Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

Dustyevsky said

From the sublime, to the slightly ridiculous realisation that Less's mystery plant was something I battled with long and hard only about 3 - 4 years ago!   We decided it had to make way for something with a longer flowering period. Well done, Paspatur! I can confirm it doesn't give up the ghost easily!   It was about 2 years before shoots stopped appearing.   Mind you, ours was bog-standardii, probably from seed and the usual yellow, not pink with a blotch. Yours is probably a seedling from rockii, Less, thus covering the supplier's fundamentals to some extent. Like finance, gardening can sometimes be a murky world!

  Your explanation sounds plausible - I just assumed it was T&M messing up, as they seem to do sometimes...

Although certain people regard me as a “conspiracy theorist,” I never discount the human ability to make complete spherical objects of even the most mundane tasks. In this case, it could be stock identification and control.

However, I'd say that if rockii is selling at well over £50, and a 'random' nursery is offering the same for, say, £18, it's unlikely it's the real deal. 

OTOH, the differences between seed raised specimens and the 'proper' plant might well be acceptable, just like the Chinese copy wing mirror I'm using is, because the Ford equivalent turned out to be £2.5X the price!

At least you have the blotch, and pink selections of rockii are also available, so it's unlikely we'll ever get to the bottom of this....and I don't want to slander T&M.

OT Update: We had fog here, which was predicted, and it's burned off now to give us another lovely day. Sadly, things don't look much better for pp.

Farway

Dustyevsky said:

 We had fog here, which was predicted, and it's burned off now to give us another lovely day. Sadly, things don't look much better for pp.

I've still got fog, but it's starting to glow a bit brighter as the sun gets to work.

Dahlia seedlings moved into the light window, most seem to have germinated, certainly enough for me to get on with

Nice amaryllis P P, my 2024 one is similar, but a bit behind yours, two stalks with four flower heads on top, if T & M had not wrongly labelled it I'm sure it would be a showstopper

Supposed to be white with red stripes, but it's bog-standard red, a bit like PPs

twopenny said:

Strawberries delivered, This Way Up seems to be an interesting concept. the plants were screwed up in a ball together and shoved in a plastic bag so really it didn't matter.

They seem to have good roots, there's a lot of the roots and damp. I think a pot and some TLC is in order.

Good result Dusty Wish my contact lens would work it's way out. It's doing some damage there so I'm one eyed and one legged and half a tooth at the mo. Very charming.

T & M are very mixed on packing, I've had all types, neat & tidy to bunged in a poly bag. But mostly their stuff grows, wrong labels and varieties but hey ho, where would the fun be if fings growed like wot they shood

I have a vision of Quasimodo lumbering around the Moors, lurching from Trig point to Trig point

Nice bridge Dusty, now I'm racking my brain trying hard to think of any decent ones around here that could be worth a photo

If sun comes out, I hope to sprinkle the erywhatsits & lobelia in step cracks, too cold yesterday for my old bones to do it.

Plus, get my peas in some soil now they've sporouted

Hope to fit it in, I've got Window & Door man coming this afternoon, conservatory door, hinges have dropped, windows, two handle don't work. Needs sorting before any summer arrives, so I can open windows & get into garden.

Sun has broken through, Yay, here's what it was like about seven this morning

Only pigeons in the tree, nothing exotic

pink_poppy

I always said I didn't want a red amaryllis, Farway, but I love the colour of this one and can't wait for the flowers to open properly. I've always had pink ones in the past, but then been disappointed by the insipidness of them    My two (pink!!) garage rescues - the flower bud on one plant has shrivelled up and died (it never looked particularly healthy), the other plant is still looking promising with a flower bud and what looks like a stem forming.

I didn't know you had to move the peas to soil, I just assumed they stayed on damp kitchen roll or whatever. Every day is a school day    

Aye, another dreich day here, Dusty. Enjoy your lovely sunshine and think of me shivering in the cold and wet    

twopenny

I too thought when you're doing pea shoots they were on damp paper or some such but could be thin soil in trays, really packed in.

But my knowledge comes from watching 'New homes in the sun' or whatever its called. There was someone selling micro greens and such for restaurants.

Farway that's a lovely atmospheric photo. There was some strange grey flat cloud cam over while I was in the sun. Perhaps it was Dustys leaving.

