off in a greenhouse or on a window sill.

Lettuce “Mixed”,

Parsley “Italian Giant”,

Sugar Snap Peas “Nairobi” and Pea “Shiraz”. If you sow a few dozen seeds every month then you’ll get a good supply throughout the year.

I then sowed Winter Squash “Hunter” and Pumpkins in individual square pots. I sowed 2 seeds per pot.

Now onto the flowers….

All the flowers some are annuals and some are perennials, but they will fill up spaces in various beds in my garden.

Annuals: Californian Poppy “Single Mixture”, Love in a Mist “Nigella Persian Jewels Mixed“, Nasturtiums “Tall Flowered Mixed”, and lastly two different varieties of Sunflowers “Giant Single” and “Titan”. All sown in a seed tray, except the Sunflowers and Nasturtiums, they’re best sown in square pots and planting 2 seeds together .

Perennials: Papaver “Orientale Pizzicato”, Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants “Woodland Flower Mix“, Geranium “Hardy Mixed” and lastly Lavandula “Hidcote Blue”. Although they don’t seem to do that variety anymore so here are other Lavandulas. Again sow them all in a seed tray.

When I come to prick them out I’ll let you know what I do with them.

What a lovely way to spend this year’s Mother’s Day, for me that was perfect. I hope that however you spent the day, whatever you were doing you enjoyed it.

Easter is coming up soon, so if you’re thinking of a none chocolate gift for someone why not get them my Claire’s Essentials book. They can always have a piece of chocolate while they’re reading it.

Take care and let’s see what mischief I can get up to next week xxx