Shed!

Finally, finally I got sufficiently organised to order a shed, book a van and find a willing friend to help me (thank you Matthew!)  There was a nasty moment in B&Q when it seemed like my order had not been processed, and another one in the car park when we thought it might not fit in the van, but about three hours later it was up and ready to house my meagre collection of tools.  I still have to paint it as it is a terrible glaring orange at the moment; I have sorted inside, however, and there are nails and hooks for tools, a table, and - most important of all - a folding chair.  I can now go up to the plot to eat my lunch in comfort.

Shed ownership has spurred me on to buy more garden tools.  I bought one of the Wolf tool handles, and the hoe attachment; a Burgon and Ball Japanese razor hoe, which is a marvellous thing; and the fairly hilarious weeding finger - ideal for getting at the weeds that come up around the raised beds.  I immediately overdid it with the razor hoe, and gave myself a strained shoulder for a week.  However, the plot looks much tidier.

This week I harvested the last of the PSB, and started to pick the Aquadulce Claudia broad beans.  The jerusalem artichokes are up, as are the Sciabola Verde broad beans; the second early potatoes are also now up, and I've had to earth up the first earlies.  Salad leaves are just starting to come through as tiny seedlings; I've sown several rows of coriander, some lovage, chervil, pak choi, marigolds and nasturtiums; I've also sown an italian vegetable called Salsola (liscari sativa) which can be eaten raw or cooked, and looks a bit like samphire.  Today I put in some French beans - a climbing variety called Blue Lake, and a dwarf variety, Barlotta Lingua di Fuoca.  Tongue of Fire is not really an obvious association with French beans.

The summer bulbs are starting to come up in dribs and drabs; however last year's forget-me-nots came back with added vigour.  I've just sown love-in-a-mist and alyssum which I hope will compete with the weeds.  One weed I'll be keeping is the one on the right; I'm not sure what it is, but it is absolutely lovely.  It was coming up when I put in the various summer bulbs, so I'm fairly certain I didn't plant it.  The borage-like plant next to it is also very pretty and popular with the bees, so I always leave that to thrive when it reappears.