Green Stuff!

Just a place to put some plant photos and maybe a few gardening notes.

(Most of the gardening pics can be seen as Photos of the Day.)

Some growth here and there

Last modified on 2025-05-12 20:33:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I’ve had no luck detecting lately and my 3D printing project is gonna take more days to have anything to show so I’m doing more gardening during the week. I’m starting to see a few blooms on the smaller of our Ceanothus and even had some flower open on the tiny pyrocantha cutting I started last year. It will become a bonsai experiment eventually but for the moment I’m just enjoying the tiny white flowers. And from the looks of the fullsized bushes around the garden we will have a lot more in the coming weeks.

I’ve put some seedlings into larger pots, and passed a dozen tomato seedlings onto my mother in law, who gave me some cosmos and other things in trade. I must have 20 or so tomato plants going at the moment but I always think its good strategy to send some over to her house in case I have a problem on this end.

I found some discount flower pots at B&Q that are designed to sit astride the garden fence. I planted the cosmos in them and set them at the end of the drive where the Mrs has always wanted something to look at beside the bins.

There’s some new growth on my ZiZi plant. I’m very impressed with this plant because it survived over 2 years in Lockdown in a closed office. When we returned to work the owner wrote it off but I thought what the heck, and with a little care and some water it came back with amazing results. This is actually a cutting from that original plant which is also healthy and growing in a window of our stair landing.

I brought home a flamingo plant (also called a painter’s pallette) from work a couple of months ago and it nearly died in the cold snap. I brought it in and let bunk next to the VFT in the fogponics a few weeks and it not only recovered, it has produced a tiny flower! I hope it will make a full recovery. I put it in there just because there wasn’t much sunshine during the day and I had grow lights set up to help the pitcher plants and the Venus Fly Trap.

Turns out that was just the thing as this plant is a native to Columbia and Ecuador it likes a bit of warmth and humidity. I really should have looked that up back then, but before it flowered, I was unsure just what it was. I had an idea it might be related to the peace lilies we have all over the house, but I did not know it was toxic! Toxic to humans and animals. Very! I don’t currently have pets in the house (though a couple of the neighbours cats think they have right of passage) but it will probably remain living in the little bog tank I’ve set up.

I moved the two little kiwi plants out of the self watering pot as I’ve read that they don’t much like having their roots wet all the time. I lost two of them last year and that’s probably exactly why I did. But I’m learning! And I’ve learned that I planted the kiwi seeds, and the carnivorous plant seeds, and even some dragon fruit seeds all too early. I was anxious for spring to get here and should have waited for longer days and warmer nights. As a result none of them came up. OR did they? I still have quite a few seedlings that I cannot identify, yet. Just gotta be patient and see what comes of them.

There are a couple of sweetpea plants that are barely 4 inches tall but they are unmistakable even as seedlings. I transplanted them to a bigger pot just on their own, and the other plants with them were creeping myrtle seeds, which I have put in a wall hanging plant basket. Not a great description, I’ll post a pic. It basically looks like a fabric shoe rack from a flea market, but made of dark absorbent material similar to felt. I will move some of the other items into the other 5 pockets once they get a bit taller.

My lemon tree still has evidence of that honey fungus, and the online boffins suggest changing the soil as well as the frequent neem oil sprays. So I did that with fresh compost while I was putting together the three fence pots of cosmos. No sign of scale or black fungus, so its just watch and see. It seems to be liking the sunny days outside and I believe there is a tiny bit of new growth.

I rescued a foxglove from a nearby farm last summer but it never did well after transplanted. I wrote it off. Today I discovered bits of it have come back and that makes me very happy. I will try to find a shady corner of the garden where it can flourish. I am always grateful when I get a second chance to make something grow.

possible papaya

Last modified on 2025-05-03 09:34:37 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

and a couple other things…

I started this entry late Saturday night and then left it hanging on the screen pending some plant identification. And then well, busy week started after busy weekend. So my apologies.

I did get some gardening in, and bought some new plants. So many of my seeds have come up, its getting hard to wait to see what they are! I like to plant several different things just in case something dies off I still have another plant to catch my interest.

One thing I brought home from work was this ‘rocket ship‘ planter I 3-D printed.
A couple of plants have come up in it after I brought it home last month which are possibly a couple of papaya seedlings, and possibly a couple of Kiwi seedlings. And possibly something else I’ve totally forgotten about.

I have the blossom app on my phone but I think they’re still too young to clearly identify. I felt that they were crowded in the rocket, which is made from a 2Litre bottle and only 4 inches in diameter, so I carefully moved the two types of seeds into separate containers.

