Bon voyage alliums

At last, some of the plants that I've started this year have travelled down to Leitrim :-)

Today, Sam took the garlic, onion sets and leeks down with him in the car.

I still won't be down until next week - but they are hardy enough to manage until then.

Sam was down last week, working on the vents for the heat recovery system and setting up for the plumbing. He didn't take any pictures. Mind you, pictures of tubing / piping might not seem to exciting - but I'll remind him to take pics this week.

Here's what the car looked like before he went down.

Garlic and onions in the boot.

More garlic (including 2 elephant garlic) on the back seat.

Some leeks .. and some more garlic (with more unseen in the footwell) on the front passenger seat.

That should keep any vampires away for a while. I didn't mean to plant THAT much, but every time our shop bought garlic started sprouting, I just had to plant it, especially the scrawny ones that are hardly worth peeling. So, garlic is in good supply.I might add some of the tiny ones to the flower bed and keep the 'proper' ones (2 cloves of Flavor) for the vegetable bed.

There are still a lot more seedlings to be moved down. This picture is just SOME of them. I fancy sticking to my planting plan, even though I'll have more ssedlings to bring down next week. I've also purchased some more flower seeds (tagetes, poached egg plant, nigella) to sow in situ soon - to divide patches of bed and make the place colourful.

Here are some of the broad beans waiting to go down.

All we need now is to get the Bongo van cheered up and running again. Otherwise it'll be a few trips in the car, especially with ducks and cats, which could be quite a juggling act.

I'm sending the Bongo Van good energy and trusting that Sam can get it sorted when he comes back at the end of the week.

Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to source paint - and we need a LOT of paint that is benign to us and nature and also affordable - and source other materials, while I have good internet access.

I reckon we can have the phone line in soon - a good neighbor came today (impromptu) and helped Sam feel the telephone cable down the piping . Luckily it was sorted easily (he put some flexible water pipe down it and ran the cable through with it - then removed the water pipe).

We'll need to remember the rope when we lay the piping for the electric - the ESB won't touch it if you don't.

I'm really looking forward to getting the phone in, as the mobile signal is very weak and I fancy conversations that last until the end without breaking up or dropping. It will make ordering things a bit easier when we're down.

And the electricity - well - it'll be party time when we have that in - and can run the well properly and easily run gadgets, lights and things other than tools (which naturally get priority with the generator).

My fingers are crossed that the good weather will remain (or at least return by next week), so I can go re-aquatint myself with the garden whilst basking in cheery sunlight. The sunshine lately just makes everything look lovely and lush and gorgeous. Long may it continue.