Superb Meal at The Bistro at Ford Park

Or should I say at The Bistro, The Coach House, Ford Park, Ulverston.

We had, what I consider to be, the best meal of my life at this new restaurant last Friday when it was a French Food night. I have mixed feelings about recommending it as this could lead to it being packed and needing to book months ahead when I want to go again . . . . .

Worth travelling here from Lancaster puts most of your restaurants to shame - we've been to several. The  prices will amaze you for the quality.

The next themed evenings are on Friday and Saturday 3rd and 4th May - Spanish with  live Flamenco music - £18.50. Wow.

To the rescue

Threatened with a hard day of graft, spading and wheelbarrowing endless loads for possibly two days, eleven people sprang forward to do a lot of hard work to help me out.

Better still they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and thanked me for the experience.

Here's a record of their adventure.

Some of you would have dearly loved to be there and help.

Next time perhaps - see below !

 .

Contact Geoff  if you'd like to get involved - gd at tygh.co.uk - 01229 480 347

 Terry from Star street is helping later today at 4 pm (Friday) to spread some of it over the turf as a dressing where it's needed in the park - while it is still dry and easy to work with.
.

Next job - refurbishing the decrepit fences !

Creating a lovely relaxing space in next door Pound.

A celebratory picnic and play for all.

Watch this space as they say.

But especially the little notice board in The Park

And starting in a fortnight, please bring scissors and pick all the Sweet Peas on the fencing: the more they are picked , the more they grow - please don't stop and we'll still be getting flowers in November.

Cathie's Gardening Afternoon

First of two videos:

Work as it happened:

After the event :

Preparing for the new season on the allotment.

'Chitting' my seed potatoes in the garage ready for the allotment in six weeks time ( I need to get digging in preparation!)

Rocket for small new potatoes and Pentland Javelin for the next crop have been recommended. The latter have some Blight resistance.

The Monday Interview - David Gardner continued

The familiar face of David - our friendly gardening consultant.

We think of him as living down the road but in fact it takes him an hour and twenty minutes to get here.

So how come he chose Ulverston market to trade at?

Are there many others like him?

Or is this quiet unassuming man part of a well honed team and a real expert at survival?



A quick look at the range of plants on offer.

Who needs a flash garden centre when the quality , range and price are all in our favour when we shop at David's stall.

Worth a trip to Ulverston on a Thursday or Saturday just to buy here, don't you think?

The pottery in Mill Dam and an event in Gill Banks

In addition to the placing of many new ceramic butterflies, a lot of hard work has been done to free up the soil from shrub roots and add composted manure ready for a stunning show of flowers later this year!



If you missed the chance to make butterflies, you can have a chance to make stuff for the railings in Gill Banks this Saturday between 11am and 4pm. The clay has been rolled out ready for you to use with the ideas that you will come up with.

You'll also have a chance to be interviewed by Cumbria Radio if you there at about 11:20 and tell the world what you are making and what you like about the project !

Greenhouse raising flowering plants for Ulverston

This is my first ever greenhouse.

I've struck really lucky with the location for it which now has about 2,500 potential plants for Ulverston's public spaces. A great variety of seeds have been donated by Chiltern Seeds of Ulverston; an adventurous seed supplier of rare flower heirloom veg and herbs.

In a recent email Denise Taylor states:

"we confirm that we would be delighted to help out again this year! I will arrange for another box of easyish annuals and perennials to be made up, as we did last year,"

"Anything to help and support our community!"




It's a lovely place to go and 'work'.

The slightest bit of sun and it's beautifully cozy - and I have these great views! The cat likes it too!

I can see why people love their contact with living things. Everything is so eager to grow. Given half a chance and the seeds are off.

What a phenomenal burst of energy from one innocent looking packet of minute seeds!

It's the same feeling as watching birds outside as they busy themselves with living. They appear to enjoy life - but I'm sure it's really a lot of hard graft.

I wonder what they would think as they observe us humans as we go about life?

Imagine them flying over Market Street on a busy day.

Are we too enjoying the challenge of life in the same way?

I can understand why Stafford Salmon of West Ulverston enjoys his secluded work in the wholesale market gardening business, of working with plants all day, so much.

Again there's a link with people who work on allotments. They too have a positive way of looking at life.

Have we done ourselves a disservice of using technology that takes us away from a hands on approach to life.

The Greenhouse is now fully functional!

Erected ten days ago, it's already got 60 pansies getting ready for planting out in a public place near you!(These survived the winter in the cold frame).




Now freshly sown seeds donated by Chiltern Seeds are already poking through after a week


These are blue and white Salvias - sixty of them.

In total there are well over 1000 plants packet into egg trays that should be ready in a months time.

Flowers come in a wide variety of colours sizes and shapes.

We'll soon have 70 odd sweet pea plants. These will be used to cover the right hand fence of Mill Dam Playground. The more people pick the more will flower!

Here's some I grew earlier:



In 2008.

The hard work starts this Sunday morning at 7 am when I start battling with large stones and tree roots in order to dig down a few feet to get loads of compost down deep where the sweet peas will like it.

I'll be there - in Mill Dam - from 7-9 and 10:15 till 12:30 this Sunday 28th and again 10:15 till 12:30 the following Sunday April 4th.

Come with a fork or prepared to stand and watch in amazement what a 75 year old ( now, no longer 74 !) can do.

Five Planters for Gill Banks

First mix the soil for the planters - 3 parts garden soil with 2 parts Arthur Bowers peat free compost 1 part "Farmhouse manure" obtained from the Suppliers at Lindal - in the comfort of the workshop - it's cold outside. (I made these proportions up - comments welcome!)





This fills two and a half planters which have been constructed by gluing many parts of fired pottery together with the wonderful "Gorilla Glue" obtained from Graham at Smith and Harrisons (Can you remember it being in Theatre Street with those rickety stairs to the other store rooms ?):


Finally fill all five planters and add plants bought on the market - the Ivy looked very good, the Violas, root-bound but they'll do as a start.


Seeds donated by Chilterns Seeds are popping through in the cold frame ready for the spring, I'm hoping they'll survive the frost. These plants will replace these present flowers and could also be available for Lightburn Park.

Setting up a greenhouse in my garden is planned so as to rear other plants for public spaces from these same seeds donated for the purpose.

I'm a novice at most of this and would appreciate all the help possible from anyone interested. That applies to my allotment too - advice from the experts on the site as to what grows well there is most welcome. At the moment digging it over so that it gets the benefit from the frosts is my priority and going well.

A compost heap of horse manure has been created.

The bright idea of putting the above, planted up, planters on the top of this compost heap in order to stop the contents freezing even in this weather, has been born! Will this work?

When the temperature eases up again, the planters will be placed in Gill Banks.

All advice welcome!

Putting one's body through the mill!

I've accepted the offer of an allotment and started work on it last Tuesday with two hours before soup and bread and one and a half after.

I haven't been so tired for many years.

Nothing a hot bath and a night's sleep didn't put right!

I was out there for another two ours yesterday morning.

Enjoying it tremendously.

It's in a bit of a state with couch grass, thistles and nettles doing well.

The bonus is that I have been left a good small wooden shed with a spade and maybe a resident rat under the floor! Also two compost bins and a good 'fence' which is probably there to kill the effect of the wind as it races across the flat terrain.

Most of the ground was under an inch of water on Tuesday. Yesterday the water level was six inches below the surface.

As I always suspect that weather conditions are good for something . .

most of the weeds over a foot high were yankable with ease - that got rid of most of the tall ones including the thistles - the nettles are another matter and take some removal - the battle continues! With a sharp spade, I was able to dig through the couch grass.

Transferred some black polythene that had been left behind to a new patch and await the absence of sunlight to work wonders!

There's also a semi communal heap of horse manure steaming away with easy wheel-barrowing distance. I've yet to understand the rules of access to this!

The guys I've met down there are great. Very warm, friendly and helpful. It strikes me that allotmenting attracts a special kind of person - which must be why I am there.

Glad to see some nut tackling the weeds next to their plot I reckon.

I find that I love a challenge - so this is my cup of tea,

Be interesting what I have to say in a year's time!

Seeds arrive from Chiltern Seeds, Ulverston

For communal use anywhere in Ulverston - old but perfectly good stock is donated to the town by this generous Ulverston firm that could yield, without exaggeration, a million flowers for people to enjoy.

Just a bit of very rewarding hard work required !

Let's be hearing from you if you want to get involved!







And each of the bunches of packets above contains as much as these!


Just think how much of Ulverston could be covered in flowers next year!

.