Wholegrain Brown Rice

Yo, Dear Reader, last recipe without a photo, I promise, though it might be the last new recipe for a while, I haven’t much to work with any way and the garden might be taking up more of my time, still I wanted to share this as I’ve posted a lot of rice recipes over the years, but knowing how to cool fluffy, soft rice isn’t something that’s all that well known where I live, mostly because all the packets suggest cooking it like pasta, instead you can cook it the proper way. This is pretty much emulating what a rice cooker does, or maybe it’s the other way round, I don’t use rice cookers, Dear Reader, it’s all single servings for me. Handily there’s no need to wash this, I did give it a quick rinse through, but unlike the hulled rice this retains the hull and doesn’t wash and stays firmer when cooked. It uses more water as here’s no soaking either. I personally prefer the wholegrain basmati, but I have been eating that for so long I’m probably biased. Still, worth a shot even if you dislike rice, when it’s coked well every grain is discernible, but tender, not sticky, but holds just a little. Never thought I’d talk so much about plain rice, but here we are, Dear Reader. I’ll be back again soon, until then stay safe and take care.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup of Brown Rice
250ml Water

Method

1. Add the Water and Rice to a flat bottomed pot. Put the pan on high heat. Wait until the water boils and starts bubbling then turn the heat down to medium (3 on hob) cover and let it just sit there for 20 minutes.
2. After the 20 minutes is up, turn off the heat open the lid and place a folded tea towel over the pot and return the lid. Let it stand for another 10 minutes or so. After 10 minutes, lift the lid, remove the tea towel and take a fork and fluff the Rice.

Snap, Concrete and PULL!

I have put so many new bulbs in forgotten places and it’s a little magical.

The coffee plant is finally starting to unfurl.

The mango seed, that will fail, but I will know if the first was always going to die if it grows long enough. Growing fast.

Really rich looking this year. A lot has been added over the years.

Yo Dear Reader, we were promised rain and instead ended up with a very pleasant day, never thought I’d think so much about the weather, but when it comes to getting the garden ready to really means a lot, I’m still tackling the back, I had to hauled out block I threw in to sink it, big chunks of concrete covered blocks, one might be petrified stump, it’s lumpy, absurdly heavy and I’ve “found” it a few times already as it moves through the garden, I might just clean it and paint it and use it as a weight somewhere, we keep meeting so why not? The whole back is sinking down and light is filtering through more, as I used an old branch, think very big, Dear Reader, to smash old brittle branches, I though they were alive, but it might just be an old tree, which are on the bone fire pile, the thought hat I may be letting in more light popped up and then the sun popped out from behind the clouds, blindingly bright and nature has a sense of humour at least. The back is a long project, but now I’ve gotten the tree cut down I can move more freely back there. A lot of it is suspended soil, but there’s a lot of junk too. I have a sledgehammer and now an axe and a bow saw, never will I be unprepared, Dear Reader, so I’ll keep smashing and planting as I go.

The colour scheme is eccentric, but it’s all functional.

You can’t just peel that off either, you have to…yes I tried.

Forked, hoed, raked and I’ve added limes and a tray of wormery compost.

I was lucky enough to grab the two apple trees, that might be self-fertile, might end up as decorative trees, they need different varieties to pollinate, I thought it just needed two the same, but they’re for Mother’s Day so if they flower each year that’s all I need. I’ll pop them into prepared trugs and put them in the blank space near the wall, which was once over run with garter weed and I haven’t ever found the right use for, it’s narrow, so when he cabbage frames and netting are in place it’s not accessible easily. Dwarf trees will be perfect there. I’m getting the bed ready and will be setting up the pea frames soon, with a row of onions in the gap formed by the two teepees that form the frame this time around, I have jute netting that can rot away instead of hat clinging green mesh that I abhor. I’ll still use it as a “roof” for the cabbages, but that’s it. I’ve been gathering supplies smartly, you know Jack, Dear Reader, I’m always prepared or I’m never caught by the same lack twice. I need to pop to the store I hate to get the cheap rose feed, you come here for this kind of nonsense, don’t deny it, Dear Reader, and I’ll see what feed they have. I’m only shopping when I have enough to get and I’m shopping or an elderly neighbour each week so I combine it. Thinks are bad here, Dear Reader, but I’ll keep pushing ahead with the garden, never in all my born days thought it’d be possible to tackle the back of i, but here I am, maybe this year will mark an end of sorts to all the negative things, here’s hoping anyway. That’s it for today, Dear Reader, stay safe and take care.

