Monkey Puzzle Rescue

 So I spent a whole afternoon battling the brambles that had grown over and under the branches of my little Monkey Puzzle tree and it really is not looking very happy .

Last year , someone thought they were helping by cutting the brambles down , but in reality what they had done was pruned them and now they were flourishing . 

 I managed to clear this side of the fence , but there is still a lot to do .

To one side there is also a young Trachycarpus which also needed protection .

This was just before the bad weather came in . I pruned back some of the branches from the Bay tree and lay them down to surround both the Trachycarpus and the Monkey Puzzle tree  . We will burn those branches as soon as the wind is in the right direction , but for now they'll make for a good windbreak until I can get out to continue the job of tidying this corner and planting more hedging .

I hope not ,but , if I lose that Monkey Puzzle then I do have the third one still waiting in the wings , to replace it . 

This one has two leading shoots , of which I think I will take off one , so it will make a better shaped tree .

It is also looking a bit battered in all this cold , haily , windy weather .

So I have popped it into the shed , just until all these hail and sleet showers have gone .

It's looking happier already !

Other big news -  I sowed my first seeds of the year today .

 Sweet Peppers " Marconi " 

       They were great last year and I remember saying that I wished I had started them off a little bit earlier . So I did !

I also sowed a few Cucumbers which might really be pushing my luck . I have two generous packets of seeds so I can always sow some more if they fail .

In the pot at the end are some cuttings of Jiaogulan roots also known as "the Immortality Plant " which I bought from the expert Vegetable Gardener  Klaus Laitenberger .

I am so excited and pleased to have acquired these and am getting them started on my bedroom windowsill . It is a herb with many health benefits . 

 I had to use slug pellets because there were slug/snails eggs in the compost . I am very excited to see some tiny shoots pushing up already .

                                             I get very excited about such things ! 

                                                      That's all fer now !  Debbie  x