Dede Sophie

Stapelia schinzii is a rarely seen (at least it is in the United Kingdom)  clump forming succulent plant grown for its impressively large, ornamental flowers. Native to Namibia, Southwest Africa the roughly star-shaped blooms open to show the largest of all native Stapelia blooms at an impressive 20 cm in diameter! Un the UK the flowering period will be around September Its native habitat is found between 800-2000 meters above sea level yet unlike the majority of cacti tends to be found growing in the shade of other plants. Once established Stapelia shinzii can form a lax clump of approximately 100 cm in diameter. It is difficult to find a specimen to purchase but sometimes propagation material can be found online. Stems should be allowed to callous off for a few days before planting into a good quality, compost. Avoid free draining or specialist cacti composts as these will keep the root system too dry. water regularly over the summer but never leave the compost waterlogged or complet...

Looking for the best vegan-friendly countries? I’ve officially travelled the world* for one year as a vegan proving (in my mind at least) that if I can be vegan whilst moving around and not speaking the languages, you can definitely do it in your own home. (*When I say travelled the world, I mean North America, Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia, totally at 18 countries. It’s definitely not the whole world, but there was a good mix of west and east, poor and rich, English speaking and not, etc.) Here are those countries ranked from worst to best for vegan friendliness! Worst Countries for Vegans These next three countries are the ones I’ve found the hardest to be vegan in… and when I say vegan, I mean eating a plant- (and fungi) based diet as much as possible and doable , among other things (like not supporting zoos, aquariums or leather products, etc). Here we go: #18. Vegan Japan I found that Japan was one of the worst countries for vegans. They don...