Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Apodemus said:

Phoebe, sounds like a wonderful spot you are in and a fantastic challenge!  I'd love a leat as part of my garden! 

Mixed blessing I'd suggest. I watched a mill being restored from scratch and the leat being dug out and restored. Darned hard work - but the result was enviable.

Good luck phoebe. The Magnolias I photographed were opposite the mill. I bought one from Tescos for £7 and it grows like crazy. If you have the room to let them grow to tree size (and seen that in a lot of smallish gardens) they are a joy for spring. Also sparse in branches so grass and bulbs will grow under. The Japanese trim the trees to make them thinner but just as beautiful.

Davesnave

Apodemus said:

Phoebe, sounds like a wonderful spot you are in and a fantastic challenge!  I'd love a leat as part of my garden! 

Hi phoebe , I didn't know you had a leat.....   Now I have leat envy too!

As folks know, all we have is a seasonal stream, and even at this early point in the season there's not much water in it.

Farway

Hard frost overnight, the lovely magnolia two doors down copped it , all it's flowers are now brown but my plum blossom escaped so a small mercy there

Today is mainly medical day, already had hospital appointment and this afternoon it's Covid jab part 2

Still no sign of roots from the fig cuttings in water.

Not that I expected them this soon TBH, but they do look healthy with green leaves unfurling so life is in there

Apodemus

Farway,  I'm afraid my eyes read that as "Today is a magical day"!  Sadly, I'm sure it is far from that!  Hope it all goes well.

twopenny

My sympathies farway. My only outings so far are tooth extration, physio who's lost my records and haircut. Not the pleasure I was hoping end of lockdown would bring.
Apodemus I love that little stream. Small enough not to be trouble, big enough for sound. The rivers here are still wild with rainwater.
Less cold wind today and everything still standing. Blackbirds have dug up my treasured new  large tree heather that's still suffering from drying out. I'll be very lucky if it survives. Not over till the mature shaped lady sings.

phoebe1989seb

Waves to Dave 🤗

I should have explained better - the *leat* is empty as the water was diverted elsewhere....I'm guessing at the time the building was converted from mill to residential 😉 This was 100+ years ago, although we have spoken to someone locally who recalls the mill wheel still being attached to the building in her youth. Sadly this is long gone too.

Now the leat is just a dry, wide *ditch* that you can walk through.....so no leat envy necessary folks!

Shame about the neighbour's magnolia, Farway, but good news regarding your plum blossom. Hope your second jab goes well!

No more snow, sleet or hail here - just grey skies and extremely chilly. Haven't ventured out to do any gardening today as I don't fancy carrying large rocks with freezing fingers - knowing my luck I'd drop one on my toes 😂

Apodemus

twopenny said:

Apodemus I love that little stream. Small enough not to be trouble, big enough for sound. The rivers here are still wild with rainwater...

2p, yes...lovely stream!  Unfortunately it's Dave's rather than mine!   Sadly, all I can boast is a (filled in) well and a sunken cast-iron horse trough!  So, thanks, I can now enjoy both leat and stream envy! 

Apodemus

phoebe1989seb said:

Waves to Dave 🤗

I should have explained better - the *leat* is empty as the water was diverted elsewhere....I'm guessing at the time the building was converted from mill to residential 😉 This was 100+ years ago, although we have spoken to someone locally who recalls the mill wheel still being attached to the building in her youth. Sadly this is long gone too.

Now the leat is just a dry, wide *ditch* that you can walk through.....so no leat envy necessary folks!

...depending on the length, how about a pond liner and recreate the feel of the original?   Although, I guess a dry, wide ditch is a lot less work and (with the right aspect) might be a very attractive space.   Oh, I know...subterranean greenhouse!

Davesnave

An old friend, the late John Phillips, who gardened at Home Covert near Devizes, had a long pond under his greenhouse benches. The fish seemed happy enough with the arrangement.

My polytunnel is scheduled for demolition, so I don't think I'll bother with that now, but I hope to get one into the garden before too long. A garden isn't complete without water.

I was looking at cattle troughs for DB's birthday yesterday. There's a lot of planting potential, with or without water, in an 8 footer!

No real work done yesterday, though I pretended in the nippy wind for around an hour!

Farway

Dull start to the day, my early bit of gardening this morning was remove the cover of the runner bean propagator, the beans have reached the lid already, bu66er me there was a tiny snail on one of the beans , where do they come from?

That propagator & compost has never been outside, it's on my living room window sill !

The tomatoes are romping away on the window sill, I'll need to pot on Shirley soon

Just checked the progress of my sale fruit trees from T & M, dispatch was planned yesterday, now it's

There has been a slight delay in the despatch [sic] of your product please allow 14 days for delivery., I reckon next stage is "sold out, here's a voucher"

Apodemus said:

phoebe1989seb said:

Waves to Dave 🤗

I should have explained better - the *leat* is empty as the water was diverted elsewhere....I'm guessing at the time the building was converted from mill to residential 😉 This was 100+ years ago, although we have spoken to someone locally who recalls the mill wheel still being attached to the building in her youth. Sadly this is long gone too.

Now the leat is just a dry, wide *ditch* that you can walk through.....so no leat envy necessary folks!

...depending on the length, how about a pond liner and recreate the feel of the original?   Although, I guess a dry, wide ditch is a lot less work and (with the right aspect) might be a very attractive space.   Oh, I know...subterranean greenhouse!

Actually I've seen this sort of sunken greenhouse as tomato houses at West Dean Gardens near Chichester, I thought it was a good idea, protects & warms in the right location. Their ones are in the walled garden