Last Garden Chore of the Year 2022

 Planted Griselinia hedge plants and getting ready to plant all of my saplings that I have grown from seeds and nuts . They will be loving the rain we're having  ! Got to look on the bright side of life ! 

I don't stay up "to see the New Year in " and I don't drink ...never acquired a taste for it and I don't like fireworks . Prefer to get up early and see the Sunrise at 08:19:42am  hopefully . Maybe , a little gap in the grey clouds is what I'm hoping for ....and a nice cuppa tea !

A poached egg on cheese on marmite on toast , spoonful baked beans , un petit peu de tomato sauce , a teaspoon of mango chutney and another cuppa tea  . Sets me up for the day !  

 The days are getting longer .

I am sending you wishes for good health , love , peace and happiness . xxx

Good news . Bad news .

 

Boxing Day and up to watch the Sun rising .

We had got away for a few days fossil hunting in Dorset . We hadn't expected that cold weather to last as long as it did  .

I had a few precious plants covered and fleeced over , but I knew before we came home , that I would probably have a few loses .

I pulled out the last of the Courgettes . The low light levels had finished them off  . The spent compost , I threw onto the African Keyhole bed .

Coriander , Dill and Pak Choi , I think , will be fine .

O.K. So I'll give you the bad news first .  Yep ...my beautiful Red Ensete Ethiopian Bananas are looking really bad . 

    The reason for this is the man who built our new workshop and woodshed did not do the roof properly . Apart from it being four inches lower than the old shed roof and it is also leaking all over the place .  He is supposed to be coming back to fix it , but he is taking his time . So where it has leaked on the plants , they have frozen and then thawed .

I have always got these two huge plants through the winter just fine . They usually look a bit tatty but always recover .

I have never seen them looking so sad and I fear this time they will not recover . 

I,ve kept these two plants going for a few years now .

This makes me feel so unhappy .

The good news is that all of my Sweet Peas are germinating . 

                                 This makes me feel so happy !

Expertrees team came and coppiced some of our overgrown hedgerows for us  . They did an excellent job . 

They even cut me some nice Hazel bean poles , which will save me doing it ! 

So now our neighbours will also have a better view of the Sun-rise . A perfect Winter Solstice gift !

                                                   Everybody happy !

The wasps seem to have gone from the big old tree stump , so now I can dig up my potatoes , if they haven't rotted in the ground . I'm going to try growing potatoes in tubs next year .

I was worried that my Squirrel friends would not come back after such a drastic coppicing .

                                           "You talking about me ? "

      I topped up the feeding station with peanuts and ....I needn't have worried  !

Escape

 

So we got away to Dorset .

To lie on the shingle at Chesil Beach .....

           .....and feel all my troubles melt away .

Then there came a big flash of lightning !

 

 ..........  it isn't real snow ..just hail stones .Still ,  it has made it look a bit more Christmassy . 

Cold but no Snow

 

A slight dusting of frost yesterday morning and the birdbath was frozen over .... but no snow .

This morning  , no frost and we had a couple of rain showers . It's cold and there are reports of ice to be aware of on the roads .

Top up the bird feeders .

Slowly slipping into Winter

 

My job for today was to cut down the tall ornamental grasses .

Half of these I then heaped over the remaining  Dahlias that we'd left in the ground  and the rest I spread around the Tree Fern and Gunneras .

Having completed that task ,we can now enjoy the lovely scarlet stems of the Cornus siberica alba .

The Hydrangea is still looking good , but I cut off some of the stems which were hanging over the back steps  . I will leave the Tree Ferns for now ,but tomorrow see if I can find the old sacks that I have set aside to throw over their crowns .

If I can't find them then I will just fold some of the fern leaves over the tops of them .

 It is forecast to be very cold tonight . There is a clear sky and no wind .

(This also meant that my washing didn't dry on the line and I had to bring it all in and hang it on the clothes horse in the bathroom.) 

I expect the cold will finish this off and the remaining Dahlias into their winter dormancy . 

My more precious Dahlias are now trimmed and  dried off in a fish crate covered in multi-purpose compost in the shed .

This South African Yellow Bush Daisy always puts on a cheerful display over the winter months . I think it's proper name is Euryops ...correct me if I'm wrong  . I took a couple of cuttings from it earlier in the year .I need to go check on them tomorrow  .

Camellias begin flowering around Christmas time here in Cornwall , especially the further south you are . This one is very early though , even for here on the Lizard ! 

While I was sweeping leaves I noticed this little Violet .

I like to leave the beautiful Agapanthus seed pods .

The Acers have their flush of colour then soon drop their leaves .

                                I am so in love with Autumn !

                                       I put cloches over the Agaves .

This old Agave has now outgrown it's cloche and I am trying to think of another way that I can protect it during cold rainy weather . 

For tonight I have thrown a sheet of fleece over it . I lay slates and flat stones around the base of it so the rain will be directed away .

                           I topped up the bird feeders , seeds, peanuts and fat balls .

                                  I love to watch the birds while I do the dishes .

We took our walk across the cliffs . The sea is calm today . Humpback Whales have been spotted just this last week . Husband thought he saw something and I had taken photos last week .We then heard about this on the news . I need to go back and look at my photos again ...and zoom in . 

We regularly see seals and dolphins , but to see a Humpback Whale would be fantastic ! 

We decided to go down onto the beach  . See the difference from just the other day with those huge waves . Today the sea is quite calm and flat  .

He had a coffee and I had a chocolate brownie ice cream ....oh my goodness yummy naughtiness ! 

 They say it's going to be cold tonight . Probably not as cold as further up country .

I checked the wrapping is still on the outside water tap .

I'm making up hot water bottles every night now . 

These stay hot all night long till morning . 

They are nice to snuggle up with in an armchair too during the day .

Sweet Dreams everyone !   🌙⭐✨

Meanwhile in the garden - Puya berteroniana

 

Twenty years ago I bought a very small rooted cutting of a Puya berteroniana from Mr Pilbeam of  "Cactus Connoisseurs" .

When this beast flowers , it puts up tall stately spires with the most jaw dropping metallic greeny-blue flowers . That was the reason I bought it !

We have moved house several times since and I have always brought it with me .

When we moved here  I planted it out into the garden in what I thought was a nice hot Chile like spot . It grew and grew and grew , but never flowered  .

So , fifteen years later , feeling a bit saddened about this and annoyed that it was now taking up quite a large space in my garden , I decided to dig it up and move it somewhere else .

Well , it was quite a battle digging it out and the darned thing scratched and bit me in the process .

So I left it for about two years abandoned in this pot and quite forgot about it . 

Well , it seems that it enjoyed this Summer's heatwave and is now about to flower for the first time !

Sigh ..but now I am wondering if this actually might not be Puya berteroniana , but something else , because I don't think it colours up red like this .

I have a huge clump of Bromliad fascicularia  in my front garden ,which does colour up scarlet and has blue flowers very low down withing the leaves , as this is looking at the moment  , but when I compare it with this plant , the B. fascicularia  does look to have much narrower  leaves .

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see !  

Christmas Tree - Hooray !

 

December already !

 

A beautiful sunrise this morning. Blue sky and the promise of another lovely day .

I did my good deed for the day by releasing this poor tiny Jenny Wren from under this netting . There was another one flitting about very distressed outside of the netting too . The poor little thing was very happy to be set free !

I'm not feeling very well today , feeling very lethargic . I did a big load of laundry and got it all pegged out on the line .

Went down for a stroll on the beach again , clear my head of worries , find a bit of kindling for the fire .

It will be cold this evening if the sky stays clear . 

Bring in the washing  , make tea , light fire , do some embroidery . Gentle dance practice to unwind my back .

Hot water bottles , bed , sleep .