A few years ago I hand pollinated some Hippeastrum flowers, collected the seed, germinated it and grew on the plants.
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Monday, August 19, 2013
A plant to remember by
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| Prunella grandiflora |
We spent a while at Cragside on 17th August as we drove back south after a week in Fife with my daughters and their families.
Prunella grandiflora (Large Self-heal) likes moist conditions in partial shade and I've planted it next to our summerhouse where it will only receive late evening sunshine.
This one is a white-flowered cultivar and should be popular with bumblebees. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it grows.
It's good to collect plants from places I've been. The Self-heal will remind me of two visits to Cragside, one just recently and the first back in the mid 1980s.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Hedge trimming
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| Belated hedge trimming |
This photo of my garden hedge illustrates the problem perfectly. On the right is the part I've just trimmed. On the left is the part that I have still to do.
You wouldn't believe it, but earlier in the year it was all trimmed. However, hedges have a habit of growing and growing, and this year's warmth and rainfall has provided perfect growing conditions.
If only someone would breed a hedging plant that would grow to a designated height and width and would then just stop. That would be perfect.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Getting up close
Today's outing was just a short walk away, the Beaulieu estate with its famous National Motor Museum. We had a lot of fun at the 'Top Gear' exhibition, every bit as crazy and funny as the TV show!
There's a lot to see. We walked through the Motor Museum, rode on the monorail, visited the remains of the 13th century Abbey, and explored the gardens.
I like nothing better than to take images that are close up and personal. It comes from several decades of microscopical research in the 1970s and 1980s. I studied flower development and pollination in fruit trees.
I can't get quite that close, of course, with my trusty old Canon G12. But I thought you might like this shot of a water lily in the rain.
The water drops bead up because of the water-repellent properties of the petal surface. The cells are coated in wax, often in the form of fine fibres and the water sits on top of these, barely touching the epidermal cells beneath and rolling off with ease.
The yellow structures you can see are the anthers that will produce pollen in the next day or two. Bees and other insects will come for nectar and pollen and will also carry away a dusting of pollen on their bodies, transferring it to other nearby water lily flowers. In this complex way, the life cycle of the water lily is completed and seeds are formed.
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| Close-up of a waterlilly |
I like nothing better than to take images that are close up and personal. It comes from several decades of microscopical research in the 1970s and 1980s. I studied flower development and pollination in fruit trees.
I can't get quite that close, of course, with my trusty old Canon G12. But I thought you might like this shot of a water lily in the rain.
The water drops bead up because of the water-repellent properties of the petal surface. The cells are coated in wax, often in the form of fine fibres and the water sits on top of these, barely touching the epidermal cells beneath and rolling off with ease.
The yellow structures you can see are the anthers that will produce pollen in the next day or two. Bees and other insects will come for nectar and pollen and will also carry away a dusting of pollen on their bodies, transferring it to other nearby water lily flowers. In this complex way, the life cycle of the water lily is completed and seeds are formed.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Monday, July 1, 2013
Japanese maple
Somewhere we wanted to visit was Exbury Gardens, and today we had the opportunity to do it. We drove through Beaulieu and crossed the river, then headed south to Exbury, found the gardens, and left the car in the car park.
We bought tickets for the gardens and for the little railway that runs around parts of the garden.
Although the rhododendrons were mostly over, it's true to say there are other things worth seeing here. Most of the garden is woodland with extensive pathways and exploring was fun.
We interrupted our walk to take a train ride, but returning to the walks later, we spotted this lovely Japanese maple.
It goes by the grand Latin name 'Acer palmatum atropurpureum' which means it's a maple (Acer) with 'hand' shaped leaves (palmatum) that are a purple-red colour (atropurpureum).
As the sunlight filtered through these lovely, purple leaves, it made them glow a delicate luminous colour. It's almost a deep, autumnal amber, even though autumn is still far off. Just beautiful!
How amazing that a little corner of a garden in a tiny area of a little country on a small planet around an average star can be so beautiful. And when you think how fragile this beauty is and how it will all be gone forever by the time winter arrives, it's even more poignant and significant. And it would be here even if nobody saw it!
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| Acer palmatum atropurpureum |
Although the rhododendrons were mostly over, it's true to say there are other things worth seeing here. Most of the garden is woodland with extensive pathways and exploring was fun.
We interrupted our walk to take a train ride, but returning to the walks later, we spotted this lovely Japanese maple.
It goes by the grand Latin name 'Acer palmatum atropurpureum' which means it's a maple (Acer) with 'hand' shaped leaves (palmatum) that are a purple-red colour (atropurpureum).
As the sunlight filtered through these lovely, purple leaves, it made them glow a delicate luminous colour. It's almost a deep, autumnal amber, even though autumn is still far off. Just beautiful!
How amazing that a little corner of a garden in a tiny area of a little country on a small planet around an average star can be so beautiful. And when you think how fragile this beauty is and how it will all be gone forever by the time winter arrives, it's even more poignant and significant. And it would be here even if nobody saw it!
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Water for life
Today I set up the automatic watering system for the tomatoes in our small greenhouse. The water trickles into each pot, providing the water the plants need to grow and produce a crop.
Without water, plants die. They also need light, temperatures within a certain range, and sufficient mineral nutrients.
But because I was setting up the watering system, I was thinking about their need for water more than anything else.
How long would a person live without water? Just a few days. Dehydration would set in and death would surely follow. Water is essential for life.
Jesus had a conversation about this with a woman who'd come from a village to draw water at a well. She knew how much she needed water, it was worth a journey, the weight of a heavy container, and facing the heat of the day. Jesus told her he could provide a flow of water that would rise up inside her and keep her refreshed without visiting the well. She was very keen to receive this water.
