Pottering about in the Greenhouse

I had planned to pull out my sewing things and do some patchwork , but I went up to open up the greenhouse window and ended up taking down the insulation from the greenhouse rafters and pottering about watering and checking on things and marvelling at things and making fresh plans and and and ... you know how it goes !

                      Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri 

 This was a small cutting from my mum's plant over twenty years ago ....and hers was a cutting from my grandmother's plant . 

It has been a blaze of red flame-like star flowers for several weeks now ! 

I think most people know this as an Easter Cactus .

 With those flame like flowers it is more of a Pentecost Cactus than an Easter Cactus . 

Up in the greenhouse the Tomatoes need watering , they're doing well .

 

  I am feeding them now at about every other watering .

I want to make sure everything has been watered before the up coming warmer temperatures this coming weekend .

 If we get more rain , that too will be good to refill the water barrels over night .

I may have lost one of the ferns under the end bench .  I need to pull that out and see if I can revive it . I have a very delicate Epiphyllum under there ... can't remember what it is . Might be Epiphyllum oxypetalum  🤔I need to pull it out and check the label . I'll do that tomorrow .

 

I still need to get my little fountain going in there ! That can be a job for my grandson when he next comes to visit .....also to see if there are any potatoes in my spud-tubs !

Everything is looking healthy and lush .

Bowiea volubilis is going crazy now along with my one remaining Passiflora manicata . The others were/still are outside , not sure if they survived the winter , need to check on them . Meanwhile Passiflora manicata in the greenhouse is very happy and I will sort out a more permanent place for it in there in due course .

So at the moment , everything is scrabbling about together happily ....and I don't mind !

                                  Plants of all nations !

                Polacanthus dinosaur on snail munching duty 🐌

Cucumber vine sneaking across to say "hello" to the Sweet Peppers . 

I took down the winter insulation from along the greenhouse rafters . That is now  rolled up and stored away to be reused next winter . 

 I leave the shade netting up along this side of the greenhouse , for the Epies , ferns and the more shade loving plants .

  This will give more light in for the cacti , sweet peppers and tomato plants on the other side .

The Cucumbers are doing brilliantly ..all over the place !

 I'm waiting for the postman to deliver a nice bundle of paracord . Then I can fix up some gentle support for them .

But it's o.k. I can still get in and move around in there to tend to them all .

I forgot to take that Cucumber today . I'll take it tomorrow for our salad .

A huge Nasturtium has popped up in one pot . Where have you come from ? 

I didn't sow any Nasturtium seeds ..I wonder what colour that will be ?

A few more Agaves to  tidy up and re-pot .This one is Agave americana .

 This is a beauty ! I don't know which variety it is . It is a very slow growing one .

But then Agaves stay small until you repot them and then they quickly grow to fill the new bigger pot ! 

  I might take this one out and give it a much grander size pot . 

If you plant them out into the garden ......

                       ...they can quickly grow to the size of a mini car !

                 That's all fer today folks !

               🌿🕊️  Love and Peace and a bit more sunshine ☀️💐🌿

                                          love Debbie  x

                                                🌧️🌦️🌧️

Agaves , Epiphyllums and Curly Wurly Kale 🌿

 

Up early - cut the grass in the ornamental garden....except for one last little bit ....because the damned battery ran out !

Anyway then spent a couple of hours up in the shed , pricking out and potting on the curly wurly kale seedlings .

 Pricked out and potted on more lettuces . Gave everything a drink . Tradescantia cuttings still looking good . Egyptian Onions looking great , I had thought I might have lost them but I had saved lots of bulbils and they are all coming up .

 Tidied up some of the Epiphyllums . Need to spend some more time pruning , repotting and generally pampering them . They will soon be showing signs of new shoots and buds .

After potting up all the seedlings I was somewhat aching , so then sat chatting on the phone with my botanical brother up country . 🥧🥟He of the wonderful pies ! 

Anyway , he told me he was repotting his Grape vine cutting and it got me thinking about the cutting I took last year , or maybe the year before . I haven't given anything any attention since the end of last August after my spine injury  .I'm only just getting back on track with my health . I am feeling so much better now thanks to my very patient doctors , nurses , therapists and physiotherapists .

