Broad Beans

Look at that. Broad bean flowers. Aren't they funny? I don't know what I expected, but little pure white pea-flowers with dead-black inkspots wasn't it. The black is really jet black. No purple hints, or blue hints or anything. Where it fades out on the edges it fades out to a true grey. At least the flowers indicate the whole bean-making process is so far in order and disease free.

I also have parsnip sprouts in one of the bean gardens ('bean gardens in plural?' 'shut up, I realy like broad beans!'). Parsnips take four to five months to grow, did you know that? That's a really, really long time. They also do not look like carrots when they sprout. The leaves actually look a little like coriander (cilantro for the Americans).

I ripped out the broccolis that had gone to seed on the weekend, then threw them back in the vege patch (it's green manure, okay?), then covered the whole damn thing with sheep manure. Then remembered there were some little beet seedlings still in there, and dug around until I found and uncovered them.

I have a week off next week, so I'm leaving the sheep poos to like, ferment, or whatever it is they do, for a week. Then it's off to the gardening centre for some tomato plants. And some sunflower seeds. I've read that you can plant sunflowers, then, when they're about 60cm tall, plant scarlet runner beans at the base of the flower, and the sunflower acts the support for the bean. This sounds very cool to me. Also I really like sunflowers.

Oh, and I've been cultivating a spot behind the hibiscus (it's a rental - our garden is a palimpsest of previous tenants taste in plants) and under the clothesline for a butternut pumpkin. Is a square metre enough for a pumpkin? Apparently they're quite large vines.

On the knitting front, my TapestryCraft needles arrived the other week. Tulip brand. Heavenly to use. I really, really like them. They're only 5", not 7" (which all dpns seem to be in Perth). The 5" is much easier to manage. The needles fit in my hands better. Result being I've turned the heel already. I'm hoping to have them finished by the middle of next week. I've been stupidly, ridiculously busy. But things should settle down after Wednesday.