Dry spell

After a week away, playing it fast and loose in NYC on a business trip, I approached the allotment today with trepidation, not to mention a healthy dose of jetlag. With typical gardener's luck, the minute we gained control of the allotment all rain ceased and temperatures soared, so any hopes we had of the allotment's grass and plants thriving on their own during the week while we do other things has vanished.

I was relieved to see that the grass is growing - if you squint at it from the far side, it actually looks like a lawn is coming up in the final third - but up close it's still very spotty. That said, the plants were definitely suffering so we utilised all 4 of our cans and buckets, and managed to dowse the seedlings properly. Some half-hearted weeding attempts rounded out a fairly pathetic effort, and when Sarah and clan showed up, with a bottle of wine, well, that pretty much ended work for the day.

Highlights of the day include finally getting Sophie's "broken" sunflower into the ground; Sarah's gifts of carrots, squash and onions from the Kitchen House Gardens (carrots eaten on the spot, squash eaten after being gently fried in oil); the excitement with which Sophie continues to treat each visit to plot 20 and increasingly-realistic talks of the Shed Mahal - but all were overshadowed by a spotting of Colin Firth dining at the restaurant at the end of our road, al fresco. Vive la Chiswick Good Life!