Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

Rummer

Lucielle, what fabulous news :j

Better_Days

Morning all

Hope this week is going to be a good 'un for you all :D:D

COOLTRIKERCHICK

good morning:j

its still wet and wild out there

Alfie :mad::mad::mad::mad: bloody scumbags, I really do hate it when I hear of things being nicked...

right better get some work done

Davesnave

Better_Days wrote: »

Dave - what happened to your stream garden, why did you lose so many plants?

The stream garden is in a dell in the bottom field, not far from the main garden. It's overshadowed to the south by trees owned by another smallholding couple, so the southern bank is theirs. However, they take no interest in this area, beyond walking their dog in that field, so they wont have noticed that I removed all the tree branches that were touching the ground on my side. This opened up the stream banks and gave us a fair bit of firewood, which we're using!

I suppose the dell there is about 30-40metres long, up to where the stream comes over a waterfall. From there, the stream is on the other folks side and the situation's reversed, with us owning all the hedge/trees. Unfortunately, I get to do the maintenance there as well!

Anyway, with the stream opened up over the past couple of years, I thought its banks would make a nice wild & damp garden, as we have none of that environment elsewhere. I started planting waterside species, like primulas, astilbes, mallows, lythrums, arums and flag iris in the spring + a few other shade lovers, like hellebores. I also popped in some foxgloves on the upper banks.

We then had an incredibly dry summer, knocking out the smaller hellebores, which never really got a proper foothold in the parched soil. The shade has also proved too much for the iris, mallows and other things which aren't doing anything, except shrinking and disappearing!

So, I'm just introducing more shade- tolerant plants. The arum lilies like it there, so I will use them instead of iris. We don't really need much in the stream itself anyway. There's already plenty of hart's tongue, shuttlecock fern and ivy growing naturally, and I expect the campion and foxgloves to increase with the improved light levels.

I wanted to go slowly in the first year to see what worked/didn't work and I've probably had the worst case scenario. So, onwards and upwards....:dance:

COOLTRIKERCHICK

OMG the rain is seriously bad here... the river Tawe is right up..

think there is going to be some damage around today..

hubby just been to check the stream up the ranch, and it is about a foot below the edge... so will check it again later on...

2 staff have gone home ill:o:o not what we needed with the work load we have.. but hayho... better get my fix of energy drinks to keep me going.

lostinrates

Today I must paint at least the bits of the bathroom the radiator is going in front of...

..but I just cannot get going. . Going to give myself until this afternoon.

alfie_1

hello all......

seems like this damp is getting to our bones !!
i tossed and turned last night in pain with my hip...:o

ive dropped my van off to garage and now waiting for water man..:j

i hope all that have this weather survives.:D
i do think we have had a good year weather wise so i tell myself we are one step from winter and its par for the course... we gotta moan about somefing...:rotfl:

rozeepozee

Where did that week go?

The pigs have gone too. After they escaped at 2.30am, I had to call their full owner and say: this isn't really working and I'm responsible for them, so what can we do? I was sad to see them go but until we have the proper facilities, it's just toostressful and i don't want the expense of small holder insurance at the moment... Our near neighbour is keen to do something with pigs and I think we have a great resource with him, as he was a farm maneger (now retired and wanting something to do), so we'll revisit pigs as a project in the new year, I think.

Next weekend I get to meet Alf and CTC. And they get to meet my clan. What fun! I have desisted from acquiring any more birds before the geese arrived, but it's been close a few times. I almost bought two Poland hens (decided they wouldn't fit in a mixed flock), two runner ducks (but they seem to have found a fabulous home elsewhere..... Alf....?) and a trio of Scots Greys (ditto?)

The weather is abominable here. Sheets of rain. I cheer every time it turns bad though because the builder (who appears to have taken on more work elsewhere) can only do that work when the weather is good. When it's bad, he has to come here and work inside We are having to "make good" rather than replace ceilings in the rooms. Money is tight and needs to be spread judiciously where it is vital......

lostinrates

alfie!!!!!

Can you keep your eye put for some old tipping trailers for me? Need to be weather proof to leave in field and leave muck in, but not nectar rile road safe.....though a decent one to collect stuff in would be good. They are for poo picking, wheel barrow sized or bigger ok, but need to tip!



Or maybe lucielle too? What would be the cheapest I could get in the sort of plastic type? Like big plastic towable barrows new? Do you sell that kind of stuff or is it out of your market? They all seem really expensive, I saw a second hand one for 250 last summer.:(

alfie_1

2.7 LITRES PER MINUTE !!! :eek: