Happy Potting Space
Hello m' happy potters,
As promised here are the results of Long Mizzle's bank holiday weekend transformations. Before the overlap fence was dull, tired and grey. Here it is with a 'before' applied 'sad filter' (just like they do on makeover programmes on t' tele eh). Now it is 'sage green', revitalized and ready for the fig tree to be trained along it, and for me to dance around in my best summer gaudy dress.
Although not quite the colour I was expecting, it certainly makes the patio tulips jump out -
I had exciting news last Sunday. My dad called to say he'd made me a potting bench and could he deliver it that afternoon. Of course I said "YES PLEASE". It's made from old bed slats and spare bits of wood for legs. Mam painted it with teak oil and it smells gorgeous. Isn't it great!?
We all had a cuppa in the garden and Mam & I insisted he sign his work -
The small 4 x 6 ft green house had become a bit of a dumping ground. You couldn't even swing a rat around in there. No one wanted to go inside and they wouldn't have been physically able to anyhow.
The greenhouse was emptied of all its junk and scrubbed down with a bucket of soapy water before the new bench was put in situ.
Only then could the fun could start - arranging my new happy potting space.
Bob Ross has happy trees, I have happy pots.
The succulents will go out for the summer and be replaced with chilli pepper plants.
The old wooden beer bottle holder is perfect for storing labels, pens, string, scissors and packets of seed.
Items are still being shuffled about. The black wire shelf will be for new seedlings.
The incinerator at the back left will be removed.
Notice anything else different at Long Mizzle? The arty-anti-cat-crap-twigs have gone and the veggie bed has fresh lashings of Swanpool's finest seaweed.
A 'working outing' to the beach, that didn't at all involve embarrassing mum scooter stunts on the closed crazy golf course and eating icecream ;) Those all season sea swimming old birds are hardcore. You can just about see their heads bobbing about in this photo. That's Fraggle Rock in the distance (otherwise known as St Anthony's Head Lighthouse).
The seaweed's so good you could roll in it -
Some of the of white daffodils from Scamps have popped out this week. Unlike some of their bolder, yellow comrades, they are very sweet and delicate -
Good mornin' me new gardening buddy. Does that seaweed work to stop cats leaving their calling card? Every cat in our neighbourhood has decided that my front garden is the free public loo. grrrr. We live fifteen minutes from the beach and it would be worth the drive there to collect some. That potting bench is gorgeous and the green fence is making me feel right at home. Green is definitely the way to go for fences.
ReplyDeleteThank you m' Cherie. Cats seem to get positively creeped out by seaweed. They don't like it slimy, they don't like it dry and crispy. They just stay well away. Other things cats seem not to like: being stared out when trying to do their dirty business, unexpected cucumbers (weird!), well aimed water pistols and smelly pelargoniums (geraniums). I have been admiring your lighter green fence. Lulu xXx
DeleteYou have lovely parents - your potting bench is lovingly made and is perfect. Interesting seeing a bit of the seaside landscape around you which is beautiful. Your fence colour is a good one and next time I paint one I would choose that colour, it isn't too conspicuous, it warms things up and makes a nice backdrop for flowers. Our cat is weeing on our lawn and ruining it - do I need seeweed?
ReplyDeleteThank you Betty :) The parents are grand. Naughty (but cute) Mollie cat. The lawn is a tricky situation. Cat's like us are startled by unexpected objects suddenly appearing - which probably explains the seaweed aversion as well as the jumping cats on youtube in response to placed cucumbers. But then you want your cat to spend time in your garden. Pass. I think we need to call on a cat whisperer! Lulu xXx
ReplyDeletelove your little greenhouse - you can potter (!) around or sit there with tea - even in the rain or wind..... (wind is a problem in my summer salon)
ReplyDeleteyour dad made a wonderful potting bench for you. so lovely!
seaweed makes a good kompost - but here we have to do with garden waste and veggie scraps. the sea is minimum 600km away.
beautiful narcissus - mine have just buds.....
xxxxx
Thank you Beate :) It will certainly allow me to perfect the art of pottering... and tea drinking (this takes years of practice!). I've got a nice high stool I can borrow from the kitchen so I can sit in there on rainy days. I'm so chuffed with the bench. Dad got a bag of liquorice for all his woodworking efforts- he was as happy as a horse.