Colombo Powder

Yo, Dear Reader, can you believe it, I have a new recipe to share, it’s been, well it’s been a while, this is just a quick and simple curry blend from here, very slightly changed, I always look for he most authentic recipes from other countries, which means more often than not I can’t eat them or can’t adapt them and still call them by the same name. I find it’s important to respect he original recipes, there’s a reason they’re made the way they are even if you’re unfamiliar with them. This is a pretty simple curry blend, but the rice adds a beautiful nutty flavour and functions as a thickener, I’d post a photo, though it was just a simple curry, but I ended up ill with a stress headache and could about just eat it. But you know me, Dear Reader, I’d never post anything I didn’t consider up to standard and if I get the chance I will update this with a photo. I have a simple brown rice recipe too, I haven’t made wholegrain long grain rice in years, only wholegrain basmati, so I’ll pop that up for anyone that may need it soon. It’s the usual recipe, with the tea towel tip added, no need to wash the brown rice at least. Funny how these two recipes will combine to make a self thickening curry and a quickie rice that syncs up its cooking time with the curry. Which isn’t a fluke, I mostly planned things out that way, it’s helped over the years. I’ll be back to myself soon, Dear Reader, for now I hope you’ll find a use for this in some way or other, until later, stay safe and take care.

Ingredients

45g Brown Rice
1/2 Tbsp Ground Mustard Seeds
1/2 Tbsp Ground Fenugreek
1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Turmeric
1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 Tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves

Method

1. Add the Brown Rice to a saucepan and stir over a high heat until an even golden brown colour and fragrant. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and pour in a bowl to cool.
2. Grind the Rice when cool and mix together with the Spices and place all everything into a jar. Shake to combine. Store in an airtight jar.

One Step Towards Certain Stupidity

Little Warty Gasteria is really growing.

As the Prickly Pear grows it gets spiker.

The Yuca has serrated edges?!

A surreal feeling seeing it from this side.

The rambler refuses to be outdone.

The wild rose that’ll take the area yet.

Yo, Dear Reader, t’s been how long since we last spoke…I have no idea either, Dear Reader, but here I am, humbled by my own majesty, resplendent in my own recklessness, I have started the big clear out of the black garden by setting it on fire and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that pesky rain, and that the wood was wet, and it’s a mess in there. I have to burn the old wood to get rid of it, but you know me, Dear Reader, I’m always safety conscious, as I walked right into the back filled with rusty metal and glass I said to myself, I said Jack, which may or may not be my real name, who knows, but you can trust honest Jack, Dear Reader, I said you idiot get back here and I refused. Turns out it’s bad in there, but more solid than I’d have thought and for the first time in maybe fifteen years I saw the garden as no one has. I have a lot of backbreaking work set ahead of myself, but it’s starting, after years of indecision and doubt I am just angry enough at the world to tear hell out of that area. I’ll set the fire when it dries, being careful all kidding aside, then I’ll start hauling out he junk to a skip bag which will eventually be emptied into a skip, this way I can take my time. It’s not a nice project, but it’ll make so much out of that area. I bought a few berry bushes, very small starting ones, potted them for the year, smaller pots, but they’ll be fine and yes, Dear Reader, in Jack fashion I bought a blackberry, which was fine, a tayberry which I thought was a raspberry, this is my second and what turned out to be a Goji berry. Didn’t even know you could grow those here, might be like blue berries it might be iffy, but I’m glad I bought them, they had a more than half discount for buying three. If things work out and the fire burns a space for me to work, I may be able to get berry bushes in there. This will be a year long project and wholly depends on how bad it is, if nothing else it’ll be less awful and that’s all that matter. I really typed this much about junk, didn’t I, Dear Reader? It’s in keeping with my gardening style at least. Not the most exciting of posts, Dear Reader, but it’s progress, I started with one small section and now I’m in what seemed to be an impossible place. I’ll do my best Dear Reader, whatever that’ll bring, until later, stay safe and take care.

Not the greatest view, but a rare one.

A fern of unsure type, but the toughest, it takes being dry for week in its stride. Not that I forget, I need to balance watering and wet weather, even inside.

Getting to heavy to lift with one hand.

Fritillary Aurora just starting to appear.

I’ll start pulling it towards the light when I have room to move.

