ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
Even though the weather has returned to normal the fallout from the dryness and hot spell is still playing out. Some things are growing like it's spring; ferns that had shrivelled and gone dormant are greening up, Fuchsias are making new growth and flowering profusely, Corydalis flexuosa is re-emerging in fresh greenery. Winter may be…
They're gonna put me in the moviesThey're gonna make a big star out of meWe'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonelyAnd all I gotta do is act naturally Back in mid July I received an email from someone called Joe Driver, from Cornwall Stress Free Television. They explained that they were…
Last weekend we went down to the plant fair at Tremenheere, which netted me Begonia koelzii. On the way back we called in at Trevenna Cross Nursery where I found a reasonable plant of Begonia 'Garden Angel Silver'. There were other purchases, mostly for Sue. I came home significantly poorer. Since then it seems mostly…
The switch from summer to autumn happened rather abruptly but since summer ended in blazing heat and parched soil, there is a sense in which autumn represents an upturn in the garden's fortunes rather than the beginning of a steady decline. A lot of things have perked up greatly and late flowerers like Fuchsias and…
It is very frustrating that I have so many problems with direct sowing on my allotment. Most things seem to germinate then disappear, presumably due to nocturnal predation by slugs. I dare say there are other culprits too, voles, snails maybe, but it hardly matters. I managed to grow carrots successfully this year by direct…
Fuchsias are really easy to grow and trouble free except for Fuchsia rust, Fuchsia gall mite, Fuchsia flea beetle, capsid bug, apple moth, vine weevil and whitefly. They also don't enjoy being very hot and dry. There was a time when the only concern anyone ever had about them was whether they were hardy; no…
Almost at the end of another month. I received some Erythronium bulbs today and was re-acquainted with how dry the ground is below the surface when it came to planting them. It's no wonder most things look jaded. It took longer than usual to assemble six things, another sign of the turning seasons. One.Hedychium 'Tara'.…
A week ago we were on day four of a severe weather warning for high temperatures. We were also, and still are, experiencing a very dry summer. The world is getting warmer and the rate it is doing so is accelerating. I already have a fairly complicated water harvesting setup but my stored water ran…
Four hot days and a thunderstorm, the new normal for an English summer perhaps, except that in these fast changing times, the very idea of normal has largely gone out of the window. What lies ahead is varying degrees of abnormal. In any event, Sunday was a sizzler and Monday the thunder rumbled around for…
I thought to do a six consisting of three watering cans, a hose, a hose nozzle and water butt. It just isn't a situation to make light of though, so I'll stick with plants, some of the survivors. One.Dahlia 'Karma Choc' is a plant I find all but impossible to photograph satisfactorily. It must register…
garden ruminations 