Daydream fund challenge part 4

MysteryMe

Vera was a beauty, sad she has gone but she would have had a wonderful life.

Fay

RIP Vera, we heard of you often. I hope she finds a lovely perch in chicken heaven and enjoys herself.
Alfie, I hope you feel better soon. I've had a sinus problem threatening for weeks, no doubt it's waiting for Xmas day like last year and the year before!

The weather had really been quite biblical since I moved. I think I have had 3 dry days and I moved on 19th November. I'm trying not to see it as am omen. The building company are doing the repairs and snags I have listed, they seem to find it hard to accept I work full time and hey cannot just tell me the day before that they are sending three tradesmen. So far all the work has been great, except the carpenters who said that taking out a very dangerous spike they have left at the top of the stairs isn't their job...as it's wooden I don't know who else's it wouldn't be. They left to talk to their manager on Monday and haven't returned. Apparently someone else will come and do it lol.
My aim for spring is to get the patio done, get some drainage sorted...builders have said they will come in January or February and check th garden. They think it will have dried out by then, not sure they understand the concept of winter but maybe they will be right. But three said they will do something about it if it hasn't. Then I want to start thinking of some small trees to create height, boundaries and interest...and screen all the neighbours. It's very strange having houses overlook me but so far no one lives in them so that will be even more strange. Any suggestions for smallish trees? Probably not growing more than 10 foot?

Davesnave

MysteryMe wrote: »

Vera was a beauty, sad she has gone but she would have had a wonderful life.

Thanks.

Vorwerks are a smallish German hen, bred for utility, but they look neat and they're very inquisitive.

When we had half a dozen different breeds, I soon noticed how those of the same kind would tend to hang out together, even if they were from different sources. That meant they sensed which breed they 'belonged' to.....but how?


Fay, I'll think about small trees.

potplant

RIP Vera. What lovely plumage. And her expression ...not a hen to get on the wrong side of. Dave's question about recognition is interesting, I have always wondered about the reverse question in dogs, because the different breeds are so varied in size and shape and everything else, they can look nothing like each other at all; but from their behaviour it's obvious one dog recognises another as a dog regardless. How do they know? Smell seems unlikely because they can spot each other a good long way apart.
Meanwhile, garden-wise, I now have a raised bed ready to get growing (mainly green leafy veg I think as it's a bit shaded). It won't be enough for selfsufficiency in case of Brexitland, but I'm just really hoping that things aren't going to go that way.

choille

Sorry about Vera Dave - what a character some hens are.

You're cracking on Potplant with the garden. I wish I had some energy.

Fay - We have an crab apple but that does grow & needs pruning but looks lovely when it's leaves go crimson also the fruit is handy as well as ornamental. I also like the Japanese Acers as they are pretty too

tori.k

Hope everyone is feeling better and sad to hear about your hen Dave.
Fay you looking for evergreen Ceanothus or semi evergreen Magnolia can be shaped into lovely trees if your willing to go a little bigger a strawberry tree would make a lovely specimen, one of my favourites is Cornus controversa ( the wedding cake tree)
In my world im down to the dregs on cut Christmas trees mostly the frasiers left but I expected them to be wasted as they weren't much cop when they come in, im so glad it will be over in the next week as im getting behind on other jobs, I did score a decent freebee from work with 185 crocus sativus bulbs that should make enough saffron for one small cake and the worlds largest bag of niger seed for the birds

MysteryMe

The Cornus Kousa Chinensis is a lovely tree. Has a bit of everything, lovely flowers, then "fruits" and then the leaves become wavy shaped and a beautiful rust colour. I did not buy mine from this supplier but the images are good

https://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/cornus-kousa-var-chinensis/classid.978/

Davesnave

Trees not growing more than 10' is a bit of an ask, but if the smallest trees are selected, they can usually be pruned to stay within limits.

As it was evergreen, my Dad liked Cotoneaster lacteus. It would have gone to 25', I'm sure., but he kept it to around 9'-10'. I did look a bit like a lollipop! I've got a Cotoneaster cornubia which is doing similarly, but it can lose its leaves in harsh weather.

As Tori says, some Ceanothus will make a small tree. I had one which I pruned for years, when it suddenly died on me. I found varieties of Pittosporum reliable in that role too.

The RHS do a crib sheet of small trees which I'm going to steal :
Trees under 5m (16ft) in height

Amelanchier alnifolia 'Obelisk': (*) Height 4m (13ft). Spread 1m (3ft)
Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy': Height 4-5m (13-16ft). Spread 3m (10ft)
C. chinensis 'Avondale': Height 3m (10ft). Spread 2m (6½ft)
Cornus kousa 'Miss Satomi' AGM: (*) Height 5m (16ft). Spread 3m (10ft)
Corylus maxima 'Purpurea': Height 5m (16ft). Spread 3m (10ft)
Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' AGM: Height 3m (10ft). Spread 2.5m (8ft)
Liquidambar styraciflua 'Gum Ball' AGM: (*) Height 3m (10ft). Spread 2m (6½ft)
Magnolia stellata 'Jane Platt' AGM: Height 3-4m (10-13ft). Spread 2.5m (8ft)
Prunus 'Hally Jolivette': Height 5m (16ft). Spread 2-3m (6½-10ft)
Ptelea trifoliata ‘Aurea' AGM: Height 5m (16ft). Spread 4m (13ft)
Salix exigua AGM: Height and spread 4m (13ft)
Sorbus pseudovilmorinii: Height and spread 4m (13ft)
S. villmorinii AGM: (*) Height 5m (16ft). Spread 4m (13ft)


We went down the hill for our Christmas tree on Sunday. Only tied ribbons on 3 this year before making the final decision, almost within the hour. A record! :rotfl:


You are making me feel guilty with that deep bed, potplant. I have soil beds between paths of polypropylene fabric, but it's not the same. The only proper deep beds are in the polytunnel.


Hope you are getting over that bug alfie.

alfie_1

hi all, im on the mend, got super drenched every day doing the horses for the last week !
off on sunday to jersey and whilst happy that mums happy id rather just slob on the sofa for 4 days ...
its a major task sorting out the animogs !!


anywau , hope you are all well xx

Davesnave

Ooh-er! Choille and I ended up, very briefly, close together on a thread in 'Discussion Time':eek: It's not somewhere I usually go, and I even said something too, so that's my political virginity out the window. !

Being a bit naive, it was only a few days ago I noticed my previous avatar and sig looked extremely Brexit-orientated, although the avatar long preceded the vote, being there since the day I realised I no longer looked like a young mod.

Anyway, Tommy Cooper, still in the right colours, just about sums up how I feel about the state of the nation right now.

Read an article the other day which said in essence: "Those who've been spraying their land with agro-chemicals under "grandfather rights" have until 31st December to register with City & Guilds for a short course leading to a certificate of competence. After that date they'll have to do the longer, more expensive one.'

Being a suspicious sort, I took this to mean the powers that be intend to clamp down harder on the supply of pro chemicals in the near future. Otherwise, why bother?

It's the first time I'd even heard of this shortened course, so without further ado I set out to see what it cost etc and how I might register....


Wish I hadn't bothered. Waited days then City & Guilds emailed to say I had to apply to my local centre. The first local centre C&G pointed me at denied they offered the course. The second centre I tried, sent me on a wild goose chase around their internal phone network, and then the guy who 'might' know was out, but he'd ring me back.....He hasn't.:mad:

Think I'm going to save the course fee and plough it into a personal stockpile....It's not like I use a lot of the stuff now anyway. Very light touch.

Sorry to be grumpy.:o Less than two days to Midwinter!