So , oh my goodness , I went to take a look at my grape vine cutting in the greenhouse .

                                              Where did I put it ? ! 🤔

                                          Oh dear ! ...... There it is !   😔

                         I 'd better take it out and have a closer look at it  .

                              Oh dear !  And the compost is bone dry !

    Hang on a minute ......  can I see buds ?     🎉Yes ! 🤩

                        Dash about to find a bigger pot and some fresh compost !

                                 I teased out the root-ball a little bit .

                                       Into the bigger pot with fresh compost .

                                    Given a good long drink .

And into the greenhouse . Sort of intensive care unit .

 I have put it in with these poor Agaves that I had not been able to bring in to over winter . I was unable to do any gardening at all from the end of last August and so many things had to be just left to take their chance through the Winter months . 

I think I can save them . Some have pups (off shoots ) coming out of the bottom of their pots . Even if I lose them , I do have more healthy ones .

                                 Here is a more healthy looking one !

               It will eventually replace this monster  !

                                             Agave salmiana var ferox  

 I am hoping this one will put up it's huge inflorescence soon . Maybe this year .

 Then it will wither down , I will take it out , pull up all the off shoots and replace with that new one.

The fence around it at the moment, is so that I can more easily throw a cover over it if we were to get an Arctic blast .  It's been quite mild this year  .   BUT  we could , as yet , still get some cold weather . 

   They can actually take quite a bit of cold . It's the wet that Agaves don't like . 

                                               Last job of the day .

 I coppiced down this willow . It will now produce lots of lovely golden yellow stems .

               That's all fer today ! Have a great weekend all ! I'm thinking of you !

                                🌼  love Daisy Debbie x🌼

                                              🤍💐🕊️ 

                                                    ☀️    

So the next day ........

                      The sun came out and I pulled my wellie boots on !

 Grabbed the mop and bucket and set to washing the greenhouse and potting shed windows .
I decided to try and do one section from the inside too .

 As the weather was so nice , I was able to take all the plants outside while I did this .  Surely all this stretching and bending will be whittling away my waistline !

            Izzy wizzy , Lets get busy !   Now who was it that used to say that ? :)

What a beautiful day , not the slightest breeze, warm t-shirt weather !

                  I threw lots of rubbish into the incinerator and got it going .

                                           Then , more exercise  !

                                      Sparkling clean windows !

                 More bending and stretching to put the plants back in .

                                                      My peaceful place .

  I sat and watched the smoke curling up into the sky, mesmerising . I took far too many photos of that !

Ran indoors to fetch my two pots of Cucumber seedlings on the windowsill upstairs .

           Time to prick them out and pot them on into the next size pots.

   Other seeds beginning to germinate . It will be good  to have our own salad leaves again in the coming weeks .
No sign of the Tomatoes yet though .

 I tidied up the shed and thought while I,m feeling energetic I,ll take a look at the African Key-hole bed .

I had covered it over through the Winter with cardboard to keep the weeds down.

I will be growing my squashes here this year . Butternuts, courgettes and maybe a Pumpkin or two  .

I had recently prepared a bed for my potatoes , which I am going to plant out next week , depending on the weather.
 The potatoes are presently chitting on the study windowsill .
I lifted the cardboard and put it temporarily onto the new potato bed , just to keep the weeds down .

 The earth under the cardboard is just gorgeous and the Robin flew in and had a feast .

 Potato bed covered with cardboard to keep the weeds down until I come to plant them out .

The keyhole bed looking good again, I just need to re-weave the basket around the watering hole in the middle and make a sun hat to go over it to help prevent evaporation . ( expecting a heat wave any time soon ! )

             On my way in, I pulled a few leeks for Leek and potato soup .

 Also checked on the Redwood Tree seeds . Hmm...is this a Redwood Tree seedling or something else ? We'll have to wait for it's first true leaves to know for sure .

 
Came in and enjoyed a nice cup of tea with a slice of Marie Rayner 's "Family Favourite Banana Nut Bread", spread with Nutella . You must check out Marie's wonderful recipes on this link - https://theenglishkitchen.blogspot.com/
  Mmmmm...yummy ....it was such a good day !  I got a load of washing dry and husband painted the garden table and chairs too . 
   Well , that deserves another slice !  :)