Long Mizzle Garden

Aha!!! from outpost station Long Mizzle,   Jolly good of you to join me for my weekly correspondence.  It's been very quiet in the garden, bar the sound of freezing horizontal, non-stop pelting rain!!! To prove the garden's continued existence, I have included a picture of the Camellia in bloom at the bottom of the garden.  I've named this one 'Dan'. I heckle him from up t' top. (Above picture: my Alan Partridge stance!) The weird growth on the Tree Aeonium (Aeonium arboreum) is its very first flower emerging - A native of the Canary Islands, where is clings to arid hillsides, Tree Aeoniums grow very well in Cornwall, and can be seen in abundance in the hedgerows of the Scilly Isles (the archipelago off the tip of Lands End). I was surprised to read it is considered an invasive specie in Southern Australia. This particular rosette will die after flowering. Luckily cuttings strike very easily from its sausagey stems. You can see here some stems look like slayed ...

 Hello m' ansums, "Why have you brought us to a pit!!!" cackled my eldest daughter, when she saw the sign for 'Gwennap Pit'. "Why not?" I retorted. She wanted a mystery road tour and this was our second scheduled stop (the first being a play park with zip wire). With UK lockdown easing, the incoming visitors can have the beaches, buckets of ice-cream and waiting mutant seagulls . Maybe only walkers, Poldark lovers and the odd weirdo know of the joy of pits. Busveal Chapel, built 1836 Gwennap Pit is a funny old place. We drove through steeply climbing narrow lanes, closely edged with dry stone walls and fields full of horses and gypsy caravans. An unassuming wooden sign post initially marks the spot, which could be easily missed.   This welcome sign reads 'for GOD is here', not 'for COD is here' as I misread. There's a metal entrance gate by the small whitewashed chapel. A path with some World Heritage  information boards leads to ste...

Hello again, how are you? I've got the kettle on if you've got the biscuits. I can breath a sigh of relief now I've sat my two RHS exams and finished work for the week. It has been one of those type of fortnights that I was not looking forward to: juggling childcare, exams and traditionally the busiest time of year in the office. The exams went well and fingers crossed,  I think I've done enough to complete my RHS Certificate in Plant Growth, Propagation and Development. Ah the magic powers of a bowl of water and some beach towels... hours of entertainment. This weekend will be spent making the most of our last pre-schooler days. Our littlest is due to start school and she's bound to get the 'tude' (attitude).  As my eldest said one month into her first year at school - 'I'm not cute, I'm four years old!!! Last Sunday, I escaped the house and children to prepare for my exams. Thankfully, my folks have a nice, quiet house and garden. My wonderful ...