All my tomato plants have now got flowers on. I have got peas, green pods and yellow pod varieties, they are sprouting all over! I am spending my days watering, deadheading and staking.

I am growing some sweet peppers, and this year for the first time I am trying a chilli pepper. I have been given some gourd plants and a free marrow, so it will be interesting to see what they do.

I photographed this exotic looking Emperor Moth on the isle of Muck. Cool Eh?

These Rock Roses are flowering away like mad at the moment.

Rebutia Perplexa is currently covered in bloom. I had been after one of these for ages.

Also one of the succulents that I grow is in full bloom. Normally this is not such an attractive species but here it has three flowers open at the same time.

The first shot I took above had a slightly green feel to it from the greenhouse shading.
Here is a better one.

Glottiphylums are easy to grow but not easy to grow well. They tend to look a little scrappy.
Zaphod has also produced two new heads and appears to be loosing one of its old ones. It also has at least one flower bud forming. Zaphod of course only had two heads, so i may need to rename it.

...after much head scratching, I've found a use for the pine cones that litter my lawn:

I know the purists say to use straw under your strawberries to keep them off the soil and yes, you can buy mats. The opperative word here being buy. This however, kills two birds with one stone...(these being the birds that may think to feed off my fruit of course).

so that's what it is.

...the rain-dance, performed by yours truly, has worked as we had a good drenching last night and by all accounts are to get the same tonight. My repaired,(re-seeded), and patched lawn stands a chance of coming good by looking like a lawn and not just a patchy patch of short grass.
I'm wondering whether the patches are caused by another resident's dog pissing on the lawn.

On another note altogether: Has anyone a gardening use for pine cones, as I've masses of them?

The Iris were good this year.

And so is this. But what is it please? It was given as a gift and I don't know what it's called.

...needs WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody else may be experiencing a deluge of biblical proportions but here in the Solent area we've had no rain for bloody ages. We have had a week of Sahara type sun which whilst nice for leisure and barbeque's only exacerbates the problem.

GRRR!!

I am really giddy, we have been eating our own lettuice and herbs for a while, but now we are eating our own peas and potato. Triumph!

I have grown for the first time a yellow podded pea, I am pleased with the, they all germinated, they are all growing, it has beautiful flowers, the peas look attractive and they taste fantastic. What more can you ask of a plant? I am growing some Mange Tout peas, that I saved the seed from last year. These are low growing, very white pretty flowers, the pea pods themsleves are a good size, shape and colour. Also good to eat. Have eatern both cooked and raw in salad. I buy my seeds from Realseeds, who have an interesting on line catalogue.