Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

I_have_spoken

That's a colourful border combination IHS, but I think you might find persicaria superbum a bit of a handful!

Yep, already taken one offset from the persicaria to plant in my problem space in the gloomy, wet border in back garden. I may divide and move the whole plant once it's dormant as the pink/orange colour combination is 'challenging'

Elsewhere, I'm having a bit of a May gap, although the aliums are looking good. Annoyingly, the clematis I put in to go over the pergola looks poorly, drooping leaves like the acer.

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

Regarding weed membrane, I can confirm that nothing comes through it if you have the right stuff.

If it is thick, woven polypropylene it is right, but if it's spun bonded thin stuff, tough weeds will go straight through. Price is key - our last roll,100m x 4m, cost well over £200 at trade price. :eek:

I would imagine one to two years is the answer as to how long it takes on weeds. On the nursery, we had some down and walked about on it for 5 - 7 years. We are still re-using that now. I've also been parking the car on some here for around 3 years; that's how tough it is! :cool:

I did make the mistake of buying some of that woven stuff to start with and darn soon discovered the level of wind alone in this area had made that a waste of money.:(


Whew to the price you paid for yours!:eek: Got another type via Amazon and is sold by a plant nursery who say they use it themselves. It's that black with green lines done in squares on it (as I put it in non-technical fashion). Good bit thicker than the first stuff I got. Not sure if this stuff is supposed to fray or no though. Does all that "squared" type stuff fray or are the dearest versions of that non-fraying?

Anyways, today, for once I am being glad that its absolutely bucketing down with rain. Have been putting in my Requests to Above (insert praying smilie) for heavy rain until my indoor job is finished, so that there's no question of further unreliability and/or lies from my builder, as he himself wants to stay in the warm and dry:cool: and with the copious drinks he gets made (which, he says, isn't something that all customers do for him).

I shouldn't imagine all customers pay up extremely promptly either.:cool:. I've heard numerous tales of customers not even being asked to pay here for literally months, so I think there has been some astonishment from firms here that they have found I also expect to pay as soon as I have checked the job.

Is being thankful that I came to this area not knowing any different to "builders etc are always available within a few weeks of deciding to have them". I never realised it was any different in some other parts of the country. Coming from an urban area, there was never any question but that firms would be available pretty quickly and would stay on a job until it was finished. So my obvious expectations as to "That is how things are" and clear surprise at anything being any different has probably helped me get a large part nearer to Normal Service (as I know it) than some would have. Coming from a city I am totally used to the idea of "If any firm/medical practice/whatever isn't up to scratch = chuck them out quick and find another one" and I guess the fact they know I have been operating that way for years is helping a lot and I'm probably getting a level of service here that would astonish "locals" (who haven't been used to it and therefore aren't expecting it).

I expect I rate as "That woman who wants what she wants and she wants it right now, but she does keep giving us drinks/pays us promptly/is very fair and she's sussed that builders here want first dibs on anything being chucked out and offers it to us".

moneyistooshorttomention

On a different tack, I was picking nettles the other day for making my own plant food and realised a gentle "burbling" had started up nearby, Looked up to see several chickens in a garden nearby had come up to investigate and were looking at me very meaningfully. Have had no acquaintance with chickens before, but got the general message the burbling translated into "Here's a human....we are hoping for food". Am checking out to see what it is they might like some of thrown in for them...so far established from Google that they apparently like dandelions and clover (there is some nearby, but think its gone for time being). So I'm now wondering what titbits I might throw in their direction and what the chances are of introducing myself to their owner and maybe buying (or, if I'm lucky, bartering surplus veggies) for some eggs...

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Whew to the price you paid for yours!:eek: Not sure if this stuff is supposed to fray or no though. Does all that "squared" type stuff fray or are the dearest versions of that non-fraying?

The price I mentioned was trade and 2014 price. That won't be beaten, but 400m2 for just over £200 is still cheap when you consider the amount of time saved by having it and the cost of tools/maintenance on that area over a few years.

All brands fray, but they can be sealed with heat from a blowrtorch, or just folded under. The pegs are usually expensive, so I make my own.

Is being thankful that I came to this area not knowing any different to "builders etc are always available within a few weeks of deciding to have them". I never realised it was any different in some other parts of the country.

I don't believe it's different. The best builders won't usually have gaps in their schedules and they'll have bookings stretching well into the future.

'Best' here is assumed to be not too large, but not one man outfits. Larger firms, like the one my close relative works for, can be OK, if chosen wisely, because they have the resources to draw on as & when they need them.

