April Sky

April has been dry, sunny and cool. There has been 23 nights of frost including an air frost of -1.6 deg C and ground frost of -8.6 deg C on the 26th.

Honeybees on pear, turnip flowers, rosemary ...

Honey bee with yellow pollen sac on the turnip flowers.

April 22nd.

Broccoli, kale and other brassica flowers make good bee forage too.

Honeybee with full pollen sacs working the pear blossom on April 22nd.

Rosemary has loved the sunny weather, blooming prolifically and covered in bees, April 22nd.

Lunaria annua, Honesty has been covered in honey bees at certain times of the day. April 26th.

Last month, the peach blossom in the small tunnel was, as usual, exuberant! March 18th.

Honey bee on peach blossom, March 18th.

 

Chinodoxa was a very popular honeybee flower in March. This photo taken on the 18th.

In the garden Osmanthus Delavayi, currants and gooseberries have been good.

Forget-me-nots, Dandelion and crab apple are currently providing good forage too.

Spring garden.

The garden is burgeoning with fresh spring growth, this is the bed at the house door April 24th.

Daffodils in the orchard April 3rd.

 Primroses have bloomed and self-seeded exuberantly. This was one of many bunches in the meadow on April 3rd.

A little bee, or perhaps hoverfly, in a Primrose flower.

The small pond and the big pond April 6th.

 
Alfie is discovering that these tulips don't have a scent!

We have been moving soil again.

This is one of Alfies favourite jobs in the garden!

Happy spring days!

April Polytunnels.

First tomatoes were moved from the house to the tunnel on April 4th, (this photo April 6th).

Now most of the tomatoes are in the ground and they seem to have survived a few cold nights this month, including on the 26th when outside temperatures went down to minus -1.6C air and minus -8.6C on the ground. The peanuts, sweet potatoes and peppers in the tunnel are also unscathed by the cold nights but one or two of the grapevines have had their young leaves scorched.
 The Potatoe onions growing along side the tomatoes are filling out well.

Alfie shelling peanuts.
 This is the first year that I am trying to grow peanuts. I had not found any organic seed for sale so I bought a bag of unshelled peanuts from Nicky's fruit and Veg shop in Kilcoole. The seed is unlikely to be adapted to our climate but worth the fun anyway. Alfie and Tivon shelled them, they ate most  and...

.... planted the rest in pots in the house during the second half of March. I planted the first ones out in the tunnel about April 14th. When this photo was taken on April 18th more were being added. 

Alfie painting the slates I use to mark plants.

The small tunnel April 16th.

The small tunnel April 16th. Early potatoes well up on the right and various seedlings and cuttings in pots.

Alfie's playing area is shrinking as the small tunnel fills up.

Tivon getting a seed tray ready for sowing sweetcorn (with peat-free seed compost).

One of last summers corn cobs kept for seed, October 18th.

Tivon shelling the corn for seed.

As sweetcorn is one of the few foods Tivon loves, sowing corn has been his annual ritual for several years already.

Tivon watering in the seed.

After sowing one tray Tivon decided to swap with me ...
.... and take photos.
 Fair enough!

Kim shelling the corn, Tivon's photo.

 Kim sowing corn seed, Tivon's photo .

At the back of the small tunnel Daub has made a bed in a pile of straw under the raspberries where he lounges blissfully.

Robin perched on the grape vine in the big tunnel April 27th.

April vegetable garden.

The path down through the vegetable garden. April 16th.

Looking down over the vegetable garden April 16th.

April 16th.

Over-wintering ground cover, Forget-me-nots, providing joy for the eyes and good forage for the bees April 16th.

Over-wintering ground cover, poached egg plant Limnanthes douglasii, is not in flower yet, the bed to the left looks bare but the early potatoes are peeping up. April 16th.

The tall plants on the right are turnips in flower, another bee feast.

Tivon shredding the kale plants outside the small tunnel, April 22nd. The kale bed was immediately planted up with parsnips and onions and the shredded kale was used to mulch trees planted over winter.

A branch of pear in blossom on the wood shed wall.

Busy little hands.

Alfie painting March 4th.

Brothers painting in harmony, temporarily!

Alfie painting in the big tunnel.

Painting right to the corners of the page.

Alfie drawing beehives with lots of bees!

Alfie mixing flour for soda bread.

The flour and bread soda being very thoroughly and mezmerisingly mixed.

Then mixing in the seeds.

Alfie chopping Ruby Chard...

and cauliflower.

Busy little hands all day long!
As Alfie is growing his fringe out it's just as well I am fascinated with his capable little hands, his lovely face is disappearing under his mop of hair!