bed 1a over time

You've made a huge difference there Fran, good luck with your seeds, sometimes it can be a bit hit or miss, I had to sow more lettuce in my square bed, I decided I'd waited long enough and nothing was appearing, I'd also sown some in a little tub of the cut and grow variety and they are doing ok so far so not all lost...Its like my sweetpeas, I planted some out around the frame a few weeks back and everyone has gone, I reckon the flipping pigeons had a feast, luckily I kept some back for my daughter so now she only gets half but this time I'll be wrapping a net around them whilst they get established, a gardeners life is so much fun at times....

Its a different place Fran. I love your quince too - did it have fruit on last year?

You've done so much, Fran. It's good to look back to see what you've achieved. I've a problem with seeds too - they are growing quite well in the greenhouse but all my 'permantly' marked labels are now blank so I don't know what anything is :(

@ Lincs – thanks, dear. I got rid of the hammock (nearly said trampoline!) yesterday so I’ve got a lot more space now, probably to fill with a lot more junk!
I’ve got some seeds in the greenhouse which seem to be eager to come up; not got that close to the bed yet, they might be thinking about it. at least they give you plenty of seeds (usually) to increase the odds.
I bet after you planted more seeds the first lot started coming up? Murphy’s Law. I’ve thought of trying some veg, but not sure how much a crop might be, would it be worth it, considering how little veg I eat? Maybe I’d eat more if I grew my own.
I’d start them in the greenhouse, now I’ve tried it and got some results.
Can you get something to keep the birds off? I’ve read that strings criss-crossed will baffle them, of course it might equally baffle the gardener if they’re not careful!

@ Stera – it had about half a dozen fruit on it, none bigger than maybe the top joint of my thumb. I saw a few on the shrub, but most I found on the ground around it. I chucked them over the back fence, in case birds or animals wanted a snack, which would help to spread the seeds a bit wider. Then I found some more; having chucked the first “crop” I did the same with them as well. Maybe this year I’ll have enough to make a very small pot of jam!

@ Gee – it’s not till you look back that you realise how far you’ve come – while you’re doing it, it doesn’t feel like you’re getting anywhere at all.
I don’t usually try seeds, because I don’t have much luck with them. But I’ve got some doing ok in the greenhouse, so maybe I should try harder, at least protect them while they’re coming out, though thinning out seems wasteful to me, throwing baby plants away that might grow nicely if allowed. Besides, I’m not good with delicate work, and I’d probably crush them while trying to plant them out.
I used marker pen on the plant labels, but they’re not blank – I thought of making long strips, writing on the inside of one half and folding them over to protect the writing. Seems like a lot of work, though.
I did cut the names out of a couple of plant packs to put in the trays in the greenhouse, but they came off, so I can’t tell which is Lavender and which is Evening-scented Stock – and that’s under cover!
A way round it might be to map the bed, marking in roughly where the seeds are placed, but that seems like a lot of hard work, too.