🥬Saving my Cavolo Nero Kale from Pigeons

 

So I pushed the ends of this blue plastic water pipe deep into the earth . Delighted to find that it just pushed in nice and easily and I tied the crossover points with string and t'was done ! 

It is holding up and better supporting that green mesh .

I think this is going to work ! I think this might just keep the pigeons off  !

Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work .  

Building a cage with chicken-wire nicely stapled on with hinges so it can be raised on one side or using wooden doweling to put in the pipes to fix into wooden boards and using a drill to screw in nails to go around the edges ............ is all way beyond me !

   Very pleased that this worked ! 

I might even have a go at building a yurt , what do you think ?    

💐🌿Peaceful Flower Pressing 🌿💐

 

My brother gave me a flower press for my birthday ! It was so nice to have some quiet time today playing with some wild flowers from my garden .

                                                                 🩷💛💜

🌿Beautiful Buzzard ☀️🌿

     Out on our evening walk , when we spotted a Buzzard sitting on a fence post .

So I thought I'll creep up ever so slowly , quietly , and just keep taking photos as I go , until he eventually flies away .

He knew I was there  ... usually they'd have flown off by now ....

My heart was thumping away at this point  ...

The Buzzard is not a rare bird here , we often see them , but I don't usually get this close to one .

                        He made my day !    💛☀️💛

Sunrise 5.14 am - ☀️

 

                           Mist in the meadow just before sunrise 5am .

Sunrise 5.14 am and I could stay here and watch the sunrising but need to crack on and do as much as I can before it gets too hot .

I have another two pots of Blue Lake French Climbing Beans to plant out and a lot of weeding to be done .

The leeks are recovering well after having been rabbit nibbled . 🐰🐇🐰

Peas are making an appearance , however I would not be surprised if they get nibbled . Keeping my fingers crossed .🐭🐁🐭

Onions looking better , recovering from slug attack .🐌🐌🐌

No Parsnips . Sowed a whole packet here ....not a single one ! 

Given up all hope of having parsnips .🤔 Planted out my chives here instead .😃

Took up my Garlic . Very pleased with these and they smell wonderful as I take them up ....mmm.

🌿🌿Planted out another pot of Blue Lake French Climbing Beans here .🌿🌿

..and yet another pot of Blue Lake Climbing  Beans here ...need to find some more bamboo canes from somewhere .

                                                        Aha !

The Runnerbeans are getting away now .

Climbing and flowers .

The Courgettes are producing well now too . Enough for us and to give some to my daughter . She had a nice bundle of Courgettes and Cucumbers yesterday !

My beautiful Cavolo Nero Kale has been nibbled ...very strange ,I found one of the tent pegs pulled out and lying to one side . Annoyed as they have taken out the tops ,which I 'm told won't then grow anymore . You are supposed to take harvest it by taking the lower leaves .  I have ordered another packet of seeds which I will grow on in the shed .I'm also growing my cabbages in the shed and they are looking perfect so far .

I think it might be pigeons landing and pecking it through the green mesh ....I need to work out another way of protecting them .

Oh ! Well ! The sun is up and shining down on the hay meadow . It's going to be another very hot day and I can do no more in such heat ...but pleased to have had two and a half hours to work while it was nice and cool .

        ☀️  Give everything a good drink . Feeling thirsty myself .☀️

                                     🤍🦋🌿  Time for brekkers ! 🌿🦋🤍

🌿Farewell Sweet Peas and Hello Black-Eyed-Suzies 🌿

 

So I planted out the Thunbergia alata  Black-Eyed-Suzies into the tub . Maybe I should have put more compost into the pot , but they'll soon get their roots down and wind themselves around the bamboo canes  . It's actually a mixture of the good earth as it comes from my garden and potting compost with some perlite mixed in .

I've read that they can grow six inches in a week , so they should soon fill the pot and frame with a mass of fresh green leaves and lots of lovely black- eyed yellow flowers .

These are a one season thing , so as soon as the frost hits them (not that we ever get much frost ) I will pull them out and sow the next lot of Sweet Peas topping up with a bit more compost . 

💐I will be growing Sweet Pea -Royal Family Mix a nice big packet of 180 seeds for £2.49 from Premier Seeds Direct . 💐

I generally sow my Sweet Peas towards the end of November .....and wrap the tub with fleece . The Sweet Peas will usually be germinating by Christmas Day and this somehow helps to bring Spring a little closer for me and something to look forward to also .

                                            🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿      

And for my next trick .....

    I re-potted this sadly neglected Pilosocereus azureus into lovely fresh cactus compost (It can't believe it's luck !) The top has gone all grey dry and rotten  ...so .....😀

I'm going to cut the top off and hope it will make side shoots ! 🌵

                                               

                                    

Farewell Sweet Peas

 

After months of sowing them (end of November), nurturing and protecting them through the long miserable  Winter . My husband books the man to come and clear the septic tank .

What's that got to do with it ? 

The pot is sitting on top of the manhole cover .

I had thought I could just wheel it around to one side , but it weighed a ton !

           Even the two of us could not budge it !

               So I had to dig all the earth out . I was going to try and save the sweet-peas but someone came along and cut them down while I had just popped indoors for a minute . . . sigh ..he thought he was being helpful .  

I have been re-using the compost that was in it for several years and there was quite an extraordinary ants nest in there . The Robin immediately flew down to help himself !

                                                Done !

So the Septic tank cleaning man came and did a great job . Thankyou Pellows ! 

And I now have to think about filling the pot with nice fresh earth /compost .

 I have been growing these Black-Eyed Suzies on my bedroom windowsill .Mum loves them . It's a bit late in the season now I think , but we'll give them a try and hopefully they'll be blooming by early Autumn .

And then I'll be thinking about sowing my Sweet-Peas for next year ! 

                                            🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

  

Sauromatum venosum

 

                                 It's arrived !

                                       And there are two !   Thankyou so much Toucan Tropicals ! 

I quickly got them potted up and some horticultural grit around them to deter the slugs .

I can't wait to see these put up their spotted inflorescences (flowers) .....but maybe I'll have to wait a year for them to settle in and just enjoy their gorgeous speckled peduncles (stalks) and leaves . Can you tell I've been reading up about them ?  🤣

This is a similar one called Amorphophallus konjak . This is one that I already have out in the garden .

                             Amorphophallus konjak leaves .

 ..... and this is the gorgeous Amorphophallus konjak inflorescence  ....... which has the fragrance of rotten meat .....but only for a short time .🪰 This attracts the flies which pollenate it .  🐜🪰🪰

 This one is quite hardy in the U.K.  I'm not sure about my new one Sauromatum venosum . I think for a while I might treat it like a Dahlia and bring it under cover and keep it dry over the Winter months .

Sauromatum venosum  has a spotty inflorescence ......flower . I will update you on it's progress  🙂

In the porch for a while until it settles in and I need to make plant labels .

                                 I am in love !   🌿🪰🐜