One is looking like it has no transplant shock in a shady part of my greenhouse. I need to keep the warmth and moisture going for it regardless of which one It is. 🙂 Or it could be a hydrangea! I convinced myself that I will resolve my 3d printing issues and make up plant labels for all my pots but you and I both know that’s gonna take a while.

I had occasion to visit a DIY store nearby and bought a few plants while there. I got another Venus Fly Trap since the one I put in the greenhouse last winter didn’t come back like it should have. Entirely my fault, I was advised to cut the flowering bits off when they appeared but the idea of propagating it was too exciting so I kept them and didn’t winter it until those could be cut and dried. Well they didn’t grow either so I’m once again humbled in my amateur efforts.

So back to the projects at hand:
While at the DIY store, I bought a fence planter and moved MOST of my alpines into it, in hopes of creating a curtain effect. I say most because alpines are so hardy that they seem to grow anywhere and easily spreads to pots with other things growing in them. Not to mention its not bothered by being mostly submerged in my hydroponics.

While the VFT didn’t survive the winter, both of my pitcher plants did, and this crimson beauty got too big for the ‘fogponics’ tank I had it in so I’ve planted it in a discarded skillet so it can have lots of room and keep its toes wet. I’m just a bit hesitant to trim the dried trumpets off it just yet but will have to eventually to make room for more already on the way.

Here’s an updated photo of the Columbine growing in my garden. I suspect there will be more as the season progresses…

I dropped our car off at the dealership today and walked home. On the way back I saw several interesting plants that I have whizzed past in a blur before.

One was this very interesting: Berberis Fortune, or Leatherleaf mahonia. I have to say I think the Latin name is better in this case! It is a variety of barberry, I’m just surprised that this is the first time I’ve seen one with actual berries!

While we’re talking about B’s, I ought to mention my other purchase: a blueberry shrub! I was hesitant about it but couldn’t walk away. It already had flowers and looked very cramped in its pot. I’ve put it in a bigger pot and have my fingers crossed. I think it is a dwarf variety but should still produce berries come July.

Inside the house I replaced one of JJ’s prayer plants with a variety that has oblong leaves (a Fishbone Prayer Plant.) It should do well in that location since the one I am replacing is massive.

I

The neighbours cat Smokey was taking all this activity in stride…

I told you I had a lot of catching up to do! In the front garden we’ve added a trio of lavender plants.

and closer to home on my walk I passed some massive Horse Chestnut trees in full bloom…

And this one, I didn’t recognize. Blossom app says its a Cherry Laurel. I have heard they’re used in hedges and privacy fences, but I didn’t know they had such beautiful blooms. I think I even saw a bonsai of one once. Hmmmn…

I seem to be surrounded by flowers already this year. The neighbours moved out and left in their place is a carpet of yellow!

Okay, time to breathe a bit in the warm weather! Oh , just one more thing…

Special mention goes to my wife’s slightly dusty Spiderwort plant as it produced a single tiny flower this week!

New pots and a bit of pottering

Last modified on 2025-04-20 09:48:55 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I got some new pots from Temu that should help with the water of my tomato plants and lean a bit into the hydroponics as well.

It took over a month for them to arrive but at least the tomato plants had more time to grow from sprouts to 4-6 inches high. Plus I just didn’t have a lot of pots this size to migrate the tomatoes into, and hopefully some peppers and squash as well. Here’s a pic of them.

They weren’t expensive, and have a couple of features that I thought made them worth the wait. They have an inner pot with a string (or a similar absorbent material like cotton or nylon) that acts as a wick. One end of the wick sits in a reservoir of water at the bottom of the outer pot, and the other end extends up into the soil in the inner pot. Through capillary action, the water is drawn up the wick and into the soil, providing moisture to the plant’s roots as needed. Tomatoes and especially peppers are plants that prefer consistent moisture levels and this is a good bit of insurance against being away from home for a few days. The pots also have a clear window on the side of the pot so you can see if they need more water. A bonus feature is a spot on the top of the pot to pour that water into to avoid soaking the plant directly, and minis fungus gnats should I bring it indoors. You can search for “self-watering pots” or “wicking planters.”

Here’s a couple tomato plants freshly potted. (And a photo-bomb by one of my avocados.)

While I was pottering around the garden (and trying not to step on the neighbors cat who decided to lie in the sun directly in my path) I found an interesting plant that looked a bit familiar growing along side of my greenhouse.

