Green Fingers (Part 2)

Remember how excited I was about this little fella?

Look at him now!!

And better than that he now has loads of friends...It's really difficult to count them all but I think I have about 20 little chilli babies all in various stages of gestation.

There's just one small problem...

I don't want to pick them!

I know that I must, I don't want them to die but I just like sitting and looking at Charlie and admiring his...chilliness.

I can't help but feel a little proud of what I've done. Look at him sprout! Look at him bloom! (Actually if he is sprouting and blooming isn't he a she?) I've stood by him and checked if he needed more water and rubbed his little stameny bits (calm down now) to help along the pollination. Just call me a little busy bumble bee substitute.

Now I have to harvest my little babies. I just can't bring myself to do it - that's not what a good mother does surely.

The other problem I'm facing is that I haven't got the tiniest idea what to do with them. I mean I know how to use them, I just don't think it would be wise to cook that many chilli dishes. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be good for our digestive systems...

PS Remember how excited I was about the one pink flower on my nameless plant? Look at how many friends he has now!

Just call me Alan Titchmarsh

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

I've become determined to not let my lack of garden stop me successfully nurturing plants in the flat.

A while ago I went to visit some friends of mine that are remarkably self-sufficient when it comes to growing their greens. Their garden is full of potatoes and tomatoes and strawberries and aubergines and broccoli and a very impressive herb garden. Every time I see them I come away with something, despite my protestations that I'm not going to be able to keep them alive.

They gave me a basil plant and a courgette plant last year that lasted about, oooh, 2 weeks I think.

This time I wasn't allowed to leave without a chilli plant. I did point out that I don't have a garden and hence no means of pollination but this left them undeterred. I left with strict assurances that I wouldn't kill it and that I'd be able to do a bit of self-pollination to make sure it produces the goods.

I've had plenty of flowers and have tried my hardest but so far with no luck. However, yesterday I spotted a little delight - I think I got one!! I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that I actually manage to produce a chilli. I'll keep you updated on his progress.

I'm also loving this plant that a friend gave me as a housewarming gift. Except I don't know what he is - can anyone tell me?! He's been brilliant (I don't know why but most of my plants are male - Charlie the Chilli, Bertie Basil....you get my drift) and has produced a steady flow of purpley flowers. I thought his flowering season had come to an end and then I woke up to this bright pink dazzler - I can't believe how beautiful it is and there are lots of promising buds hanging about which I'm hoping are going to produce the same colour flowers.

Yeah who needs a garden?!

The perfect match

Remember this vase I bought the other weekend?

I stuck it in front of the window where it stood looking rather forlorn without any flowers in it.

However when my boyfriend came back home on Sunday he had bought me some apricot roses.

Before you go all schmooshy inside I should tell you that after presenting me with the flowers he then went on to block the toilet and tell me all about the fun they had in a pole dancing club on the Saturday night so I think I deserve them!

I have a glass vase on the dining table but that already had flowers in it (sometimes a girl has to buy them for herself!) so I had to stick them in the green vase.

And they look absolutely perfect.

I'm not really great on my interior design skills or being very inventive with colour schemes so I really didn't know that they would look good. But they do!

And they've been a perfect counterpoint to the very strange weather we've been having lately. Sun one minute, chucking it down the next, blue skies with white fluffy clouds followed by ominous brooding dark greyness. But the roses have looked lovely come rain or shine.

All I need to do now is persuade the boyfriend to keep me in apricot roses!

Green fingers (Part 1)

When we began looking for somewhere to rent, my boyfriend and I had the grand house vs flat debate.

People fell on both sides and the main argument that people cited in favour of renting a house was that there would be a garden. "You can have bbqs" people exclaimed! "You'll have somewhere to sunbathe!" shouted others. "Aah but you will have a mow the lawn" said those on the other side.

In the end we ended up getting a flat, purely because it ticked enough boxes. Yeah a garden would be nice but neither of us are mad about gardening so we weren't too disappointed.

This is a decision that we're probably going to regret when we get our long overdue summer and we have to sit inside, slowly baking.

I overestimated something though and that was my increased interest in growing things. I've never been fussed about horticulture, something I put down to the fact that I'm afflicted with hayfever every summer. The last thing you want to do when you're sneezing your head off and your eyes are so swollen they get glued together, is fiddle about with plants.

Last year though I took a fancy to growing sunflowers. I done this a few years on the trot in my childhood as part of Blue Peter's challenge to grow the tallest sunflower. I never won.

Side note: Blue Peter competitions form most of my memories from my younger years. I tried so hard to win a Blue Peter badge and never got one. I designed a green car (see how far ahead they were on environmental issues!) and a stamp (it had a Golden Eagle on it although I forget why) and....nothing. I should have at least got one for trying!

Anyway.

Sunflowers.

I picked up the seeds and announced I was going to grow them. "It's too late in the year, they won't grow" Mum said.

That was it. The gaunlet was thrown down. The challenge was extended. I had no choice but to accept.

For the next few months all I talked about was my sunflowers. I nearly injured myself doing a victory dance when I asw my first teeny tiny green shoots.

I also discovered that sunflowers are hardy little critters. There were times when I neglected my babies (to be fair I had just started going out with my boyfriend, my mind was on other things!). I would come back and they'd be all withered and floppy and generally sad looking. However a quick water - sunflowers drink a lot of water by the way - and half an hour later they'd be bouyant and spritely and happy as larry.

They also had to survive the vagaries of a not particularly sunny summer and the fact that they were situated in the windiest place in England - down the side of Mum's house. God knows why it happesn but that place is the ultimate wind tunnel, you practically have to tether yourself to the house before you venture down there. My sunflowers were staked to death - to the fence, to the bin, to eachother if necessary. They showed good fighting spirit though and refused to let the elements beat them.

Maybe they didn't crazily tall and become the size of a house, but some of them did reach the pretty impressive height of over 6 foot which left me very proud.

Now that it's that time of year again I'm missing having a garden - it would have been nice to have tried growing them again but I still have the memories....*sigh*

However, even though I don't have a garden, I've still been able to put my green fingers to practice...