Her indoors

I had a list as long as my arm for the first full on gardening day.   And barely left the potting shed. Boy was there work to do in there.

And not only cleaning and sorting; but saving plants.   I had to decide what to do with all the tomato plants – not many of which survived their ten days roughing it.   I managed to keep 17 plants out of thirty or so that I had potted on.   Not many flowers and the plants are tall so it probably won’t be a stellar harvest this year.   I’ll probably put most of them into the potager later, but for now they are pert and tied in and happy.

Next up, and this is what took so many happy hours, were the grasses.   I sowed all these eragrostis curvula babies from seed and never really counted just how many I had.   They were in teensy pots and many were gasping. I’m not sure if they can come back from their dessicated state, but I thought it a good idea to try.

So they were potted on into bigger pots with some lovely floragard potting compost, given a haircut, watered well and now put back onto the staging.   I couldn’t believe it when I counted them up. 94 plants. Quite a haul.   Fifty of them are actually for my neighbours Olivier and Aurelie in exchange for a water butt (a one cubic metre monster) but they have been very absent of late so I’ll just keep on caring for them.   Around 20 in total went to Leslie, and the rest are for my bank above the pool.

Except I can’t put them in – way too hot. I’m going to need a tropical storm for at least a week before I dare to put them there. Or just keep them in pots for months and months and months.   And then wait for autumn rains.

The potting shed was getting hotter and hotter as I worked, and I realised that it was time for the greenhouse shading paint that I had avoided applying.   Next year I promise to put it on in about May.   It has cut down the glare inside wonderfully.   And a doddle to apply.   But the potting shed is so big that I missed the midddle bit.   My reach on the top of the ladder didn’t go all the way with the extender on the roller brush.   But I’m pleased.   And the gasping little seedlings are looking less scorched too.

I potted up Sarah’s lemon verbena plant (just a baby in a terracotta pot) and will probably keep it here inside as I love the scent so much.   But I did take lots of cuttings from the big pot outside. It’s too heavy for me to move into the courtyard, and I keep forgetting to ask people to help.   So it is in part shade near the water butts for now.

Oh yes, and here’s a surprise: I have grown some eucalpytus plants from seed. They were given to me by my brother last month and I thought I’d give it a try.   Here they are.   Not sure if they will turn into anything, but it was fun.

By the late afternoon I decided to get on with one small outside task: planting out my sempervivums.   These little house leeks are so sweet (some bought from Camden Garden Centre) and most given to me by Leslie. I have located two places where I want them.   And here’s the first.   The old granite sink that was in the living room before we removed the wall.   It has been looking for a role to play in the garden for a year now, and here it is.   No drainage in the sink except for a small gap at the back of the stone. So I have placed it (hah! It weighs over 80kgs, I asked Nicolas to move it) with a slight lean.  

And I have lots of little sempervivum babies left over.   Those will need to grow on and then I can plant them in the rusty water trough on the wall between the roses in the courtyard.   But I suspect that will take ages: I know nothing about alpine plants and their growing habits.   But I have time. I hope.