Loraine has done well with our lettuce this year and we have the leaves quite often during the winter months.
If you are reading this then you are fortuitous enough to have survived another year on this whacky planet!
As 2021 draws to a close, and the New Year looms ever closer, no doubt we all wonder what this change over will bring for us all. We for one, hope the weather is somewhat better than is has been as of late and it relents to give us some sunny dry periods where things can dry out, even if the cold comes with it!
Mixed leaves are indeed tasty at any time of the year, but it is in the winter months that you begin to understand the relationship between the plants, and the weather is so entwined it raises your spirits each time you see bowls of fresh produce even on the very coldest of days. We hope you had a lovely Christmas time and you have relaxed, and chilled out ready for the New Year just around the corner? Our Christmas has been quiet as we spent the time with our own company and just enjoyed a relaxing break away from gardening. Before Christmas, Paul pulled a muscle in his right shoulder lifting heavy sacks of wet sand and it put him out of action for a while, but now seems to have healed.
Loraine tending our winter crops which we are enjoying immensely
Even though the weather has been somewhat atrocious with winds and rain, our ground is pretty good at dealing with that as it drains quickly but maintains moist soil, at least it does on our vegetable beds. We did however lose quite a few leaves of some of the crops due to the high, blustery winds that have been extra prolific this year, but at least there are still plenty to crop as we require them. Our three hedgehogs have not been seen for some time now so we hope they are sleeping away from the worst of the weather. We shall keep a close eye out for them anyways and give them some nourishment after their long winter hibernation.
Our onions and garlic are all ready for their early start next year which should get us off to a good growing season.
The trees have lost all their leaves now and everything looks so tired and bleak, and the lack of sunshine does not help in that respect either. In October we planted hundreds of flower bulbs around the garden walls and many of the shoots are already growing eagerly, so we are waiting with anticipation of the colourful show to come our way starting in January with the Snowdrops and Crocus, followed by the daffodils and alliums. We have ordered our fruit trees for the seating area outside of the Hut with a lovely cherry by the side of the hut, another in the opposite corner, and two slim trees for the opposite corners. 
The area has now been laid out ready for the stone chippings to go down after Christmas.
In the photo above the beds have been marked out with blocks to define the beds for the flowers and fruit trees to be planted therein. Once the stone chippings are laid down it should look quite nice, although this year we have not been able to fill the beds with flower bulbs and plants, hopefully in the New Year, we can rectify that. Under the stone chippings is the sand from the sand ring we no longer require, and under that is the weed suppressant fabric which should keep the weeds down somewhat. Maybe later on we shall get some smaller green chippings to put on the top of the white ones to add colour and contrast. All of the grass you see in the above photo will eventually be turned into the bare ground for growing plants and flowers, and in the New Year we shall be adding Globe Artichokes which will add another veg to our crops and provide architectural interest.
Our Mahonia tree is doing well and is looking pretty this year, but has a lot of growing to do.
As the plants and trees are settled in now we expect good spurts of growth during this summer as they continue to expand and maybe even get some fruits from our orchard which has been pretty sparse so far but now they will be up to year three and the trunks are thickening up well, so much so, that we took down all of the stakes except for one or two. New jobs for early next year include pruning, lifting, and planting trees in designated spots around the garden that we have expressed an interest in making more pleasing features.
This is the last part of the garden wall waiting to be built.
Paul is waiting for some decent weather to finish off the enclosed garden wall which goes all the way around the vegetable garden, once completed, it's back down to the sand ring area to build the beds for the Blueberries at the back of the stable block. There are also flower and herb beds to build outside of the house at the back to add colour and interest from the kitchen window. Once the block building is finished, then the chicken run will be started at the back of the polytunnel, but that is much later next year. Well, only a short update just to let you know how we are and what we are NOT up to..... The great chill-out must come to an end with the New Year and it's back to work in turning this once barren plot into a beautiful and productive garden that you will love to follow.
The NEW website is coming on well, and we are opening up the site to visitors so you can now see what is happening with it. Many sections are not yet completed and you will know this by the 'this page is awaiting construction' signs on areas not yet ready. At present, you can see the same blog entry on both sites, but better laid out we think. Other pages are working as in the Cornwall Sights & Sounds pages which is nearly complete for now, but if you go to an area that is not yet ready, it will tell you so. After so many months, I shall then re-direct The Stables site straight over to the new one so you will land here automatically.
The OLD Website address: https://thestables.me.uk/wp
The NEW Website address: https://www.gardens-nanpean.co.uk/