Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

Nice to see a "proper" ladybird PP - we rarely see them here and when we do they are usually Harlequins - in fact there has been one crawling around the (difficult-to-access) kitchen window at warmer times of the day, which I keep forgetting to attempt to release....

Think it was YBE who asked what I grow in my cobbled-together greenhouse - has been (and still is) winter salads (lettuce, spinach, various oriental brassicas); will be replaced by toms and cucs hopefully, with the odd chilli, and maybe an aubergine or two grown more in hope than expectation; plus it's where most of my seedling veg (mostly, plus maybe the odd HH/A) go before being planted out...

Achieved some more very late plantings today - garlic, which should have been done in September... 

twopenny

Taff I think your primroses are Cowslips.

Your allotment looks great. You've worked so hard. Hope the finger gets better soon.

Bluey, weeping trees are cultivars, grafted and such.

You can bend your apple tree branches but they will still send shoots upwards - unless someone knows otherwises.

Less, that's unusual. Though come to think of it I find Harliquins are all seen on one place. they seem to gather. Have only seen ladybirds around here. We used to get swarms of them at one point but only the odd one now.

Was thinking I may start 'No Mow May' in April. Last year I found grasshoppers in my grass when I left it. Amazing because only a couple of lawns near me both shaved.

Loads done in the garden till I literally couldn't stand.

Planted potatoes that had sprouted in the veg bin, tied up Goosegogs to be trained, emptied some compost, turned, Garotta and a load of water. It was very dry and no sign of worms.

Tidied the pot depository, watered pots and some garden, put the Wet&Dry down.

Chicken pellets down and had another go at fountain.

Tidied the jasmines of dead wood and managed to chop a thriving Clematis that ran through them

But that seems to happen every time I prune. The bottom stem looks dead and the flowers and leaves start half way up..............

wort

Dusty thanks for the lungwort ID , when I was tidying the front there was some growing where it shouldn’t. So I lifted it out and thought I’m sure that’s lungwort, but not sure where it came from, so it’s been sat waiting for ID before I put it anywhere, in case it’s summat that goes rife!! 

Dustyevsky

Excellent action shot of Patrick & Jennifer Chaffinch, pp! You'll be back on the front page again at this rate!  
And wow! That's a truly transformed scene, taff. It's a sitooterie too! No wonder you've now joined the real allotmenteers club.

LessImpecunious said:

Nice to see a "proper" ladybird PP - we rarely see them here

Achieved some more very late plantings today - garlic, which should have been done in September... 

Not many ladybirds here either. I rescued one from a water butt a few days ago. It was the first seen this year. Maybe when the fields around have been farmed in a more friendly way for a while......

You've given me hope re the garlic. Mine's sprouting and needs to go in. Better than just leaving it, eh?

wort said:

Dusty thanks for the lungwort ID , when I was tidying the front there was some growing where it shouldn’t. So I lifted it out and thought I’m sure that’s lungwort, but not sure where it came from, so it’s been sat waiting for ID before I put it anywhere, in case it’s summat that goes rife!! 

I wouldn't say it goes rife. We're rather dry for it here, and the position is shaded, so it simply hangs on. A better location down in the dell might work better. I'll move some when Mrs Dusty isn't looking!

twopenny said:

Taff I think your primroses are Cowslips.

Me too!

Farway, your pear blossom looks great. I'll try to visit mine today; after all, the pears themselves are no good!

A rustic dibber, Bluey! And why not?  'Rustic_Dibber" would be a good forum name too, I think. Better than "Rusty_Dibber" for sure!

Back to rogue primroses, and I've no idea where ours came from, or if it's really a mutation. I do know we introduced wild primroses in the stream banks, and of the hundreds now present, just one is a mucky sort of pink. Anyway, here is an arty shot of one in the herb garden, taken while lying down to get a better shot of the Epimediums (it didn't work. )

pink_poppy

Less, hope you remembered to release the Harlequin, even if it is an imposter.

twopenny, shaved lawn made me laugh.
I remember swarms of ladybirds years ago when we had a very hot Summer - never seen anything like it before or since.

