So it looks like we’re in for another period of lockdown if the BBC news this morning has got it right. It’s going to be harder this time with winter weather and also just the two of us at home. In April and May much time was spent gardening but now there’s not so many things I can do outside especially in the unrelentingly wet weather we’ve had recently. I picked the last sunflowers which looked unlikely to open and persuaded then to flower inside for a last splash of sunshine. There are tulips to be planted - Monty on Gardener’s World says wait until November - and possibly a bare-rooted rose but that’ll be it until it’s time to chit the seed potatoes again next January/February. I’m turning my attention to expanding my houseplant collection. This can get expensive but I’ve discovered you can buy small versions in shops like Lidl, Morrison’s and my favourite venue for garden purchases, Home and Bargain. I bought a dahlia from there which has flowered all summer. I also grew the coleus below from a cutting and then took a cutting from it for my sister which has also flourished. I love these plants with their pink leaves - my dad used to grow them and they lined the kitchen windowsill back home.
And of course as you can see above spider plants have babies. I’ve already potted up two from this plant and there’s another ready to go here. Thanks toGanching for inspiring this post with the tale of her spider plant.
To keep me busy in November I have signed up for NaNoWriMo, a challenge where you attempt to write a novel of 50000 words in a month. The name makes me cringe and it’s all very American but I’m hoping that this little bit of accountability and a deadline will help me establish a writing habit. I’ve got plenty of time now though I am back Zoom teaching a few hours a week. And I have plenty of ideas. I envisage a kind of family saga loosely based on my own family a bit like The Cazelet Chronicles, my favourite books. Lofty ambition for someone who can’t even establish a weekly blogging habit. We’ll see!
You could write your family saga here on this blog :-)
ReplyDeleteBy now of course the English lockdown is a reality, I hope you are going to cope ok. Here in Scotland, we follow a different path, strict restrictions have been in place for weeks now (in the Central belt) and it seems show some success, slowly anyway. My daughter is a big lover of indoor plants, an expensive hobby, that's true, but also good for the soul. My favourite of hers is a plant that seems to have holes like Swiss cheese in its leaves.