Thursdays…lollipops…and more!

 It’s Thursday!  And so what have we been up to? 

It’s..lollipop time! 

William really enjoyed doing these!

As well as this, if you recall, last week, we pressed a handful of petals that William had collected from the garden.

Today, we undid the flower press and William made a card for his mummy and daddy.

And then he decorated the envelope…

…apparently, it’s sky, sun and sand! ☀️😁

All in all, a fun time! But…sadly, next week will be his last full day with us as he starts school the week after! We will still be looking after him after school, on Thursdays, and also in the school holidays.

Moving on…to garden things!

Evolvulus, ‘ Blue My Mind’, is a dwarf Morning Glory (Convolvulaceae) and this delightful, little, nectar rich plant is loved by bees and butterflies. I came across it at the Buckfast Abbey plant centre, last week. One of the best things about this plant is that it is drought tolerant and perfect for hot, dry parts of the garden. It is perennial and needs cutting back in the spring time to encourage new growth.

Meanwhile, yesterday, I spent much of the day here…doing all sorts!

My first batch of Foxgloves, for next year, sown from seed not long ago…well they’ve  grown faster than I thought they would…and so I spent yesterday repotting them ! My next batch will need pricking out very soon…

I always sow loads! Last winter, I lost a few after they were planted in the ground; it was so wet that they rotted!  This year I’m wondering whether to keep some aside in the greenhouse, in pots, as I was pretty disappointed at losing some of my lovely plants.

This time, I’ve sown the ‘wild’ type, that is a darker pink ( Digitalis purpurea); I’ve sown a white variety, saved from a garden plant and I’ve sown a rose pink variety, also saved from a garden plant.

Just over a week ago, I took some cuttings of Erigeron karvinskianus. We love this! We’ve  always called it ‘Devon Daisy’ as it grows so well here…especially in walls!  In our garden it’s fab as it softens the old walls that we have here.

I put the cuttings in water and, yesterday, I noticed that they had all rooted. So I’ve potted these...and in my own, home made compost!  It’s dead easy to take cuttings and they root so quickly!

As well as this, all, of my Erysimum cuttings have taken. 

Two varieties : ‘Bowles Mauve’, that I took from Nich’s large plant a couple of weeks ago, and ‘Paintbox’, from my own large but old woody plant.

These are also easy to do. All that you have to do is select a non flowering shoot and then tear it off the parent stem so that you retain a small piece of the basal stem, called a ‘heel’. Then you remove the lower leaves and pot the cuttings. I didn’t use rooting powder but you can if you wish.

I’m a great one for saving seeds and taking cuttings and I also think it’s a lovely thing to share with family/ friends. After these gorgeous, Opium Poppies had finished flowering….

I left them to dry … 

On Monday, I checked and they had all set seed…I had to be careful not to tip them upside down as I cut them. Envelopes at the ready… and thousands and thousands  of seeds were collected! I posted some to two friends who had asked for some, gave some to Nich and the rest I’ve saved for sowing. 

However,…I still buy a few seeds…and thinking ahead to next year, I noticed that T&M were offering a £10 discount if you spent £20! And so I took advantage of this and order some extra seeds. Here’s what I chose: 

Antirrhinum Nanum Black Prince; Nemesia Strumosa Compacta Tapestry; Nasturtium Jewel Of Africa; Nasturtium Ladybird.

Zinnia elegans Sunshine Mix; Cosmos Brightness; Phlox Drummondii Dwarf Beauty; Pansy T&M Colossal Flowered.

Poppy Red Pom Poms; Sunflower Sunspot; Escholzia (Californian Poppy) Butter Bush; Eschcholzia californica Copper Swirl.

My old shoe box is still going strong but was almost empty! I keep meaning to look for a proper seed container but so far I’ve not seen anything suitable or to my liking and so the old shoe box lives on!

Finally, this Fri/Sat/Sun, Hare Spring Cottage Plants, neat Kingsbridge, is having one of its open weekends! 😁😱😄  This visit, for me, is heaven! A leisurely cuppa and cake on the lawn, near the stream…plants for sale…an idyllic setting…sunny weather…well what more could anyone want?

I’ve been waiting to see which day might be best weather wise but the weather forecast seems to be good for all three days! I can’t wait! 😁