Biollante (Sweetheart Plant) before its final repoting. Just the right time thankfully, it’s nearly longer than my Mother.

It’s the width of the garden.

Garden Archeology: Jack All The Way Down

The front is taking shape, a lot more permeance.

Golden Pothos number two is dividing too.

Year to year they can thin a little, but they’re cheap to replace.

It looks so much bigger now it’s in a smaller frame.

Mother’s Day cutting still trying their best to grow.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’m once again excavating the garden, revisiting and removing the traces of past Jack, in trying to situate the obelisk I found that here were three layers of matting, just think of the days spent putting that down, changing my mind, cutting into it and then matting it again and again. Of course after cutting into it twice I assumed I could just push the spikes into the soil and hah, you know that’s never the case, Dear Reader. After somehow extracting the remainder of the old arch, looks nice, needs paints, but it’s hanging over the edge of the wall currently, then pulling the twisted jasmine, the honeysuckle really robbed it of nutrients until I moved it, through the frame that it was in no way grown to fit into, after this I just pushed the spikes and they wouldn’t go into the soil because there was more matting, more blind stabbing, I couldn’t see where I was putting it and I wanted the holes as small as possible, the bottomless bucket was too narrow and compacted with roots so that was a no go, but after a little more stabbing I managed to break through to soil and it finally slipped in. I put blocks in the gaps between bucket and obelisk and finally it looks tidy. AS to where I got the obelisk, well, Dear Reader, I was lying awake at night, beats standing anyway, and realised I only needed one in the greenhouse, in between the two pots as you can see. So, even when I’m resting I’m making work for myself.

All that work and it’s all hidden away showing no sign of it.

Monstera, still too big, but it’s alive!

One of the 50+ year rose cuttings.

My first ever lucky bamboo, greatly cut down, but still going.

The one on the windowsill is great, but if these grow I’ll keep them.

The honeysuckle detracted from it, but it looks good now.

I’m still working on the back, Dear Reader, I’m just going to clear behind the laurels as best I can to gauge what I can do there, I’d like to just toss a few berry bushes there and let then run riot, you got me, Dear Reader, they’re selling cheap bareroot ones again soon, but still if the raspberries could grow there I and the birds alike would have a really great time picking berries and making use of the space is my main priority. The big if is what’s there, a lot of leaves, branches and dirt, but who knows what else. There’s the laurels, a few feet and then the old bent fence, how bent will determine what I can do , there are blocks there too so I’ll have to squeeze in to pointy places and try to gauge what I’ll be digging. Wish me luck, Dear Reader, because I’ll need it. Still making progress with the better weather, the potatoes are down, lilies too, honeysuckle is on the way for the front arch, managed to get a small cheaper one, and the onions and Spring Garlic, Spring Onions too of course, will be going down soon. I’m trying not to do to much and trying not to put too much strain on myself, but I need some distraction. I wanted this year to be my first free, Dear Reader, and it’s just really not what I wanted, I’ll do what I do, but I can’t say it’s as enjoyable as it should be. Send good thoughts my way, Dear Reader, I’ll be back again later, until then stay safe and take care.

The Irises died back a lot, but they’re still in there.

First Golden Pothos doing it’s own thing too.

I thought they were invasive weeds until I read the tag.

They come in twos, I couldn’t get them now if I wanted, so it worked out perfectly.

Forgot I planted those there.

One, Two GAH!

I’ve righted the honeysuckle, this year will be when it spreads.

I haven’t laughed so hard in a while, Dear Reader.

The glass has been defeated.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’ve spoken about what was a necessary dumping area at the back of the garden, I’ve been slowly reclaiming that space and it is slow, hard work, it’s an ugly side to the garden, but never have I been one to shy away from showing the whole of gardening, it’s a reminder that perfection isn’t a sustainable goal and there are better ones, I’ll say it until the day it’s true, hopefully not too far in the future, Dear Reader, but I want that to be a wild sanctuary for the birds and the bees, and I am making progress. The whole has sunken several feet and today, yesterday was me slashing at it again, I went out with a sledgehammer. There’s a huge sheet of thick glass in there, was but wait, it was given to me for plants but wasn’t fit for purpose, must be one of the last things dumped in there, anyway, I decided I’d break it up, I tossed a huge block of concrete in there, to try an sink that side, but it wouldn’t break. I decided to smash it, I lifted the hammer up and slammed it down to a resonating bonk and nothing else, so, up again it went, over head and to my back, I swung in a solid arc and then there was a frame. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but there was the outer frame of the glass, the rest had exploded. It’s just gone. I was far away so I was fine, but it just seemed to vanish, one stroke and that was it. Now there’s ivy growing through the crack and I have a small wooden box filled with dirt to get plants growing in, to take over in time, the barrel top has the same purpose, I toss all the old soil in there as I weed so it’s getting nice and loamy. Never thought I’d need a sledgehammer, Dear Reader, never mind for gardening, but here I am.