I took some pics and checked the Blossom app to come up with Dark (or common) Columbine. Wiki says it’s known as Granny’s bonnet, but I’m sure I haven’t heard that before. I’m also sure I didn’t plant it there but it could have been from a packet of wildflowers we planted last year in the fairy garden. It already has several flower heads on it so I am curious to see if I’ve identified it correctly. More photos when in bloom.

I’m awful at remembering plant names , especially when they’re not in bloom, and really need to get into the habit of labeling things when I plant them. Here’s a classic example:

I found this little guy growing in a yogurt pot, out growing a yogurt pot that is, in the back of my greenhouse. I THINK I remember buying one late summer at a garden centre but could also have been something I picked up off the ground. This is, according to Blossom, is an satsuma azalea. I probably got it with the idea of making a bonsai out of it, they’ve been used in that manner for centuries. But he looks a bit scraggly right now so I put it in a bigger pot with good soil and hope to see it fill out a bit before training begins.

MicroFlora?

Last modified on 2025-05-03 07:50:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

A gentle, diffused sunlight filters through the morning mist here in Salisbury, the air still carrying a hint of the night’s chill. Typical for this time of year, a quiet, almost hesitant warmth is beginning to settle over the landscape.

So I was checking on this tiny terrarium I put together last fall, and honestly, it looked pretty sad for most of the winter. Like, seriously, I was about to give it the heave-ho. But, you know, nature’s a funny thing. Just when you think a plant is done for, it decides to pull itself together. And lo and behold, it’s bouncing back now that we’re finally getting some warmer days.

I was all set to yank out the grass plants, because, let’s face it, they’re going to go nuts and take over the whole thing. But then I took a closer look, and I kinda liked the way their spindly shapes contrasted with the other, chunkier plants in there. It’s like a little miniature wilderness, you know? A bit unruly, but charming in its own way.

Now, here’s the thing: I have absolutely no clue what half these plants are. I mean, I threw them in there because they looked cool, but now I’m curious. Anyone out there a terrarium whiz? Maybe I should post a picture in one of those plant ID groups on FB.

And then, I noticed a little empty spot in the front. It’s just begging for a tiny statue, right? I’m thinking ‘can my 3D printer handle something that small?’ I’ve already got a tiny Totoro in my other globe terrarium, which I often find lying on its back. But that’s on brand for a Totoro, isn’t it? So, I’m thinking, maybe a little gray cat? You know, like the neighbor’s cat Smokey that comes around for a few kibbles every evening. He’s a real character.

Yes, that sounds like just the thing this tiny terrarium needs. I’m going to 3D print a cat. Might as well sort out a few issues with the printer while I’m at it. I’ll let you know if that works.

And maybe I’ll even figure out what those plants are.

Viburnum in bloom

Last modified on 2025-04-05 09:06:43 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Our Korean Viburnum is in need of a trim but not until all these lovely flowers have bloomed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum

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New pots and a bit of pottering

Last modified on 2025-04-20 09:48:55 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I got some new pots from Temu that should help with the water of my tomato plants and lean a bit into the hydroponics as well.

It took over a month for them to arrive but at least the tomato plants had more time to grow from sprouts to 4-6 inches high. Plus I just didn’t have a lot of pots this size to migrate the tomatoes into, and hopefully some peppers and squash as well. Here’s a pic of them.

They weren’t expensive, and have a couple of features that I thought made them worth the wait. They have an inner pot with a string (or a similar absorbent material like cotton or nylon) that acts as a wick. One end of the wick sits in a reservoir of water at the bottom of the outer pot, and the other end extends up into the soil in the inner pot. Through capillary action, the water is drawn up the wick and into the soil, providing moisture to the plant’s roots as needed. Tomatoes and especially peppers are plants that prefer consistent moisture levels and this is a good bit of insurance against being away from home for a few days. The pots also have a clear window on the side of the pot so you can see if they need more water. A bonus feature is a spot on the top of the pot to pour that water into to avoid soaking the plant directly, and minis fungus gnats should I bring it indoors. You can search for “self-watering pots” or “wicking planters.”

Here’s a couple tomato plants freshly potted. (And a photo-bomb by one of my avocados.)

While I was pottering around the garden (and trying not to step on the neighbors cat who decided to lie in the sun directly in my path) I found an interesting plant that looked a bit familiar growing along side of my greenhouse.

