Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Ganga

RAS said:

We've had some lovely days but that's meant taking time out to work on the bees, as when it cools from tomorrow it won't be warm enough to inspect.

We thought we'd lose a couple of colonies with the freezing weather and gales last month but they are all thriving and have extra space. One lot are busting out of the box, so we had to do some urgent reconfiguration to give them even more space.

My cherry tree flowers earlier than most round here; no idea of variety but it's large black and juicy. Buds are just beginning to break

Pears are also coming in flower; Williams is amongst the earliest. This isn't mine but I have permission to use it for pollination, which benefits us both.

My two cherry trees are just starting to flower now, we live in the NE of England , but do not know what the cherries taste like as the birds nearly always eat them before they turn red !!!

quirkydeptless

The bees are a buzzin'

My fruit is a comin'

Farway

Wow, way ahead of mine Quirkyd, roughly where about in the country are you?

I'm Hampshire but my apples are just pink bud and the pear has just one half hearted open

quirkydeptless

Farway said:

Wow, way ahead of mine Quirkyd, roughly where about in the country are you?

I'm Hampshire but my apples are just pink bud and the pear has just one half hearted open

Berkshire

My Plum tree (not photoed) bloomed already and is pretty much done

RAS

Ganga said:

My two cherry trees are just starting to flower now, we live in the NE of England , but do not know what the cherries taste like as the birds nearly always eat them before they turn red !!!

The only way I get fruit is if I net the tree as soon as the fruit set.

The wood pigeons strip the young leaves, and the fruit when they look like green peas. Sometimes, I still want netting for brassica at that point so bought extra just for the job. I also prune just before I net the tree.

I can get away with just draping the net over for a few weeks but have to enclose the top of the tree completely as soon as the fruit colour up, or the blackbirds get in. Even so, they will peck anything in reach.

DD265

April 2020 I brought all the plants home from the office. I returned most of them (and a few empty pots...) in September. I went back to the office for the first time today and the large Jade, which was thriving with us and getting so big I was constantly moaning about it...



The wire thingy I got to try and control the branches a bit when it was with us - you can guess from that how big/full it used to be! They've had new planters installed in the office which I believe have some kind of integral watering, plus I gather they pay somebody to come and look after them, but clearly this has been sorely neglected. It's beyond dehydrated and I'm very sad about it. So I got permission from HR to bring it home (and I did mention that it'd probably be permanent) and I will try to nurse it back to health; I am hopeful because it's still firm at the base and part way up each trunk.

We have a slate delivery for the front garden tomorrow; blue slate, and a crane to fetch it, has been hard to track down but I got a local bloke's last two tonne bags. £200 for both delivered which is a good price, and I might be able to recoup a bit back as we think we need a bag and a half. Looking forward to that part of the garden being tidy at least. The herb planter is looking alright around the front, so I think it might stay there. As for the plants ID'd on my other thread, I think I can see a bit more life in some of them already - fingers crossed!

In the back garden my peach is leafing nicely, and I was very worried after a drastic prune last year, but the nectarine is showing no signs of doing the same. I'm really hoping it's just running a little later, which I believe was the case last year as well, though I can only find a photo from May where it had a reasonable sized fruit for such a young tree.

Farway

More sun today

That jade does look sad DD265, fingers crossed, I know mine thrive on passive neglect and even dried out leaves seem to send out a gasping root hoping to catch a bit of nutrient / moisture drifting by in the air

The radishes sown on Saturday in modules have germinated, all so speedy now it's warmer

Plants continue hardening off, and the lily beetles have returned , squished some yesterday, it's constant vigilance from now on, plus judicious squirts of killer spray

phoebe1989seb

Back to overcast and chilly here today. We were due a delivery of another ten oak sleepers first thing, but they had to postpone till Friday as the driver is off sick.....

Crambe and Brunnera plants are hardening off nicely and the Hesperis seedlings continue to flourish, which is more than can be said about the lavender and salvias. More than twenty lavenders lost over winter 🙁 That's another lesson learned!

I need to start thinking about planting my veg seeds in the walled courtyard raised beds but have been sidetracked by the idea of a green roof on the ugly metal roof in front of the *undercroft* area (where the original lower level of the mill once was). This is visible from the front window of the kitchen and would be so much improved - and better for wildlife/insects - if covered by wild flowers 😃 I've wasted a fair amount of time researching this over the past few days, lol!

Ganga

RAS said:

Ganga said:

My two cherry trees are just starting to flower now, we live in the NE of England , but do not know what the cherries taste like as the birds nearly always eat them before they turn red !!!

The only way I get fruit is if I net the tree as soon as the fruit set.

The wood pigeons strip the young leaves, and the fruit when they look like green peas. Sometimes, I still want netting for brassica at that point so bought extra just for the job. I also prune just before I net the tree.

I can get away with just draping the net over for a few weeks but have to enclose the top of the tree completely as soon as the fruit colour up, or the blackbirds get in. Even so, they will peck anything in reach.

I watched two wood pigeons strip my cherry trees last year ,one sat on the branch to weigh it down so the other one could eat the fruit whilst sitting on the fence !!!
I think this year i will do the same as you and net up the trees ,might not look good but MIGHT get to try the fruit this year 

twopenny

Exasperated but trying not to be. Had the builders for 3 days relaying pavers and making steps. Done a great job and I feel like lady muck stitting out on the fine level clean paving but - my carefully restored grass at the front has been burnt by something they use, the much admired dwarf lavender hedge has been stepped on (accidently) and so on, and so on.

Nice guys, tried hard to be good and most will recover, be done but I feel exhausted trying to keep things on track.

It's been bone dry and hot here for nearly 2 weeks and the spring flowers are suffering plus I'd moved stuff being only the start of April and expecting April weather.

However the steps in a slope will need plants either side to stop people falling over the edges so eventually a good excuse to go looking round plant places