Dusty there's another trig point or two up on the hill there that would make a longer walk, not much up and down and the views are fabulous. You can find them on the map.

Poppy, shame about the weather. But didn't you have sunshine while we were going green from the rain?

Lovely colour red there on the Amarylis. It is their colours that brighten up the worlds windows.

Got seeds for winter greens planted yesterday. Got the strawberries in the soil, I don't have the time or energy at the mo to fiddle. They are all planted a bit close for my liking but I'm limited on space.

Domestic stuff otherwise.

Oh I did find that 2 of the Cosmos have fine roots and the stem, while brown is solid enough. We;ll see what happens.

Raked the veg bed and got rid of what I thought was weeds - think it was Love in the Mist   But there are more.

Birds out in the garden despite me being there and feeding like mad. Food before danger is often when they have young but it's too early.

LessImpecunious

Dustyevsky said:

...In this case, it could be stock identification and control.

However, I'd say that if rockii is selling at well over £50, and a 'random' nursery is offering the same for, say, £18, it's unlikely it's the real deal. 

OTOH, the differences between seed raised specimens and the 'proper' plant might well be acceptable, just like the Chinese copy wing mirror I'm using is, because the Ford equivalent turned out to be £2.5X the price!

At least you have the blotch, and pink selections of rockii are also available, so it's unlikely we'll ever get to the bottom of this....and I don't want to slander T&M.

Blimey! no idea I had such a pricey plant! (or not) My gardening is on a very minimal budget, and anything other than veg seeds and the necessaries for growing/maintenance I would regard as a luxury... and my £4.99 special offer would have been 10-15 years ago (will have to research my notes!) and was bought as a special treat, and I had no idea of the going rate (maybe I would have been suspicious if I had...)

OT, continuing dry and sunny, often warm, though a chill breeze at times...

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

Dustyevsky said:

...In this case, it could be stock identification and control.

However, I'd say that if rockii is selling at well over £50, and a 'random' nursery is offering the same for, say, £18, it's unlikely it's the real deal. 

OTOH, the differences between seed raised specimens and the 'proper' plant might well be acceptable, just like the Chinese copy wing mirror I'm using is, because the Ford equivalent turned out to be £2.5X the price!

At least you have the blotch, and pink selections of rockii are also available, so it's unlikely we'll ever get to the bottom of this....and I don't want to slander T&M.

Blimey! no idea I had such a pricey plant! (or not)

 Some varieties can be in the region of £75-85 these days. However, if an individual snowdrop can fetch £30, perhaps that isn't so remarkable.

twopenny said:

Farway that's a lovely atmospheric photo. There was some strange grey flat cloud cam over while I was in the sun. Perhaps it was Dustys leaving.

Dusty there's another trig point or two up on the hill there that would make a longer walk, not much up and down and the views are fabulous. You can find them on the map.

No cloud here, honest! Farway has my pigeons though!  A haze remained, but it didn't dim the sunshine. Apart from an hour cutting the other half of our friends' acre of grass, Mrs D and I were weeding and planting until 18.00.

I've noted the trig point and the other spot with a great view. Thank you. They look like candidates for an easy walk after the clocks go forward, especially if my knees are still playing-up.

Dustyevsky

Quiet in here this morning! Has everyone been called-up for active service or something?

In these parts, a misty start has given way to....a mistyish day, with vague hints of sunshine. It was much warmer overnight, so no frost, and none in the foreseeable either. It looks like we shall see much more cloud, but very little of the wet stuff, which suits me.

I can't remember being so far forward with mowing. The place looks exceptionally tidy, now Mrs Duty has a battery powered strimmer to tweak the scruffy parts I can't reach with the ride on. Long may it last.

I'll try to get some more floral pictures in the next day or two. At present all I have are photos of birds, and most of those are duds. Here's a couple featuring a greenfinch, though we were visited by two. Years ago they'd come in flocks, but a disease reduced their numbers considerably. It's good to see something of a comeback.

pink_poppy

You've reminded me that I had washing hanging outside the other day, twopenny, how soon I forget    

No slugs this morning, but we did have an eagle flying past the house I could see it coming, so jumped up to take a photo. Unfortunately I zoomed in and then couldn't find it in the sky   I had to zoom back out, then find it and zoom back in again, by which time it had almost flown past. This is the 'best' photo I could manage - it actually reminds me of a dragon...


