Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Lovely photo of the cool blue Muscari, Dusty. I’d like some of them when I’m ready for planting stuff.
I’m assuming you’ve been looking at new planning applications with regards to the field, just in case.

Enjoy your day out and your plum ‘whatever it turns out to be’, twopenny  

Another pic - I like the soft yellow of these daffs…

Farway

Good luck with your plum whatever it is 2P, it'll be a reminder of summer at least

Love those two tone muscari Dusty, you may find it hard to believe, but I'm having trouble growing the bog-standard ones, despite everyone being knee-deep in them.

Are they related to Love IAM by any chance?

pink_poppy said:

It does sound like your road is going to be looking lovely with the new trees, Farway, I hope your neighbours are appreciative of your efforts (if they even know it was you that instigated getting them).

a trio of wee birds pinching buds off a crab apple tree -

No, I keep quiet, but if they cheer someone's day, as well as mine, than it's Job Done

I wonder if I'll get birds pinching the crab buds from the new tree in coming years, that would be a good result

The sun kept out, and I managed to get the rhubarb planted up, into very large pots. Used pots for a couple of reasons, not much suitable space in the ground, and pots bring them up a bit to save me from tipping into the flowers as I pull rhubarb.

My back said stop then, so the front is left for another day

Dustyevsky said:

I had to look up Carlin peas too. Somewhat disappointed to find no connection whatever with George Carlin, but as an occasional chickpea fancier, I think I'll try them.... just not this year. Too much going on.

I planted some saved Norli peas about a week ago to use as 'shoots'. I'd no idea what I was doing, but apart from being a bit mean with the numbers, I doubt it'll matter. They're only 2 years old. No signs of life yet, but my first courgettes are up. I want to try one in the poly for an early crop. I often do that, and it never works, but hope springs eternal & all that!

I've noted the Carlin peas, so I may be joining you next year

I have courgettes, but my first sowing, this afternoon is cucumbers, supposed to be small outdoor type. I've not grown decent cucs for years so it will not be a surprise if they have Norwegian DNA in them.

And now, Ta ra, Pea shoots R US!

Need a bit more growing before harvesting. Maybe Easter?

I don't think I'll be putting Waitrose out of business

-taff

You'll be knee deep in shoots before long Farway..Yes, I'm saving for seed so if they live and grow, I'll probably have spare for next year if anyone wants them. Remind me.

PP, what about growing in pots in the greenhouse? That was you can still use the area for something. Mine's on concrete so I use pots, it does mean new compost every year but I could mitigate that by mixing some of my own...

I di have a chuckle at Nana..there's no many who'd know what you meant now..I had glasses just like that in school. Hated them. That is a lovely yellow. As long as it's not acid, I'm starting to like it.. Love thebird pic, really nice to see spring doing it's thing.

2p, I'll leave the scarers, I don't mind the foxes really [ unless they dig up something I really like that is] Shame about the jam..

Dusty, love the muscari. I've got bog standard purple and it's not flowering yet. Maybe he's mixing weedkiller in it?

Spent the last coupe of days burning a couple fo chopping boards with stuff for birthdays. It is definitely warmer today than yesterday [ as I have to sit in the shade] because my hands are not cold. Potting on a monstera and a banana today, but also picking up an umbrella and stand for the allotment tonight [ there's no shade where the shed is, and my seat, are....]

pink_poppy

It would certainly cheer my day to see the trees, Farway - fingers crossed for bud nibbling birds (there’s always plenty of blossom on the trees here so they don’t eat them all).
Yay to the pea shoots - happy munching when they’re ready to eat.
My back is complaining too - digging up the lawn is hard work.

taff, the problem with the greenhouse is there are tree roots right where I want to put it. The roots are above ground - I am tempted to try chopping them back a bit, but I don’t want to kill the trees (both Rowans).
Showing my age with Nana 😂

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Started off beautifully sunny and still only 5c but now blanket white cloud and 5c.

Don't know where the sun and double figures comes into it. I can't wait for a morning that gets a decent temperature.

It was OK this side of the Moor. Not exactly tropical, but double figures...just!  Rather dull, unfortunately, and not at all like pp's sky.
Those are very tasteful daffs, pp. Subtle. I'm pleased to report at least 10 of my tete a tetes survived by the stream. They just popped out of nowhere. I dont know what to do with your garden. Not seeing the bit shown in context makes it tricky. Apart from the stream area, I'm not allowed to 'design' anyway!   Unless you're going to have a slab/concrete base, I'd not put a greenhouse over roots; they'll invade your beds!
As regards new old neighbour and planning, it would be out of character for him to do anything 'official,' and he also has a considerable desire to be private, for reasons I won't elaborate on here. There's zero chance of any building on the land, so I think it's a case of preserving privacy and a view, plus adding value to an otherwise badly located property.

