Epiphyllum var "Marilyn Monroe" - still waiting

 

Every morning early I am rushing up to my greenhouse to see if Marilyn Monroe has arrived ! 

The bud on this Epiphyllum is growing larger every time I go to look . You are not supposed to move the position of these plants when they are in bud like this , but she has now become so large that there is not enough space for her to fully open her petals .

                      So I have moved her into a more generous space towards the back .

I had planted her as a cutting last year inside a tomato cage for support but as you can see she has escaped . Epiphyllums like to roam wild and free .

E. Marilyn Monroe is supposed to have a large pink flower . I bought this from another Epie fan , Beverly in  Falmouth . Beverly I hope you are well and looking in today💐 . I am so excited to see her open that flower ! Will it be today ? Will it be tomorrow ? 

Watch this space !  🌿💚🌿

Making space for Tomato Plants - Greenhouse

 Yesterday update - Spent all afternoon and evening in the greenhouse trying to make space for my tomato , cucumber and sweet pepper plants .

As you can see from the slimy trails on the window , the slugs and snails are waking up big time .

I apologise for the dark pictures but the sun was just beginning to go down .

My task was to move all the cacti up to the far end of the greenhouse , so that I can grow the Tomatoes nearer the door so that I can reach to pick them without doing myself an injury from the cacti . Last year I grew them too far up into the corner and I just couldn't reach !

I had to make space under the bench too . The plants will be growing in the same grow pot/bags that I used last year . I found I could squish in more plants than if I'd used rigid plastic pots or tubs . These will be set on long plastic trays to catch water .

The sweet peppers will be on top of the bench fighting for space and light in amongst the tomatoes and cucumbers . It's a tough life , but there you go !  

I will pot these into their final bag/pots today . The pot/bags will only be partially filled with compost and I will top them up as the plants grow . The plants will put out more roots along their stems , thus making stronger plants . I also have to fix up the strings , from floor to the rafters of the greenhouse roof to wind the tomato and cucumber vines around as they grow . 

Oh ..and I also quickly planted out the first wave of Dwarf French Beans into my husband's veg trug for him . A bit early I know . Taking a risk I know . Sometimes this pays off ! Fingers crossed . The spinach , coriander, dill, spring onions and lettuces and a couple of strawberries all doing fine . The Flashy Trout Lettuces have turned bright red in the recent wild gales ....the ones in the shed are bigger and more green with speckled red leaves . We have already had two pickings from these and along with some fresh mint leaves from elsewhere in the garden , we enjoyed delicious salads and sandwiches .

I am going to sow more French Beans and lettuces in the shed today , to keep 'm coming !

                                  Wishing you all a beautiful , beautiful weekend  !  xxx

Meanwhile in the Greenhouse - Early May update

 

Trying to take my mind off a hospital appointment this afternoon . So I,m messing about in the greenhouse .

I,ve taken down this insulation foil stuff from the rafters , rolling it up and packing it away in the shed for next Winter.

Unhook the net from this side , where all the desert cactus and sun loving succulents are .

                                            Sweep away the cobwebs .

Then fix up the shade net that I,d just removed and fasten it up over the Forest Cacti and more shade loving side  .

                                           So now , everybody happy ! 

Surprise Echinopsis Cactus Flower

I was very surprised to see this old cactus of mine with two buds on it a few weeks ago and had half expected these buds to drop off so late in the season .

 Delighted to see that one of them made it to fully bloom before all this miserable and gloomy weather started . Gales and heavy rain showers ....it is coming up from the South though so it is still quite mild . They are saying that it will be turning much colder next week .
 I will be pulling a roll of foil and bubble insulation over the greenhouse rafters later today and checking my supply of candles to go in the lantern on the coldest nights .

                             I am so delighted with this pretty pink flower .

  It is an Echinopsis , but I have no idea which variety it is ? So please if anyone knows please do let me know . I,d like to put a label on it .

Re-potting Cacti and Preparing the greenhouse for Winter .

 Remember this ? I bought it at a boot fair years ago maybe 15 or twenty years ago .
  Two cacti in a heavy glass vase . .... not really the best way to grow them !
I should have re-potted it straight away .... but as you know time flies..and it seems to have been quite happy and has flowered for me many times .

  Anyway , I finally gave myself the kick up the backside to get on and re-pot the poor old thing .

 After sliding a knife aroun the sides of the vase , they both slid out quite easily and I pulled them apart  . . . I wore a pair of thick gloves for this bit  , but then found them easier to handle without gloves , since the roots were so compacted .

   Nice fresh cactus compost moulded around the sides and bottom of the pot .

                              Making a well to gently drop the cactus into .

I managed to do this without getting prickles in my fingers ...because the roots were so compacted , it was surprisingly easy to handle ....with bare hands  !

                I planted it leaning to one side with the babies uppermost .....

                         .......... to give them space to fill out as they grow .

Sadly I couldn't find a nice pot for the other one ...sigh .....so into a black plastic pot for the time being .

    I cut the top off it with the scissors , the part that was dead and crusty ....maybe I should cut it down lower still  ? Cacti usualy respond by putting out new growth ..in this case from the base of the plant .
  It does look a bit rough doesn't it ? I wont be entering it any shows  . However , let's give it a chance to recover .   Plants aren't always perfect out in the wild either and in my opinion that's what makes them so much more interesting !

They look better already and I topped them off with a nice mulch of horticulteral grit .

         So next I have these two Opuntis to re-pot  ....  not so friendly these !

To make things even more difficult the one one the right has leaned over and put roots down into the pot of the one on the left !  The one on the left has particularly vicious spines and glochids .
   I stood and looked at the pair of them ....this is going to be tricky .
Plant them together in one big trough/pot ?    Seperate them ?  I need to give it more thought .
                                              Aah ! Do it tomorrow !  :)

   And with that , I put everything back and continued tidying and preparing the greenhouse for winter .
        To be continued ..........

Meanwhile in the greenhouse ...

Back in early June , actually about four weeks ago to the day , we took ourselves off on a one night away trip , to one of our favourite places , Charmouth .
We did a little bit of beach combing and fossil hunting , didn't find anything this time ....but we were tired after the drive  .

So we paid a visit to Groves Nursery in Bridport for some refreshment in their new cafe . Sad to see the old friendly cafe has gone and amazed to see the huge new one towering over the lovely nursery gardens . We enjoyed our bowl of soup and crusty roll .Then had a little wander round . Groves Nursery is famous for it's wonderful selection of Violets especially in the Spring  .They have beautiful healthy ,clearly labelled plants , shrubs and trees .Garden equiptment, everything you could ever need . The Rose garden is lovely, I have several beautiful Roses from Groves , I love their beautiful selection of beans , seeds , onion sets and potatoes ..to help yourself to however many  you want ,scoop them into brown paper bags and weigh on the scales ..love this ! I love the selection of wild-bird / animal food and the pet department ....and so much more !
 Above all , I love the glasshouse with so many beautiful plants suitable for the conservatory or indoor house plants .....too many to name...but anyway...I always make a beeline for the Cacti  , something which always impresses me at Groves , is how everything is always clearly labelled ,with  the plant's botanically correct name .
 In the past I have come across some very rare and more unusual plants in here ..... but nothing was tempting me on this occasion  ......I pottered about for ages...as you do  ........                                                                                                                         

             ........and then I spied this poor little thing ...
 ........ no label ....not much compost ....one shrivelled flower ...
Leaning over in it's tiny pot .....it was coming home with me !

 We had a lovely evening meal  and one night at the Exeter Airport Hotel .

My husband named it "Billy no mates" which I thought was a bit unkind !

I held it all the way home , on my lap in the car . I found a nice pot and some fresh cactus compost and re-potted him .
  It seemed to me that it was happier lying on its side , so I positioned it that way in the pot and gave it a nice top dressing with horticultural grit .

Well , look at it now ! Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would respond like this in just four weeks !

         Look at that gorgeous bud ! Click on it ! Go on ! Zoom in !

 And this morning , as I walked up to the greenhouse , I could see that it had opened in the early morning sunshine .

                                                       It is lovely !

 
                     I would like to label it , if anyone knows it's name ?

                 It is growing very fast , look at those new side shoots !

                            I,m so glad I brought him home with me !