I think the chaffinch pic might be too smutty for the front page, Dusty   
Wow to the primroses - I bet that looks stunning IRL.

Today's three letters on Wordiply were SIT, so of course I had to try SITOOTERIES as my first guess and it was accepted   

Another beautiful morning here, although it looks like there was a frost overnight. Gorgeous sunset last night (pic to follow because it's on my phone).

pink_poppy

Last night’s sunset… 😍

Farway

Morning folks, may be a very short visit 'cos my desktop has decided the internet is too much for it and I've had to move over to my old PC while I glare at the "real one"

I can see a big purchase on the horizon, none of my PCs will take Windows 11 so if the internet thing proves beyond my swapping cables round & glaring then I'll probably just buy another second hand one

Before it slips my muddled mind, bendy branches, I just tie them down with string.

They may send out more shoots which want to go upwards, but if you treat those like spurs on espaliers and summer pruning, remove down to 2 or 3 buds and they will. may, turn into fruit spurs the following year.

My pear has

I've got invite to a GC & cafe this morning, so no pictures, cos the drive with pics is with the non internet PC

Catch you all later, maybe after I find a super bargain in the GC?

twopenny

Good luck Farway.

I'm saving for a state of the art one like whot I've got now that I'm expecting to go any minute.

I've just bought a tablet so I can watch telly if I'm confined to the sofa on bad days but hopefully will have to bring a man in to sort out my router which is too old for the new gadgets. I decided it wasn't worth my days to fight with all this stuff then maybe reverse it and start again.

Lovely primrose photo Dusty, have you pinched one of those red ones to go in there

And you seem to be permently on the ground - do you just stay there? Great way to get photos though.

That scene is amazing Poppy. You'll have to have an exhibition.

Congrats Wort on finding a freebee. Lungwort does spread but it's not a thug by any means. Sweet and gentle plant.

Lovely sun today, do wish it would get about 5c in the mornings though. At least no wind.

Got to be practicalities today and probs tomorrow. Just saving water like summer and been out to delicately pour it into pots

My brassica seedlings aren't going anywhere fast. Just sitting there doing not much. The Honeycrunch tomato plants seem to have survived being left out overnight.

Farway

twopenny said:

Good luck Farway.

I'm saving for a state of the art one like whot I've got now that I'm expecting to go any minute.

I've just bought a tablet so I can watch telly if I'm confined to the sofa on bad days but hopefully will have to bring a man in to sort out my router which is too old for the new gadgets. I decided it wasn't worth my days to fight with all this stuff then maybe reverse it and start again.

No luck, still no internet on duff one , cables swapped, head scratched, curses uttered.

Like you I've concluded not worth my time blundering around clueless, or my paying someone to sort my old obsolete hardware.

So a trip up the South American river and updated, refurbed, g'ted model, with Windows 11 on it's way for Wednesday

Not state of the art, but it'll do what I need

GC & cafe was mixed. The first GC was one that had been taken over, bit meet new GC, same as old GC

Onto usual GC, which has changed it's tea supplier, now tastes like tea & not cheap slops like wot it used to.

Loads of plants of course, and reasonable prices,not daft seen you coming ones

Came home with small but will grow trailing geraniums, Reds & White, plus Leacanthum [ox eye daisy]  white. The Latin bit is suffixed by superbum, guess pronounced as Superb Um, not Super Bum

I think I may use Super Bum

Helenium,[sneezeweed]  Golden, and the Erigeron [fleabane]  I've been trying to start from seed.

Plus a pack of Butchers bangers from Farm Shop

LessImpecunious

Harley has been released into the wild ... then, late this afternoon Harlequin ladybird appeared in kitchen... Either a) Harley made a run back inside while back door was open or, b) Harley 2 has emerged from slumber... (and has also been released outside, this time a little further from back door).... will be keeping a close eye open (is that possible?) for further appearances...