-taff said:

 Maybe he's mixing weedkiller in it?

Good shout, but that mystery's already solved. He's using it as a wheelbarrow, popping prunings from the hedge in, and rolling it along! It's actually a clever idea.
Too tired to write more. It nearly rained this afternoon, but 7 dumpy bags of hedge burned beautifully. Still lots to do, but the field hedging and fallen willow detritus is sorted. Yay!

Erk! Something went wrong with my quoting. Sorry!

pink_poppy

I found a wee tattie in the garden this afternoon, missed from last year’s home grown tatties when I tipped them out of their bags (I still remember the excitement 😃) it’s the size of a grape so no wonder I missed it 😂
I’m on my phone, so all pics have to be added at the end…

I’m losing heart with the garden - I’m adding a pic of the stones I’ve dug out over the last few days - the big hunks of concrete are what I’ve dug out today and there’s more to come ☹️

On a positive note, one of my snake’s head plants is just colouring up. The soil is bone dry after no rain (for over a week??) but I didn’t want to water it because we’ve got frost forecast overnight.

On another positive note, we had the most beautiful red sunset tonight ❤️

twopenny

Those lumps of concrete put mine to shame though I did find a huge lump of twisted metal.

I posted a photo of the pile of big stones I dug up when planting something so you are not alone Poppy.

At least yours are nice stones. Beach stones. Would look good to the side of a small pond.

Dusty lucky you getting sun and double figures. It's stayed dull and cold here. Everyone is looking depressed.

Farway, plant the trees and the birds will come. I was looking at Malus at the garden centre. Tempting. I went in for paint.

The garden looked better for less stuff looking back at photos but I like to look through a window at trees. Saw my first bird in my Prunus outside my bedroom so have hopes.

Nothing done outside. Muscles gave into the cold. It can wait.

But on the up side my Apricot survived the winter and I have the first blossom and buds so fingers crossed. Every day is plus for this.

pink_poppy

twopenny, this garden is the garden that keeps on giving - big lumps of concrete, that is. We've already taken a few to the tip over the last couple of years and we just keep finding more. I do wonder if the previous owners hid them deliberately, but where they came from in the first place is a mystery. I know slabs have been taken up in the garden (and discarded in various places), so maybe the concrete was from underneath, who knows... It's only an average size garden on a small estate btw, but the amount of carp we've found is soul destroying.

There are thousands of the beach stones here - paths made out of them with no weed suppressant or landscaping material underneath so weeds and grass growing through them, plus no border to contain them, so they move around as you walk on them, they're uncomfortable and also really slippery when it's wet. I hate them, as you can probably tell   The pond idea is a nice one, but tbh I never want to see another stone, beach or otherwise, ever again    

Phew, got that off my chest anyway    

Lovely that you've got blossom coming on your Apricot - that's my favourite flavour yogurt (Aldi thick & creamy).

OT (did I hear someone say thank god??) we're forecast another sunny day, but a frosty start again. I've just looked outside and the moon looks good, still quite starry out there too.

pink_poppy

Last night’s sunset…

Dustyevsky

There are worse things than stones and concrete, pp, but I'll not go into our experiences, either here, or in the distant past, with 'industrial archaeology.' Suffice to say, if I'd known then what I know now, a digger would have been purchased around 1987!

Diggers and dumpers are at one level, but simple stony ground is more difficult on a day-to-day basis. Mrs Dusty and I have several stone piles, which I'll picture shortly. They can be useful, though. We're about to build a shed base using one of them. All of another is already under the main path, and with luck, the last one will go under another path next year. Could you find a 'home' for your rocks under something?

A beautifully warm wind wafted past me this morning when I stepped out at 07.00. It really did feel like spring. The birds were singing extra-loud as well, so they noticed. Will it last? Not quite, but there's nothing dire in our forecast. I believe some killjoys are speaking of a 'wall of snow' at the end of the month, but that's not supposed to be falling south of Manchester, if it comes at all. We could really do with some rain here, as the ground is cracking. That could be on the cards tomorrow, but it won't be as much as we need. The stream's dry!

Magical sunset, pp. Ours was pants, but we had a very starry night, like you.

Today's photo is an appreciation of the mundane:

Yes, they're celandines. Though we have them as 'weeds,' if they were hard to grow, we'd marvel at the marblingof the leaves and the glossy petals!