MY GREAT LITTLE HELPER

| gaiainaction

Wednesday afternoon is always interesting, apart from all sorts of things happening in my garden, I take care of my five year old grandson, Ruben just loves helping in the garden and today we planted out the winter beet leaf plants. Ruben then gave them plenty of water, but he also dug the holes, so he is a real help. Then we always take rest and have a cup of tea, and today Ruben was pleasantly surprised to meet our new tenant, the robin! This little bird came to pick up crumbs that had fallen on the carpet in the conservatory to the delight of Ruben. There was lots more to be seen and done, there was a caterpillar, and there were herbs to gather and put to dry, and tools to clear up and much more. Ruben, who has just yesterday started big school is a delight to have around. He likes to go for a walk to see the horse in a nearby field too, and playing hide and seek with his amma (that’s me). We laugh and laugh and have the greatest fun, meanwhile Ruben is learning all about gardening and about little creatures which he is very gentle with (even lowering his voice when near them).  A wonderful, gentle and delightful boy!
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Yet another crop of calendula, and chives flowers and stalks.  They are drying now for use this winter.

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On our walk along the boreen, there were seeds on the violets.  And hawthorn berries starting to ripen.

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Our resident robin who spends more and more time inside with us.

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A caterpillar on the petunia, and another fresh crop of yarrow, to dry for making tea in the coming winter months.

14 thoughts on “MY GREAT LITTLE HELPER”

  1. I notice the beets you and Reuben are planting out are BIG, meaning you thought ahead and planted them in pots awhile ago. I think our climate here in northwest Oregon is similar to yours, so does this mean I’ve missed my chance for fall or winter beets?

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    1. No my dear, I cheated and just bought these plants at an organic stall in the market last Saturday. And if your climate is similar I am sure that you can still get away with even sowing some inside now if you don’t want to buy some. I recently sowed beetroots too and they are now almost ready to plant out which I will do soon. Kind regards, Agnes

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      1. Aha! I love finding out other people’s cheats! I’ll keep my eyes open for some, and plant my own too. The ones I tried this spring didn’t germinate, sadly.

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      3. Hi Hope, I live in Southern Oregon, on the coast, and I’m planting beet and turnip seeds, still. This is my third batch now. If it works according to plan, I’ll be eating beets in a couple of months and the bees will benefit from the turnip flowers in January and February. Turnips come up real fast, so you might try them. I just read that they are good for you too, maybe as good as beets are.

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      4. I actually like turnips, here in Ireland it is a popular vegetable of old. I mash them with carrots, yummy. I did plant them two winters ago and they did great, actually might do a few even now – why not, like you say it’s flowers would benefit the bees in mid-winter.

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  3. How wonderful that your Grandson is following in your gardening footsteps. Your grass is so still so green. Ours is very dry looking, but that doesn’t stop me from planting more lettuce, beets, and turnips, which I just did this evening. 🙂

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  5. How lovely that your grandson has taken an interest in gardening – and that your robin comes inside the house.

    Calendula are great, aren’t they? Mine are gearing up to flower yet again.

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