I took some pics and checked the Blossom app to come up with Dark (or common) Columbine. Wiki says it’s known as Granny’s bonnet, but I’m sure I haven’t heard that before. I’m also sure I didn’t plant it there but it could have been from a packet of wildflowers we planted last year in the fairy garden. It already has several flower heads on it so I am curious to see if I’ve identified it correctly. More photos when in bloom.

I’m awful at remembering plant names , especially when they’re not in bloom, and really need to get into the habit of labeling things when I plant them. Here’s a classic example:

I found this little guy growing in a yogurt pot, out growing a yogurt pot that is, in the back of my greenhouse. I THINK I remember buying one late summer at a garden centre but could also have been something I picked up off the ground. This is, according to Blossom, is an satsuma azalea. I probably got it with the idea of making a bonsai out of it, they’ve been used in that manner for centuries. But he looks a bit scraggly right now so I put it in a bigger pot with good soil and hope to see it fill out a bit before training begins.

Perlite, Perhaps?

Last modified on 2025-04-06 20:21:41 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

April 6th, 2025: A bright, breezy afternoon settles over Salisbury, the air carrying the scent of newly turned earth.

Dear Reader,

I recently found myself scrolling through some online gardening groups, a welcome distraction as the days lengthen here. One post caught my eye, suggesting the use of perlite for propagating roses. Having a bag of the stuff leftover from a previous, less successful endeavor, I decided to investigate further. A quick online search led me to a helpful guide on the Greenery Awaits page…

https://www.plantsforallseasons.co.uk/blogs/propagation-guides/how-to-propagate-houseplants-in-perlite

If you don’t want to follow the link, here’s the essence of the process:

1. Choose a healthy stem: Select a 4-6 inch stem with leaves.
2. Prepare the cutting: Cut below a node, remove lower leaves.
3. Prepare the perlite: Fill a container with moistened perlite.
4. Plant the cutting: Make a hole and insert the stem, covering a node.
5. Provide the right environment: Bright, warm, indirect light; cover for humidity.
6. Wait for roots: Expect growth in 2-4 weeks.
7. Transplant the cutting: Once roots are an inch long, move to soil.
8. Care for the new plant: Water and provide indirect light.

I’ve got a variegated shrub cutting and a bit of tiger lily from a flower arrangement I bought JJ that hasn’t done anything from just sitting in water.  I put a bit of rooting powder on them and put them in a tall thin plastic bottle filled most of the way with perlite., added water.

 I’ll report back in a few weeks to see if its actually worked. My record for getting roses to root is about 1 in 8, slightly better than my results with our Ceanothus, which is notoriously hard to propagate. That’s more like 1 in 16. (I had a lot of room for cuttings!) Which reminds me, I need to trim it back before it starts budding or I’ll have to wait till late summer. It’s grown far enough thru our fence to make it difficult to get out of the car without scratching something.  I should have lots of cuttings from that process to try again. I had three survive over the past attempts and two of them are going great guns at friend’s house.

I have seeds from a poblano pepper and some squash seeds drying in the greenhouse. I will probably plant those tomorrow. The overnight lows are still in the low single digits so I’m not seeing a lot of germination going on.  I have a couple of tomato plants that are 8 inches tall and I’m ready to put them in the hydroponics. I’ll make some photos of that for you tomorrow as well.

Cheers,

FlashJ

Surprise growth

Last modified on 2021-01-10 13:38:53 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I was watering my plants downstairs and noticed an amazing thing.

Months and I mean months ago, (AFTER the spring storms destroyed my greenhouse and my 4-year-old pineapple.) I tried planting a pineapple top but it never seemed to take off. The insides went brown and I put it on a shelf in the greenhouse cause I couldn’t quite give up on it. I brought it in with all the other plants this fall and I forgot it again. So much so that I got another pineapple in October and planted it right away. This one seemed healthier to start with, and here in January, it has shown some growth in the very middle. CURIOUSLY the YouTube instructions tell you to water it right down the middle but it seems to accelerate the rotting process. I’m keeping it wet and as much fun as you can get in January.

Imagine my surprise when I decided to bring the first top up to my study and let it get the advantage of the plant lights that I found it had a new bit of growth on it! (See pic below. )You can also see how brown and unlikely the rest of it is, but there is definitely new growth up the side of the original top. I will research around the web and see if I should repot it off like a separate plant. Most likely I will leave it alone for now. It’s gone thru a lot just to get to 2021.

I also noticed that my olive tree is doing Ok out in the cold but I might move it out of the wind when the weather gets blustery.

PS: I would really like to grow a banana but I think I would have to move a long way south of Salisbury!

