Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

twopenny said:

I'm having the urge to pull up my winter veg. It's flopped down on the ground and the broccoli is tough. The kale not growing new shoots fast enough. The strawberries look like they're barely hanging on and fruit canes in hibernation mode. Feel the need to start again but I guess I should go out somewhere and leave it alone.

I'm with Farway on leaving them and hoping for some later growth - my last-year's brassicas always (well, most years - think last year was a flop) feed us young leaves and "mini-tenderstem" (flowering shoots - good if you pick em quick) thru the hungry gap...

Cuckoo flower/Lady's Smock seems to pop up (presumably from seed) very erratically, and doesn't stay long in the same place (and less often in the shade) so not sure how well it would establish from planting out... But suppose it might move into happily-unexpected spots after a year or so in the spot you planted it in...

pink_poppy

The least said about my DD's move, the better, YBE and taff, but thanks for asking. Suffice to say it's been costly and caused a lot of bad feeling...

Lovely pics, wort. Very pretty flowers and so nice to see at this time of year.

My contribution - a spiky thing and some fungi...


OT - it feels cold.

wort

Taff 2 nd pic is Viburnum,as Dusty said. It’s quite large now easily between 5 and 6 foot, I try keep it cut back and a couple of foot wide. I’m glad it’s ok as we had to move it when we had the conservatory built and it looked a bit worse for wear for a while.
Cold morning, doesn’t look as windy but it’s early yet. Put some washing out at lunch time yesterday after a walk to Lidl,and it dried more or less.
lidl had primulas but not much else. Waiting for the compost to arrive.

YoungBlueEyes

Ever so late up this morning, the world must be about to end ha haa! 

My diddy bulbs aren't muscari, I've got those in the front Farway. Here’s a pic of the label (easier than trying to remember the name to write on here) 



While I'm at it, here's the daffs. The big tub are Bridal Crown (hint from himself ) and the little pot is Jetfire - 



They better not be rare ones cos I ain't handing 'em over, I love my daffs  

No good work stories this week, just the usual erseholes thinking that you have to ring constantly to keep your solicitor moving :rolleyes: No good Cissie stories either actually. She lost one of her best friends last week and it's really knocked her. Betty was a member of the Gospel Hall in the big town and it's upset Cissie how efficient they are when it comes to collecting. They're a strict organisation, with good points and bad points (like any of them I spose). Basically they say they're all one big happy family, and if you're in trouble the other members with rally round and help you. They'll give you money if you can't afford a fill of oil, they'll come round and clean up and get the dinner on if you're only out of hospital. Like that. But when you die everything you own goes to the Hall. Betty can hardly have been cold when they were round changing the locks on her house and emptying it. Cissie said they even took the milk out of her fridge. Everything is theirs when you're "called home to the arms of the Lord". We didn't call em Holy Rollers for nothing.

Anyway, that's enough misery so here's something queer and cheering. When we were in foreign climes we were in a Lidl/Aldi looking for sun cream and I saw this - 



OT cold. Dry as a bone out there, which it shouldn't be cos they gave snow and rain and all sorts last night and it was meant to arrive 2 hours ago. They just don't care, do they! Right gotta go. I'm taking the Oracle food shopping, which means battling my way into Posh Town

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

errr...what do you mean Mrs Dusty didn't recover?

I should have said "Mrs Dusty's knee joints didn't recover from all the ladder climbing on that job. We used a hoist for heavy items, but there was still a lot of up and down, balancing on timbers etc.

LessImpecunious said:

Cuckoo flower/Lady's Smock seems to pop up (presumably from seed) very erratically, and doesn't stay long in the same place (and less often in the shade) so not sure how well it would establish from planting out... But suppose it might move into happily-unexpected spots after a year or so in the spot you planted it in...

I doubt it would survive in the environment of the streamside. Or put it another way, it's in the wet bit of field near there, and shown no inclination to spread.

wort said:

Put some washing out at lunch time yesterday after a walk to Lidl,and it dried more or less.
lidl had primulas but not much else. Waiting for the compost to arrive.

We'd hoped to visit a Lidl when we went out for a drive on Wednesday. It was due to open on February 6th, but the car park was deserted and the gates locked. No supermarket is vital for our survival, but sadly, Lidl's stonebaked rolls are far better than the ones in our local bakery.  A source 6 miles closer than the next nearest will be a bonus, when they get going.

OT: We've had a fair amount of rain overnight and conditions are milder again, but it's a shopping day for me.

Since you liked the Rosemoor coo, here's  his none-too-sheepish friend from the same winter.

EDIT: Just spotted pp's post. Superb bracket fungi (might be Turkey Tail) And are those potential Scotch Thistles in the first picture?

twopenny

Welll it's morning here - I think.

It's daylight but with drippy rain, staggered up to 7c!! with no wind but it's still foggy and half light so you can barely see.

