Monday 21 June 2021

Summer Solstice 2021

 

                                   Wishing you all a very Happy Solstice !

We are being blessed with rain ! May all your water-butts be full , your gardens be full of flowers buzzing with bees , butterflies , bird-song , young fledglings and baby rabbits hopping about . May your vegetable gardens flourish . 


                              The meadow is ready and will soon be cut .


                              Things are waking up. Bowiea volubilis .


                                         Dioscorea elephantipes .


    A lovely new vine shoot emerging from the top and the remains of last years vine .


           Is this another shoot emerging from the bottom of the caudex  ?


About a month ago I bought a packet of Cordyline indivisa seeds from Darren at Tropical Plants and Seeds on Ebay uk . 


                         I sowed them straight away in this little propagator .


They take their time these Cordyline indivisa seeds ! This morning I can see two tiny green shoots !  I am so happy ! 


The pups that I found while weeding around my Agave salmiana var.ferox .


I popped them into a polystyrene box with some gritty compost and they are now beginning to green up in the greenhouse . The middle one doesn't have much of a root , but you never know . Agave salmiana var.ferox is such a beautiful Agave  and I dont give up on plants that easily !


My Snack size Sweet Pepper plants are beginning to flower , Not sure if these pots are big enough , maybe I should re pot them again ? Someone told me a bit of stress causes them to produce more fruit  . 
 Tomatoes in the shed I just need to top up their compost . Compost is so expensive now ! I planted about six left over plants outside to take their chances ....a rabbit has eaten one already !


I,m taking a break from weeding the gravel bed today as I am all "achy-bones" ! 



               We enjoy and try to live in harmony with the wildlife here . 


 In the ornamental garden , it is best just to only grow plants that the rabbits don't like to nibble .
  They have never nibbled our Dahlias before , until last week , we found one grazed down to the ground !  So my husband has gone around putting this plastic netting around our more precious plants  . I really dont like it .It is not terribly attractive .
 I would rather have one large bed ,with a more attractive rabbit-proof fencing around it . 


So to that end , I got busy with a roll of chicken-wire and the green wire fencing that I had just removed from around the Agave . 


                                                  It is quite attractive .


I think it could work if I attach this to the green fencing , it shouldn't look so bad .


                           Ouch ! Very fiddly to open this wretched stuff !


Then began a long and very tedious job with wire cutters and using the wire that it was packed up in , attaching it at various points to the green fencing .
  It then began to rain , my back aching and my hands scratched and bleeding from the sharp chicken wire . You cant do this with gloves on, I tried ! Can't do any more today . So there it remains , another job only half done .
   I am taking a break ! I will get back to it when the rain eases up .
I,ve had enough for today . Time for a hot shower , TCP , plasters  and a nice cup of tea .


                                       The Strawberries are ripening !


                                                        Bee happy !   x


 



1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately we had only had a little drizzly rain, so we have been busy watering!

    ReplyDelete