Good morning Sunshine ! ☀️

                 Good morning Sunshine !

            Up early to get everything watered and weeds hoed down .

     Lots of flowers coming now and one or two courgettes ....but they are just tiddlers at the moment .   

                             🌿The earth smells so good 🌿

The Leeks are looking settled in now . I have another lot to plant out , to feed us through the hungry gap February . Not sure where I will plant them just yet . I 'll have to make room somewhere .

  The Sweetcorn is also coming along . The Runner-beans have really taken quite a bashing in the recent gales and that has really set them back . Last year I lost all my Runner-beans in the harsh winds at around the same time . ( I think my American friends- you call these Pole Beans..which kind of makes more sense really ☺️🌿 )

  They are just about hanging on in there .

 Next year I must remember to sow on some windbreak mesh on the side of the chicken wire fence where the breezes blow through . I have been putting the wheelbarrow on it's side to sort of block it from which ever side it is blowing in from ....which has worked ....but we can do better !

 

Shallots - I think they are finally starting to come up . 

Anyway , the sun is up and shining , it is hot already . I have opened up the greenhouse and made sure everything is watered in there .

            

  Beetroot ....I am so excited to have our own beetroot !

   Peas ! .....Usually they've been eaten by little creatures by now . They are looking surprisingly good if maybe just a tad too thickly sown !

Celery - I've really got to keep them well watered . I'm thinking it might be too hot and dry for them in this bed .

             Lavender - I am so happy to have Lavender for Lavender sachets.

I have another lot of Lavender plants waiting to be planted out . The more, the merrier ! 🌿🪻🪻

I have made sure there is fresh water for our wild birds and animal friends .

Oh ! Good news !......

Tetrapanax papyrifer rex .....that was smashed down a couple of weeks ago ....has put out a few new leaves .

                                        I am SO happy !

                                                 🌿  💚  🌿 

The meadow has been cut  and drying out nicely in the hot sunshine .

As for me , I have done all I wanted to do in the garden today . 

 I'm going to find some shade and do my embroidery , read a few gardening books , maybe do a bit of patchwork .

                 Take care in the hot sunshine everybody ! ☀️

                              love Debbie x

I'm devastated ! 💔

 We're having a severe gale right now down here on the Lizard Cornwall . 

I had thought we were o.k. until I walked around my garden and saw this !

Tetrapanax papyrifer rex .....smashed !  That's the top of it laying on the grass .

It was doing so well all through winter ....and through all the storms ..and we had some big storms this winter !

 It made it through and put out all these beautiful branches .

I just don't understand how it could have happened 😞 I am so upset .

It is in a very bushy and sheltered place . Not only has it been smashed , but the top part which is huge , is laying quite some distance from the trunk .....very odd .

         I am heart broken . There is only one small leaf left on it 😞

                That little one hanging down dropped off .

        The one remaining leaf is not looking all that good ..... sigh ...

Could that be a new leaf shoot coming above the one remaining leaf ?  Maybe ? 

I have made a start clearing all the weeds around it . I am hoping it might put out some off shoots around it's base .

That would be good as I have a few people who would love a rooted cutting .

It might put out some new leaves along the remaining stem . 

I'm not giving up on it . It is one of my favourite "tropical jungle" plants .

                  Oh ! ......heartbroken !

                         All fer now ......love Debbie  x

Almost the End of March Already !

 

Beautiful morning and there are blossoms opening on the Crab Apple trees . 

Starting to look like proper grown up lettuces !

Four of the Merlin Cucumbers have given up the ghost , but the Carmen Cucumbers are looking good .

            Divinity Tomatoes are looking ....perfect !

                         Scatolone 2 Tomatoes also looking .....perfect !

Curly Wurly  Kale ....... looking good ......but not curly wurlying yet !  🤔 I might plant them out next week .

I need the space to start other things on the bench .

Ricardo is busy clearing this area in the background . We are making a new fantastic 🤩 tropical bed over there .

 I've been trying to do this for a very long time , as soon as I'd have cleared it , someone kept throwing more branches , weeds and stuff on to it . 

I  have some beautiful large rocks to build it up with and I have some sensational plants waiting to be planted there . 

The bed with the blue piping on it , is going to be where my Leeks will be planted this year . I have chicken wire to go around it . I just need to gather my metal rods to hold it down with . 🐰

My Curly Wurly Kale is going to be planted at the back where the Leeks were last year .

