Today I have taken my blogging inspiration from the Radio Times - or to use its own self-aggrandising terminology - 'the legendary Christmas Radio Times'. Flicking through you will notice it basically comprises three things - the classic Christmas episodes, 'Review of the Year' type shows and an awful lot of stuff starring David Tennant. Quite frankly I'm a little surprised the departing Doctor Who hasn't turned up in a bonnet on Cranford, kicked off an argument on Albert Square or given us his best Cha Cha Cha on Strictly Come Dancing.
Anyway, it seems a little late for Christmas-themed nonsense, and I've yet to crack time travel, so instead I thought I'd look back at the most memorable bits of my gardening year with the kids...
Best garden we visited - without doubt, Hampton Court Gardens in Herefordshire - I mean a maze with an underground tunnel leading to a sunken garden - does garden exploration get more exciting for those under 10 (or over 35)?
Best thing we planted - bulbs, cress and even strawberry plants can't compare to the excitement of the children creating their own gardens this year. Well, I say 'created', but this is very much in the manner the Pharaohs 'created' the pyramids - the kids sent down orders from on high whilst I played the part of Egyptian slave.
Best things we made - I would probably choose either the insect hotel or our mini-scarecrow despite the fact the latter looks disturbingly like ET and has eyes which follow you round the garden in a manner reminiscent of those ancestral portraits in Scooby Doo.
Biggest disappointment - obviously, this has to be our failure to win the school sunflower competition. Still, I am not deterred. If it took Doris Lessing five decades to win the Nobel Prize for literature, I'm sure I can wait another year for my triumph.
As an aside, I had hoped this would be a guest post written by my daughter, but she's too busy - apparently she wants to watch David Tennant reading the bedtime story on Cbeebies...
Creepy Crawly Towers. OOH! (Ours is a bit more like municipal housing) But we did move in a rain spider with her babies.
Posted by: Elephant's Eye | December 27, 2009 at 09:03 PM
Oh I wish I had known you were visiting Hampton Court it is onlyabout 20 mins from me and one of my favourite gardens - we could have met up. My two used to love the maze and tunnel when they were younger. Maybe if youvisit again we could meet
Posted by: Helen | December 27, 2009 at 10:30 PM
Have put Hampton Court garden immediately on my 2010 list - sounds perfect.
Posted by: elizabethm | December 28, 2009 at 06:22 PM
EE - you probably have more inhabitants than we do. It might look pretty but I'm not sure it's attracting huge numbers of tenants...
Helen - I didn't even think about it, but of course it must have been near to you. How annoying. Would love to meet up sometime and we loved Herefordshire so hopefully next time we can make a date.
Elizabeth - Do it! I couldn't believe I'd never heard of it. It was just my kind of garden - traditional with a twist.
Posted by: Dawn | December 29, 2009 at 09:26 PM
A revelation. Getting one's offspring to 'Guest Post'. A holiday! Ah. If they can be persuaded. I see there might be problems there.
I have two Globe Artichoke heads wobbling around on brown stalks which I hope contain ladybirds but how can I tell without dismantling them? Frustrating!
I hadn't understood the Pharoah / Slave thing. Now I do . . .
Altogether an illuminating post.
Have a happy rest-of-Christmas and a wonderful 2010.
Esther
Posted by: Esther Montgomery | December 30, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Esther - Happy New Year to you too! And yes, I do believe in delegation - wherever possible.
PS I'm sure the Innovations Catalogue now carry miniature ladybird walkie-talkies for just such eventualities.
Posted by: Dawn/LittleGreenFingers | January 05, 2010 at 01:53 PM
What a smart way to reuse that tree, and to still get a harvest of walnuts - bonus! Happy New Year!
Posted by: Avis W. | January 08, 2010 at 07:11 AM