Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Apodemus

The temperature-buffering effect of a body of water in a greenhouse is great - in both summer and winter.  My thought is to use three "cubes" of water to support the staging if/when I finally get my greenhouse.

The best use of this approach that I have seen, is the sewage treatment "works" at the Findhorn Community, where it is all housed within a big greenhouse and provides a growing space all year round and a lovely warmth even in winter.

 Pic from an article in "the ecologist" https://theecologist.org/2010/jun/08/living-machine-ecological-approach-poo  below:

Davesnave

I have a few dustbins of water in my tunnel and the water in them is warmer than the mains most of the time, but in 96m2 it's just too little to have much warming effect at night..

phoebe1989seb

I'm loving the idea of either a long pond or sunken greenhouse 😀

We have neither pond nor greenhouse at the moment, although both are on the list of *must haves* for the future....I'm not sure whether DH would approve of something that sounds like it entails so much work though when he's already struggling to keep up with my ever expanding list of outside (and inside!) jobs, lol! 

Perhaps I could persuade him towards the pond idea - after all, it would require rather less digging than the conventional variety 😉

Trouble is, in either case there are a significant number of large trees (and out of control laurels 🙄) growing on the bank above the leat/ditch.....

The weather here is better today - still nippy but with a bit of sunshine creeping in. Lots of my new batch of alliums (in the rose beds) have buds, although annoyingly the older ones - with the exception of my three very robust looking Globemasters - planted elsewhere don't. The rheums (Palmatum Rubrum) are looking healthy and the Macleaya cordata (Kelway's Coral Plume) and the Eomecon (both planted last year) have spread like crazy which is what you need when there's so much space to fill, lol! I'm delighted to report that the three pricey Eremurus planted last year have also survived 😃

I should really be planting bulbs today, but am still aching from shifting rocks over the weekend. I've a load of peacock orchids (Abyssinian gladiolus) to get in. I haven't got high hopes for these having read online reviews after purchase, but they were cheap so worth a punt!

twopenny

Oooops apodemus, sorry and sorry to dave. Put it down to dealing with tooth extraction,covid jab,physio and insurance organisation after mindnumbing lockdown.
I'm reading with envy.
Im doing everything in miniature now. You're giving me ideas above my station when even sinking a large pot was considered dodgy. Now i want a whole stream!
Teeshirt weather here this morning, fur coat weather this afternoon with an umbrella.

greenbee

@twopenny - you can have my stream(s). Both of them. They are far too much like hard work. Although the kingfisher stopping off to eat it's lunch ALMOST makes it worthwhile. 

twopenny

Sheesh Greenbee, is that the green part? Makes people green with envy

I once had a visiting dignatry in my car taking him home when I saw a kingfisher on a bridge. Without thinking I screeched to a halt got out and rushed over. Fortunately when I turned to appologise he was there and also interested.

Collected some sheeps wool from the fences today and wrapped it round my new Carnations that are being eaten by slugs or snails. I have no idea if this will work but the sheeps wool pellets are pricey. They do work though.

Farway

A tad warmer outside this morning, chancing the peas, radishes, nasturtiums & cosmos outside for a bit of fresh air & hardening off

Now some even better news, the fig cuttings [ex pruning] I was trialling rooting in water after seeing a YT video, it's only gone & worked

I was very surprised this morning to see the white root nodules appearing. I failed to note when I did this but not that long ago, weeks not months

No sign of the others rooting in the same jar as yet but now I know it's only a matter of time

Here's the pic

Apodemus

Farway said:

A tad warmer outside this morning, chancing the peas, radishes, nasturtiums & cosmos outside for a bit of fresh air & hardening off.

You're lucky! Noon data from the weather station along the road from me says:

2°C Feels like -2°

It's sunny, but feels absolutely perishing in the wind here today!

phoebe1989seb

Lol at your dignitary/kingfisher experience, twopenny 😂 We used to get the occasional kingfisher by our stream when we had our house in the Nadder Valley.... don't think I've seen one since we sold that place in 2014.

That's so exciting, Farway! My late father was good with taking cuttings and getting them to root. I've not had much success on that score but am hoping to try it again soon with Ilex Crenata as we need to edge the rose beds with something and I don't want to risk buxus. We priced up small Ilex Crenata hedging plants but even bulk buying they came in at £1.90 each (iirc) and we'd need dozens. As we have a couple of large Ilex *cloud trees* I'm going to try taking cuttings from these.....

Showers here today and continuing chilly so finding all manner of things to do indoors when I really should be outside! Ordered some Crambe cordifolia for the new white bed. We planted this at our last house and I was pleased to read they have it in the white garden at Sissinghurst 😉

I did wander out to the polytunnel where I found some unlabelled seedlings - I think they might be Hesperis Matronalis (dame's violet/rocket) but not 100% sure. The leaves are slightly purple....does that sound right?

Davesnave

phoebe1989seb said:

I did wander out to the polytunnel where I found some unlabelled seedlings - I think they might be Hesperis Matronalis (dame's violet/rocket) but not 100% sure. The leaves are slightly purple....does that sound right?

Yes, could be, or Verbena bonariensis. My VB came up quickly, but no sign of HM.

Still digging a hole, or holes, and burying a water pipe. Exciting stuff!