It is getting warmer by day , but still cold at night .  Clocks go forward tomorrow ....which actually doesn't make any difference to me . I still get up to see the sun rise ☀️🌿

                   Remember this ? Tetrapanax papyrifer rex . Isn't it fabulous ? !!

               

 T.Rex  🦖

Every bit of this plant fascinates me  .

                                       Beautiful monster !

Well , Ricardo did not like it and made me get rid of it 😔🌿

So I managed to save a tiny off shoot from it and I planted it in a hidden place in the bushes .

And my daughter asked could she have a cutting from it and I had to tell her that her father had ordered it to be cut down . The small off shoot is growing , but very slowly at the moment .

It doesn't have any off shoots just yet . It has only just made it through all this year's Winter storms .

            ....... and because she likes it .... her father now likes it too !  

                                                   Men !!!    🙄

I will be weeding this area soon . Over here is the lovely grape vine and one of the Monkey Puzzle trees I grew from seed .

Made a Cheese and onion plait with tuna, mushrooms, red pepper and tomatoes with a salad for lunch , soon we'll be eating our own salad !

We ate half of it before I remembered to take a quick picture of it . We were so hungry after gardening this morning  !  We'll have the other piece tomorrow for a picnic . 

           Delighted to find this pretty Bluebell in a lighter shade of blue .

                           That's all fer now !

          Thinking of you !

          .........and remember ... if you're going out , wrap up warm !

                                    ........and if you're not going out , wrap up warm ! 

                            Peace and love 🕊️🤍Debbie x

Mostly just Watching the Bees 🐝🐝

I gathered some Lettuce and tidied up the remaining plants . We should keep the Lettuces coming for a long time yet and I might sow some more seeds .

 The Tomatoes in the greenhouse are dwindling down now . Just a few more still to come .

Same with the Sweet Peppers . We sadly munched our last mini Cucumber "party time" of the season yesterday .  

I took a slow walk around the garden . 

Watched the bees ....

Looking at the Courgettes , I can see mostly male flowers .

The flower on the right is a male and the flower bud on the left is a female with the immature fruit behind it . 

We really need some proper rain to really give the earth a good soaking . I feel that only then we will start getting more courgettes . 

Good news - is someone has fixed the hose to the outside tap for me !  I am SO so grateful !  

The next area that I am excited to get tidied up  !  

Grape-vine ....Monkey PuzzleTree .....and the T. rex . 

I really am excited about this bit of the garden ....it's gonna be SO cool !  🦖

     😃  I will have so much fun doing this ...yes really !  

                                                 Tetrapanax papyrifer rex 

                                                  🦖🦈🦕🌴🌿🦖🦈🦕🌴

.....but not today ....I am aching something dreadful after all the weeding I've been doing .

So I'm sitting here in the car doing some "dolly stitching " while my husband goes into town to have his hair cut .  

 It is nice and quiet here . 

      It is too noisy at home to concentrate on my more serious medieval embroidery . For the same reason I haven't been able to do my botanical watercolour painting that I had planned to do in the summerhouse . 

I just can't concentrate on my work . 

It has been so hot and we are forced to close our windows because of the noise . I am so unhappy about it . We have also had to go out to get away from it .

I'm trying so hard to not let this bring me down . 

 So gardening is all I have done , all Summer ,which you know I love , but is making me a little tired .

Anyway .....trying to keep positive and happy ....

I picked a goodly basketful of Plums  . I think the deer has had a few of them too . I also watched him munching some of the lower branches of our Apple trees ! 🦌

The apples are for my neighbours this year , who are going to make cider 🍺🍏🍏

Oh well ...there are enough for all  of us  ...if I can just get to them first !!   🙂  

    Weather update -  Kernow Weather Team   - think Storm Erin is now heading towards Iceland and not Cornwall . 

 No rain until next Wednesday . 

It is overcast here today , the sun is trying to come out  .

Time for a nice cuppa tea . I've rather taken to Earl Grey . Also , the occasional comforting milky Chai is nice too .

     What tea do you enjoy ?  What can I get for you ?  Would you like a biscuit ?  🍪🍪🫖☕

                          Cheerio fer now , love and hugs Debbie  💐 x

                                                 🌿🌤️🌿