Fabulous Falmouth

 Today was another trip out on the train this time to Falmouth another coastal town.  This town was a bit larger and is known for its harbor.  Also in Falmouth is the remnants of Pendennis a fortification built by Henry the eighth which I took a look at.  I checked out the beaches at Falmouth as well it was a much warmer day at the beach today and the sun made it seem like spring.  While at the beach I picked up a cone of the famous Cornish ice cream I got strawberry and clotted cream.  This was suppose to be like eating a cream tea which is the thing to eat while in Cornwall and it wasn't to bad.  While wondering around the city I checked out some of the parks and gardens which were looking good with the camellias and magnolias in blossom.  I had another awesome day out in Cornwall Falmouth did not disappoint.

Saint Ives

Today I went on a trip to Saint Ives a small town on the north coast of Cornwall.  I hopped on the train switched trains at St. Erth and an hour later I was beach side in Saint Ives.  Unfortunately it wasn't the greatest beach weather it was chilly and windy, but luckily not raining!  I walked the beach as the tide came in which was really cool.  I explored the area checking out the local shops and landscape.  There was a nice coastal walk that I took that overlooked the beaches.  This small town is quite the tourist spot in the height of summer.  Even though it was a cold day there were still plenty of people out enjoying the beach.  The coast was gorgeous walking along the nice sand beaches.   

Holi 2013: Celebration of Colors

 Holi is a Hindu spring festival that celebrates colors.  The festival is celebrated by throwing colored powders into the air and on others.  This year the festival fell on March 27th and some of the Eden Project staff wanted to celebrate.  I went with them to Perranporth  beach on the West coast of Cornwall.  We had a small gathering which consisted of throwing food colored flour and flowers.  It was awesome to participate in this new experience.  I hope I can celebrate this again next year!

Enchanting Eden

 Just finished my first week at the Eden project and it is quite the place.  I spent most of the week with the crops team in the garden which they call the outdoor biome.  I had my intro walk round with Jane Knight my contact at the Eden project and then I spent the rest of my day in the tropical biome.  There is a lot of work going on in the tropical biome we were working on ripping out a mass planting of coffee plants to make room to plant bananas in their place.  The next day I was outside with the crops team planting onion, shallots, and garlic.  In the afternoon we were working on extending an existing planting of hops plants.  The new posts were already installed we were working on stringing up the new hops lines for them go grow on.  We divided some of the existing hops plants and planted them for our new hops lines.  I outside again the next morning ripping out some Narcissus that were planted to closely and subsequently didn't flower well.  Next we harvested the last of the broccoli and then removed them.  Once the broccoli was removed we prepared the bed for planting.  In the afternoon I was back in the rain forest biome planting rice plants for the new exhibit that is going in highlighting new rice breeding that is occurring between breeders and rice growers in poverty areas.  Along with amazing stuff there was also the ordinary stuff so today was some weeding and hoeing.  I helped harvest leek today which was a new experience for me I brought a few home and am going to try to cook something with them.  I will keep you posted if my cooking expedition is a success.  I had a brilliant week and can't wait for next week.

Saint Austell

What a place I am staying at now!  The picture below is a picture I took as I walked out my front door and looked down the road.  I am a five minute walk from the sea and there is a small beach there as well.  Not that you would want to go swimming now but it is quite the site.  I walked down there yesterday to check it out and the noise of the waves crashing in was amazing.  There was a path that ran along the coast and I walked along it for a while and saw some nice views.  A lady from the Eden Project has been very generous and is allowing me to stay with her in her cottage.  This is by far the most beautiful spot I have stayed with the sea so close. 

Pine Lodge Gardens

 Today I went on a garden visit to pine lodge garden which was a local garden and nursery.  It was a chilly day but the gardens were looking amazing.  They had a nice Japanese garden which was looking nice with camellias and rhododendrons.  There winter garden was looking amazing with lots of color and interesting foliage.  They have what is known as the slave garden named for the statue within it had some large gorgeous magnolias that were coming into bloom.  The garden was filled with several unique and rare plants existing in the garden that they then propagate and sell in their nursery.  It was a gorgeous well maintained garden and a lovely visit.

Grow Your Own Weekend

 On Saturday before I left Rosemoor I was able to attend an event at the garden called grow your own.  This event put on by the garden focused on the concept of growing your own food.  It consisted of talks given by garden staff (people I had been working alongside), guided walks of parts of the garden, and local vendors had booths as well like bee keeping and raising your own chickens.  I went to a guided tour of the teaching garden and growing vegetables under a poly tunnel which was very interesting as I don't know much about growing under poly tunnels.  After that I went to a talk about growing vegetables all the way from sowing to harvest which was nice to see the different techniques used.  Next was a talk about growing your own cut flowers which is a really nice idea so you can bring some of your lovely garden into the house to enjoy.  It was an amazing morning full of information and was glad to be able to attend the event.  Even though it was a chilly morning luckily the rain held off the there was a good turn out.

Last Week of Rosemoor

This past week was my last week at the RHS garden Rosemoor and boy did it fly by.  My entire time there did but I guess when your having fun with really nice people time tends to do that.  I spent a day working in the herb garden replacing a tired boarder with new hyssops.  Along with the they were planting peas in the pottage as well and they were using hazel twigs as supports for them to grow on.  I did some more planting as well, I planted some digitalis in a naturalized bank they were creating. In the spiral garden this week we were planting newly divided perennials that were looking tired and planting new plants from the nursery like lavenders and stachys.  After the spiral garden was planted I did some work mulching that as well as mulching some rhubarb beds for the fruit and vegetable department.  Friday was a pretty nasty day so I spent it potting in the nursery and tidying up the phormiums for the summer bedding.  It was a great last week getting lots of interesting jobs, but it was sad to leave such a gorgeous garden and amazing people.

Knightshayes Visit

 This week the trainees and I got to go on a field trip to Knightshayes which is a national trust property not far from Rosemoor.  It was quite the trip we all piled into the van and set off.  We started out the day by checking out the large walled garden they have which they use as their fruit and vegetable garden.  They were growing everything from rhubarb to potatoes.  They have everything so well planned getting several crops from the same space while making it look amazing year round.  The second part of the day was spent looking at the formal part of the garden, the garden in the woods, and looking at the house that goes along with the estate.  I saw my first ha ha which was fun.  It is a a ditch that is made to keep the animals on the other side of it while still preserving the view.  I had a really nice day out learning a lot and just enjoying another one of England's amazing gardens.