It’s all happening indoors

Last modified on 2021-01-10 16:23:32 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Just counted my house plants (and a number of winter visitors! 2c is the high today and frosty!) AND I have 54 plants in pots. Not counting cuttings and seeds yet to peep out.

I know it’s not the season for seeds but I’m giving it a try. Plus I received a mango last week and have to try germinating it. It should be very similar to avocadoes in what it needs, and at least 10 of those 54 plants are avos. They germinate so easily for me that I have to stop myself from planting more.

Of course this isn’t the climate for them, and in feb of last year the green house blew down and killed most of them along with a pineapple top I’d had going for almost 4 years.

One of my christmas gifts was a nice plant shelf that fits in my study window. I am much happier with the distribution of plants now. I have a grow light on them and several different designs for self watering pots in use thanks to my other nifty gift, a 3d printer.

I might be able to finally delve into hydroponics or at least set up a drip watering system.

Watch this space.

purple poppy?

Last modified on 2020-06-09 20:41:59 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Is it unusual for a poppy to be this colour? This one came up gratis in JJ’s easter lilly box. We’ve had poppies in our garden before but not one in this shade. I checked around and I think it’s a Patty’s Plum, variety. I will try to save seeds, and maybe make a start from the root stock when it’s had it’s time in the sun, so to speak.

Montgomery Rose

Last modified on 2020-06-08 13:12:41 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

That’s what I’ve dubbed the minature rose I brought with us from JJ’s house when we moved from the other side of Salisbury. I nearly decapitated it this spring when a sudden and alarming sound came out of my weed whacker and I turned it to look at what was going on. Which sent it buzzing across 2/3rds of the rose bush!

I saved most of it as you can see and tried to make cuttings out of the other bits. Jury’s still out on that one but we’ll see.

Hydroponic Rose

Last modified on 2020-06-08 11:08:40 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I haven’t mentioned it much but I have converted an old fish tank into a hydroponics tank and have several cuttings on the go. The pink briarose I posted about last week has decided to bloom. Hopefully, that means it will form roots afterward and I’ll be able to start some along the fence. I noticed on the ‘wild’ side of our back garden fence there are some wild roses in amongst the blackberries and nettles. Some over 6 feet tall. I have to go out there and cut more of it back before it completely obscures my gardening table and shed.

Bonsai in Bloom

Last modified on 2020-06-08 11:54:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Bonsai in Bloom

Last modified on 2020-06-08 11:54:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Primrose, East Grimstead, UK

Last modified on 2020-06-02 14:56:35 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Bits in recovery, bits in the process

Last modified on 2020-04-23 14:28:08 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Had a few things not survive the winter, mostly due to hurricane Celine or whatever it was called, that hit us late Feb and destroyed my greenhouse. My beloved pineapple, grown from a top bought at Waitrose 4 years ago didn’t survive the temperature drop that came with it. I thought I’d lost my fig and my Japanese maple as well but both have recovered. I’m glad I didn’t reuse the pots to plant something else. The Japanese maple is living indoors at the moment and has full healthy leaves. The fig, is just now, in mid-April showing tiny buds of new leaf growth. I put some new soil and a feeder pellet in the pot to encourage it. To be fair it drops all it’s leaves at the slightest hint of distress and this isn’t the first time I’ve parked it on a shady bench round the back garden fully ready to accept it’s demise. I’m delighted both are on their way to full recovery.

Some cuttings worked on my windowsil this winter, some didn’t, I have a wire plant and a prayer plant going now, and the cutting I made from my ficus bonsai is doing well now, though it did not like the growing lamp. It was actually losing leaves and looking a bit dire till I moved it away from the lamp (and away from the window ) and now it’s got new growth on it and will soon be filled out as if it was it’s own plant and not a cutting from an older tree.

I must have the bravery to cut back the ficus bonsai, it’s doing really well and getting too leggy to keep it’s look. That cutting was from one of three main trunks on the bonsai and I need to cut the other two back and see if they will grow as cuttings while I shape up the bushiness of the original.

I promise to let the cuttings grow to full size, Juliet already has plants for a border hedge or some privacy bushes between us and the neighbors.

I started another pineapple top, two in fact, though the first looked dry and unlikely to survive. I also saw a video for using a ripe banana to start cuttings (I know!) and in the video they used an aloe vera plant. I have one on the stairs window with the Ficus and it’s over grown with stems and leaves at the moment so I took one that was off by itself and it came out willingly and with roots already in eveidence. I decided to eat the banana and plant the aloe vera in a pot on its own.