DeleteThe seaweed really does work wonders with the soil. The farmers grow new potatoes in it down Penzance way and across on the Scilly Isles. Exciting to have buds. Lulu xXx
You have the same parents as me. My dad made me a shelf and then had it shipped over. He must have been nuts and I didn’t want to think about the shipping for it. Then he did flat pack it for me, so the price must not have been too bad. All I can think is my mum saying John John how are going to get that to her, she nags him. Bless her heart. I think she means well.
ReplyDeleteBut my dad always thinks outside the box and he did that for me. I love Bob Ross I used to sit and watch him with the kids when they were little he always had this knack of sending my kids to sleep. He’s popular over here. You should watch the documentary about him it’s great.
I’m the skateboarding mum. Being 46 is not going to stop me!! The kids love it they think it’s great.
I have started to plant, but I keep changing the pots around and milo looks at me as if I am totally mad and I am on Drugs. But I just want it right this year
Enjoy your freedom and don’t go mad in the shops lol.
Oh bless, how nice for your dad to make you furniture, flat pack (clever!) and ship it to you. Custom made by family or friends is just the best.
DeleteGreat to hear Bob Ross is popular in Japan too. Monsieur has watched the documentary and loved it. He has known about him for years, but I am relatively new to Bob. I do remember staying each year at the same hotel for family summer holidays, and the dining room was full of Bob Ross like paintings (we cruelly used to laugh at them). There's no doubt about it, he is very relaxing to watch.
Good for you for skateboarding. I think our eldest has outgrown the scooter, so a skate board may be next! As long at it is not roller boots. I broke my arm three times on roller boots as a kid; I was very determined and would not learn. Pot positioning is tremendous fun, you enjoy it. As of today the chazzas are open... but I will resist for a little longer. Take care Allie jane, Lulu xXx
You have been productive! Love the green paint and the potting bench - something to treasure. Bob Ross and his happy trees always make me smile. I have to have him on in the background after a stressful day as I find his voice almost meditative. My stress levels always go back up when he puts a path in though, as it invariably ruins the image (in my humble opinion! :-) ) The beach looks tropical in your photo! How lucky to have a ready source of seaweed. I can't wait to see the sea again. x Claire
ReplyDeleteBob Ross is such a legend. (I have also always loved the name 'Bob' . It may have started with the way Rowan Atkinson pronounces 'Bob' in Blackadder) Monsieur and our eldest sprog watched an episode before tea tonight. I was too busy sorting the food out, but I did laugh when I heard him say he was just going to paint a happy path through the landscape. The sea looks tropical on a sunny day but it is flippin' freezing!!! Ah, the sea is calling you... you shall meet again. Thanks Claire, Lulu xXx
DeleteYour fence looks absolutely brilliant and you're right, it picks up the colour of the houseboats in the background perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThe potting bench is a work of art, what a clever and thoughtful Dad, you've got. Are your parents as keen on gardening as you are?
I don't think I could ever swim in the sea in this country, I dipped a toe in at Bexhill-on-Sea a couple of years ago and nearly died of hypothermia. those old gals are hardcore! xxx
Thank you Vix, the colour symmetry was a happy accident. Dad never throws wood away - "wood's bloomin' expensive" he says, and "eh, next time you drive by that wood place, see if they've got any pallets or nice bits of off cut going free".
DeleteMam is a garden appreciator. Dad is is tidy gardener with a pristine lawn - he can often be seen trimming it with scissors in the height of summer. When I was little he had an allotment and used to enter items in the local show. His dad before him (my grandad) knew every use for every herb going.
Hah, those swimming birds are so brave! I would have to wear a full body wetsuit including balaclava, and even then my poor circulation and body insulation would make my arms fall off. Lulu xXx