Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Apodemus

twopenny said:

Had the builders ...
...my carefully restored grass at the front has been burnt by something they use...

Perhaps they were reading the moss removal thread on here! 

Farway

Sun's out again, cool breeze though so I'm holding off planting out for another week but i have located the canes for my runners & I'll put them over the next few days

Update on the apple I'm growing from a pip, as a hobby and not expecting much.Here's the picture

twopenny

Wow it's been a busy day!

I've had an urn type planter that I never know what to do with and things don't seem to grow well in it. Was going to hide it at the back as too heavy to move far - then realised that it would work well beside the top step just put in and stop people falling off it.

Looking for plants I went to the supermarkets and none, the diy store a couple of geraniums, something else I've never heard of and unlabled but I think 6 Kale plants for £1.50. Farm shop another geranium so that's the urn planted.

Had to go to the garage and what I thought was the car falling apart took a couple of sprays of some lubricant as a freebie.

As that's on the way to the major garden centre what else could I do, went and looked for plants for the side of the steps. GeeWizz the prices have gone sky high! The Box Hedging was £8 for 6 teeny ones. £10 for slightly bigger and they didn't look great. Can't afford to import blight. Was told that Aubritia which is in full bloom round here has come and gone. They are now selling Delphiniums in bloom. Crazy. Roses have nearly doubled in price from last year.

Soo busy, people have gone nuts and these places are stacking them high and selling them high and a trolly load can be gone in a day.

So on to a nursery on my way home. Found some Aubritia and bought a perennial cornflower thingy. They have Box Hedging, larger and healthier but about £7 a plant - gulp.  So I'll use my tall ones I was going to make topiary from and lop their heads off and buy a couple of those and some Blue grass stuff. Anyone tried these fancy grasses?

Emptied, lined, planted up the urn, cleared the cement stuff off the grass and step borders and replaced with a mix of John Innes 3 and Tomato growbag stuff, watered and fed all moved plants and pots, put all the stuff back where it was before the builders came, bleached and scrubed some paviers and coping stones cause they look grubby against the smart new stuff.

So another dash round the plant places tomorrow, hope the traffics not more frantic than today.

Phoebe I've got one of those Jade trees, we call it a Money Tree though it's not doing it's job right now.

I've had it for 10yrs with hardly any growth in a small pot and supported by a kitchen fork. On moving I bunged it in a bigger pot and put it out on the side alley, shady, dry, howling gale when gate open and it's thrived. Huge healthy leaves.

Grrrrr Apodemus, one step forward and one step back with the garden. The moss is looking smug and sneaking out of the dead patches.

twopenny

Oh and I had to dig a trench under the garden gate so my hedgehog could get in and out.

The paving had been laid so beautifully that the gate now only has and inch instead of 6 under it so I've raked out the gravel at the side and under.

Hope he/she is a slim little Furze -pig.

Apodemus

2p, Thanks for the mental image of the world's only limbo-dancing hedgehog!

I've just given my moss a second treatment with sulphate of iron and it seems to be doing the trick.  I had an old box of it that I had bought to treat chlorosis on one of my rhododendrons, so it is needing used up.  No finesse involved, just a chunk of the chemical in a watering can and applied randomly with a rose.   Just like you, though, a random dead patch has appeared at the edge of the lawn which has all the hallmarks of an animal having marked its territory at that spot.  Most likely a cat, as the badger seems to use dung for this purpose and I don't think I have had any dogs or foxes visit.  

Farway

Plants out & still hardening off but still cool even though today is supposed to be the warmest day yet.

watered them all, I think the wind's drying them out, can't be heat

My first harvest of the year yesterday, scoffed a radish, unwashed & right out of the pot a quick wipe over & scoffed. Lovely of course

T & M have free postage this weekend, thought I may buy more radish & beetroot seeds, but needless to say a lot are out of stock so knocked that idea on the head, if I get brave enough I may venture into Lidl, or more likely do without

Only planned gardening today is bring in the garden waste wheelie bin now it's been emptied

quirkydeptless

Found a nice spot for my MSE blagged £9.99 (postage included) Azalea Romantic Lime Green from Thompson & Morgan

I've no idea what's romantic about lime green

RAS

For some reason I struggle to email myself photos taken on my phone. They turn up a few days later.

I was at one of the orchards where I volunteer this week and as ever it's a fortnight ahead, despite being a good bit higher up.

Anyway, this is one of the step-overs. Several of the cordons higher up were also in bloom. Nothing like that at home.

twopenny

Apodemus, are you sure that bald spot on the lawn isn't you treating the moss in my recommended way?

Farway everything I've got hanging around the growing on shelves is drying out between the sun and the wind. I'm having to water more than in high summer!

Quirky that's pretty. Something unusual. Needs something behind that will show off it's bright colour. I'm useless at that. I know what  should be done but not what.

Day off today. The ehausing week has hit me.

Farway

RAS said:

For some reason I struggle to email myself photos taken on my phone. They turn up a few days later.

I was at one of the orchards where I volunteer this week and as ever it's a fortnight ahead, despite being a good bit higher up.

Anyway, this is one of the step-overs. Several of the cordons higher up were also in bloom. Nothing like that at home.

I've always fancied trying step overs since I saw them at RHS Wisley, still on my "To Do" list