I also have a small hydro ponics experiment going with an old aquarium but at the moment I don’t have any seedlings to test in it. Juliet likes the sound of trickling water and calls it her ‘water feature.’ I did dig up some chocolate mint we had growing in her fair circle and instead of throwing it away I decided to put it in the tank. It took about 3 days to recover but it looks just fine and healthy in the tank with it’s roots half submerged. But really not a good test, mint plants will grow everywhere won’t they? I should see if I can get some bamboo to grow in there, or something else that doesn’t mind having it’s feet wet. More on that later.

Out at last

Last modified on 2020-04-04 16:47:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Weather predictions are finally mild enough at night to take out some of the plants that have been in our flat all winter. I counted 50 pots, some of which had multiple plants in them. I even found a couple of apple seeds that had come up in a pot that already had an avocado growing in it. I have a lot of avocadoes growing at the moment. My ‘orchard’ of avocadoes were destroyed two years ago in late march when we got the gale force winds of a tropical storm. I had 14 or so of them, two of which were 4 years old at that point. I was very sad they died back. I lost a mango tree as well but to be honest I didn’t have much hope for it in this climate.

So I translplanted several plants, repotted some that needed it, and did replaced some lost gravel and soil in the tops of others. I know that doen’s tell you much. I’ll go into more details when I get the pics uploaded.

Planted a few more tomato seeds and here’s hoping something comes up.

Also found a pepper plant we thought we’d lost during the winter, it’s come back and I gave it a quick trim and a larger pot. Looks good at the moment.

Juliet has voted to keep the Japanese maple in the house so I put that in a larger blue pot. It’s doing well , just have to watch the water levels , it’s a bit sensitive IMHO.

She also wants my hydroponics project to remain outside because it has a nice trickling sound, she has claimed it as her ‘water feature.’ It will be nicer once plants are established in it. I need to find a nice plastic bit the right side to float on top of the water. I’m hoping to put three layers on it. Aquatic plants in the water, plants floating on the water on a raft, and more growing in the filter section, which lies horizontal across the top of the tank.

I need to get more photos.

Cuttings and Pineapple

Last modified on 2020-04-02 08:44:51 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Transfered two cuttings to pots today. They were rescued from a flower bundle JJ got , not sure what they are at this point but they kept growing after the flowers died back so worth keeping!

I had a pineapple that showed some potential as a cutting so I used a process I saw on Youtube to start it in a pot as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4iDBK0U6po

I am still saddened by the loss of my previous one, it was about 4 years old when tropical storm Ciara destroyed my greenhouse and then hit them with freezing temperatures. I believe my fig died too. Pretty sure of it, it was a late to leaf last spring but there are mushrooms growing in the pot now. I will order another one from the German greenhouse company I got it from once we are post C-19.

I have a potato that came up from seeds in JJ’s prayer plant pot, and it needs repotting if it’s going to produce any potatoes later this year. Just that the pot I was going to put it in has a wild flower growing in it and I want to wait till it’s flowered before I uproot it. I can always put the potato in another pot. 🙂

I also planted some tomato seeds from a few dried specimens left from last year. I hope they will sprout, I’ve had good luck with them from last year.

Marantha leuconeura kerchoveana

Last modified on 2020-02-15 15:49:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My first ever strawberry

Last modified on 2020-05-10 16:27:03 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Lemon tree at 3

Last modified on 2020-04-04 17:40:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Coconut putting down roots

Last modified on 2018-01-20 21:25:15 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Pineapple top

Last modified on 2017-09-09 19:06:45 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

exPat Plant

Last modified on 2017-08-29 11:51:21 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Adopted plants

Last modified on 2017-03-23 17:13:36 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Watch this space

Last modified on 2017-02-20 15:07:12 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

 

The foundation to my garden shed should be poured today or tomorrow. I’m excited to get started on things this year. I have about 3 times the space I had before!

 

Bamboo and two (Sept. 25th, 2016)

Last modified on 2016-09-25 15:50:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

As continued fallout from the greenhouse collapse of 2016 I end up with interesting pot partners like this bamboo which is sharing a pot with a couple of avocados.

