You Couldn't Make It Up.

The powers that be in Blighty Tweeted last night that people in Greater Manchester,  parts of Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire can not visit their neighbours houses but you can meet them in the Mosque, Church , Restaurant or even the old rub a dub.  You could even go out of your county and meet them there.

Call me stupid.  But am I missing something?  I think I will go back to 'Portugal'my polytunnel and pot up some perennials.

The Joy Of Cotoneaster Cuttings.

I checked on my Cotoneaster cuttings today.  This fellow had decided  to grow roots.  I could have just left it with it's other comrades to over winter and root.  But I always like to check them and pot them on.

Have you had any success recently making plant cuttings?

Sowing Phormium Seeds.

I noticed one of my Phormiums had seed pods on it yesterday.  So I picked them and sowed two trays of it's black seeds.  I usually divide my Phormiums in Spring.  But I thought why not grow some from seed.  Then I Googled sowing Phormiums and discovered that they can take from ten days to six months to germinate.  We'll see.  Any one on here ever grown Phormiums from seed?

Lighting The Range In July.

It's  turning into a strange but predictable Summer.  May and some of June was fabulous weather.  But since then it's  been very very mixed.  So mixed that we lit the solid fuel range today.  

We will be warm and we won't  need to turn on the Immersion Heater in the 'hot press' or 'Airing Cupboard'  for some hot water.  I wouldn't like to be holidaying in a tent at the moment, would you?

The range lit in July.

I saw a council workman sweeping leaves with a leaf blower this morning.  The leaves on the trees are turning yellow and the must think it's Autumn.

I Think I Am A Plantaholic.

You know when you are a plantaholic when you find yourself in your polytunnel at ten to seven in the morning checking cuttings  for roots.

Yep.  That was me this very morn.  Here's a photo of two newly rooted cuttings:

Hypericum on the left and Cotoneaster on the right.


Isn't Mother Nature amazing?  

Inside The Sedums Cuttings Shade Garden And Sedum Factory/Polytunnel.

The shade garden nursery.  Home under the hedge for some young Sedum plants.

More shade garden photos.  I water them every second day at least.

Sedums plants ready to go.  Do you want to buy any?  I will sell  you them cheap or we can barter?

Even more trays of Sedum plants.

Sedum cuttings in trays starting/waiting to root in trays.

New Sedum cuttings made yesterday in "Portugal" my polytunnel.

Sedums will soon be in flower and they attract the Butterflies and the working Bees.  They have reddish pink flower and a sign that Winter is on it's way.

They are very easy to propagate by division or cuttings.  They are one of my perennial favourites.  No wonder they are called: *Autumn Joy".

The Bomb Site Butterfly Bush.

My Buddleias seem to be late flowering this year.  It's probably because most of my gardens are North (Northsider) facing.   I brought one plant with me to Ireland that I had  took from a cutting about twenty years ago.

Some people say they are invasive and that's why they called the bomb site bush.  I saw some wonderful self seeded specimens growing at Temple Mead Station in Bristol in 2018 on my way to Hardy country.

You can grow them from seed but I like to make cuttings of them and over winter them in pots in "Portugal" my polytunnel or until they are rooted anyway.

I must look for some different colours.  Have you any red ones?  Mine are bluey purple.  I am not female and can't do shades.  If I went in a paint shop I would ask for a tin of "red" paint.  If they asked me what shade I wanted?  I would reply: "Red".  I know what Azure is.  It's  blue!  See what I mean?

My Buddleia bushes.  If you want to attract butterflies and bees to your garden.  Plant a Buddleia Bush.  Sedums attract them too.