As I know from previous encounters, however, if a builder can't do a job, he may sub much of it out to friends, so the wonderful availability of which you speak may also be smoke & mirrors!

The problem is knowing which firms to choose. The people we are getting the tiles from have inside knowledge, but they will only reveal their builder when their roof is under way! :rotfl:

I don't blame them. We have a couple of firms in mind which have taken years to locate. We've gone as far as banging on doors to see work they've done and speak with customers. One isn't very local, but he's willing to travel if the job is sufficient to justify.

moneyistooshorttomention

I did have an instance I recall back in cityland of a decorator coming along and introducing his friend and stating he would be doing the work instead. At that point, he was told in no uncertain terms that he was the one I had booked and he would be the one doing it. That was what happened and the friend got sent packing.

I do wonder about the very first firm of all I used way back when, as I had expected the man who came round to do the quote and a guy turned up and was introduced as a sub-contractor. I had only just translated being a "home-owner" into actually having my first home at that stage, so didn't know whether I was or wasn't expecting a subbie then and thought "Maybe the guy I saw was the boss, rather than THE electrician". Mind you, the subbie mucked up in a couple of respects (and not just as regards the work itself....:cool:) and, a few weeks later, I heard he'd been sacked.

I had soon learnt to be a bit "firm"....:cool:

I encountered "keeping a tradesman under your hat" for the first time on coming here. I was very puzzled to start with re Awkward Neighbour (who was doing the "sweetness and light act" to start with hoping I would be as easy to dominate as previous owners of this house were......) not telling me any tradesmen I could contact. This was so, even though I asked several times. So I had reservations about just how helpful AN was really being from the outset.....reservations that proved to be correct in the event the second they realised I would be going ahead getting my house and garden exactly the way I want regardless of how AN had been used to them being.

I've been very conscious that I cant fully Get On With My Life and am having to scramble for what bits of time I can manage for Having A Life type purposes until my house is done, hence my being determined to "bash at it" in finding firms and then holding them down to it. Then again, I've been questioned often enough about whether I intend to learn Welsh that I am beginning, by now, to think "I do hope they are making due allowances for just how long it takes us to get our houses together here with the way things are here....and we have to make learning Welsh the third priority". That is, its our houses first, our Lives second and Welsh has to come third. We'd get onto learning the Welsh a good bit quicker if the workmen got their act together quicker....t'aint funny when, at any given moment since moving here, there's always been at least one thing not working (electrics/heating/hot water/you name it).

COOLTRIKERCHICK

My biological father died on Wednesday morning... handnt seen him in a very long time, it brought back a lot of heart ache from my childhood ..etc.. so its been a head fook week for me.. and not over yet, will prob never be over. I haven't seen or heard from my brother in over 15 + years too, and he phoned yesterday, didn't speak to him, so will phone him back today.. also got a half brother I have never seen... I will not be going to the funeral, as my father's 3rd wife has been part of the problem too, but hubby and my boys will go..





We also had a funeral yesterday of a friend... which knew she was dying as her problem was incurable .. could only manage to go to the house ( and stayed outside) hubby had to drop me back home ( we were on the bike) and he went to the crem and to the wake afterwards...

lostinrates

Oh CTC what a week.

Sometimes these chapters are easier once closed, as cold toward your bio father as that sounds. Watching those close to me sometimes peace and understanding and forgiveness only comes in your own much older years.

My fond hugs. If ever there were a day for a cup of tea and a biskwit......

Rummer

((((CTC)))) What a difficult week, my thoughts are with you x

lostinrates

Well, my view from the cheese room is really starting to improve! Six of my roses have eased into flower, not full flower, but significant enough to produce , for the first time, not just sprays and flushes on the strong central bits but garlands of roses looping on the wall in places, where they are reaching out.

Souvenir de la malmaison, aloha, albertine and gypsy boy are all there, as are two unknown reds.

In the pots roses waiting to go in are blooming, and in the white garden its amazing, Jacqueline du pret is looking outstanding this year, from inside the house she's covering up the bottom corner of a window with her blushing blooms better than any vase of flowers. She'd quite pinkish this year.


Rose gold border also in good shape, Beautiful little area with an orange posh poppy, a dark gold iris and a pat Austin rose. Its very strong textural planting in such close tones but I like how its worked, just behind there is a verbascum clementine adding even more to this gold corner, but the placement is slightly off.

Davesnave

Take care of yourself, CTC.

What's done is done.

We can't change the past, but we can avoid making the same mistakes others made because they were humanly flawed..

LIR is right; with age, forgiveness is easier.

Must be biskwit time!