Typically for a British bank holiday we’ve spent the long weekend dodging rain showers. Luckily there have been some dry spells that were long enough for Toby to have some bouncy time and for me to potter around the garden. I had bought some new herbs to replace those that have been in situ for a few years and gone all woody and now they’re happily bedded into my little herb wall.

In between the herbs I’ve planted a few little violas – they were on sale and are so pretty that it would have been unkind not to give them a home. There were a few too many to fit into the wall and as the herbs will probably crowd them out, I’ve popped them into a pot.

Since the weather isn’t yet good enough for us to be spending much time outside I’ve brought them inside so that I can appreciate their delicate prettiness all the time.

It’s nice to have a little taste of spring inside the house, though I hope that Toby isn’t tempted to literally taste them – I’ve not had fresh flowers in the house since the peony munching incident!

Toby had a couple of hours of respite on Saturday which went quite well. He’s visiting for a few hours at a time and building up to a full day at the end of August. It was lovely to have a little weekend time to myself (Amy was busy writing a story) and I made the most of it by dodging the rain showers and tidying up the fruit and veg beds.

Some things have done really well this year – french beans among them. These are a delicious yellow variety called Rocquencourt and we’ve had loads.

Other things have not grown so well, including my potatoes. I dug up a whole potato sack that I’d planted with 5 tubers back in March and this was all I got for my weeks of careful tending!

Pretty pathetic really, my harvest doesn’t even fill a small paper bag!

Don’t think I’ll be bothering with tatties next year, unless anyone has any good growing tips?