Roses in May

 

Rosa guinée 

 

End of May and my roses are beginning to bloom .

I gather a few to make pot pourri .

Batten down the hatches ! Amber Weather warning !

 

We,ve had some spectacular clouds building up over the last few days and we have been issued a weather warning for severe gales and heavy rain .

Sure enough the rain came in at about 3am this morning and the wind has really begun to pick up again now .

I dashed up to the greenhouse first thing to check that it was still there ! Everything looked fine , none of the glass window panes slipping this time .

Delighted to see the enormous bud on  Epiphyllum var Lady Irene has opened !

                                      She's a real beauty ! Huge !

Out in the garden , the two newly planted Agave americana variegata are probably not enjoying the wind and lashing rain .

I hadn't really finished planting them properly . I had planted them , as in I got their roots into the ground , but they need realy sharp drainage and the roots need to be kept drier than other plants . I need to arrange the slates and flat rocks at an angle around their base to direct the rain away from the crown .

 So yesterday evening when we received the weather warning , I quickly gathered up whatever I could lay my hands on to put around them .

Even this piece of broken plastic would do for now ....and is actually doing a great job .

 When the rain stops , I have some nicer rocks to arrange around them for a more natural look . 

I had taken off the fleece I had wrapped around the tub of sweetpeas and they are really doing well , almost at the top of their wigwam with lots of buds ....I wrapped it up again !

Goodness me the garden really does need this rain , so I am grateful .

If the sun does come out , we will go for our walk along the cliffs this afternoon .

View from the back of the Greenhouse

 

More Epiphyllum Happiness !

 Flowering right at the back of my greenhouse . I couldn't get in to see what variety of Epiphyllum it is ! 

                               Please can anyone tell me what this one is ?

                                                    She's a beauty ! 

                                                     I am in love !

These Boots were made for Walking ....

 

My dogs always knew what it meant as I pulled on these boots . Walkies !

Down footpaths , across fields , up hills and rugged mountains , running  over beaches , exploring woods  , parks and moorlands .....happy memories come flooding back .

Over the Rainbow Bridge they now run in Heaven's glorious gardens and my old boots worn out . I planted them up and found a small place for them on the Sun dial bed .

Happy memories ....only happy memories  !

Working on the Sundial bed again today .

Today I carried on with restructuring the Sundial Bed , so called because of what was once our lovely old , working sundial . 

Unfortunately the gnomon ( the bit of the sundial that projects the shadow to give  the idea of the time ) had been broken off for quite a while now and there was no way of fixing it .We tried to take off the remaining metal bit , but it was well and truly stuck . So what to do ?

Can't afford a new one ! So I decided we should re-use it some how .Maybe lying on the earth like this ...the fallen temple ruins look .....

or maybe ....plant it upside down and turn it into a bird bath !

            It took me ages to get it straight , but this idea was the winner .

 

New Agaves - very happy me !

                                          The old Sundial Bed .
 I have been thinking for some time now , that this bed needs sorting out . There are lots of lovely things growing in here , but it has become over grown and riddled with brambles .

More importantly,this is the resting place of two of our old faithful doggy friends .   It really needed smartening up .

A kind and lovely lady up in the village was digging up and giving away some Agaves from her garden and I was lucky enough to get the last one !

In fact it turned out to be two lovely large ones and lots of little pups !

They were beginning to over hang a path at the side of her house and she was glad to clear them . 

I was glad I had brought this green plastic sheet , that the two of us could scoop them up and swing them ,with a thud , into the back of our car .

These beasties can bite !

We quickly closed the door and nobody got hurt in the process ! 

When we got home , I dragged them down here into the shade , while I could have a little rest , enjoy a nice cup of tea and think about where to plant them .

I knew that the largest one would look good in the old Sundial bed and quickly got to preparing the bed . We were expecting rain so I had to work fast . 

I managed to weed out most of the bed and get the largest one planted . I still want to put some slate slabs and flat rocks around for good drainage and it to protect the roots from excessive wet . 

  The bed is facing south , so I hope it will be happy here .

 

                                                I think it looks fab !

The Cordyline behind it had mysteriously died a couple of years ago and sadly did not put out any new shoots like they normally do . I cut it down and left the trunk , ever hopeful !

  I took off a couple of the lower branches of the Acer so that we can enjoy the lovely Golden Hop , Humulus lupulus "aureus" scrabbling up into it .

The rain came . I dragged the remaining Agave and the pups up into the greenhouse . I will sort them out tomorrow . 

  I am soaked to the skin , but , happy and very thankful  .

Meanwhile in the Greenhouse - Early May update

 

Trying to take my mind off a hospital appointment this afternoon . So I,m messing about in the greenhouse .

I,ve taken down this insulation foil stuff from the rafters , rolling it up and packing it away in the shed for next Winter.

Unhook the net from this side , where all the desert cactus and sun loving succulents are .

                                            Sweep away the cobwebs .

Then fix up the shade net that I,d just removed and fasten it up over the Forest Cacti and more shade loving side  .

                                           So now , everybody happy ! 

Early May update

 

I,m busy sowing seeds right now, it's all go!, go ! go ! I thought I,d give a little update .

So the first week of May I spent a long morning preparing a bed for sowing  Fennel , my Kale seeds  , two kinds , the lovely tall black Cavolo Nero  Kale and dwarf curly kale ,and a row of Brussels sprouts .

I,d like to be totally no-dig , but I cant afford the amount of compost I,d need to cover all of my vegetable beds . I do make as much as I can myself over winter ,seaweed is brought in , Autumn leaves , horse manure ,but it never is enough .

Also , I had to dig out some almighty weeds ! 

One bed at a time and slowly over the next couple of weeks I will get all of the vegetable beds planted up. A couple of them still have Autumn planted onions coming along nicely and leeks still to be  harvested .

Half of this bed has had a thin layer of bought in bag of compost added on top and the other half has well rotted manure . There is a small area that has had nothing added to it . It is just good old plain earth .

I,m looking forward to seeing the seeds germinating, especially the Fennel , a birthday gift from my brother .

All covered up ,to keep the pigeons off and the rabbits out .

13th May --- we,ve had some lovely rain and the Kale is germinating ! Yay !