Ensete ventricosum maurelii / Red Abyssinian Banana

 Time to dig it up and drag it into the shed where it will be sheltered over Winter .

This banana will not survive the Winter outside here in the U.K , even this far South in Cornwall . At least it never has for me .

So off to the shed I go to find it's Winter storage box .

 It is in there somewhere . I think I can see it , under that white plastic bag .

Nope . That's the box of fir cones and kindling for the fire .

What is in that white plastic bag anyway  ?

Aha !  More fir cones of course ! What's in that box  ? oooh ! 

A box of stuff my daughter left here during their house move .

 I must take them over to their new place ....but look what I found !  

A whole pile of I-SPY Books ! Wow ! This takes me back a few years !

Whenever we went on holiday as children , mum would give  us a goody bag each to keep us amused in the car on the journey  . A little bag of treats . Note pad , pencils , rubber , jelly monsters that wobble about on the top of your pencil , jumping beans  and always a couple of I-Spy books . 

I loved those I-Spy books !   Only problem was that mum didn't really like the idea of sending it off to the Big Chief I-Spy . I think he would send out little prizes . Mum said "No " and that was that ...sigh ...

Then....look at this !  What is this ?  I found some highly sensitive Top secret documents ! Private and Confidential  .   Well I'll be blowed !   What is this  ? Raises one eyebrow !

So I think this is some very lucky and rather spoilt if you ask me child whose mummy  had actually enrolled him into the actual I-Spy Tribe !!   ( just a bit jealous that's all ! )

                                                Look at this ! Look at this ! 

                           It's actually signed by the  Big Chief  I-Spy himself !    Lol !

                                        Odhu/ntinggo , REDSKIN ,  Big Chief I-Spy  .

 I'm guessing this was some sort of Ray Mears / Bear Grylls / Robert Baden Powell type chappie ?

So this is all very interesting , I knew nothing about all this . Goodness me !

Oh my ! This had me chuckling all afternoon ! Seriously side tracked there !

                                     Back to work ! 

                                      There we go !

                                 Whoo hoo !

This is why I so love this variety of banana ! Gorgeous when the sun shines through it's leaves .

                                        And away we go !

 I topped it up with the compost it already had around it and plain garden earth . The wheelbarrow weighed a ton !   Groan !   Anyway  , that's another big Autumn job to cross of my list .

Then into it's polystyrene lined corner of the shed , which has clear plastic  overhead ,so it has good light . I gave it a drink to settle it in . I won't let it completely dry out , but that will probably be the last water I give it until next Spring .

My lovely brother-in -law gave me a lovely lot of Echiums ,which I have planted in various locations around the garden ,to see where they like best to be . I had four left over so while I still had muddy hands and some strength left , I decided to drop them into the hole left from digging out the banana .

It's left me wondering ..were any of you a member of this I-Spy Tribe ?

 and what does "Odhu/ntinggo" mean ?

      That's my lot for today , time for a flop and a nice cup of tea !