Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Davesnave

Daughter bought Mum a lemon tree for Mothering Sunday. It arrived Monday, unsecured,  in a long package via Yodel. Compost was everywhere, 2 main stems were broken and the old leaves had scale insect + whitefly.

All this has been photographed and a claim for refund has been lodged. Whether it appears on the Forum depends on  the response, but needless to say it was from one of those firms with garish photos throughout the catalogue.

Daughter should have known better, especially as Mum killed the last one!

Farway

Apodemus said:

Best of luck with T&M, you can perhaps expect your trees in time for Christmas and to produce plums and damsons! 

If it were not for the low cost I wouldn't have bothered TBH,

I'm expecting brittle just about dead 6 inch twigs

I'll post a photo once they arrive, of course I've yet to get the "Sorry we missed you" card, you can collect your parcel from Airport Services Depot, Gatwick after 10PM Friday

Apodemus

Fairway, the frustrating thing about T&M is that you sometimes get excellent products at good prices and with good service but, sadly, you just can rely on that happening!

twopenny

Had to go for a drive today and went the scenic route through farms and villages. The whole world it seems has been doing gardens, hedgrows and houses but it was stunningly beautiful in the sun. If I get the oportunity I'll go again with the camera.

So bought another tree heather, couldn't get the same one so choosen for straight growth. There are some really ropey ones out there. I resisted a crimson primrose and I'm proud of myself for that. They were beautiful.

Got home and the poor performance of the varnishes I tried I bought a tiny tin of midnight blue for the bird table roof. Ronseal this was, seems they do really small tins which is useful for odds and ends. Not as good a Curprinol but better than Johnsons (which is rubbish).

Resisted the urge to paint something else in this colour and took to empting a hydranga that wasn't happy being repotted, planted it in the ground and made a Spring/Summer display with the large flowered white Japonica, Lambs Ears and a tender Japanese Anemone that I was going to gift. Replanted a few things to make the area fuller and seasonal.

On a roll I then lifted and moved the plants in another bed at the front. Tiny creeping Ceanothus bought at a supermarket had huge roots! Had to take the secuteurs to them. Looks a lot better now.

I saw small fruit trees and checked the prices. Steep! The garden centres are really taking advantage of the current trend. Suppose you can't blame them.

Farway,there's a nursery near me that does bare rooted for £22 and they're good. I've been using them for over 30yrs and got all my fruit trees and most roses there for this garden.

https://www.triscombenurseries.co.uk/

Dave that's so disappointing. I always wanted a lemon tree. Perhaps with the refund though you could get something less difficult

goldfinches

So disappointing about the lemon tree, I'm another who's always hankered after one, I love the smell in citrus glasshouses too. 
Hope the fruit trees turn up soon F and that the birds enjoy their newly decorated roof 2p. 
Like everyone else on here I'm having to resist impulse buys that I haven't space for, I was in R*bert Dy*s yesterday and they had a fully stocked seed packet stand with both veg and flowers on it, nothing very unusual but a nice variety nonetheless and keenly priced. I had to tear myself away from some lovely herbs that are difficult to find fresh or dried in the shops. 

Davesnave

It was indeed very sunny and warm yesterday 2p, when we'd been promised something not so good. A keen wind, but where we were working, the thermometer went over 20c in the sunshine. We've finally dug through the herb bed by the trellis I made, but it's been a slog. There was a wide area completely covered with what they call 'hoggin' in some places, about 5cm down and 10cm thick that just came out in discrete lumps + all the usual bits of rubble and stones. The fun bit, planting-up probably won't happen for a week or two, as it will all sink now!

Next week looks promising. I'm going to get walking again and take DB to Rosemoor too.

Goldfinches, that hellebore must have been specially pollinated to get a specific cross. They tie a muslin bag over the flower to stop insects interfering. Me, I just let the insects get on with it!

The lemon tree I can probably live without. We are not good with house plants, but people will get them for us. The house isn't a tip, but we're more interested in what goes on outdoors; hence the amount of artificial ones we have, which change with the seasons. No bugs on those!

Farway

twopenny said:

I saw small fruit trees and checked the prices. Steep! The garden centres are really taking advantage of the current trend. Suppose you can't blame them.

Farway,there's a nursery near me that does bare rooted for £22 and they're good. I've been using them for over 30yrs and got all my fruit trees and most roses there for this garden.

https://www.triscombenurseries.co.uk/

Thanks for link 2P, The steep prices are what forced me to jump at the T & M clear out, I was happy enough until my order was cancelled by Bowers. I think I'll stop buying now, along with everyone else it's just so tempting this time of year

Went along to the volunteer border this morning part of Essential Shopping trip, came back via longer route to give the car + battery bit of a run, amazing how much has come on in a week, primroses on the verges, cherry + plum blossom, all very spring like

I avoided Morries with there plants, too tempting

twopenny

Our Morrisons only have a few wilting specimines. I know because I keep going in for some more Box to extend the dwarf hedging. Tescos is rubbish too. Maybe they don't want people hanging round the entrance which we will do

Spent the morning with the influx of docs for end of tax year and opening of services all in one go. Plus plumbers who are all busy until October.

Too cheer myself up lol I went to the builders merchants that do cheap delivery for the little bits I need for hard landscaping. They are so busy with builders it would be next Wednesday! So I took one slab and the weak suspension on my car squeeked and groaned.

Decided to just water and feed all the plants with their spring treat. Unexciting but hopefully it will reap benefits.

My tiny Cherry has lots of buds. Not sure whether any are flower buds. And my Greengage is about to burst forth with flower for the first time...I'm so excitied about that!

Little things in a mad world

Farway

Turned colder with a wind blowing that I can hear despite double glazing, avoiding garden today I think

My Morries plants are outside but they have their own locked compound to avoid the shoppers, normally their stuff is very good at reasonable prices, which is why I'm avoiding for the moment

My seedlings seem to be in the sit & wait stage right now, up but not doing much else

Garden highlight today is the Council have emptied my garden waste wheelie bin, now there's space in the bin I can lop carefully prune the last buddlia at the front

greenbee

Same wind here Farway. Did you get the hail as well?
My cosmos seedlings have taken off, as have peas, but beans, courgettes, aubergines and toms are all stubbonly refusing to develop a second pair of leaves.
As for the garden waste bin, it is completely full and I have several more bags waiting, but collection is next week. I've turned the compost heaps and amalagamated two into one, so clearly need to start being more selective about what I put in the bin and get another batch of compost going. And shred tree prunings to add to it.