Spring is creeping in.

Some of that is rose and the rest is old sweetpeas. For birds nesting material.

Some split-off snowdrops.

So, today I bought a few indoor plants, various unmarked sansevieria, I always repot them, one was almost just a cutting with a few roots, they pack them in that coir or whatever it is so it looks like roots, I’d swear they do that on purpose, but they were cheap and the pots are nice. I pot the first too, one has a good bit of roots on it and next, I wish I had taken a photo beforehand, was a lovely fanned one, a beautiful arch of leaves, which had caught in the pot strangely, I assumed it was a large cutting, but I squeezed it out and there it was a series of leaves! Yes, some were rooting, some weren’t and none were connected, I had to laugh because it was so false and funny and so very suitable to me. I couldn’t replicate the fan of course, but I ended up with two pots of new plant cuttings. They usually do well, but I’ll see how they fare, they were worth it for that moment where they they just unfurled and plopped out. Things are starting up at least, Dear Reader, I’m ready to get planting vegetables, onions, Spring Garlic and potatoes soon, I have lilies to plant early because they’re already growing in the bag. I’ll get there in time, Dear Reader, wherever there is. Until later, stay safe and take care.

Open up!

A new new primrose. Yeah, found it thrown away.

Never a dull moment.

The wild rose that I freed last year.

They finally opened.

Not sure what that is, I think it’s Glory in the Snow.

This too years to just start to grow, but look at it now. The little jerk.

Arch Enemy: Gravity!

I’d swear this is the same bird last year that was hurt. Glad it’s doing well.

It’s incredibly nimble.

Twelve Euro’s will get a you and arch you need to leave a foot or so off to save it just falling over instantly.

It’s not a climbing rose, but it’s a very tall one. One of the 50+ year roses.

Tulip season should be good this year.

Already reinforcing it.

Yo, Dear Reader, just a quick post today, we’ve had bad weather and snow so I’m stalled again, I did set up my arch in the snow, It’s cheap, but I wanted something for that section and I’ll reinforce it until it’d take a person swinging from it to topple it, I left some  of the poles out to avoid making it too tall, and unlike the one the honeysuckle took over this won’t be left too top heavy. Mind you, Dear Reader, it took gale force winds and a literal hurricane to topple that arch. This spot is fairly sheltered and I plan on filling the steps with plants as well as getting an evergreen for the right side, I’m thinking a smaller honeysuckle, not he monster that’s still waiting on Spring to return in full force, with two thirds of the arch embedded within it. These arches aren’t he best, they need more work than they’re worth if you spent too much on them, I’ll just get it to grow so the wood base will stabilise the whole, it’ll take time, Dear Reader, but what else is gardening but time? Hopefully I’ll have something more exciting for you when I return, but don’t hold your breath, Dear Reader, Jack might be a lot of things, but miracle worker isn’t one of them. heh. Until later, stay safe and take care.

There’s always foraging in the garden.

Quite a few birds coming in suddenly.

It just slotted against it perfectly.

Art imitating life etc.

Germinate My Heartbreak: Break The Mold Mystery

Mango seed looking like a strange cut of meat.

I keep hesitating on repotting Biollante because indoor roots grow slower.

Yo, Dear Reader, my seeds arrived today so I’m looking at getting things ready, I bought a packet of Bluebellvine, all one word strangely, seeds and I did realise that they grow over a metre and a half, but you see you can grow it on an indoor obelisk in your conservatory…Dear Reader, I d not have either of those, but I dare to dream and eh, I’ll sort out something if they germinate. I just threw them all in one pot as I needed the space in the small heated propagator, the lettuce is out and one the packed windowsill, the four other pots were moved in a little, he two mango seeds, one of which has started as you can see, not the carefully prepared one either, I’ll talk about that in a moment, then two tomato pots with snipped off bottoms went into bags and went in. I’m hoping an earlier start might be beneficial, I’m think f freezing them and when I have all the harvest I’ll make chutney from them and the onions and whatever else I harvest that can be used. It’s a project to think on, Dear Reader.

