April Showers

 I love April ! I must admit that some of the showers have been a bit icy this week ..but today is not so cold and we needed a drop of rain to germinate the Carrot and Parsnip seeds .

     The puddle where we stomp about and wash the mud off our wellie-boots .

I am very disappointed with the Ricinus communis seeds that I bought , only two have germinated .

 I grow them every year and usually I find them very easy to grow .

 I tried to over-winter a couple of Ricinus plants , just as an experiment and seem to have been successful with this one .

     I can see new shoots and tiny leaves coming . When the leaves get bigger they will turn red . It is a gorgeous plant .
  I can also see a tiny weenie Kalanchoe baby hanging off the end !  Also known as Mother of Thousands . At least , that is , most likely what it is ..I will pot it up tomorrow and we'll see what it grows into later on .

Oh ! The Epiphyllums are beginning to show some  flower buds , I love them so much !

                                     Dumbo the Dioscorea elephantipes .
Dioscorea elephantipes should be about to go into it's Summer dormancy period around now .... sweet dreams Dumbo !

Also a bit disappointing are these Physalis seeds .......but I have been told that they can take a very long time to germinate . Up to three weeks !

So this is day 16 and I can see two seedlings emerging .

I must have more patience ...it seems we are doing well after all .

The rain has softened the earth , making it easier to push in the Hazel rods for my Runner-bean frame .
  I haven't finished it  yet . It needs to be lashed together with string .We are forecast more heavy rain tonight , so tomorrow I should be able to push the poles in a bit deeper before I tie it all together . It is standing in place quite well now , even without string , but  Runner-beans can become very heavy towards the end of the season , so it pays to do a good job of it from the start .

                                          Finish the job tomorrow !
                                               Cheerio for now !