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Category Archives: growing

Bees, Twins and Crochet

We spent all morning at the allotment – harvesting onions, picking beans, planting some more squash and weeding, weeding and weeding! All the time, the bees were buzzing about and were about all we could hear.

Bee in courgette flower

Bee on Cosmos

Bee on Runner Beans

Bee on Echium Blue Bedder

Bee on Sunflower

Bee on white beans

We have twin Cosmos and twin onions! When going for breakfast the other day, I spotted a delightful post box topper on a roundabout in Truro but couldn’t get a good photo. M, who lives near the box, took this photo for me. I really love the wacky seagulls and octopus.Thanks, M.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 27, 2022 in allotment, Cornwall, craft, environment, growing, nature, photography

Community Roots, Poly Tunnel and Harvesting

26 Jul

We visited Community Roots today, described as “Community Supported Agriculture 🌱 Nature Friendly market garden. Food and friendships within our community” and it was all those things and more.

We expected just to be shown around to to see what was going on but it turned out to be the day for putting up a new poly tunnel and it seemed that extra hands would be useful so we stayed and helped. What a wonderful sense of satisfaction and camaraderie.

Plastic covering ready to roll

Pulling it over and holding tight against the breeze

Tucking in the sides

Done!

It was the day for harvesting the onions and some volunteers, aged from 3 to 75, were laying them all out to dry off in the sun.

10 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 26, 2022 in community, Cornwall, environment, friendship, growing, Happiness, nature, photography, Porthtowan, Postaday2022

Tags: Mount Pleasant Eco Park

Allotment Joys

31 May

Tonight’ meal was Cajun salmon with new potatoes dug this morning, peas with lettuce and garlic (the French way) using lettuce that was a gift from an allotmenteer this morning and a dill sauce with fresh dill from another generous allotmenteer.

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 31, 2022 in growing, photography, Postaday2022, Uncategorized

Edibles Trough, Spider and Supper

22 May

The trough outside the kitchen is flourishing – the lettuces are doing well, the Violas ready for salads and cakes, the borage seedlings all coming on well and the chives beginning to flower.

What a pretty little white spider on the Californian poppies.

Supper was a kind of deconstructed lasagne, to save baking time. Pasta with the ragu (from the freezer) and then the cheese sauce (from the freezer) on to tagliatelle, took only ten minutes and was delicious.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 22, 2022 in environment, garden, growing, nature, photography, Postaday2022

Onions, Allotment and A Sunflower

24 Mar

Here are the last few of the onions we grew last year. We are going to have to buy for a few months until the ones planted today, more than last year, are ready for harvest.

Last of last summer’s harvest

Heat treated sets arrived by post

Planted out today

For Ukraine

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on March 24, 2022 in environment, growing, photography, Postaday2022, Uncategorized

Tags: Ukraine

Purple, Blue and Green

13 Jul

The Borage in the edible garden is dropping its lovely blue flowers onto the curly purple lettuce.

The bees love the Eryngium which is a cloud of buzzing blue this year.

We were given a little chili plant earlier in the season, (another allotmenteer gift) and it is doing really well in the poly tunnel. I will have to ask for advice on when to harvest.

7 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 13, 2021 in community, environment, garden, growing, nature, Photography, Postaday2021

Cloth Kitty, Cookies and First Crop

23 Jun

I first made Cloth Kitty about 40 years ago and am now revamping her for the younger LiveWires. This is her in one of the outfits I made then and today I made her a lovely dressing gown. I’ll show you the new outfits as I get them done. They are very fiddly. I need to mend a little hole in her head too. I’m told LiveWire no 5’s favourite colour is red so I plan on embroidering a little red bow.

I had a sudden fancy for some Choc Chip Cookies this afternoon – they don’t take long to make. I added some chopped up crystallised ginger which made them super delicious!

There were just enough Purple Mange Tout at the allotment for us to harvest this evening and a baby courgette all of which I added to our mixed veggies risotto for supper – healthy and delicious!

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 23, 2021 in Grandchildren, growing, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, sewing

Tags: allotment produce, choc chip cookies, Cloth Kits, Purple Mange Tout

At the Allotment and A Concert

20 Jun

Things are growing!

Purple Mange Tout pods and flowers

Courgettes, Pumpkins, Squash and Marigolds

Several of my friends are in a wonderful singing group called Femmes de La Mer and, as the name suggests, they sing songs of the sea, shanties and others. They did a concert in the wonderful setting of The Minack Theatre last night and here is one of my favourite pieces. I’ll be seeing them next week at another outdoor venue. Do click on the link, you’ll love it I’m sure, though I’m not sure if it will work if you aren’t on Facebook. Please let me know as I will try another way to share.

Femmes de la Mer at The Minack 19:6:2021

https://fb.watch/6ffRhUeTy4/

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 20, 2021 in Cornwall, environment, growing, music, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, singing

Tags: Crossing the bar, Femmes de la Mer, shanties

Beans, Pattern and Veggie Supper

04 May

The Purple Tepee Beans in the allotment poly tunnel have sprouted. Hooray!

The sun shining through the engraved glass on the front door this evening threw this pattern on the wall.

We had nothing much more than carrots in the fridge so I looked up carrots on BBC Good Food and found Carrot Biryani so that’s what I made and it was truly delicious.

Carrot Biryani

Served with yogurt and extra cashew nuts

9 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on May 4, 2021 in Beauty, growing, nature, Photography, Postaday2021, Uncategorized

Tags: Carrot Biryani

Kaffir Lily, Bee and Sweet Corn Lunch

23 Aug

Much has gone over in the garden but the Kaffir Lilies are looking lovely.

This striking Geranium was a present from dear friends a couple of years ago and serendipitously, just as I went to get the photo for them, in flew a bee!