And in my pot of mint there’s the last flowering plant in my garden. I didn’t plant many flowers this year so I think this one just drifted in:

This huge tomato plant grew in the kitchen window pot next to a cyclamen. Don’t know how it got there but it did not produce fruit this year:

The spring was so cool it took a while for some things to even come up. This tomatillo has flowered and produced fruit but its tiny! The berries you see are about the size of pearls. Not going to get much flavour from that plant! The cucamelons are equally small but hanging in there. I’ll post a picture of them once there’s something to be seen. 🙂

The pitcher plant is still going great guns. I’ve put some of the pots up on some cheap plastic crates so they can be enjoyed from inside the conservatory:

This one’s growing outside the garden next to the parking space. JJ says its her favourite wild flower but can’t remember the name of it:

 

 

Garden notes from August

Last modified on 2016-09-12 15:30:52 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

 

I managed to get one or two cucamelons to grow from seed, this one climbing along the wall of my shed has little fruits on it. Everything is growing so slowly this year though it’ll be october before I see anything large enough to eat!

 

My sundew is doing better outdoors, I just don’t think it liked the heat of the conservatory as much as I thought it would. It had died back to a tiny green nub but a week or two in the garden and its bursting its pot! Not really but it did recover nicely…

I walked past an unsusual for me anyway yellow Buddleia. I will try to collect seeds from it when they turn. I think it will make a great contrast to Juliet’s  Black Knight variety.

messed with the wrong plant

Last modified on 2016-09-13 11:43:28 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

You know I’ve had a heck of a time with slugs and snails in my garden. I’ve got plants up on gravel, on plant stands, hanging from the walls and under protective tarps. Snails still seem to get there. And with only weekends to actually do any gardening a snail can do a bunch of damage long before I’m around to remove it.

I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that tiny snails had invaded every pot, including the one with a venus flytrap in it. Big mistake! Each trap now has a tiny snail in it. I’m not sure they can digest snails, with or without shells but I took some smug satisfaction in seeing that. And I’m the guy who won’t kill the snails outright, I put them in my garden waste bin to let them chomp away at dead stuff and help create some future compost.  Or die in the dark where they can’t do any harm, I’m not sure which.

I may have to rig my spare iPhone up and use its time-lapse settings to see what happens.  But as this is another rainy weekend not much will happen in the garden till later. I’m going out when the rain lets up to look for adventurous snails but they mostly come at night. Mostly.

Also, my pitcher plant actually got enough rain to have water in its pitchers. Will have to check later for empty shells in there too. I wonder if the sundew is hungry….

Anyway, here’s some pics:

Borage in bloom

Last modified on 2016-08-31 15:23:31 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

More mystery plant photos

Last modified on 2016-08-06 12:31:38 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I know I post a lot of pictures of mystery plants. That’s because the greenhouse collapse this spring resulted in a bunch of things getting mixed together. THESE plants are in a pot marked Incaberries but they look a lot like lettuce to me. I just don’t remember planting any!

Seeds: Plant them and see!

Last modified on 2016-08-06 21:13:35 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

These are now loose in a packet of what was supposed to be an herb garden selection. I believe they’re dried Incaberries. Much too large for marjoram, mint, parsley or rosemary.

 

Wintered Apples couldn’t wait

Last modified on 2016-08-06 12:33:56 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

All this is in prep for changes in my garden a couple of years in advance where I envision some apple trees done in ‘Espalier’ style along the fence and maybe some hedges along the other.

Pitcher pink

Last modified on 2016-07-10 19:17:12 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Mystery Tree

Last modified on 2016-07-08 13:32:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Tomatoes

Last modified on 2016-07-10 19:57:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Flytrap

Last modified on 2016-07-08 14:09:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Wall flowers

Last modified on 2016-05-06 15:07:29 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Some up-cycling in my garden

Last modified on 2016-04-10 21:02:17 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I like the idea of re-using things we normally throw out so this spring I’ve made an effort not to buy new pots and hangers for my small garden and find new uses for things headed for the recycle bin anyway. To that end I’ve kept some of the plastic and aluminium trays from frozen dinners and takeaway meals as perfect starting pots for my seeds.

I reused the soil I had from a couple of plants that either died of frost or the slug invasion of 2015 (Who knew they liked amaryllis and orchids so much?) where I could and then got in a bag of generic compost. Over the winter I’ve liberally sprinkled coffee grounds and some egg shells in the small patch where I had a succesful cucumber patch last year.