Packed up, just the way I like it. Good old coffee beans just looking weird 24/7.

The big leaf is a reminder that the small one is just the beginning.

Giving the tomatoes an early start, no bottoms for easy transplanting and no root binding.

You might remember the mango seedling that grew much too well for a windowsill in Ireland, which was affected by a fungus or disease, never could confirm, Dear Reader, but despite valiant effort the mango tree that could have been was sadly lost, so skip ahead and there were really ripe sweet mangoes in the shops again, a batch of rotten firm ones too sadly, we do not get the good mangoes here, Dear Reader, we get a gamble, but being the fool that I ever will be, I prised the husk open with a butter knife and extracted the seed. This one I literally threw in toilet wet paper, and it took a week or so to sprout in the heated propagator, already it’s tenacious, just like the aptly named Morbid Mango, but, Dear Reader, I might be a softhearted and soft headed idiot, but I am no fool, what annoyed me was that I never fund the cause of death for the mango tree, despite being vigorous until the end, trying to grow new leaves over and over as the others died, but I saw the same black speckling on mangoes and they likely would’ve been near the sapling. Not this time, if it grows I won’t baby it, won’t expect anything much from it, but I will not let a mango near it. Maybe then I’ll finally know if it’s inevitable due to it being a tropical plan and Ireland being anything but tropical. So, for now I keep watch on RTC, have no fear, Dear Reader, the sap was RTC literally bleeding because it was growing so fast, RTC is a powerhouse and remains a constant joy, I await another arch I need to misassemble to suit my own designs, again, I pretend to have a conservatory and I hope for brighter days and the first potato and onion plantings of the year. All things in time, Dear Reader, until later stay safe and take care.

Other Recipes: Cider Brack

I’d tidied the tin away and almost thought I’d thrown it out.

Yo, Dear Reader, currently it’s cold and snowing a little so I’m stuck waiting around to get back to the garden proper, I haven’t had any luck sourcing anything drastically new and I honestly haven’t had the motivation to eat beyond what I usually do, just do that can be a struggle these days, still I will always be someone who feeds others and here I am again making someone eat something in my stead, I haven’t had feedback yet, take hat as you will, but I can stand by the recipe quality, it’s again a variation on the Tea Brack recipe, which is a lighter counter to the porter cake variations, all these are mostly me thinking about future markets and keeping my skills fresh.

You can see it get a good rise, but remember it’s densely packed with fruit, if you want tall think thinner tins.

So, cider, not just any cider, Dear Reader, no, no, from what I’ve been reading it’s awful…what? I could lie, but when baked it’s incredible, I don’t drink, never have and never will, but baking with this is pretty much just thinking through a substitution, I’m replacing the fruity tea with apple cider and what better than cinnamon and vanilla to pair with that, I kept the citrus zest to give it that fruity punch and kept the sugar white as to avoid making it too dark in flavour, suits the porter, but I don’t think it’d go with the cider, but as I always say it’s up to you to try out, Dear Reader. This was just something I was curious about and as I had been given round cake liners, the real non-stick kind, I made it in a round tin, but whatever you have at hand is fine. I changed the recipe slightly so the fruit would be better coated and the sugar slightly more dissolved, but it remains pretty straightforward. Naturally these are the recipes that will go horribly wrong with any misinformed changes, there’s no room to hide mistakes and it’s easier to follow along a few times until you get the understanding of how each component affects the end result. I’ll leave it to rest a few days and pass it on. That’s it from me for a while, I’m bored again and I have more than enough recipes gathered. I’ll be back again, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Ingredients

225g Self Raising Flour or 225g Plain Flour and 1 & 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
300ml Cider
185g Sultanas
185g Raisins
125g Caster Sugar
1 Egg, Beaten
Zest from 1 Lemon and 1 Orange
Pinch of Cinnamon
Dash of Vanilla

Method

1. Place Fruit and Zest in a bowl and add Cider then mix well. Let soak over night in the fridge. Take out a while before starting to let it reach room temperature.
2. Add Sugar, Vanilla and Egg to a jug and beat together, in another bowl mix Flour, Cinnamon and the Soaked Fruit. Make sure to coat the Fruit well with the Flour to prevent sinking. Then stir in the Egg mixture until everything has combined.
3. Transfer to a greased and lined tin and baked in a pre-heated oven at 175c (No Fan) for 50-60 minutes or until firm to the touch and cooked through.
4. Let cool in tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a wirerack to cool completely. Once fully cool wrap in greaseproof paper and rest for two days before cutting.

