Garden Classroom – Page 6 – Tracie's Treasures

childminding, family, rangers, Seedlings, wanderers

Summer Holidays: Week 2

Posted on 23rd Jul 20216th Mar 2022 by Tracie Dowling

The weather turned too cold and wet for a couple of days. We went to the park on the Monday and got drenched so we all decided to have a games day. The sun ended up coming back out!!

We loved the game ‘Fast Fish’ it was fun rolling the dice and predicting the colours of the fish we had to rush and find. Jack beat Tracie and Martha beat everyone!

Poppy and Sophia love anything Japanese at the moment so after the cinema we decided to pop in to Yo Sushi to try some new foods. The girls loved trying to use chopsticks, it made our lunchtime last forever!

While in town, we decided to have a walk about. The girls loved climbing the suitcases on Hope Street.

Back at our setting we were busy painting our rocks that we made last week.

Tracie and some of the children went on a trip to Acorn Farm. We went into the petting station and loved sitting still and stroking the animals. Tracie made a friend with a goat and Jack loved the meerkats.

Emma went on a trip to Hollywood Bowl. They all jumped on a bus, played a couple of games and had a lovely lunch! What a lovely fun end to a busy second week!

Wonder what fun we will have in week three!? The summer holidays are going fast!

family, Garden Classroom, rangers, Seedlings, wanderers

Fun Day With The Children

Posted on 21st Jul 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

We have had a lovely day today playing in the garden and going to Breckside Park.

Sophie looked at all the flowers and asked me to take photos of her favourites.

Mason wanted to make a snail home using different items from around the garden. Jacy and Jack loved the idea and made their own. They asked me to choose my favourites. I explained they were all lovely and the snail will judge by going on the one it likes best.

After playing in the garden it was time for lunch then off to the park.

The younger children enjoyed a kick about, quoits and catch the ball in the net. They ran about so much all they wanted was the pram, bottle and sleep. Job well done!

The bigger children set up the goal posts and had a kick about trying to see who could get the most goals. After about 2 hours and lots of sweat, tears and moans we decided to go back and have a cold drink and ice lolly’s. Four very over heated children!!

childminding, family, rangers, Seedlings, wanderers

Summer Holidays: Week 1

Posted on 16th Jul 20216th Mar 2022 by Tracie Dowling

We have had a ball this week, the sun has been out every day and the children have all been so good!

Alfie was so tired one day he was nearly asleep while playing! Izzy had her first day with us and she was such a little giggler, her favourite play was jumping up and down in the activity centre.

Tracie is so relieved it’s Friday, we have had an eventful week but now time for a few days rest, then it all starts again!

family, Garden Classroom

My Dad and Rosies Bee’s

Posted on 8th Jul 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

This is my Dad and Rosie’s garden in Lincolnshire, it is so beautiful and well kept. They both must spend all their time mowing lawns, dead-heading flowers and watering the plants.

Rosie has been working hard to produce a wonderful wildlife garden ready for my dad’s bees to arrive.

The garden has grown up so tall and I bet there are 1000’s of different insects thriving, living in the flowers.

My dad has mowed a pathway to enable them to get through to the hives and greenhouse. I just want to go and run through, looking at all the different flowers there are.

All Dad and Rosie’s hard work has paid off and here is the evidence Thousands of bees have made it their home. They will be busy bees making lots and lots of delicious honey!

How do you all like your honey? I like mine on a chunk of crusty bread mmmm. Hopefully, later in the year I will be able to post photos of the honey!

Garden Classroom, rangers, Seedlings, wanderers

Garden Challenge 2021: Tracie’s Treasures

Posted on 25th Jun 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

We have been so busy over the last month. Today we were able to harvest our Mangetout. The little seedlings tried them once Tracie had washed them.

Three seedlings wanted to try them and no matter how much we encouraged Sophie she wasnt up for tasting them.

Alfie and Georgia loved the Mangetout and ate loads but Emma and Fearne were not so keen. We loved the faces Fearne made, at least they tried them!

Below are our other tasty fruits and vegetables we have growing in the garden.

This is a collection of photos of the plants the Rangers and Wanderers wanted me to post.

We also had a few whoopsies! We had some visitors come and make holes in our cabbages! Georgia thought it was a hedgehog, Fearne thought it was a snail and Sophie said “I don’t know Tracie!” When I told them all it was a slug they all said yucky!

