Me and my classmates took our SAT’s this week and it was a really stressful time, so this weekend I wanted to chill out and feel groovy!

Lust for life!

Has the sun made you feel groovy this weekend?!?!?

SAT’s tests were Monday to Thursday this week; each afternoon after school we did something different to help me chill out and relax – a trip to a garden centre, a drive over the moors nearby and a quick visit to an RSPB reserve.

On Friday we had our first camping trip of the year and it was marvellous !! On Saturday we went for a walk in Lathkill Dale, a nature reserve in Derbyshire, it was buzzin’ with wildlife – warblers, a kestrel, swans, coots, butterflies, goldfinches, dippers, trout and just as we were looking at the river a hare came on to the path, one look at us and it quickly hopped off. Lots of plants too, including wild garlic, early flowering purple orchids (we think) and other beautiful wild flowers.

The highlight of the whole trip was after our evening BBQ, a beautiful barn owl flew out over the campsite, it perched in a tree then flew back over the site into the nearby fields. It was brilliant to see and I couldn’t stop thinking about it; that’s the thing with nature, you get these short glimpses of wonderful things and they make you feel amazing.

Home & School Garden

At school we did some weeding in the front flower beds and then we all got to plant a cucamelon  (a grape-sized ‘watermelon’ that tastes of pure cucumber with a tinge of lime). As part of the Y6 Enterprise Project I’m selling a variety of plants including marigolds, thyme, campanulas and primroses; tomorrow I’m going to be supervising the gardening gang as we re-pot them ready for sale.

At home the apple blossom has erupted, which is a great sign for the harvest, there’s blossom too on the blueberries, the wild garlic has started to flower and the purple flower heads have started to grow on the chives.

There was a fire on the moors opposite my house last week. Due to the wind the fire got going really quickly and it was bright red and intense. It was really near my school and everyone was talking about it the next day. I know the moor can quickly recover from a fire, but I really worry about the wildlife up there.

With RHS Chelsea Flower Show just over a week away I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. I’ll be writing a post-show blog next week.

I’ve had a great weekend, hope you have too. Have a great week gardeners