Dig, Wrap, & Cover! (very pic heavy)

I knew a frost would be coming, but had hoped it would hang on till at least the weekend! No such luck! We live in a very rural location so basically if it says 5C in a town nearby we will have a frost!

I have been very busy the last few days so have been unable to bubble wrap the green house. I know I started it but if you remember I was unhappy with how 'milky' the old bubble wrap has gone. I can't complain as it has, we reckon, lasted about 8+ years!

So this has been sat in my kitchen for quite a few days. I ordered some new attachments too as the old ones had become so brittle. This time it came with instructions, on the best way to insulate a greenhouse. Which is different to the way I did it last time, they are the experts so may give it a go!

But first I decided to dig everything out, turn it upside down to drain, (I will show pics as to why) then move on to insulating the greenhouse before putting everything in!

So here are the before pics. You can now see how the cold has affected the top leaves.

But funnily enough down at root level everything is fine.

And to be honest, yes they probably could have held on till the weekend. but I have always been 'ultra careful'.

The one I am most protective of is the Hiniba, below. Very, very rare plant. I am never likely to get another one of these ever!



The ones in this bed have not done quite so well, but then they where babies!

This leaf from the Hiniba is bigger than me.

This is why we have to cut them back for the winter, They are sponges for water, and need to be drained so they can be stored over winter at 5C.

I had a little robin join me during my dig out, it was singing its little heart out. When ever I see a robin it always reminds me of when my dad, a seafarer, came home and he used to love digging in the garden and a robin used to come and sit on his spade,  all the time, he used to feed it worms and things. 

This banana is the only one I will leave in the garden, it is totally root hardy. You can wrap them up in straw, I used to do this, but don't bother anymore, as they pop back up with no trouble.

Here is what is left of the bananas once they are dug up. I usually wash the roots to make sure all the soil is removed but, I am not sure I will have time today!

I have finished insulating the greenhouse, what a difference the new bubble wrap has made, really light in there now. It came on a roll and to be honest it was dam fiddly to put up as they suggested, but there are definitely less gaps!

I also line the bottom with celotex, this was left over from when hubby got his office built, I then cover this with survival blankets, these help reflect the light.

I must be mad, when I look back at this post and see just how much I do to keep my jungle growing, I am obviously a very dedicated gardener. The thing is I plan to expand it next year, the jungle garden not the greenhouse!

Anyway here it is, I have kept everything away from the celotex as I'm waiting for more survival blankets from good old Ebay to arrive.

This poor old frame, I have no idea how its still standing, thats why I have wedged the steps at the end with a bag of gravel on to help support it! I can assure you those bananas are not light.

All the cactus stuffed at the back for now, I will have to move some of it around as I still have quite a bit to fit in. A lot of my Colocasia and Alocasia, and my 2 Cycas Revouluta which are not small, plus canna and dahlia tubers , Some I leave out as they are hardy, but I will bring some in as a precaution.

Here we are, the end of a long day, The palm I had forgotten about (back right corner) this does not like the cold, every year I plant it out and it looks half dead, probably because I don't water it enough. Every year it grows bigger and bigger. 

Next post will be about how the garden looks after the 'big dig up'. Till then xx