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31 December 2016

Skies 2016.



Wishing you a very happy new year!


February 14th.

October 27th

 October 27th

December 16th

Flower garden.... 2016.


 These photos begin with autumn and go back through the year....

November 1st.

November 1st.

November 1st.

Dahlia October 31st.

October 27th

October 27th

 October27th.

 October 25th.

October 19th.

Dahlia with Verbena bonariensis in the background, October 18th.

October 13th.

Echium pininana and Dahlia, October 13th.


October 13th.

The bed at the house, October 12th


Dahlia, Tithonia, Knautia arvensis, Agastache. October 12th.

The meadow beds, October 6th.

 Tivon and Alfie collecting seed of Malope Vulcans, They have self-seeded abundantly so this seed will all be for sharing. September 30th.

 Alfie collecting seeds.

Brothers in harmony again? Well, sometimes!

Rudbeckia trifoliate September 29th.


Dieramma, Agastache and  Echinops September 29th.

Cosmos, September 3rd.

The meadow beds. August 11th.

August 11th.

August 11th.

Crocosmia, lunaria, and echinops with the big leaves of the squash plants. August 11th.
August 16th, Alfie trimming stalks from Statice. There are so many garden jokes about Statice being old fashioned, I love to laugh, and I love Statice!

Alfie dead-heading, August 8th.

Collecting the dead-heads in his wheelbarrow, August 8th.

 Alliums, Helenium and Inula hookeri, July 10th.

Roses at the house June 22nd.

 
Ox-eye daisy June 22nd.
Alfie had fun throwing and catching a plant pot with a seed tray, May 24th.

Alfie asked me to take this photo and now I like it very much. It captures something of the happy life of the garden child, or perhaps it just reminds me of the happiness in the moment it was taken?

 The bed at the house, June 1st.

Bed at the house, June 1st.

Bed at the house April 27th.

April 24th.

The thyme bath July 6th.
Click here to see the post with photos of filling / planting this bath.
 It might have filled out more if I didn't keep dividing plants to grow more elsewhere.

Poppies, June 3rd.

 
The living room in spring, most are vegetable plants but lots of flowers from seed too, March 8th.

 I was short of small pots so I searched high and low, I eventually found 70 filled with Crassula ovata (Jade Plant / Money Plant) upstairs, Zoe (now 14 yrs) propagated them a few years ago, in response Zoe counted my plants, 690 on that particular day in February in the living room. As those went out to the tunnel and garden there were more in March and again in April!

Tivon's pollinator planting.


 Tivon planted Tithonia seeds last November (2015)! (Tivon has a strong sense of humour and planting seeds at the "wrong" time  appealed to his 10 year old self, of course there isn't really a "wrong" time if you are prepared to look after them.  It was flowering by March 24th and for several weeks Tivon carried his Tithonia out to the tunnel during the day so the bees could pollinate the flowers and back to the house every evening, to protect it from the frost. (Although the bees turned out to be busy with other flowers in March/April). Then in late May it was planted in his flower bed with all the other plants he grew from seed in spring.

In January Tivon rooted through my tins of seeds and chose 10 different flowers that were noted as being good for pollinators, including more Tithonia.

Transplanting the seedlings on February 16th.
In winter/spring the kitchen counter top doubles as a potting bench and the living room doubles as a nursery!

Tivon also collected conkers last autumn, we put them in the fridge for a few months and he planted them in pots on February 16th, I've no more photos but we have several little trees in pots looking for somewhere to be planted now.
When Tivon was away orienteering I made a bamboo fence for his planting area to keep the hens from scratching up the little plants that he had raised. Here it is half made, April 29th.

Some of the plants were slightly pot bound so Tivon is teasing out the roots.

The area had been covered in long grass before being mulched with cardboard overwinter to prepare it for planting, May 24th.

A relaxed planting style!

Tivons plants, August 2nd.

 The whole project, including deadheading, has all been on Tivon's own initiative, and it happened to be photographed as it's beside my planted area that I like to photograph!
(Tivon has plenty of other interests and projects that have not been recorded).

Tivon also sowed some seed direct in the gaps between his little plants, this borage was one, here being enjoyed by a honeybee.

We left undisturbed a little teasel seedling when the area was prepared, 3 bumble bees on one of its flowers. (Teasels are biennial).

Tivon's photo of one of his Tithonias with bumble bee August 2nd.

Tivon has taken a lot of "bees-on-his-flowers photos"
I wonder where he gets that from?
August 6th.

Tivon's flowers included sunflowers, malope vulcans, yellow poppy, Rudbeckia, Echium, Teasel, cornflower, cosmos and others ...  but Tithonia stole the show! Sometimes one could see more than a dozen bumble bees foraging on his Tithonia flowers, so a real success.
August 18th.

The cycle continues, Saving seeds of the yellow poppy, October 7th.
Tivon also collected Foxglove seeds from plants around the garden and sowed them directly for flowering next year.

It's not all planting in the garden! This is trampoline yoga! October 10th.