7th February 2025
Today was gardening day. We had several missions. The Beast was due back from the hospital and the lawn was definitely in need of a haircut. We were determined to give Brian a hand with Leafville and I wanted to talk to him about creating a pile for compost/leaf mulch. In addition I needed to find homes for all the new herbs I have started to acquire and be gifted. A visit to Redland plantation “up country” a couple of days ago to visit a relative has resulted in a bay tree, some herbs and several cuttings of a beautiful pink variegated euphorbia.
So I leave the master of the beast in Brian’s capable hands and head off to buy rooting powder and soil mix/topsoil. Also on the list, gutter brackets, tile cement, grout, a chisel and bananas…. An eclectic mix.
On my return from a very successful mission I am met with “we have a crisis” we are in the middle of two crises… A centipede had made its home in the index finger of Richard’s gardening glove. A direct hit. Our first. Yeeeouch. Luckily Brian was in charge and not me. Who knew the cure is an onion? Chopped in half and rubbed on the bite. So by the time I got home there was very little to see and they were both dealing with the second crisis and that was the newly resurrected beast had burnt through her fan belt. That too was quickly dealt with as we had a spare in the shed. High five. Who knows what else is in the shed..? Note to self need to properly root around the shed … with all suitable centipede avoidance.
Brian and I, but mostly Brian set about creating a herb bed. In it goes … Rosemary, thyme, Guyanese Thyme, lemon grass, and Shadow Benet. The latter is a much sought after cilantro… difficult to grow but let’s give it a go. The results…
Result. There is still room for chives.
Next job.. euphorbia.
I’m told these are cut, plant and wait, bushes. So I set about some site preparation. Digging, mulching and dipping in rooting compound, I divided the cuttings into at least 10 different specimens. There were all lined up ready to go and in the trowel went and out quick as a flash our second centipede of the day. A monster. I leapt back and then with some force cut it in half with the trowel. Can you picture my horror when continuing to come at me with some pace were BOTH halves? …. The head bites and the tail stings I’m told. Euphorbia abandoned, but with great fascination from some distance I watched the two halves exist without each other, eventually after about 10mins they both came to a stuttering halt… the tail end first.
Back to the euphorbia. Fingers crossed that the cut, plant and wait works.
Shado Benet … check out the link for a bit of insight into this sought after herb. There is certainly variations in its spelling.
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