Flash Harry`s Adventure Playground

Flash Harry is the latest addition to our "zoo."

He is forty years old. That is quite incredible.

He is very popular with campers.

Sometimes he is hiding in his little house and people are disappointed not to see him.

But at other times he is trundling round his compound.

At the weekend I noticed that there was a kind of path flattened around

 the perimeter of the cage and that led me to wonder if he was bored.

How does a tortoise show boredom?

Since doing some research on the internet, I have found that it is quite usual for a tortoise to pace his enclosure. However I also found out that long grass is not so good as it can cause disease and sometimes long pieces of grass can get stuck in the throat and cause choking.

It is also quite wearing for a tortoise to walk on long grass continually.

Today my first job was to cut the grass with shears. Flash Harry was out and about and I gave him a 

strawberry which he really enjoyed. Here he is with juice dribbling down his chin.

When I started to cut the grass, I think the noise, vibrations or movement caused him to go indoors.

And I didn`t see him again this afternoon.

My first idea was to create two covered areas, well away from the wire fence.

(I think Flash Harry is quite adventurous)

One is a cool area with open sides. I used eight bricks with a paving slab on top.

I cut away the turf as I`d read that they like to scrabble around in the soil. I had to make sure he could get in and out easily.

The next was a warm area. Tortoises are cold-blooded, so when he wants to warm up he can go under his open-sided greenhouse.

I scooped out the turf and left soil underneath, then I used bricks and rested a piece of plastic roofing, with some extra greenhouse shading on the undersides.

Now he has a choice....

a little house for complete privacy

a greenhouse to warm himself up

a cool area to chill out

Next I decided to make the perimeter path more interesting with different surfaces.

At home we had a ridged tile which we bought years ago to allow frogs to get in and out of our pond.

(It had steep sides.) I sank it into the soil after removing the turf.

I washed pebbles to remove sand ( not good for tortoise)

I found old broken tiles in the farm yard, still covered in moss.

I also found some off-cuts of decking.

Now, as Flash Harry scouts his perimeter, he will encounter different surfaces which I hope will make life more interesting. I look forward to seeing which one he will enjoy the most.

Oh and as you can see, he has a little paddling pool. It is a plant saucer, sunk into the ground, shallow enough for him to get in and out easily and held down by four metal tent pegs.

Jenny Wrens and Exciting Plans

Yesterday evening, after a lovely summer`s day, we met up at the garden to discuss the Pickham Farm Open Garden which will be in August. 

We wandered through the garden, deciding where everything would be set up and ended up at the little house for a barbeque. 

There were views to the shepherd`s hut and beyond.

It was delightful and we sat there til gone ten, watching the sun set across the fields.

We got on very well with the planning.

The open garden will be for Farm Africa.

Today has been very busy but we spent the afternoon at the garden.

I found myself with enough sweetpeas to make another two wigwams.

I planted them because I was worried I would run out, after the mice got nearly 

half my plants back in the spring.

Tim was about to saw some old fencing up for firewood but he has let us have some for the more permanent wire fence round the beds. Steve began with the lavender bed today.

I set to and weeded the hornbeam hedge then spread chipped bark underneath. 

I was ably assisted by two year old Tuuli who had arrived in the afternoon with her mum and dad.

They are yurting for the weekend with friends.

They were all excited to see the animals, watch for frogs and explore the garden and farmyard.

The elderflowers are at their best. Paula picked some last night to make her delicious elderflower champagne. We had some last year for our anniversary celebration.

Ian and Tracey have been growing sunflowers .....lovely plants.

They will be making money for the opening.

Anne was very excited to show us what she found under the old yurt cover.

It was a nest of Jenny Wrens. There are four babies in the nest just about to fledge.

They are so cute.

I was remembering how the robin had two sets of babies in Gandalf`s hair last year.

Altogether a lovely afternoon.

Fairy Garden

Several years ago, we created a fairy garden.
Here it is in 2013.

Many children have stood in front to find all fairies, mainly courtesy of Past Times.
There have been swings and arches, tiny pathways and toadstools, a tiny house and a small hillock.

Steve made the special table.....like a large flat trough but square.
I thought it was about time for a change so I emptied  it and Steve repaired the base. On the whole it has lasted well.

Next I did quite a bit of research on Pinterest, pinning many ideas on my board.
This is the picture that inspired me most.
www.flickr.com/photos/73872182@N00/3196097688

I printed it off and have had it pinned up, to keep it in my mind.
But it has been a long time coming to fruition due to all our other projects.

Steve did the wooden slats at the back using larch log sides.
I lined these with plastic and filled with ordinary garden soil.
I have been collecting small rockery plants for some time and I`ve grown pennyroyal from seed.

In the pound shop I bought wooden labels and bamboo slats.
I kept many things from the previous time, like these three foxes which are actually pot feet.

Pennyroyal dotted around with glass pebbles.

Here is one of my fairies alongside an Ent which is a joss stick burner. I found it at a boot fair.

This is the top section.

Two more of my fairies.

This is the bamboo fence. There are roof tiles behind to hold the soil in.

And this is the overall effect so far.
There are a greater variety of plants this time and right up in the top corner
there will be a new tiny house.

The old one is a little bit past it.

Here is an idea for a new one that I really like.

/www.flickr.com/photos/cropwithanna/7166956256/

But I also like this idea.

uk.pinterest.com/pin/504332858247666144/

When the next stage is complete, I will post it as a new blog entry.

(See blog entry called Fairy Bunting)

First Strawberries

Who could believe it is the first day of summer when it is so cold, 

with rain and gales forecast for tonight?

Why does the wind always come when the wisteria is at its best and the roses are just beginning to bloom? It happens every year.

I have been using the leaf sucker to collect wisteria petals. I found last year that if I left the petals on newly planted bedding, softer plants such as lobelia tended to rot.

So I am sucking and blowing alternately.

We didn`t see a soul at Freshwinds Garden. Sometimes it`s nice to have the place to ourselves.

Apart from the wind, it was quiet, only the sound of frogs, an angry magpie and the occasional outburst from the resident pheasant. Oh and the happy neighing of horses.

In the polytunnel the first strawberries....my goodness the taste ....wonderful.

We had a teabreak sitting inside the p.t and enjoyed the floppy growth of the daisies. I don`t remember planting them ...they just appeared so we let them be.

They are flopping all over the coriander.

After pulling out a few odd myosotis, I found what I was looking for....the jasmine and I was thrilled to find it was covered in buds.

The idea is to fill the p.t with the perfume of jasmine.

My first job was to clear the two wild areas in the grass.

The seed planting was not very good last year so this time round I have tried 

poppies, eschscholtzia and poached egg plant.

I bought the two rolls of wire in Poundland....£1 each.

I unrolled it and folded it in half then rested the tunnel over the new seedbed.

I only had enough to do one.

Next I inspected previous sowings......godtia, candytuft and more poached egg plant.

 

And the sidalcea seed which I saved myself is doing very well.

I have potted up about 4 trays. It is a mauve perenniel and very pretty.

After pricking out 8 trays of red and yellow wallflowers at home,

 I brought the rest to Freshwinds to grow on.

We`ve left teasel where is seeds and the apples are beginning to fatten up.

Geraniums and scabious.

 

Here are the first sunflowers, supported by old gazebo poles.

They are Giants.

The little Freshwinds Nursery is filling up with some gems.

 Dahlia pieces.

It`s pot luck what they will be.

Coriander and parsley.

And the buttercups (and docks) are so pretty round the pond.

They do love the dampness.

The utter madness of the last few weeks of planting is starting to ease off.

Thank goodness.