Bluetits

Here are some of our regular visitors. They are very busy now they have broods to feed. I think one pair has a nest in the boxes under the summerhouse roof. We have blackbirds nesting in the yew tree.

Bluetits feeding

Sweet Peas

The northwind blew at the weekend - but no snow. It was sunny on Saturday and I got out in the garden well wrapped up for a few hours.

I set up two "wigwam" frames for Spencer Mixed sweet peas. I saved the seeds from last year and have been growing them in the conservatory and greenhouse. Now about 6ins high they are ready to go climbing. Thankfully they're frost-resistant because we had a frost overnight. We sowed another tray of bought seeds so we'll see how they compare.

The wigwams were made from hazel shoots cut last year. They haven't grown enough to cut another lot for this year - it looks like every other year we'll get more poles. We have a Bamboo which generates 6 - 8 tall, strong canes each year so we're pretty self-sufficient in supports. We use prunings from fruit trees for pea-sticks and supports for broad beans.

Cuore d'albengo tomatoes

Last year our friends Renny and Calvin visited us and saw the small forest of tomatoes we grow in the conservatory. When they got home they sent us a packet of Cuore d'albengo tomato seeds to try. It was late in the season for sowing but we put in a tentative 2 seeds - with one fine specimen reaching the roof! Eventually it produce half a dozen smallish fruits and one apple-sized which taste delicious and very sweet. This year we've planted more and are looking forward to more and bigger tomatoes in late summer.

Cuore d'albengo tomatoes from seeds sown in 2011