ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like…
And so it goes on. Applause broke out at 8pm on Thursday so I opened the window and joined it, then someone went for a bottle of wine and before long there were all our neighbours out with chairs and bottles, all keeping a sensible distance from each other but socialising in a totally unprecedented…
There's definitely a sense that things are starting to green up in the garden, though only just managing to outpace the slugs. I went out with a torch one evening in the week, it's a bit dispiriting to see so many. Chionodoxa have lost almost every bud before they opened and Polygonatum were getting mauled.…
If you followed this blog for what I had to say about my allotment then I'm afraid you've had thin pickings this year, this being only my second post about it. It seems to have been a year where everything has been done in a very fragmented way so there never seems to have been…
Here's a fine thing, six on Saturday and I had done nothing until this morning. Being in the luxurious state that is retirement, I usually have it all lined up by Friday night at the latest. It was inevitable then that the weather would conspire to frustrate me, not that it's raining or snowing, just…
There's a magic in the way that great big plants grow from tiny little seemingly dead seeds. It fascinates small children and for many of us is no less fascinating when we are past retirement age. I have been collecting seeds from camellia bushes at the National Collection in Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, with their…
One. So much in flower, picking six becomes difficult. OK, a bit of lumping together: Dahlias, I grow a few, but then again... Such flamboyance, such joie de vivre. Dahlias, especially en masse, have an unrivalled capacity for putting smiles on peoples faces, even mine. Some I leave in, some I lift, then put back…
Sowed Onion 'Liria' in seed tray, on prop bench at 25C. Pricked off Leeks 'Musselburgh' sown 5/2 into 4L pot. Will plant out when bigger. This was an early sowing, will do another soonish. Pricked off Tomato 'Sungold' into 9cm pots. In Sylvamix peat free with 2.5g/L CRF added. Back on window ledge. Up…
Today I received a few packets of seed from The Real Seed Catalogue. I picked up on them on Charles Dowding's blog and wanted to try them out. Salads were a success last year in the sense that we ate almost all I grew and could have done with more, especially into autumn and winter.…
