Long Mizzle Garden

 Hello m' chucky chives,     With allotment duties in full swing, you may be wondering if the garden is receiving the same wanton neglect as my eyebrows?... The answer, in short...is yes... but it doesn't seem to mind.   When we moved in over eleven years ago, the garden was wildly overgrown, 'lost' and magical. A lot had to be cleared for practicality - mainly the monstrous leylandi hedging, but also the wild brambles, nettles and creeping buttercup.  Self seeded Foxgloves and Sweet Williams Now the new hedging has grown up and matured, the once veggie beds and cut flower beds are again partially shaded. This had led to a garden re-think. For now, nature can do what it does best. Please ignore the non-colour coordinated towels, drying from this morning's sea swim with the kiddies. My new battery powered strimmer (intended for the grass paths at the allotment) saves the day in the garden, by clearing a safe path through the wilderness of ferns, thistles and...

Just a quick one today m' crystal gazers, Following my recent illegal island grab*  (see here ), and another couple of camping trips, I temporarily landed back at my beloved Longmizzle just in time for autumn.  The garden feels neglected and confused. The Rhododendron is in flower and my poor pumpkins have split due to a September heatwave. *I was forceably removed by the authorities that be. In other weird phenomena news... During the heatwave we saw hundreds of Crystal Jellyfish washed up at Coverack Cove. A rare site to see in the UK, they glow in the dark and aimlessly float with the warm tides.  Crystal Jellyfish - Coverack Cove, Cornwall (9th September 2023) There was a strange static energy hovering in the air. That night an almighty electrical storm struck, with forked lightening and the loudest thunder I have ever encountered. The earth beneath the tent shook. By morning, rather than feeling tired through lack of sleep, I felt super charged by jump leads.  ...

 Hello m' hot scrumpies,   Apologies for my blogging absence. It feels work wise, mentally and physically I have been living in a pressure cooker for the past month This coincided with the hottest June globally on record. Hello El Niño - you arrived too soon. The garden sat thirsty for weeks on end. Some of the luckier beds received buckets of used bath water. A hose pipe ban has been in place in the South West since last summer. The reservoirs are critically low and the water company is scrambling to set up the desalination of seawater. Most plants seem shorter in height this year. The roses however seemed to love the dry heat.  Dog on quay dutifully watches over sea swimming owner Now there are reports of a potential maritime heatwave. Since taking up sea swimming, I can confirm the sea is still officially flippin' cold to my skin. My brother says 'knees, hips, nips and tips' is the way to enter the water without shocking the body. The nips seems to be the hardest s...

 Happy Beltane, May 1st marks the start of summer in the Gaelic calendar. Here in our little Cornish corner things get a bit weird with crazed hobby horses running through the streets, colourful Maypole dancing in school yards and wickerman-esq bonfires out in the fields. The earth is alive with fervent energy. I simply cannot keep up. This past week I have been struck down with Covid. For three days I lay horizontally. In real time, I watched the trees form their green canopies from their witchy winter frame works.  It will be a short garden update today...     Before the lurgy... A seedling swap at a private creekside house. Each year the family open up their garden for charity and encourage visitors to bring spare plants for the table sale. They also sell delicious refreshments. Trachycarpus furtunei -offspring from Long Mizzle's 'Mama Fuzz' I took with me some baby Trachycarpus fortunei plants. The lady organising the plant sales was delighted at my plant descri...