NEWS: It's a boy!!!!!!

Our first male flower produced by a spaghetti squash

We returned back from a weekend in Cornwall to find that, not only had it rained (yessssssss) but even more thrillingly, two of our spaghetti squash have produced male flowers. Unfortunately all the female flowers had closed up (apparently they only open for one morning of one day - the poor men have to get in there fast..) but today, our Harlequin female opened up. So, out came the pastry brush and artificial fertilisation commenced.. The seeds will be no good because it would be a crossbreed but at least we might get some fruit.

Our blue ceanothus (purchased this year) is however attracting a plethora of bees, which should help, although if our kitten Muffin has her own way, all bees will be hunted, caught and eaten for supper.

Time for a bit of boasting: we have two different types of broad beans growing the the garden which were planted in three batches. The Witkiem Manita, were planted on 5th March and the Aguadulce (as recommended by Carol Klein in her book) on 13th March and the 2nd April, and the Witkiem Manita are flowering!

Witkiem-Manita

The Aguadulce are a hardier variety and seem to be totally unscathed by slugs, snails, birds, frost and any other horrible things that try to destroy veg before we can eat it. One of us read somewhere (in a really good book called wikipedia?) that broad beans used to be produced as horse food because they are so easy to grow - perhaps this could be why we are having so much success. We don't care, they are delicious.

Agualdulce. The trellis is there in preparation for our one million squash plants

And finally, who says you need flowers for cutting? Our shrubs work just as well..

Red broom