Salmon Flowered Peas

I was fortunate to obtain some heritage pea seeds from Celia at Purple Podded Peas last year. Some of the first flowers from the Salmon Flowered Pea have just come out in the last couple of days. The foliage is bright green with thick sturdy stems. The flowers are appearing at the top of the stems in big sprays. Watch this space as they develop, it is going to be quite a show.

I cleaned up my Early Purple Garlic and they are drying on a bench in the shed at the moment. This is the earliest ripening garlic, and it has thick, hard stems which are still quite wet and will need a thorough drying off if they are not to rot while keeping.

Now this is a bit of a success story. I planted a seed from a hibiscus flower in Spring. This is the red, succulent flower which is dried and used in the Caribbean and Africa as a refreshing drink. Also known as Sorrell or Roselle, I have been re-potting this plant almost weekly in the greenhouse it is putting on a tremendous growth spurt. Does anyone know how large this shrub will grow before I might get flowers?

Another success in the greenhouse is this lemongrass which I grew from seed. Again I have been re-potting this every couple of weeks as it seems to enjoy the warmth in the greenhouse. I look forward to using it perhaps in a Thai curry, or using the leaves for a warm drink.

Finally, just look at these awful broad bean plants! There is so much pressure from everyone, everywhere not to spray blackfly but just look what happens when you don't! I will have to look round for some sort of veggie friendly plant spray. The ladybirds, the nasturtium sacrifice plants, the flowers to encourage beneficial insects just haven't worked. Grrrrrr!