Our other problem was the giant Poppies, they have over taken our vegetable patch!

family, rangers

Garden Challenge 2021: Gemma’s Garden

Posted on 20th Jun 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

Gemma’s vegetable beds are amazing and full of lush green produce. When the days are sunny Gemma gets Chloe to help water them.

Gemma loves Pac Choi and hers have grown really well. Once they start to flower, which is called bolting, the seeds grow for Gemma to collect for sowing next year!

Gemma’s radishes are amazing, they are as big as a large marbles.

Unfortunately my radishes have not turned out so well! Mine are as big as a grape, but not so juicy.

Garden Classroom, rangers, Seedlings, Uncategorized, wanderers

Garden Challenge 2021: Tracie’s Treasures

Posted on 13th May 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

What a wet May we have all had! Its been so hard gardening because every time we go to do some, the weather changes!!

The garden has loved the wet weather and all the plants and grass are all growing lovely.

Early in the year, we sowed tomatoes in various ways to see which would grow better.

Jacy sowed his tomato seed in a Bisto pot, he thought it would protect the roots when he potted it on. Eventually the Bisto pot will disintegrate when the plant is placed in the grow bag giving the roots extra space to grow.

What a fantastic idea Jacy had. His tomato plant is the strongest, tallest and has a tomato already growing on it! We are so impressed that we are collecting Bisto pots now!

The pictures below are of Tracie holding Jacy’s tomato plant up so you can see the amazingly strong roots!

The middle picture is a tomato plant we grew in the green house in a plastic pot. As you can see there are less roots and they are wonky (we do love wonky veg so thats ok!) they are much smaller, thin and scraggly. The bottom pictures (above) are of our other seedlings which we are growing in toilet rolls and they seem nice and strong! We will start hardening them off soon, ready to be planted among our flowers.

Above is our pot we sowed the Melon seeds in. We have no idea how but we have a tomato plant and weeds! No sign of a melon!

We have tried to grow cucumbers as we had a bumper crop last year. Unfortunately they didn’t grow even though we sowed 6!

We decided to go to the garden centre and buy one already established. Within 2 days they had slug damage! So back to the garden centre we went. This time we have put a water marker on it, covered the pot rim with copper (to keep slugs away) and placed it on gravel. We will see how they go in our next garden post.

family, Garden Classroom, Seedlings

Strawberry Wall

Posted on 12th May 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

Today, in between the rain and the wind, the Seedlings braved the weather to plant up the Strawberry wall. Tracie prepared the wall by filling it with peat-free compost.

At the weekend Tracie dug up the strawberry plants from our plot that the seedlings made last year, she prepared them for the seedlings to replant in the wall.

We have decided to build a new pond in the old strawberry bed for all our growing frogs!

This is Mr Frog, he made Tracie jump! She was sitting on the sofa watching us play when the frog jumped next to her to see what she was doing! We all thought it was funny! Tracie very carefully picked up Mr Frog and took him over to the pond.

family, Garden Classroom, Seedlings

Garden Challenge 2021: Phyllis’ May Garden

Posted on 12th May 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

Phyllis has been working hard in her Garden and all the plants are growing well.

The nets Phyllis has had to put up isn’t to stop the birds and pests, its to protect the crops from Hebe the cat!

What a pickle Hebe is! Everywhere Phyllis is, Hebe’s not far away causing mayhem!

All the vegetables are looking lush and growing big and strong. Phyllis has to keep mowing the grass to make it look nice and tidy.

The fruit is coming along too! There will be lovely ripe strawberries to pick and eat, they will go well with scones and cream in June! Something for us to look forward too!

Mind you that’s if they actually get to the kitchen! I know a few Treasures who like to pick and eat them before Phyllis gets a chance!!

Frank has made a Tomato planter in the greenhouse, Phyllis has planted the tomato plants the seedlings have grown for her, there are cucumbers growing too! All you need is onions and you have a salad!

Phyllis has also got lots of lovely colourful flowers around her garden to encourage the bees and butterflies. She has sent me pictures of them, below are my favourite ones. I bet they smell amazing.

family, Garden Classroom, rangers, Uncategorized

Garden Challenge 2021: Gemma’s May Update

Posted on 12th May 202110th Aug 2021 by Tracie Dowling

At the beginning of May, Gemma sent us some pictures of her garden vegetable raised beds that she had made. They have come on so well and are all starting to grow nice and strong.

Its mid-May now and only two weeks since the above pictures and the raised beds have grown so much! Gemma and the children are doing so well, they must all have green fingers!!

Chloe has been helping Gemma after school with watering and trying to keep Cooper their dog from jumping on them! All our pets want to join in with gardening!