Taexalia

wild.life

Butterfly Flutterby

I caught a segment of the BBC morning show this morning that left me disappointed and throwing my hands up in the air at what passes for "work" these days. The segment was supposed to be highlighting how gardeners can help to combat the decline in butterfly numbers by planting butterfly friendly plants. You can imagine my disappointment (and random mutterings) when the entire segment seemed to focus on "plant Buddleia and aren't ... read more

Charity Pollution and Littering

Last week my personal equilibrium was assaulted by an idiot from Scottish Hydro. This was later followed up by a pointless email from their customer service department who suggested I go and buy a sticker and decorate my door with it and their sales reps *may* adhere to the reques but, since the sticker is not legally binding, then again they may not. This week my personal space, and indeed my personal equilibrium, has been assaulted by a charity no less. Plastic bags are banned from ... read more

Sunflowers Potatoes Tomatoes

Whilst I never really doubted it, there is something to be said for companion planting lore. When I read that peas don't like onions, I decided against planting them together - and both are thriving. Of course that doesn't really prove they don't like each other, it just proves they like where I planted them. As I said in the same post, I had also read that sunflowers and potatoes are not comfy bedfellows, but it was too late for me because I already had ... read more

Weeding

Weeds, they say, are simply flowers that are in the wrong place. A clump of thistles encroaching on my lettuce seedlings will end up in the composter, but the field nearby that has been left running wild with swathes of thistles that dance in a rich tapestry of colour are a favourite sight at this time of year. Garden weeding has taken a back seat this week - the rain rain rain has kept me inside, and I have unleashed my frustration on some of the boxes and clutter that have encroached on ... read more

Nothing Is Useful

It doesn't look like much more than a scrawny patch of neglected garden - and in a way that's exactly what it is. The hedge-in-the-wrong-place was dug out a few months ago and still I haven't come up with A Plan for this corner, other than vague references to "a wildlife garden, or "a wildlife pond"... Yet this bare patch of soil has been as much a part of the circle as the Borage flowers, or the goldfinches. Can you see any holes? They were made by ... read more

Harvest Basket

Gardening involves a lot of standing staring at a space waiting for ideas to materialise, or seeds to sprout, or plants to flower, or flowers to fruit, or fruits to ripen... I tested a bulging pea pod this morning. The peas inside were sweet and delicious and tiny. Not yet peas. Elsewhere on the plot I found bulging kohlrabi, a courgette, salad leaves, beetroot, teenage carrots and potatoes. We ate well. ... read more

Not Buried

"Should is a word that makes a prisoner of us." ~ Louise L Hay I'm completely rubbish at exuding self-confidence. I've come to the conclusion this is why I seem to be afflicted with unwanted, ininvited "you shoulds". It seems to me that if I had the knack of exuding self-esteem, people wouldn't feel compelled to patronise me or treat me like I need help and advice with everything. It's pretty much like this: if you aim a sentence at me that begins with "you should" then my brain is ... read more

Peas Don’t Like Onions…

The veg plot looks like a veg plot today. The salad bed is overflowing with goodness, the brassicas appear to be flourishing under their bridal veil and the potatoes are hinting at underground promise. The Everything Else plot isn't big enough. There were originally two Everything Else plots in the plan but I randomly decided to grow tatties and figured I'd figure everything else out later. For now, the EE bed is full - although it doesn't look it yet as some seedlings are tiny and some ... read more

Earthship Fife

Earthship Fife Troll

We visited the Earthship Fife today for an informative and thought-provoking tour. If you get a chance to visit and take a tour, I highly recommend it. Sustainable living is something I aspire to and, since we acquired our 1950s built hoose, we have been trying to come up with a plan (and dosh!) to turn it into as eco-friendly a pad as possible... Visiting the earthship did inspire the odd ideafest that had us imagining knocking ... read more

But I am Living In The Moment – It is the moment that is the problem

"Did you ever think, when you held or looked at a beautiful pearl, that its origin was irritation? An oyster, in response to the irritating presence of sand within its shell, creates a thing of beauty." ~ Thomas F Crum I thought I had found the pearl birthed from the last piece of grit but it seems that I have just floated on the ebb to a different shore and inherited a new piece of grit. A second strike of lightning. I want to know what the thing of beauty is that this piece of grit ... read more

You Can’t…

When I built the little plastic covered, portable greenhouse thingy she laughed and said "that won't work." When most of the seedlings failed she said "I told you so." When I planted the surviving seedlings in a newly cleared patch of earth, she said "I don't think you can grow things there without conditioning the soil." When I told her this plant was a cucumber, she said "it needs to be in a greenhouse." When I told her it's an outdoor variety, she said "don't believe all you read on a ... read more

Life Death Rebirth

On the one hand I feel overwhelmed by pandemic obsession with averting mortality... The latest during the ad break in a film where the advertising bombarded me with a bunch of negativity and told me what I should be doing so that I won't grow old looking. That gem was followed by a proclamation that women could beat nature. I think it was a single use throw-away sanitary product. I suppose if you look at it a bit squinty you could agree that women could beat nature with their repeated ... read more

A Snail’s Pace

I am not going to post a photo of a snail. You all know what snails looks like, especially if you own a garden and you care for it. Also - there are so many contenders for the position of snail model that I just cannot choose. Things I have learned about snails... They are actually quite fast. They will not, ever, eat the plants and debris that you really wouldn't mind them eating. Instead of chomping merrily through the weed seedlings or attacking the ornamental pine things, they ... read more