I wanted to give a vertical garden another try and I haven’t done one since before I left America so when I came across another design to try that would help keep the plants watered I got re-inspired to give it another go.  I still cut the bottles, but instead of recycling the bottom part immediately I use the bottom part as the part that attaches to the fence and allow it to catch rainwater. In the case of smaller bottles I’ve used some large thumb tacks to fasten to the wooden fence and for the 1 litre bottles I’ve used some assorted wall hooks which were leftover from an earlier project: I hung a plastic tray that some annuals came in from the fence but the weight of the plants and water bent it forward and everything fell into the cucumber patch! But anyway, this seems like a promising start and if they do well in the next couple weeks I’ll add some more rows and maybe an irrigation system.

I took a photo of the first row in situ but forgot to take a close up so you can see how its done.  I’ll add a link to a similar idea below. http://www.makeitandmendit.com/make-it/grow/recycling-and-upcycling-plastic-bottles-in-the-garden/

PS: The green mesh on the fence was already there so I decided it couldn’t hurt. 🙂

Speaking of cucumbers, I saved some seeds from last year’s plants and also some tomato seeds that were rescued from the cutting board.They’re free so why not try them? They may not taste like the tomatoes they came from but I think it’ll be an interesting experiment.  Remind me to tell you about the ‘Lornaberries’ sometime.

You may have seen the picture of my green house after the wind blew it over. The plastic cover had a long rip where the zipper was and so I recycled it. I probably could have gotten a bit more use from it by duct taping it to the frame but it was a fairly devastating blow and I really considered not growing anything this year.  Besides, I only needed it to last another couple of weeks till the night time temps stop dancing around the freezing mark. But today was a new day and I had the idea of cutting up some garbage bags that didn’t fit our kitchen bin and taping them to the frame but I found something a whole lot better! In my shed was a plastic bag that my mattress pad was shipped in. It easily fit over the frame and only had a few holes in it from removing the packing label. The whole thing isn’t as see thru as the original skin but I think it will hold up to the wind a lot better than bin bags anyway.

It is open underneathe and was billowing out like a parachute in the wind so I put a few discrete cuts on the leeward side and it settled down. Turns out its not going to get that cold tonight anyway but it has been raining for the past several hours and I’m glad my seedling trays are protected from drowning. Fingers crossed!

 

spring garden

Last modified on 2016-04-10 21:27:57 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

• Just a quick photo record of my small patch. April 3rd, 2016:
• Avocado, year two
• 
• Amaryllis after the wind storm
• 
• Top shelf with what I could salvage from the green house:
• 
• Shelf two: No idea what’s in these anymore…
• 
• 
• Seeds planted in recycled ready meal containers
• 
• The more hardy things that didn’t need much protection from the cold:
• Some herbs just a few steps from the kitchen:
• 
• A few alpine varieties we picked up at Leckford Estates:
• 
• Last minute addition; a strawberry guava:
• 

Greenhouse down

Last modified on 2016-03-31 09:29:18 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Euphorbia mebbe?

Last modified on 2016-03-05 15:07:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

This was labeled as an euphorbia at the garden center but it doesn’t look like any of the google images. Might be related though. It has stubby, barrel-shaped stems and narrow, paddle-shaped leaves arranged in a circle.

Orchid 1 year in bloom!

Last modified on 2015-09-09 10:19:05 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Already a scorcher

Last modified on 2015-10-25 09:24:22 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I came home from a stay over in London to find that my orchid plant was turning brown and loosing flowers! I believe it is from the excess heat that accumulates in the conservatory. It still has 6 or so blooms out of the 13 plus it had before but it may be that I’ve caused it too much stress and it will not last till August. I moved it to a spot in the kitchen where it will not get direct sun and the heat is better regulated.

It would really be something if it stayed in bloom all that time but I may have signed its death knell.

The new olive tree seems to like it though it will stress from lack of water as well.

And my poor pineapple top that has hung on all thru the winter got too much water and has turned brown in the center. There are still green leaves on it but I think inattention has killed it off too.  I’ll start another one soon. I need the fresh fruit for my blender drinks. 🙂

Second blooming this winter

Last modified on 2015-03-05 17:48:13 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Moth Orchid: Still Blooming!

Last modified on 2015-03-02 07:03:52 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Amaryllis Gratis

Last modified on 2015-09-09 10:21:14 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Orchid on the Rise

Last modified on 2014-08-22 09:49:33 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I am excited that this orchid that I didn’t really want has decided to bloom for me this year. The internet wisdom was to keep it dry and not over water it but I left it out in the rain one day and it got throughly soaked. Shortly afterwards a stalk with several buds burst forth. Keeping a close eye on it to see what it looks like once it’s bloomed.

 

Shots of my tiny garden in Salisbury. (not my current garden!)

Random poppy seeds my mother in law gave me.