Today was mostly about weeding the vegetable beds, as little things are starting to appear now. Slow work, but it took me on a good tour of everything. I also planted out a few plants that have been sitting in the grow house all this time. Or in the shed, in the case of the two zinnias, which are now in a terracotta pot *outside* the shed.

Both the yin yang beans and French beans are getting their first flowers now. The runner beans are not there yet, but a few of them do finally have the idea about climbing the netting. One had withered at the top of its stem, so I’m hoping that’ll count as pinching it out and cause it to bush out a bit.

I’ve realised that a couple of the French beans need transplanting, as both beans came up. Or maybe I’ll leave them and sow more on the end instead.

The carrots and beetroot in front of the runner beans have appeared. The veg in its own bed isn’t doing badly, but there aren’t many developed beetroot yet, so I’m glad I have another bed going.

The mostly eaten Marina di chioggia pumpkin looks like it’s trying to grow some more leaves. Let’s hope so, as otherwise all the responsibility is on one plant.

There’s excitement in the bitter melon bed as the first female flowers are forming. I’ve looked around and I think I can see where the male flowers would be, but we need them to be open at the same time. I thought I might dig up the mostly dead bitter melon, but on further inspection, it too might just be trying to send out new growth at the bottom. I’ll keep watering and feeding and hoping for success.

The first little Jack be little has appeared and the vines on this netting are slowly getting the idea of climbing. I keep feeling like everything is taking an age to get going, but I guess it’s not properly summer yet.

The sweetcorn needs no encouragement and is as strong and lush as ever. I weeded selectively in this bed, leaving the obvious flowers, such as borage and nasturtium and any seeds that weren’t obviously weeds. There’s one cornflower in bed 1 that’s doing nicely among the gourds there.

The everlasting peas are doing well and this one on the right has done a really good job of covering the fence. It is also growing forward and trying to cover the obelisk.

I’ve cleared a bit of room in this bed, pulling up the poorly sunflower and planting a clary. I’ve also given the mystery plants some more space.

In the front bed, the freesias are just starting to open. Nothing like as many as I planted, but at least they’re not a no-show.

I’ve put in a zinnia by the gate and a malope under the gate support. A clary has gone in by the  poppies and I’ve cleared out some of that little low-growing bulb weed. Come autumn I’ll have to see if I can clear some of that up a bit. At this point, you can pull up the foliage easily, but it leaves the bulbs . Other seedlings are coming up here and there and I tried not to disturb them with my planting. 

I put a couple of clary in to the right of the pear tree and cleared the ground back to the fence. Managed to pull up all kinds of grass and weeds that had come through the fence. I left this mallow by the elder though, as it looks like it might be pretty.