Phaedra's 2023 Adventure

[Phaedra]

I love my geraniums.
No matter more special or ordinary varieties, they offer their glamour generously from the second half of May.

I got one this April from Aldi and took good care of it. I soaked it overnight in the water with a little bit of tomato fertilizer to recover from staying in an unfavorable environment and pruned it the next morning for better ventilation and light. Then, I repotted it.

As long as they have reasonable water supply and feed, they simply shine.

More flowers are coming, and how lovely! Before I brought it back to the greenhouse, I added a lot of homemade compost. The funny thing is, this batch of homemade compost offered a lot of volunteer tomato seedlings. I will transplant them soon, and let's see what varieties they are.

Again, I prepared some light meals for my neighbors today to try and give some feedback. Fresh juice or smoothie is fully NOT available here, and they love it. It will be one of the items I will sell in my small shop, which is expected to open before September.

The idea of the above sandwiches is from IKEA, which offers most of the time, horrible food. It's no way for me to spend 1.95 Euros for that kind of ....ok forget it. I can make a much better version with my eyes closed.

Aren't my version much sexier?

 

[baymule]

Your food is always first, a feast for the eyes!

 

[ducks4you]

Ok, I am drooling now...

 

[baymule]

Ok, I am drooling now...

When you are looking at @Phaedra ’s food pictures, do you ever feel like Pavlov’s dogs?

 

[flowerbug]

When you are looking at @Phaedra ’s food pictures, do you ever feel like Pavlov’s dogs?

woof!

 

[Phaedra]

I enjoy the garden very much during the early morning while watering the plants, as the sunlight is always a bit too strong after noontime.

I just fixed the most important two initiatives (;Bring a Box' and 'Be a Light') for my small shop and can't wait to start the new journey. Here are the draft of my write-ups for soft-open (maybe in September).

Bring a Box
Bring a Box is the initiative to reduce one-time packaging waste: Bring your own containers and receive a one Euro discount on drinks and sandwiches. Join us in preserving our beautiful planet!

Be a Light
Be a Light is the initiative for Suspended Meals: When you purchase a meal to be suspended for someone in need, you pay only 50%, and we cover the remaining 50%. Let's spread warmth and support within our community together.

Still some distance to go, but I am more than ready for it.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I don't know what "suspended meals" means.

 

[Phaedra]

I don't know what "suspended meals" means.

According to wiki,

A suspended meal or pending meal is a meal which people pay for in advance, to be provided to those that request it later. The extra meal that they purchase is suspended; that is, the restaurant will mark down the sum of money and ‘suspend’ the additional meal for the poor. Suspended meals today range from a cup of coffee to a meal set.

The first time I heard about this term is from Italy's 'caffè sospeso'. Customers would pay for their own coffee and when they wanted to, could pay for an extra ‘suspended coffee’ or a 'suspended meal' which was meant for the less fortunate.

Gradually, this concept becomes popular in Taiwan, and it's a good timing for me to try something similar here.

 

[Phaedra]

‘THAI SILK PINK CHAMPAGNE’ (CALIFORNIA POPPY), so adorable!

Another gorgeous Geranuim 'Knutschfleck-Geranie Bicolor'

Something funny, I dug out five volunteer tomato seedlings from the compost I added in this pot and got five.

Both Delphiniums are well-established and bloom - From these two mother plants, I can propagate many, many of them!

Also my frist time trial to grow from seeds: two varieties of Petunia. I got the palletized seeds, so the seeds must be very tiny, I guess. Not very difficult, I sowed them on May 23rd, and they have grown to such sizes till today. Now, they are in 7cm pots and will be transplanted in another two weeks.

Foxgloves and sweet peas, well, I won't say the foxgloves are successful, but I didn't offer them good enough space. Anyway, they look lovely, and I will keep growing some other varieties.

Indoor rooting-in-water area: Basil, MUMs, lemon balm, catnip, and tomato suckers

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

How will you propagate the delphiniums?