I have a shocking confession to make - we try to avoid visiting garden centres once everything gardening related is pushed aside to make way for fairy lights, grottoes and all things festive.
The problem is that this seems to be happening earlier and earlier. No sooner had the last sparkler faded than the snowmen and glittery trees were moved in.
I really wanted a couple new houseplants, to replace ones that had faded once summer had passed, so we bit the bullet and made a visit to a particular garden centre that usually has a good selection of plants suitable for growing indoors.
We negotiated all the twinkling lights and came away with a couple of cyclamen.
It was really cold last week. The miserable gloom gave way to some brighter conditions and a clear blue sky. As usual, at this time of year, there was a price to pay and the temperatures dropped below freezing.
We needed some fresh vegetables, so we wrapped up with plenty of layers and headed to the allotment looking as though we had each gained a couple of stones in weight. Although it was the middle of the afternoon frost still lingered.
As well as harvesting some vegetables, we decided to make a quick video. We post an allotment tour on our YouTube channel at the end of every month. Despite the freezing temperatures the birds provided us with some lovely background 'music'. It amazes me that such tiny creatures can survive in winter, their little feathered duvets must be super effective.
Inside the greenhouse the tiny spinach seedlings are making a slow but valiant attempt to grow. I'm guessing that it will be some time before we are harvesting any leaves.
Our harvest was typical for this time of year. A couple of the cabbages were masquerading as giant sprouts. The Savoy cabbage was a reasonable size although icy droplets were caught between several layers of outer leaves.
We also seemed to come across a batch of carrots that the slugs had actually missed which was a bonus.
We've tried for ages to grow swedes that actually have swollen roots so, even though the one that we harvested had been attacked and was sporting a fair number of holes, we counted it as a success. Hopefully we will manage a taster from what the bugs have left.
I managed to quickly pull out some dead hardy annuals but, other than that it was too cold to hang around so we headed home to bring some life back into our fingers and toes.
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Oh glad I,m not the only one..garden centres in the run up to Christmas become very scary places indeed and I can do without the stress.
ReplyDeleteI love that red Cyclamen . You,ve done really well with your root crop , a veritable feast you're going to have there ...I only managed to grow one parsnip and it is still in the ground , I will be digging it up for my Christmas dinner .Yep I,m still trying to be vegetarian ! :)
We eat lots of veggie meals, Deb but we do eat poultry and fish. No red or processed near.
DeleteDown to health reasons really.
Too bad it being so cold it makes your lives miserable.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the overuse of Christmas lighting especially in so called public parks where you now need tickets to visit at night. Scares away the owls which I prefer.
I see my Christmas dinner here. For us it would be standing rib roast and Yorkshire pud as we just ate turkey at Thanksgiving a few days ago AND roasted carrots and parsnips which are not available fresh here, only old and withered, lucky you, leek and potato soup, and sauteed cabbage. Mouth watering vegs you've got. Oh, so yum.
We are planning on going to a night visit to an RHS garden where they are using lighting to display the plants, Jane but it’s not really flashing fairy lights etc. A house on our street has more lights than a high street. We probably won’t have turkey either, haven’t had for years. We are not really traditionalists. I love parsnips anc homegrown carrots.
DeleteOn the plus side, all the frost does make great photo opportunities. I only grew Swede successfully once, all other attempts failed. The ones I managed were not big but oh, my goodness the flavour was unsurpassed.
ReplyDeleteOne of our local garden centres pretty much shuts down everything except the Grotto which is then charged £10 per child entry. I guess I will go in for free then? Anyway, soon it will be all eggs and bunnies, so let's grin and bear the grottoes!
The frost is photogenic, Deborah. This may be our one and only successful swede. Maybe bear it but I don’t know about grinning
DeleteI go in the "In" door but take the shortcut to the checkouts and work my way back to the outdoor section to avoid the long and winding road past the tat. Our nearest centre has been refurbished/expanded and I feel enjoyably alien in my wellington boots...
ReplyDeleteMost of our garden centres make sure that you can’t avoid the tat, Mal as the gardening stuff is right at the back. We’ll have to try visiting in allotment gear.
DeleteThe garden centres are shocking aren't they. Happily we have a garden shop in town, which is more in the old style of a garden centre - mostly plants and seeds, with a small section for pets and wild birds. They do have a few Christmas trees, but that's pretty much it. And you can buy peas, beans and onion sets loose in brown paper bags, which is great, because you can try loads of varieties quite cheaply. I always wonder how the tiny birds survive the icy weather as well, they really are amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe have a small garden centre that sticks to all things gardening, CJ with the exception of trees but it doesn’t have many house plants.we buy selection of potato tubers that are sold singly there
DeleteThe root veg that looks like a turnip...is that what you are calling a swede? I had to look up what is a swede and google says it is what we call a rutabaga. Now I am all confused. It doesn't take much. ha... I hope you are warmed up by now and enjoying a good cabbage soup.
ReplyDeleteTurnips and swedes are confusing, Lisa. In England a swede is the one with yellow/ orange flesh and is good mashed- I think it is what you call a rutabaga. Turnips are generally picked quite small and have white flesh. In Scotland it’s a different story.
DeleteOh, your poor fingers and toes! I get the problem with garden centers at this time of the year, I had to visit three to find magnolia's for MIL's birthday, there's hardly a plant to be found. Loved your cyclamen and great to see your harvest, however frozen. Cheering on your spinach seedlings!xxx
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