The Importance Of Being Eranthus

Sadly I only had two square topped pots, they just look so neat and tidy…ah well.

Purple Majesty and Maris Piper.

Okay, I’ just screwing around with mangoes, I won’t expect much this time…really!

Round for the dahlias, not much pot there really, and square for whatever I can find.

The front willow that was eaten by sawfly.

My Great-Uncle’s Rose, well the clone of that.

The rambler it will entwine with this year.

Yo, Dear Reader, we might be in for a cold spell so I have to plant for what I’ll do after that plantingwise and for now work on what I can, the cold is messing with things inside, more the lack of sun I’d say, RTC had what might be happy sap, something orchids produce when they’re growing fast, or it might have a little damage on the new flower spike, it has never rested ,much like me, Dear Reader, pair of idiots we are, I’ve taken all the measures I can, the other two spikes are producing buds, they may drop with the cold, sadly they grow slow and the weather here isn’t anywhere near what hey need and yet it has thrived, small setbacks are a given, but on dreary days they can wear you down. So, I decided to capture the new growth in the garden as best I could, you know Jack isn’t he world most patient photographer and I tend to shake, but I made myself go and look to remind myself of all that’s going on. Naturally there were a few Jack moments, what would you without my unusual mistakes, Dear Reader?

I have o idea what this is or where it came from, I likely put it there

Welsh Onions denuded of moss, I covered them, but it’s fun to see below the soil.

Good old Winter Aconite.

I can’t drive the poles into the ground so this works too.

They’re doing double duty as is.

The other buds are fine, I’ve been here before but it’s still magical.

They’re small and low, but pretty.

Yes, that is the top of the shed.

Clematis all mushed together out of necessity.

So, I had a plant that looked almost like a dandelion popping up, obviously a bulb and being that I have marked the bulbs, no flies on Jack, Dear Reader, I read it and apparently it was called Earnest something, shorthand I suppose, okay there are a few flies on Jack, Dear Reader, it was a odd abridgement of Eranthus Hyemalis Winter aconite, I keep doing this and will likely continue to, but it’s growing and it’s new so I’m happy with that. Every year I’m assured by myself hat the short hand spelling will lead to the plant name in my notes and it sometimes does…occasionally. Luckily I keep a fairly extensive list of plant names and when I did things so it found it fairly fast. There also seems to be a few bulbs I know, the name escapes me, they’re really insignificant, Italic something…Arum italicum! That’s it. Yeah, two I never planted have appeared. At both extreme ends of the garden and NO I DIDN’T JUST FORGET I PLANTED THEM!…right?…yes.

Every rose is gearing up for Spring.

Only feeding he robin, who I haven’t seen much, must be busy.

Good old honeysuckle, should return to form this year. My arms still hurt, you lovable jerk.

The pot covers an old stump and does amazingly every year despite just being a bit of soil over a stump.

Weeping Willow getting fuzzy.

Hopefully it’ll just crawl all over that old planters I couldn’t get off the wall.

Hopefully when the weather picks up I can get out more, I’ve bought a lot of natural remedies for joint issues, oil with vitamin E is the newest, I can move around but I’m in pain so I want to ease that as much as possible. I’m better moving than stationary and I always just take things at my own pace. I’m going to put a few permanent flowers in the front garden again, trying t get enough to fill it is a pain, but I’m going to mark them with halved pots like I used for the lilies there currently, which won’t be subsumed by sweetpeas this year, the wisteria is growing on that repaired frame currently in the early stages but I have time, I’m putting dahlias in the bed and smaller bulbs in the edging planters, but just the corners so I can still pop in a few pansies. Everything is a cycle, Dear Reader, but this time around I’ll know more than when I first started and things will grow better. Or so I hope at least, I’ll do my best, Dear Reader. I’ll be back again soon, until then stay safe and take care.

Playing you dead with the Wisteria, no thankfully.

It came in bad condition last year, but the roots were good.

Calceolaria making a comeback.

It leaked so I’ll grow taro in the wild garden and this will mark it. Yes, I bought taro…it’s so cool, Dear Reader!

Old reliable Daffodils.

The final fifty+ year rose.

Feels strange not having cut them back, but I had no choice.

Does you good to see all this growth.