Daisy in the Garden: 05/01/2025

Friday, 30 May 2025

Courgettes and Lettuces

One last photo of Epiphyllum Marilyn Monroe ..taken in much better light , showing her colours more accurately .

She'll probably be fading this evening 😢 🎶🎵 Goodbye Norma Jeane 🎵🎶 !

And that is pretty much the end of the Epie blooming season for us here in the far south west of Cornwall U.K.

Oh there can still be the odd one or two blooming every now and then through the summer months , but from now on I tidy them up , prune and take cuttings , re-pot and feed them . I need to make new plant labels .

This pic was taken early this morning .

Today's task is to prick out and pot on these Courgette seedlings .

I was beginning to think we would have to do without Courgettes this year . This is the third batch of seeds . This time I simply got them going up in the shed .

I sowed two seeds into each 3inch pot . Those are lettuces germinating up on the top shelf .

Anyway , I took them all outside .

Filled the pots and gave them a bit of a soak . Got everything I needed and a kneeler pad to sit on , get comfy for about half an hour , to really relax and get some of them into their own 3" pot .

These little tools are so useful for pricking out and potting on .

After about half an hour , I did wish I'd taken out a more comfy cushion to sit on !

Look how long that root is ! You have to be very careful not to damage it , make a hole deeply enough for the whole of it , and carefully gently backfill with the compost as you lower it in .

I repeat all that to myself as I do it !

I potted up 12 lettuce seedlings . The rest will be spares waiting in the wings to replace the exhausted plants as we use them . I pick a couple of the outer leaves from each plant and this keeps them going for a while . I can always sow more seeds to keep the succession going .

Next I potted up six of the Courgette seedlings .

Look at how they have grown even from just this morning !

Look at the roots on that !

I gave them a good drink then away into the shed they go !

On to this cheap little shelving unit . Thankyou to clever husband for putting it together for me . My thinking is that snails can't walk on the wire grid shelves .

These are the lettuces waiting to be potted up .

Also two pots of two more Courgette seedlings spare for anyone local who wants them . Courgettes have been impossible to find in the shops round here .

So that's that job done !

Took a large half of my cheese flan over to my daughter . For lunch we had roasted sausages and onions , cauliflower cheese with honey mustard and tomatoes , roast potatoes and peas , mango chutney and ketchup . .... Oh my life !... Proper job ! ... mmmm ....

Thursday, 29 May 2025

🌿Epiphyllum Marilyn Monroe Flower - update 🩷🌿

I didn't think she would bloom today, with it being so foggy and gloomy .

But here she is ! Finally !

I think this photo best shows the colours of her petals . Soft pink on the centre . Peach/nude on the outer petals .

This one also shows the colour of the petals more accurately .

Hard to take good photos in such a gloomy fast fading evening light . It has been foggy and gloomy all day !

Along the cliffs here earlier today .

If the sun comes out tomorrow I might take some more photos in better light .

Hope you all enjoyed my pics of this sensational Epie !

🌿🩷🌿

Mmmmmmm ................

Steaming hot , bubbling and delicious....straight from the oven ...

The humble cheese flan with sweet red onions, cheese, mushrooms cheese , bacon cheese , tomato , cheese , cheese and yet more cheese !

Used the left over pastry to make another little one ...as it turned out perfect size for two !

Also prepared a huge cauliflower in readiness to make cauliflower cheese tomorrow .

..........and Roast Potatoes dusted with Cornish Salt 'n' Peppery .

served with peas , carrots , mango chutney and ketchup .

Delicious ( but not as good as mum's )

.....next ...off for walk along the cliffs ....Bye !

Fog has lifted but still overcast ⛅

P.S.

and I did all the washing up !

....... just saying !

Passion Flower Seedlings Planted !

Up at 5am ish ...to dash up to the shed to see if Epiphyllum Marilyn Monroe has bloomed yet ...It's a very foggy morning .

Also to check for snails on my beans and butternuts 🐌and my newly planted out Passion Flower plants .

Hopefully the sun will come out later on .

I had some spare bean seedlings which I thought might as well go in with the Passion Flowers .

I grew these from seed , so I feel very protective over them !

Passiflora mollissima (pink) and Passiflora manicata (red)

A couple of Scarlet Pelargoniums for a splash of colour .

Posts with a trellis would have been the ideal thing for these Passion Flowers ....but fixing up posts and trellising , hammer, nails , concrete...just not my thing ....sigh ....so some sort of a teepee made from left over bean poles and hazel branches will have to do !

It'll be fine ! It will ! Wait and see !

What do you think ?

Anyway

If they do grow away really well , they can always climb over and scrabble through the climbing rose bushes on the garage wall .

I used to buy Passiflora mollissina ( the pink one ) every year from the boot fair in Truro ....I never kept them going over winter . I have not grown Passiflora manicata (the red one) and I have never grown these from seed before .

I'm hoping that these will survive the winter, with some protection .

I got them all planted yesterday evening . This morning I picked off six snails !

I have sprinkled sparingly some slug pellets . Also gave the young shoots some support with these clip things that I found on Amazon .

It all looks a bit untidy at the moment. There are a couple of Pelargoniums and I think there might be a Dahlia coming up that I had put in there last year . The bulbs that I threw in last Autumn were beautiful through the Spring , their leaves have all withered away and will come back next spring .

I put a nice fresh layer of compost over the top of them .