May 8th, 2005
Herb Garden
Yesterday I planted up a small herb garden. A pot-bound lavender and an old rosemary bush from the garden at home found their way to mtp. I expect they’ll be much happier in the open ground rather than stuffed in pots on the (tiny) deck at home. So they went in. Also some small Thyme plants (French and Golden) that I bought at the nursery and a Purple Sage and these Chives. I’m planning to sow Corriander today and some Basil at home. That should keep our kitchen well stocked for the rest of the year. When I was a the garden centre choosing herbs I picked up a Tarragon plant and was debating whether to buy it or not. Then I realised that I never use Tarragon in any of my cooking and would probably never use it! A new mtp rule has been made… ‘only grow what you like to eat’… Sometimes it’s hard when the plants are so pretty just to grow them anyway but it really is pointless.
Right that’s it, now it’s Snail War. They may be soft, stripey and kinda cute sometimes but no-one dines for free at Chez MTP. The six cabbage plants I put in have been mercilessly munched into oblivion by slimey invertibrates. Something has to be done. They have to die, that much is clear, but by which weapon? Should I go for the Rocket Launcher (slug pellets), the Uzi (midnight salt raids), the Grenade (beer traps loaded with John Smiths) or the Shotgun (a line of broken shells).
Hoorah! We’ve finally finished marking out all the beds and the pathways – Holy biscuits, that was a mission! Now its time to sit back with a smug beer in hand and survey the work. Just look at the difference. We’ve been working like miners all weekend (I have the sunburn to prove it!). First we finished off the beds, then we cut some weed-supressing fabric to fit the shape of the pathways. We nailed it into place as it was quite windy and then dumped the wood chips over the top. As we ran out of chips near the end Ryan scooted off to buy some more which as it turned out were not quite the same as the rest. I think the two-tone effect is quite charming!
