The Big Spring Greenhouse Sort Out - part 1

 

We are watching the skies , waiting for the Swallows to arrive . Have you seen them yet ?

Yesterday morning it was fine , warm and sunny .

 I decided that I must make space in the greenhouse for my fast growing Cucumber , Tomato and Sweet Pepper seedlings . (the Sweet Peppers are not so fast growing) .

                                                            Albuca bracteata

As usual there are so many other things that have to happen first before I repot and bring in the young vegetable plants .

My greenhouse is no ordinary greenhouse . Nope , mine is packed to the gunwales with cacti and succulents . Over wintering plants such as Pelargoniums and the larger Agaves , Aloe ferox and a huge Yucca elephantipes variegata . 

 Gunwales - pronounced "gunnels" - yep - spellchecker moment ! I had to look it up too - turns out it is a shipping term .

My greenhouse doesn't actually have canon guns . Could come in useful though . 

I dragged the largest Yucca down to the woodshed , it wasn't too heavy because it was so dry and it was downhill all the way . (o.k.yes it was heavy 🙄)

I took out all the straggly pelargoniums and put them in a sunny spot to catch some rain we had been promised later on .

I took out all of the Pregnant Onions Albuca bracteata ...they are quite tough plants and might as well enjoy the rain showers too . 

That is one of them up there on top of the water-butt . Difficult to get that out in one piece , I wanted to show you the flower .

The base of it is about the size of a grapefruit now .

There you are ! The plant including the pot is about 4 feet tall 1 metre twenty two cms . So it is not really a plant you could have on the kitchen windowsill , while it is in flower anyway .

It would be great in a conservatory .

This one has several bulbils appearing on it's base . 

So , already worn out , the next job is to take down the winter insulation from the rafters and fix up the shade net .

A right dusty and spidery job that was too ! 

All rolled up and neatly stowed away ready for next Winter .

Rubbing away the dust from my eyes I next have to flip this windbreak net from the door and fasten it up across the rafters to the other end of the  greenhouse roof to now act as a shade net . 

Only I,d forgotten to bring the step ladder with me . So that put an end to that  .

I moved out more of the Epies ....they were also very dry and cobwebby .

Sigh .....it was getting more and more chaotic and I felt I couldn't do any more . 

Everywhere I looked there was more to be done . This poor old Opuntia , needs waking up gently , with a little drink of rain water .

It is a big heavy dangerous beasty ....but I do love it . It is in need of some serious pampering . Repotting maybe .....

My back and my arms aching and I am worrying, worrying , worrying if I can get it all done .

Then I am called away for a spot of lunch and away to the cliffs ....

......to watch the waves ......

.... talk to the Choughs ....

.. and enjoy Spring unfolding .....the cliffs embroidered with Bluebells ,Violets and the pretty pink Thrift .

We didn't get the rain that we were promised .