A little bit cooler today 🌤️

               A tad cooler today .

 I decided to tackle the Acanthus mollis /Bear's breeches .

              It is a very handsome plant with very stately flower spires .

Very elegant until it begins to form these fat green spiny seed pods .

 This is the time to cut it down . Get rid of those seed pods , which if left become dry , crisp and even more spiny . 

 Acanthus from the Greek word meaning thorn ...mollis from Latin meaning smooth and soft . I really don't understand why as it is not soft or smooth .

 Bear's breeches ..... ? No idea ....and why would it be spelt breeches and not britches . Maybe it's an American/English thing .  🐻🧸

I allow it to grow here on this north facing area of the garden , but it is at this stage every year , that I cut it all down and clear it away , every last seed pod of it .

Some years I dig out some of the roots . mainly because I don't want it spreading it's roots underground and coming up in the drive .

   So I climbed up and allowed myself no more than fifteen minutes to slash it all down and a bit later on I raked it all down into the wheelbarrow .

 

         It's not perfect but I will come back and do a bit more tomorrow .

              

Meanwhile Ricardo - Lord Protector of the Spud Tubs is feeling pleased with himself once again ! We still have another tub to tip out and he's planted more to have in December .

 In the greenhouse , I had thought that the Cucumbers were just about finished . but I found two more hiding ! 

                         Very pleased !

So I had harvested all of the remaining Sweet Peppers and I had thought to throw the plants out , but changed my mind and thought it might just be worth a try to cut them down  and see if I can encourage them to produce a few more .

 I cut them all down by a goodly half and intend to give them a bit of tomato feed .

I can see new shoots coming at every point where a leaf is beginning to yellow and drop . It's worth a try , nothing to lose !

Flowers for the table -

 There really isn't much  choice right now , everything is so dry .

                 I didn't want to take too much , but found a few things .

 Hydrangeas  , Pittosporum , Cotinus coggygria" Royal Purple" , Agapanthus and a small piece of Buddleia " Black Knight " and I think it is called Euonymus , a pretty variegated one to fill in the gaps .

            

                                       Looking pretty on the table .

Last but not least .... There's going to be an eclipse next week  ☀️🌑Wednesday 12th August starting at 6.15 pm - 7.10pm 

                        Get ready with your eclipse goggles !

                                    Hope you're having a great weekend !

                We're off on a picnic now ...... bye  !

                      Peace and  Love 🤍🕊️

                                Debbie 💐x

🍇🌿I'm still here 😊🌤️🌿

 

                                  It's starting to look a lot like Autumn !

This was this week's "Flowers for the Table " ... not sure about that Miscanthus sinensis "zebrinus" !

Hydrangeas pink and blue ,Rosa "Bonica", Cotinus coggygria and the lovely variegated and lemon scented Pittosporum tenuifolium "Elizabeth".

If you were wondering where I'd disappeared to , I caught some kind of an infection , felt really rough for a day then absolutely washed out for three days . I'm o.k. !

Managed to pull myself together for my physio session . A couple more new exercises to add to the ones I already am working with . I have scoliosis , born with it.... never been a problem ...until now . ANYWAY .....I have to strengthen the muscles that support the spine and I also have some exercises which stretch out the vertebra slightly which gives some relief  from the pain . I'm not always in pain by the way ....but when it's bad ....it's bad !

Got my DNA results -  very interesting - because I know one of my ancestors came from a very far away country that is not listed on the results ! So I have not inherited his DNA .  

Also I have done quite a lot of my crazy family history back to early medieval , possibly further back .   Going down one line ...took me to Uppsala in Sweden .  English 38% ,Scottish and Welsh 28% I have no idea !  Ireland 12.2% is there ( thank goodness !), this I already knew and France ....

........ but  6.9% Dutch 😮? !

                                         

     I have never found any ancestor that comes from Holland ...yet !  Very interesting ! ...and 14.3% four more ethnicities . 

  DUTCH ! !   

         🌍        Intriguing ....I obviously have more family research to do !      🌎

              🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

ANYWAY .... back in the greenhouse , the Tomatoes are coming to the end . 

I pick them at this stage , just as they begin to blush and they finish ripening in the kitchen .

Some we eat fresh and some I cut in half and open freeze to make free flow packs , to use as I wish over the coming months .

I am itching to clear the tomatoes out of the greenhouse and get my cacti put back in there .

Lettuces in the shed  are at their best now !    Kale waiting to be planted out .

The Geranium maderense that I grew from seed are huge now . I think these will flower next year .

So this is what I am working on at the moment . I'm having fun in the jungle ! I only cleared about eight feet and filled two wheelbarrows !

I'm just clearing my little trackways , up and around this slightly sloping area of the garden . So that I can then go in and prune shrubs and trees  .  I will not be touching the bushes and trees until the birds have finished nesting .

I got a bit emotional when I came across my old Meg's bowl in the undergrowth  . 

                                               Me 'n' Megs

                  🌿 Oh ..this is at  Men an Tol - West Penwith - Cornwall . 🌿

   I am being ruthless on the Acanthus mollis . The beautiful flower spires are very elegant .

We enjoy them for a little while , but do not let them go to seed . 

It is a beautiful spikey thug ! Every year I cut it down to the ground . Sometimes I dig chunks of it out  . The roots spread fast underground too !  I keep in under control and in return it keeps out other horrible monsters , like brambles and nettles .

          Grapes need thinning ....need to find my snips ! 🍇 A therapeutic job .

The whole thing needed pruning .  Needs a new frame . Grapes do very well here .

Monkey Puzzle number two ( that I grew from seed/nut ) is doing o.k. Needed to clear the grape vine off it  . Branches like razor blades ,but I love Monkey Puzzles !  

 

Hydrangea " Strawberry Fraise "              Oops wrong picture .... my teddies !  

It was a tiny rooted cutting that I bought from someone on Ebay . It is doing fine , just growing a bit higgledy-piggledy  . I am going to take a couple of cuttings from it . This will give it a more balanced shape , plus a couple more plants to put elsewhere in the garden . 

This variety is a special one ...much nicer than the boring old pink and blue . .....I can't stand blue Hydrangeas .....shouldn't be allowed !!  sorry ...lol !

Typical Cornish mizzle again here this morning ....but mild . ☁️🌦️☁️

Right ..that's all fer today folks !  🌤️   Hope the weather is behaving wherever you are !

                                                  Make it a great day !

                                                           

                                           🌿🐒🌿🐒🌿🐒🌿🐒🌿