Which French Beans am I growing ?

 

I forgot to say which French beans I am growing ...oops sorry and I like to keep a record of what I am sowing and growing anyway . 

Happy Earth Day !

 

Happy Earth Day everyone and wherever you may be . Here in Cornwall Spring is in full flow and there is nothing stopping it now .

Big bees and little bees .

Look at this tiny bee on this Helianthemum "Ben More" . 

                                                 It is minute ! 

You can enlarge my pictures a little bit more by clicking on them .

Honey bees .

I'm full on busy in the greenhouse and shed , sowing seeds , pricking out and potting things on . Today I have made a first sowing of French beans . Already sown Runners . I will sow more outside in a couple of weeks time . The courgettes that I potted on are doing fine . Cucumbers fine in the greenhouse .Tomatoes are doing fine too in both the greenhouse and the solar shed .

It is lovely and warm in the greenhouse ....aaah....oh...so nice to go in and warm myself up in there . The sky is blue but there is a bitterly cold Easterly breeze .

Everything is looking happy in there too .

Lots of Sunflower seeds germinating . Yay !

Not so Yay are the Sweet Red Pepper seeds ..... They can take a very ,very long time to germinate but I am thinking these were not good seeds . Very disappointed .

So I haven't disturbed the earth and the pepper seeds are still in there , but I have sown some pretty flower seeds on top and a very light sprinkling of compost over them .

Honesty , Larkspur and Candytuft . I sprinkled some in with the Sunflowers too .

When these flower seeds have germinated I will probably pot them up together with the Sunflowers ,bring them on a bit and harden them off , before planting them all out in little clumps around the garden .

Feeling blessed to have this Song Thrush making her nest in our garden .

That's all for now ! Must dash ! Still so much to do ..I,m thinking wigwams and Runner Bean frame and the Butternut Squash bed needs preparing and chicken wire fixing up and fence to be repaired ......

....... Happy Earth Day all !  

First sighting of a Swallow this year - April 19th 2022 Mullion

 

We spotted our first Swallow of the Summer sitting on telegraph wire , along the road here this morning .

I didn't have my camera to hand . There will be more on their way and soon we will hear the Cuckoo .

A Happy Easter Special Extra Post - Dicksonia antarctica

 

I was going out to hang the washing on the line , when something caught my eye ........

                         Something was happening inside the crown of our Tree Fern .

                     

                                      Oh ! My goodness ! 

                                         Heart thumping gorgeousness !

                             Lots of beautiful ginger baby crosiers coming up .

                                            I am in love ! 

Easter Sunday Sunrise

 Good morning all and Happy Easter !

It's a very misty Sunrise this morning and along with the dawn chorus there is the eerie sound of the foghorn  coming from the Lizard Lighthouse .

I got  the laundry out on the line nice and early ....

Made our morning cuppatea and a flask of coffee for elevensies later on .

Looks like it will be a beautiful sunny day  .  I may well have to water those Sweet Peas after all .

Peonia lutea ludlowii

 

 

So this one is for my brother who gave me the beautiful shiny black seeds about twenty years ago .

Peonia lutea ludlowii  / The Tibetan Tree Peony  

Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and cheerful , bright yellow blooms . The Bees are loving this and we need more cheerfulness .

                             The more cheerfulness the better ! 

Sweet Peas from a late November Sowing - Spring update - April 16th 2022

 

O.k. So it's time to take a peak at the Sweet Peas that I sowed towards the end of November last year .

I just pushed the seeds into the compost in this tub , watered them in and covered with a sheet of fleece over Winter . 

It gave me great joy to see them all germinating by Christmas and then I just pretty much forgot about them all through those wild storms , they were slowly and silently growing away in there. 

From what I could see , there are some pretty strongly growing plants in there .

They have been quietly growing away under wraps , over the Winter .

I wanted to unwrap the fleece , check on them and may be pinch them out a bit to make them bush out more .

Ooh ! First little Ladybird of the season . I moved her further inside the wigwam ,because she might still be hibernating . I,m not sure , but she can always crawl out again and fly away if she wants to . 

Wow ! They are much bigger than I expected them to be ! 

I snipped some of them back .....

.... and weeded out the Chickweed that was really growing away in there .

The only other thing , is how dry the earth is in there . Hmmm ..... I could water them , but we are forecast rain tomorrow afternoon  . So I think I'll leave it to Mother Nature .

I also decided to leave the wrapping fleece off tonight ....the plants look quite strong , but I will keep an eye on the weather reports and have the fleece wrap and string at the ready , in case we should get a storm or gale warning .  

 If we don't get the rain tomorrow, then I will water them myself with rain water from the water-but .

This way of growing them  from seeds at the end of November definitely works better for me than growing them in the Spring . 

This last photo is of the Sweet Pea wigwam last Summer . I can't wait to see and smell them again . 

             I love Sweet Peas !    

Arum Lilies

 

                                            The Arum Lilies are coming !

My Carnivorous Plants - Spring 2022

 

Remember my amazing Carnivorous plants last summer ?

Here they are being wheeled away to over-winter in the woodshed . 

I have got them through two winters in there now .

So here they are being wheeled out again .

I'm showing you the good as well as the bad !  I know it looks really bad . The mesembryanthemum appears to have died , although I will do a closer inspection .The Scented Geranium , on the other hand , has become a monster ! 

The Carnivorous plants are just dormant . I have kept them standing in a little rain water over winter. Never completely letting them dry out . 

In fact they are beginning to wake up and I can see some new shoots/leaves coming . I'll snip out the withered leaves and soon they should be flourishing beautifully once again .

I have them on top of an old upturned tub , so we can all enjoy being fascinated by them at this higher level . 

 I look across the garden and notice things are really happening in the Sweet Pea wigwam tub .

I think I need to pinch them out , to make them grow stronger and more bushy ....but after planting out the potatoes I am aching too much to do anymore today . It can wait until tomorrow . 

Other news - the lettuce and spinach in the cold frame are germinating ( and one Cosmos seedling ! )

Lovely Lettuce "Freckles"

Lots of Purple Sprouting Broccoli , onions and more lettuces .

Eight Courgette seedlings popping up , but listen everybody , I,ve done these a little bit too early really . They will get very big in my shed and it will be too early to plant them outside .

Please go by what it says on the seed packet and consider the part of the country you are in .

 I just couldn't wait ! 

 That's all for now...over and out !