There are little splodges of colour in the garden I see. The odd primrose, a tete a tete or two but all not really wanting to bloom because there's no light to wake up to.

Dusty it will do you good to 'rest' while the relies are down. Bluey too a bit of time out. I had the bridal daffs back along when they came ready blooming in a pot (days when it didn't break the bank) but they didn't seem to like being planted out the 3rd yr and have vanished.

Poppy to rest too, perhaps we all should have a time out weekend to prepare ourselves for the double figures and sunshine promised next week. Though I don't believe it for a minute.

I have been watching GW so there was a balance to not watching during summer. It's relaxing down time where so many programmes and ads seem to want you to be wildly excited of an evening.

Thought I might listen to Gardeners Question Time in the mornings too because they don't advertise progs or anything in that and who knows, I may learn something

Farway

A very odd looking orange sky this morning, no sunrise, just the whole sky was orange tinged, a bit like when Sahara sand comes along, but it's not that. Gone now, and back to bright grey.

OT, For those with rain and wanting a distraction,

Enjoy free access to the largest online newspaper archive through Monday. Discover real people, real stories, and real history in papers from 1690 to 2025.

*Access to all papers on Newspapers.‌com will be free until 17 Feb 2025 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Free access available via the links in this email only. Registration required. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view papers using a paid Newspapers.‌com Publisher Extra subscription.

https://www.newspapers.com/go/freeaccess/?xid=7206

Pea update. 

My first attempt is turning slimy , so looks like they are duff, but were 2011 so not surprised.

Second attempt, 2012 seeds, are not swelling, looking unlikely there

I'll start soaking Hurst Green Shaft, 2021 seeds, later today, should have reasonable chance, fingers crossed.

I'm also getting the propagator out, it's the smaller, one seed tray size, without a thermostat and just low heat. This will have peppers in.

A chilli type, small & bushy, and a sweet bell pepper type

Because I'm only growing the chilli one for decoration, too hot for me, it will grow like cress, the sweet one I really want will of course just damp off & rot

I found an old 2021 pack of Welsh onion seeds plus short, 5 ft, sunflower. I'll sow a small pot of each, and they can go in the propagator at the same time.

Nice fungi pic PP, and admiring the work in the Ram Dusty,

I like GQT 2P, used to listen a lot, but not much lately. It's on at the right time to sit with posh hot choc and contemplate the rain bashing the windows, but I suppose with catch up it's any old time these days.

Apart from that , no outside gardening today

twopenny

I've got a very old Kindle, £25 and not registered to Amazon. It's great for listening to podcasts.

It also plugs into my radio + bits with a 3.5mm jack for when I want it louder when around the house and such. It's been a blessing.

Thanks for the newspaper link. I'll get stuck into that and see if I can find the articles related to my family history stuff. I got quite a lot of bits only at one point but now they're hidden away somewhere when I search.

Even tried to sign in to some but it didn't then bring up the right articles.

So another distraction from painting the ceiling and looking for thermostats, furniture etc

twopenny

It went up to 9c today!!

And smidgens of ice blue sky in the clouds.

So while I was to and froing through the garden I saw this. Brightened up my day

Little things

Bit out of focus because my legs wouldn't co operate but your get the gist

YoungBlueEyes

That's a beggar about your peas Farway, will you try again?  Lovely cheery catkins - I can just see them happily dancing in the breeze  

I wonder what your crow is doing Dusty... if that was taken Friday maybe he was serenading his reflection..?  You'll have to call him Narcissus  
I'm not sure I like your ram as much as I like the coo, he's got mean eyes. I'd like it more if lasers came out of them, and zapped small yappy dogs and errant children but that's probably not allowed eh. 

I've not seen Homestead Rescue wm but that name sounds familiar... did he/that family do something like build barns for folks in places like Virginia...? I'm sure I've seen something like that. I'll have to look for your one while I've got the telly to meself.

Your fungus is very Autumnal pp, #Shawshank in action They do say moving is one of the most stressful things you can do, hopefully the bad feeling will soon dissipate  

I like your bunny and primroses 2p, so sweet! I was never a fan of painting either, but then I bought a spray painter thing and god I do love it. Any chance you could get your hands on one of them? I'm sure mine was only a cheapo one from B+Q or somewhere. How's the jalopy btw? 

Where did you get your compost from taff? Is it too early to tell if it's any good? Was it the Erin brand stuff that I'm keeping my eye out for but not finding?

The trio of pics on the last page wort, what's the middle one? I think I have that, possibly, but the long-gone label called it a Christmas Box? (or something). I'm never sure whether to move it or not cos while it isn't dying it isn't doing much either.... 

Cold and damp and miserable out there this morning. 2'c but feels like 0'c, low of -3 this aft. They say. Well it wants to dry out and cheer itself up sharpish for I've me bed stripped and in the washer and it's going on the line regardless.  Off to Posh Friend and mum+dad today, I'm hoping all those wee bulbs I planted have got a shift on :fingerscrossed: