14th September 2004

A Natural Garden (almost!)

As both the teachers and the children have been getting used to the start of the new school year, the garden has had to cope without help for a few weeks. But as most untended gardens seem to do, it has grown very well without human help. The sunflowers seem set to equal last year's record, the plants we thought had long gone have come back, and the beans...

How many beans?

The Runner Beans were last harvested only just over a week ago, but the rain and the (tiny) bit of sun have made them grow like mad! These must be picked and we must let people know that they are there.

How long are they?

As we are harvesting them, we will have to run a competition to find the longest bean. They are HUGE! We may even need two people per bean to carry them into the school...

And what about the rest of the harvest?

The Sweetcorn seems to be doing very well too. The cobs are filling out well. We're not sure when they will be ready, or how we will know, but watch this space.

And what about the flowers?

Thre are still a number of flowers in the garden. The Hollyhocks have come into flower which brighten up the green forest with their double pink flowers.

And finally, where's the Hippo?

The Mini-Garden Hippo is still there, on his tree stump. At the moment he is being careful not to get washed away by the strong tide of Nasturtiums that keep crashing against his home. It's a wild world out there at the moment, just perfect for a Mini-Garden Hippo!

And how high are the sunflowers?

They are very high. Higher than Mr. C. Higher than Mr. S. We'll measure them when we harvest the beans.