Long Mizzle Garden

 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...

 Hello m' peggies, Propagation stations are go! I'm plotting for car boot sale domination next spring. I shall sell plants to feed my plant addiction AND hard biscuit fund. Well, action is necessary seeing as there's an energy crisis, a cost of living crisis and a beyond bobbins government crisis! This is why I've been working extra hours. Working like a dog and sleeping like a log.       The pink river lilies burst forth on Monday -  (Hesperanta coccinea)  This fantastic book is on loan from the library. I'm not ready to give back yet - The window ledges are fast turning into aqua propagation stations -     Miss Amarylis (Hippeastrum) is having her second bloom of the year, out on the top patio table - Her little bulb offsets sit in pots beside her - At this time of year , the Aoniums start putting on some serious muscle. Here's some Tree Aenoium stems, with adventitious roots already developing. They will readily strike when placed in a pot...

 Hello m' luvelies, It's a glorious morning here at Long Mizzle. The sun is just starting to fill the top patio, where it will sit hot all day. I'm not one for basking in the sun, much preferring early mornings and evenings, when the light is sweet and magic.  Happily I don't have to rush off anywhere, and project 'Marie Kondo the living daylights out of the wardrobe' will just have to wait until later. Here are some pictures taken last night, at around 9pm, once the sun had dipped down behind the hedges and fences.  Sometimes I am serenaded in the garden by a little pink Ukelele playing wandering minstrel -     The minstrel's services will be paid with apples - Unfortunately I lost three dahlias by leaving the tubers in the ground over winter: 'Heatwave', 'Spanish Dancer' and 'Totally Tangerine' all gone. I suspect they got too wet and rotted - lesson learnt! The orange 'Pooh' type are positively unruly though. Dahlia 'Ma...