It's flying to the left, although it's hard to tell from the rubbish photo   

We're supposed to have a better day today - sunny intervals - it's grey clouds at the moment though.

Just refreshed and saw your post, Dusty. Fab photos of the birds. You reminded me that I saw five bullfinches in one of the nearby crab apple trees first thing - I didn't have my phone on me so no pics.
No chance of cutting the grass here at the moment, it's sodden. I'm debating whether to buy a decent petrol mower or get someone in to cut it on a regular basis. It's horrible grass, lumpy and bumpy and a lot of it is spongy, so difficult to do a good job of it - DH hates doing it. I got quite a lot of thatch out of it last year (that was some workout!!) but it didn't make much difference.

Farway

Sunny start, no fog, looking to be a pleasant day

Dustyevsky said:

Quiet in here this morning! Has everyone been called-up for active service or something?

I had a Morries patrol to do first thing, avoiding any crowds & with loads of car spaces.

The main reason for sortie was bread and eggs. But the garden bit sucked me in as I went by, it's gearing up now, some bedding Pansies, oo er Missus , potted fruit trees, £20 if anyone is tempted, they looked fine BTW, climbers and lots of empty dahlia tuber boxes.

An Aubretia stuck to my trolley, which will go near my front steps and hopefully spread about a bit, be covered in flowers & bees to sting Postie wearing shorts.

I nearly required resuscitating while in Morries, inquired about replacing car key battery at Timpsons key place in Morries.

Nearly twenty quid !!!! I said thanks but no thanks. Eeeh, when I was a lad you could, literally, buy a car for that. And it was a professional footballer's weekly wage.

In later life, at least a car battery

Looks like YouTube polytechnic for me this afternoon

I did get the Ero whatsit & lobelia sown, sown is an exaggeration, the seeds are like pepper dust, so more sprinkle & pray.

Also planted a hairy poppy and a coneflower, rescued last year from Morries Fjord departure lounge

Good bird pics Dusty, beats my misty pigeons. As does the Eagle!

twopenny said:

I too thought when you're doing pea shoots they were on damp paper or some such but could be thin soil in trays, really packed in.

But my knowledge comes from watching 'New homes in the sun' or whatever its called. There was someone selling micro greens and such for restaurants.

Farway that's a lovely atmospheric photo. There was some strange grey flat cloud cam over while I was in the sun. Perhaps it was Dustys leaving.

At the moment they are on damp kitchen roll, but will go into seed tray with thin layer of compost, just to anchor & feed them a bit really

Photo was a grab it quick while there, missed the squadron of Eagles flying across though

And now it's T & M time!

Mix & Match Peonies, Perennials, Bulbs & More – from £1 a pack

Offer ends midnight, 7th March 2025 or while stocks last. Normal delivery charges apply. Use order code TM_TN5746W.

http://reporting.thompson-morgan.com/cgi-bin/rr/nobook:1448616,nosent:3010866,nosrep:90245,nored:wxZfh7rj_21K2amFqkiQgOgs_hFpCdWEbLT6rbzcFFvJolFm0JRsMefYSOaN-5kRK3Q20HR4JhejrurJC3OWGuMm-neJdy8ATtX-AktAYQEde8fbJMAtki5OVA1x_kKL/https://www.thompson-morgan.com/newsletter-special-offers-thursday5?source=newsletter-mix-060325&acq_source=

I've already spotted some Non Stop begonias vine weevil food. And peonies are tempting.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

twopenny said:

And my first stop was - A Trig Point! Didn't even know it was there. So one for Luna.

With it's top still. There's a number to ring if you see it's been damaged.

Funny how once you talk about something you suddenly notice it, makes you wonder what you are missing that your brain has filed away in the archives.  

Lovely spot twopenny, are those rocks intentionally arranged to look like a cat perched gazing over the scenery? 

Despite the impending rain this evening, this morning has been a stunning day, lovely and warm, brilliant sunshine, considering it was thick mist on Tuesday, it's some contrast.

Made it to another Trig point this morning



With some stunning views at roughly 2200 feet above sea level.