Daydream fund challenge part 4

Fay

I have just taken delivery of 30 jumbo plugs of verbena bonariensis IHS and the roots look good but the plant material is 50/50 green and brown. I've never tried it before so hope it does ok. A lot of things in my garden are coming up but some are slower. My tulips which I bought last year from an expensive supplier are all different sizes and the supplier says it's the weather

Davesnave

Verbena bonariensis didn't disappear here this winter, so mine are OK, but everything is quite slow. Our hellebores have just peaked, for example.

Even our swallows are late. We saw a couple back on 2nd April, but they weren't stopping. Ours only arrived yesterday, well over a week behind normal.

Down at the stream and along the field hedges, I've been pleased to see many more primroses, which we introduced. It seems odd to have had to introduce a wild flower so prolific around here, but there weren't any. Lots of violets, though.

I have to accept that some time in our lower field's history, a large amount of sub soil was dumped on the slope beside the stream. This is so thick, there's really no way to improve it. :mad:

The neighbour's bank is entirely different. Luckily, it's mainly the neighbour's bank we see, so that has had the bulk of the planting with geranium phaeum and similar 'wild-ish' looking plants that can survive deep shade. On our side it's mainly ferns; even thug plants have just curled up their toes and vanished.

Fay

That's a shame Dave. But can you help me out with a very stupid question I'm sure, what's sub soil and why won't things grow in it?

I_have_spoken

Frost overnight with us, battery is flat on the in/out thermometer so didn't get a record of the min, but certainly there was a ground frost. Hope the fleece I put out offered some protection.

All sorts of weather in one day here - rain, hail and sunshine in all combinations.

Dropped in an order to Crocus inc. six Verbena bonariensis in case mine are kaput. Annoying if the perpetual sweet pea didn't make it through, however.

I have about 10 box cuttings I took a couple of years back in 9cm pots. I just can't think of where I can use them in the garden but am loath to throw them out.

Going to get some seeds sown this evening.

Davesnave

Fay wrote: »

what's sub soil and why won't things grow in it?

Wiki: "Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and/or clay, but it lacks the organic matter and humus content of topsoil."...and in our case seems to be mainly clay!

It probably arrived at the time the thatcher's barns were constructed in the '50/60s and came from their footings. The land on the other side of the stream has always been in separate ownership and looks 'natural.'

None of this affects us that much, as it's below our new woodland. The trees near the bottom of the slope are all toughies.

Davesnave

Yesterday was DW's birthday, so I took her on a mystery outing, as usual. Nowadays, that means that she keys-in the relevant postcode on the sat nav and then ignores it while I drive......except yesterday one destination was entered wrongly, so we arrived on someone's farm in the middle of nowhere, much to everyone's puzzlement!:rotfl:

The weather forecast was 8C at best, with a bitter northerly wind, so I was a little taxed over where to go, especially as it had to be reasonably accessible to DD2, who was joining us. In the end I settled on the Walled Gardens at Cannington College near Bridgwater, as I figured we might receive some protection from all those walls.

Well, it wasn't windy at all and the temperature hit 12C, so in our long johns we felt just a tad uncomfortable, especially in the tropical and Mediterranean greenhouses! :eek:

We bought a couple of plants, but somehow I ended up with some fresh foxglove tree and Judas tree seed as well.

On then to Morrisons for a packed lunch, which somehow contained a climbing hydrangea for £2. Maybe we'll have a place to climb it by the time its a truly well-developed specimen.

And then the farmyard....which was only 3 miles from the RSPB reserve I was aiming for. :doh:

The reserve was good, We got to see quite a few unusual water fowl and heard the bitterns booming away. A twitcher we met told us how and when to see them too, guaranteed, but that's in May/June.

Meanwhile, we had a hide all to ourselves..... herons and egrets feeding nearby....and it was still 12C....right up to 18.00.

Weather looks good today too.... ....but there was a frost!
Luckily, being sober when we arrived home about 21.00, I covered the toms and peppers with fleece......:D

Fay

Thanks for the information Dave. Now, how on earth did those pesky seeds pop into your possession? Cheeky little things.

choille

Been really quite cold - snowed on Friday & was bitter, so no gardening - doesn't inspire me in the slightest.

Not been doing much, just odds & ends jobs.
Wild primroses appearing & the iris's starting to poke up.

Seems there's a naval excercise - grey ship up the Loch & very pukka sounding voice booming away on a loud speaker which is very weird to hear when outside. Had this in the past.

Davesnave

Another frost here.

Almost finished getting the windows out of the conservatory, but the side ones were done with some kind of brown mastic, and I'm thanking my lucky stars it wasn't used on the roof. It's taking about 1/2 hour a pane, and then one can break at the last minute.

As it's toughened, when that happens, it goes into thousands of tiny pieces and makes an awful mess.....

Had to cull a hen yesterday as she'd gone droopy and had water pouring from her beak. Hope this respiratory thing, probably caught from a wild bird, doesn't spread. :eek:

On the subject of catching things, Horse Woman has invited us to supper one evening this week and I can't find a valid reason to duck out! May just feign a stomach bug and stick to nibbles and wine.

I_have_spoken

7 trays and 20 3" pots planted with seeds. Growing from seed isn't something I usually bother with, as I don't have a lot of success but will try harder.

A fair number of self-seeded lilies have appeared in the flower beds, but I guess it'll be 2+ years before they flower?

Once this cold spell is over, I'll sow nigella etc. directly outdoors.