16-05-25

Good morning again, everyone.    It felt a bit chilly yesterday and it's feeling the same again this morning so we're back to cold fingers again.  Brrr.  It might be a bit sunnier though - yesterday we had no sun until early evening.  If we'd had rain it would have been good but no such luck.

This is so much better now.  I can see where those gaps are.

Everything is definitely migrating towards the left hand side, the side facing the morning sunshine.  Now I know where I need to provide more somethings.  I will take a look when I go to Grenville's and maybe take a trip to Longacres too.

The lavender is looking much healthier than it did a month ago and the dianthus is sending out buds - nice.  And I have three dahlias, two down the overpopulated end.  Plus those foxgloves.

Thank you, Wendy, for the advice re the irises.

Poor cyclamen.  There are bulbs in the pot too which didn't do terribly well this year so I decided to have them out (no idea why I didn't apply this to the irises too!).  When I started the soil was bone dry (ooops) and the bulbs so impacted it was hard to pull them out.  I now have a whole load of them drying out for replanting elsewhere come the autumn.  I mag fill a few pots with them so they can be moved about into corners that need some colour.

I am carefully watering the soil and I think it it properly hydrated now  The next thing is to feed the poor thing and hope for the best.

That is not a healthy looking flower, is it?

Mind you, some things seem to thrive on a bit of healthy neglect, don't they?  This sage was a poor, wizened old thing over winter and just look at it now, sending out healthy growth all over.  I'm going to dehydrate some using Nellie's dehydrate function, I think.

As for the rosemary - no photos - which was promising to take over the bed, that's now been severely chopped back.  I don't care if it is the wrong time, I have never managed to kill a rosemary yet.

I've decided I can't manage without runner beans so that's what I am sowing in the blankety bed this year.

There will be tomatoes at the end and then there's room for a short row of beans.  I can stand on the wall to harvest so that won't be a problem at all.

Today, Alex is coming over for a cookery lesson.  He want's to learn how to cook more than bunging a pizza in the oven or opening a can of beans.  Also, he wants to cook more healthy stuff so who better than his old Nan to show him.  We're doing cheesy pasta bake (hopefully) today.

I've fed Bubbles (my rye starter) and want to have a go at a more wholemeal loaf using activated starter and a pinch of commercial yeast (a sort of poolish thing).  My recipe is one fifth white and the rest is a mix of spelt, rye and wholemeal and it's really very nice indeed with a great flavour.  However, I think this mix would be too heavy for a sourdough starter on its own so let's give it a go.  It will end up as something, it won't be wasted and it might work really well.

As I discarded before feeding, I found I had loads of discard so some of that has become four crumpets.  Alex can take them home with him.

It's going to be a good day, I think.  Stay safe and be happy, everyone.  xx