A drop of snow?

 Hello, m’ snowy jollies,

 

With the January lock down effect, it sometimes feels like life is on PAUSE in addition to FREEZE. When I start thinking about my weekly Long Mizzle correspondence, I find myself saying, “I haven’t got a single thing to gossip about!” But then I sift through my photo journal and realize, actually, nature marches on regardless and we have been garden busy in our own little way.

Just today I squeaked in delight upon finding one simple, tiny snow drop. These bulbs came mixed in a pot of sedum that a neighbour gave me and I wasn't sure what they were. This is the same kindly neighbour that regularly pushes packets of seeds with hand scribbled notes through my letter box. 

I can't remember what I planted in these pots, meaning more lovely surprises on the way...

 

One thing we have especially enjoyed this week is working on projects to encourage more wildlife into the garden. The kids got some construction kits for Christmas, so we picked a nice dry day to make them outside. This included a  ‘Lady Bird House’ and this 'Bee Hotel' -

We haven’t seen nearly as many birds on the feeder this week, probably because it has been much warmer. We did see a couple of Woodpigeons (Cushie Doos as we like to call them) unsuccessfully having a go at the peanuts. 

To entice a wider range of birds we set to action making some bird cakes: tangerine peel cases filled with a mix of lard, peanut butter, peanuts and ground cranberry and granola sprinkles (I’m not too keen on it for my porridge!). We also chopped up some left over apple and grapes to pop on the wall. Now we will wait patiently to see what arrives!

We went on our Hunt for Yuckles (Fungi) and can you believe it, we didn’t spot a single one! Our local walk followed the edge of a farm and woodland, and down a lane with overhanging trees perched on steep mossy banks. There must be a nearby badger set as on previous walks we have seen evidence of  footprints and muddy scuffing.

 A winter marooned boat, resting in a private clearing -

 

For some reason it reminded me of the opening chapter of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, which I absolutely had to re-read that night. Set in a remote part of Columbia in the 1800s, an exhausted expedition team find a boat many miles away from the sea and wonder how it ever got there -

' When they woke up, with the sun already high in the sky, they were speechless with fascination. Before them, surrounded by ferns and palm trees, white and powdery in the silent morning light, was a enormous Spanish galleon. Tilted slightly to the starboard, it had hanging from its intact masts the dirty rags of its sails in the midst of its rigging, which were adorned with orchids. The hull, covered with an armor of petrified barnacles and soft moss, was firmly fastened into a surface of stones. The whole structure seemed to occupy its own space, one of solitude and oblivion, protected from the likes of time and the habits of the birds. Inside, where the expeditionaries explored with careful intent, there was nothing but a thick forest of flowers'.

Or, as Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park, Dr Ian Malcolm, puts it in a much cooler, but less poetic way - 

'...life, uh, finds a way'.

This image combined with the memory of a planter I saw years ago in Mumbai, India, has inspired me to look out for a rustic model boat to use for hanging orchids and other trailing house plants.  

The above picture was taken somewhere between Worli Koliwada Fishing Village and Colaba. Having accidentally stumbled across the area, my friend and I spent an afternoon admiring the higgledy piggeldy warren, full of colourful shanty houses, and how the fisherfolk recycled materials for their houses, utilizing every random vessel for their plants. 

This week I carried out some emergency TLC on one of my Hippeastrums house chums. Hippeastrums are inaccurately sold as ‘Amyrillis’ [*] for the forced Christmas bloom market, and many are cruelly discarded after the big day. In fact, my red one was being given away for FREE at my local supermarket– bundled together in large glass vase with a tacky arrangement of glittery baubles.

 Hippeastrum before repot

[* If Amyrillis had a social media site, their status would be set to ‘It’s complicated’ and it might be better not to ask: ‘Amyrillis’ actually refers to the South African genus, whereas ‘Hippeastrum’ (although commonly called ‘Amyrillis’) refers to the South American genus] 

 (I hoped that odd angled leaf was a baby plant, but it was just a stray leaf!)

These big beauties, grown from over-sized bulbs, can be nurtured into action beyond Christmas festivities, and if looked after, can live for over twenty years. (If you are thriftily inclined, now is a good time to purchase discount bulbs.)

I can’t seem to find a picture of the red one, but here’s the 'Apple Blossom' Hippeastrum blooming away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having abandoned my poor plants in the cold greenhouse, I guiltily brought them indoors a couple of weeks ago. One of them was given a top dressing of fresh compost and this is whence an issue has  arisen … FUNGUS GNATS. Lots of little flies have hatched from the pot and although they're not the biting variety, they have annoyingly been swooshing around my head whilst I’ve been trying to work!!!

 

The fly larvae live in the top one inch of soil, so I removed two inches. I then re-potted the plant, putting freshly nuked (in the microwave) and cooled soil at the bottom, mixed with orchid compost (to bulk it out) and bulb fertiliser granules. This time I left the bulb more exposed. Bulbs are apparently happy anywhere between 1/3 to 2/3 submerged. 

 

I just love these compressed compost packs – pop the blocks in water, listen to them slurp it up and if you can resist sticking your hands in, just watch them expand. 

I didn’t need the whole block so I performed my finest Karate chop on it!

All that is left to do is replace the gravel on the top. (This was popped in a sieve and boiling hot water poured over it) The gravel should stop the adult fungus gnats laying their nasties in the soil. I have left a sugary bowl of water out to trap the little flying buggers. RIP Fungus Gnats! 

Hippeastrum after repot and de-gnatting

That’s all for today folks. This weekend I will be keeping active by following some of Jane’s Yoga videos (The Small Fabric of My Life). I will be staying sane tonight by drinking a white wine spritzer and eating a big fry up for breakfast in the morning!

Do you have any garden gossip or otherwise? What are you doing to keep healthy and sane? 

I will leave you with a photo of this week's cheeky tit.

Lulu xXx 

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