Sprouting Wormwood and An Interesting Pink Enigma

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in my little garden. I finally received my wormwood seeds a few weeks past, but I was reluctant to sow them until next Spring. The nursery I purchased my seeds from suggested I sow them next year, but I did a bit of research and discovered I could sow them now if I kept them indoors. I decided to give it a go, and it seems to be going pretty well so far. My seeds sprouted within a few days. I was quite surprised, but very happy nonetheless.

For those of you who don’t know, Wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium, is a herbaceous plant that is typically used as an insect repellent in the garden. When dried, its leaves are used to repel moths and other insects from indoors. Additionally, it is one of the ingredients used to create absinthe. I wouldn’t recommend trying to make your own absinthe, just to be safe.

The tomatoes are still showering me with fruit. I am quite surprised. I don’t actually know if this is normal for this type of tomato, but I shall try to find out. My friend who gifted that plant to me must know more about it. Aside from not knowing the plant’s true  name, I am quite pleased with the results. Our wonky tomato plants have been quite successful.

The lettuce and herbs keep getting larger and larger. The lavender is still running a bit behind, but it’s coming along. The lettuces and onions are growing strongly and very swiftly. Everyday I am stunned at their progress. We shall have a few winter lettuce beds and onions very shortly. I am keeping them all indoors for the winter. I only set them outside for about 30 minutes every day to get a bit of sun and breeze. I water them while they are outside as well. I then place them on a sunny windowsill in my kitchen the rest of the time. It has worked out quite well.

This lovely character is my Perpetual Spinach. It was described to be as a very hardy plant that would withstand the winter months quite well. I shall have to see how it fares. From the looks of it, I think it is going to survive quite well.

This little lovely is a mystery to me. It was gifted to me by my landlord on move in day. He is a fabulous chap that has an allotment of  his own. He heard that I loved greenery, and he gave me this as a housewarming present. How lovely of him! Funny thing is, I haven’t the slightest idea what it is. I should probably ask my neighbor, as he is a professional gardener. I suppose I just never really thought to ask. It is such a beautiful specimen, and I just kind of let it be. It seems to be doing quite well without much help from me. I shall unravel the enigma shortly, and post more about this lovely, pink mystery.

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Tales from the Garden: The Seedlings Have Sprouted

I have some excellent news to report. All of my seeds have started sprouting! I am incredibly excited. This is my first batch of autumn vegetables, and I am so proud. Now, lets hope I don’t muck it up. A few days ago, I took the image above, but this is what they look like today.

The only plant I was a bit concerned about was the lavender. It didn’t seem to make any progress until today. This morning I noticed a small, green shoot hiding under the dirt. I was incredibly happy to see this. I’m really excited to get the lavender going. It was my favorite of all the seeds I planted.

On another note, the tomato is still going strong. My neighbors are having a few problems with their crop as they don’t seem to want to ripen. However, mine seem to be doing quite well. The plant might look a little wonky, but it sure is one resilient tomato maker. Here is a picture of a tomato blossom before it turns into the little green ball. I’d never seen this process before this year. It was very fascinating to watch the transformation.

Green Tomatoes and A Wonky Cucumber

I’ve started sowing my autumn/winter garden with a little help from my neighbor, Ernest. He has been incredibly helpful with his 28 years of experience in the field. I am very lucky to have such a knowledgeable person right next door. Today, I planted lavender, mint, little gem lettuce, perpetual spinach and white Lisbon onion seeds. I really hope they germinate, but we will have to see.

On another note, my cherry tomatoes are as vibrant as ever. They aren’t turning red as quickly as they were in Brighton, but they are certainly giving me loads of fruit. I think I did a good job with this first plant as it is producing very sweet tomatoes every couple of days. I might be an inexperienced gardener, but I would have to say this particular plant has been quite successful.

My lovely friend Jean gifted Dennis and I with a cucumber plant a few months ago, and I have very good news to report. The plant has given us one lovely, wonky cucumber. I really thought it was going to just wilt away, but it has grown quite a bit. It might be a little weird looking, but it is certainly more than I expected. Nevertheless, I have learned the proper method of caring for it, and next year I expect a better crop. I’m just glad we had the one cucumber as opposed to none at all. It has certainly given me hope.

I will certainly keep everyone updated on the garden’s status. We just moved into our new flat, and our plants don’t have a stable location at the moment. I have the entire garden planned out, and I hope it turns out the way I envision it. Stay tuned…

Interesting Move and Pathetic Tomatoes

Dennis and I finally moved flats this past weekend, and it has been quite the adventure. The movers where fantastic. I highly recommend them if you need a moving company in and around the Sussex area. They are called Smooth Movers. Anyhow, I am up to the ceiling in boxes right now, and we forgot to get the internet connected and phone switched over. We should be up and running again in a couple of days. I found this lovely internet cafe close to my new home, and while it is a bit expensive, it allows me to get on.

On a different note, my new neighbors are fantastic! The neighborhood is very friendly and quiet. I did notice that the row of houses we are attached to had some lovely flowers blooming all throughout the lawns. I come to find out that one of my new neighbors has been a professional gardener for 28 years. He helps everyone keep their gardens in perfect condition, and he offered to help me start my own fruit and veg garden. We did move my tomato plant from the other flat, but I thought it wasn’t going to make it. It looked droopy, and it started dropping it’s fruits prematurely. While I was away yesterday, he came over and gave it some of his special tomato food mixture. By the time I came back, the plant was vivid. I haven’t measured, but I swear my plant grew about 3 inches over night. My tomatoes might look better, but they are certainly pathetic in comparison to the rest of the gardeners. I certainly hope to learn how to grow them properly for next year.

Additionally, I discovered that sweet peas give you a nasty stomach ache if you touch the pods then swipe your hand over your mouth. FYI!

On The Beautiful Beach of De Panne, Belgium

This past Thursday, we decided to take a day trip to De Panne, Belgium. We spent most of our day traveling, and only had 4 hours at our destination. However, the short time that we did have in De Panne was lovely. Dennis and I had a dip in the channel, we had some Belgian chocolate and Sam had a lovely Belgian waffle with Nutella. We did have a bit of trouble finding food since everyone mostly spoke French, but we did manage to figure our way around. I would certainly do it again, and thank you Brighton & Hove Coach service for making this wonderful day possible. I like how my hair looks on the ferry.

Ferry to France: Our Day In Boulougne sur Mer

We did manage to do quite a bit of traveling this week, but it’s been like this since Sam came to visit us for the month. It has been a glorious time. On this voyage we took a ferry from Dover to Boulougne sur Mer in France. We took the P&O ferry for 20 quid each round trip. The trip was lovely and the ship was very clean and huge. The experience with this company might have been great, but I did learn a few things about the company I did not like from a truck driver in France. It has to do with their hiring practices, but other than that the journey was extraordinary. We took in the beach, the cathedral of Boulogne, a sustainable garden art project, and had some fabulous crepes at Le Pacha. It was a fabulous pub by the way. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. It’s on 55, rue Faidherbe.

Cliffs of Dover

Dennis, Sam and I decided to head towards the Dover this past week. We wanted to see the beautiful 350 foot chalk cliffs. They were absolutely extraordinary. We had a fabulous time there, but it was a bit hot. We spent most of the day traveling and wandering around the very beautiful Dover Castle.