On Vacation

On vacation, I spotted a rather artsy looking cow out of pasture which turned out to be part of the Cow Parade tour taking place in Northern Ireland; photo taken at Antrim Castle Gardens, Northern Ireland.

The 'Cow Parade' is apparently the largest and most successful public art event in the world. The idea mooted around 1999. The Cow Parade has taken place in 75 cities across the world, and more than 32 million people have seen at least one exhibit. The cows are incredibly interesting to look at. For more on Cow Parades:  http://www.cowparade.com/

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

Photographing Insects

Two things I enjoy (but not always easy) - photographing and identifying insects in the garden. Just when I go to snap the camera they often fly away leaving me with a blurred picture! However I've manged to snap a few over the summer (the first two photos were taken while visiting the North Antrim Coast). 

I've used PhotoScape to attempt adding a flattering frame! 
Left: three little creatures caught in this photo - success!

Above: Comfry.

This is the first year I've spotted a grass hopper in the garden.

Above and Below: Canterbury Bell. (good times for the bee below!)

Above: flowering leek.

Above: Poppy 'Danish Flag' 

Have you had much luck photographing insects in the garden?

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

August Veg Update

There's been successes and failures this year in the veg plot. The curly kale has done really well and is good in stir fries. It also looks great planted in the flower beds. I prefer to eat Kale 'Nero di Toscana' (as I prefer its texture to the curly leaf) but the slugs are eating it before I can. For some reason slugs don't bother with the curly kale (another perk).

Left: Kale Curly Scarlet, sown from seed indoor 8 April 2012 and planted out early June 2012.

I'm finally getting a regular supply of courgettes. Blossom rot is still a problem and affecting many plants but also managing to harvest some.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen. Soon I will have more than I can eat!

Above: The yield from 3 grow bags. This looks to be my worse year for potatoes.  Pictured  they aren't much bigger than golf ball size but will be eaten all the same.

The aubergine /eggplant are growing and growing. The colour seems to be stretching as the fruits grow.

Yellow Courgettes 'Soleil F1' didn't perform last year and aren't doing too great this year. They seem prone to blossom rot. The bigger one in the photo is looking good. It's about 1.5 inches long.

Another year of flowering broccoli for me. This is  'Annual Summer Sprouting'. It's planted in the flower bed so I'll leave it to flower rather than try harvesting.

All of the plants above have been grown from seed. To view my seed list click - 2012 Seeds

Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.