Long Mizzle Garden

 Eh up m' solar sparkles, Has thoust had a jolly good yule tide? I've had  a lovely time with the family and my bottle of buckspiss. The kids insisted we get a 'real' tree again from the garden centre - the one with the hotter than the sun toasted marshmallows, singing penguins and flurries of fake snow. Walking round Falmouth Pavillion's Christmas tree festival, I did rather like the street grittiness of the cigarette cupcake (bottom left) Above: Tree decorations made from collected litter Below: Let's get wooly Other cutie pie things- A couple of week ago I went to a cookin' * gig at the Pavillion. Tom Meighan, ex Kasabian , was playing. I totally had it out large to songs like Clubfoot . My old work friend does the sound for him when on tour. As they all rehearse in Cornwall, this was something of a warm up gig. A week later they were supporting the mono eyebrowed saviour from Manchester, Noel Gallagher, at Wembley arena. I wonder if they were blisteri...

 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...

 Al'reet m' chiefs,   Of course the title's a play on a line in the 1975 film Jaws - 'We're gonna need a bigger boat'. Before I get onto pots, I'd like to share a little outing, and perhaps some boats... It's been an action packed week off and now I'm feeling like I need extra time to recover! One highlight was going over to the north coast with the kiddiwinkles and ancient ones.   The Fern Pit Cafe on the edge of Newquay, overlooks the River Gannel and Crantock beach. If I ever I think Long Mizzle's split levels are challenging, I think of the heavenly steep cliff side garden that tumbles down from the cafe to the boathouse and footbridge below. Above: Red Valerian (Centrranthus ruber) Unfortunately the steps, boathouse and footbridge were closed off on the day we visited. I have many fond memories of spending whole dusty summer days as a child, mucking about crab fishing, then walking back up the endless steps for an ice cold strawberry m...