Jesus was talking about something that brings spiritual life, not just ordinary well water. What would you be prepared to do to obtain an inner source of spiritual refreshment that would never run out?
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| Watering nozzles for tomatoes |
But because I was setting up the watering system, I was thinking about their need for water more than anything else.
How long would a person live without water? Just a few days. Dehydration would set in and death would surely follow. Water is essential for life.
Jesus had a conversation about this with a woman who'd come from a village to draw water at a well. She knew how much she needed water, it was worth a journey, the weight of a heavy container, and facing the heat of the day. Jesus told her he could provide a flow of water that would rise up inside her and keep her refreshed without visiting the well. She was very keen to receive this water.
Jesus was talking about something that brings spiritual life, not just ordinary well water. What would you be prepared to do to obtain an inner source of spiritual refreshment that would never run out?
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Organic growth
I've been battling the weeds in my garden. For a variety of reasons I fell way behind with this work and now I'm paying the price!
The weeds in my garden are a wonderful example of organic growth, similar to the kind of growth I'd like to see for the church.
For a start it is spontaneous. I left this plot tidy at the end of the autumn, in March there were a few weeds, but now look at it!
In the cleared area at the front you can see a courgette plant that I just put in today. And in the background a massive array of weeds of all sorts. All I had to do to produce this massive growth of weeds was - nothing!
They all grew from tiny, insignificant seeds. Little specks of life wrapped up in hard shells, just waiting for warmth and rain and sunlight. When the conditions were right the seeds sprang into life and voila - weeds.
Not only that, each type of seed produced its own kind of weed. So if I want to see the church grow, I'm going to need an insignificant-looking seed of the right kind. Then I need to place it in the right place at the right time and it will grow, just like that. But it had better be the right seed, the right time and the right place.
What does this say to you about planting churches?
How will I know the right time and place?
Where will I find the right kind of seed?
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
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| Weeds in my garden |
For a start it is spontaneous. I left this plot tidy at the end of the autumn, in March there were a few weeds, but now look at it!
In the cleared area at the front you can see a courgette plant that I just put in today. And in the background a massive array of weeds of all sorts. All I had to do to produce this massive growth of weeds was - nothing!
They all grew from tiny, insignificant seeds. Little specks of life wrapped up in hard shells, just waiting for warmth and rain and sunlight. When the conditions were right the seeds sprang into life and voila - weeds.
Not only that, each type of seed produced its own kind of weed. So if I want to see the church grow, I'm going to need an insignificant-looking seed of the right kind. Then I need to place it in the right place at the right time and it will grow, just like that. But it had better be the right seed, the right time and the right place.
What does this say to you about planting churches?
How will I know the right time and place?
Where will I find the right kind of seed?
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Planting up the urn
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| Newly planted in the large urn |
I bought a new hose for the garden and a trailing Petunia. Donna bought some chilli pepper plants and a Father's Day card.
Back at home I planted up the Petunia, a white Verbena, and a couple of Mesembryanthemums in a large earthenware urn we have in a patio outside the back door. It will be interesting to see how they develop over the summer. Hopefully they'll put on quite a show. I have no idea what colour the Mesembryanthemums will be, they came from a mixed tray and are not in flower yet.
The wonderful thing about organic systems is that they grow all by themselves. It will involve almost no effort on my part. Perhaps I'll need to apply a little fertiliser, enough water if rain is short, and cut off some dead flowers. The plants will just grow and flower abundantly.
What would we do without organic systems? We are organic ourselves, of course. We are far more capable than any robot and we are not in short supply. Maybe there are even too many of us in this world! Like all life forms, people are just amazing. Provide air, water and food and we multiply over time; we think and invent and write and make things, we interact in society, we are utterly amazing.
Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that we can take one another so much for granted. We should treasure one another and rejoice daily. Truly, familiarity breeds contempt. Sadly we see wars and struggles all around. People can be unkind, thoughtless, greedy and arrogant. But we are truly amazing even so.
So let's remember that we are amazing and love and respect one another as we should.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
Thursday, June 6, 2013
A typical day
I was able to help Paul with a lift to Moggerhanger to return a borrowed disk cutter. Before heading off to do that we chatted with one of his friends over a coffee. There's a good chance another of his friends will do a Bible study with us soon. That's something to pray about and needs a little thought over the best way to approach it.
Life seems to be full of opportunities to share the good news about Jesus.
Later in the morning I got down to some serious weeding in the garden and cut the grass. I'm sure there's a lesson here. There is so much life in the garden, organic abundance and proliferation everywhere; it's just the way the church should be too. Yet all too often, unlike the plants and insects, the birds hopping on the grass and singing in the trees, church seems to be lacking in vitality.
At Caffe Nero I sat and chatted with the usual crew. I learned that one of the group plans to leave St Neots and will probably head to London where he will become homeless. This is a tragedy. There should be some way we could help him, but it seems there really isn't right now. I don't know what to do about this.
Sean and I talked about it when we met this evening. We had walked back to the house from town together, I took the photo of leaves in the sunshine on the way.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
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| Seen on the walk back home with Sean |
Later in the morning I got down to some serious weeding in the garden and cut the grass. I'm sure there's a lesson here. There is so much life in the garden, organic abundance and proliferation everywhere; it's just the way the church should be too. Yet all too often, unlike the plants and insects, the birds hopping on the grass and singing in the trees, church seems to be lacking in vitality.
At Caffe Nero I sat and chatted with the usual crew. I learned that one of the group plans to leave St Neots and will probably head to London where he will become homeless. This is a tragedy. There should be some way we could help him, but it seems there really isn't right now. I don't know what to do about this.
Sean and I talked about it when we met this evening. We had walked back to the house from town together, I took the photo of leaves in the sunshine on the way.
(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)
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