First Ladybird of the Year Spotted

Yes, I was amazed, but here it is, as seen on Sunday afternoon (11-03-07), taking shelter on a stalk of bamboo.

With the weather much improved the garden has seen quite a bit of activity in the last few days. I was especially pleased to hear from the council - they are promising to come around next week and clear back the overgrown brambles on their land. This saves me a thankless job - though I shall be out there when they arrive to make sure they don't go spraying it with anything nasty. And if it comes to a sit in to make sure - well quite frankly I am up for it!

Back to my own bit of scrub then, I have been busy preparing the bean and pea trenches. One bean trench dug and lined with newspaper (The Guardian, of course) and a layer of veg peelings as well as a bit of wood ash, some sand, some rough compost, and a bit of organic chicken manure for good measure. So much in the mix, it felt a bit like making a cake. Another bean trench still to do (as I like beans a lot, and so do the rest of my family who expect a steady supply). And two rows of Meteor peas sown, with the same trench method. Here are the pea rows, along with their trench.

Yesterday I sowed some more cabbages indoors - too many slugs in my garden to sow them outside. I have put in some red cabbages (Red Cap) and some type of green ones - can't remember exactly what type, and the seed packet doesn't reveal anything but the variety (Shelta).