Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

Wow to the butterfly, only white ones seen here so far... and to the posh Aquilegia - photos of mine yet to be taken, but nothing like that! Just a quick thought on the cat wee trees - there are two species of hawthorn in the UK...

YoungBlueEyes

Woke laptop ( ) is still offended so only a quick one from me  

Speaking of cat wee trees (pic taken from bathroom window) - 

The bluddy thing’s nearly in full burst couch mode now… Won’t be long til it’s over 👏🏻

I got some good pics of stuff on my way to work yesterday (forgive the size of them 🙄) 

Dunno what this is but I’m not sure I’ve seen one before so … 

I'll do 2 posts or it'll be unwieldy.

YoungBlueEyes

Plants that I’d happily have include - 

    

The bright green bush thing was brighter than that in real life, even on a dull day it was striking.  I can't remember where the burgundy-leaved + red-stemmed thing lives, that really is a belter.

OT sun's trying to come out, it's given a high of 17'c today from the current 6'. The wind's died right off too so I'm happy enough  

Dustyevsky

Cor, you don't half have an interesting walk to work, Bluey! The looking a bit worse for wear blue berry thing is a Mahonia, and you have two types of Weigela: a variegated one with pink flowers and a greeny-burgundy leaved one with cerise flowers. (others are welcome to have different colour perception. ) The bright green, (or yellow!) bush is a Euphorbia. That clematis picture is simply stunning too! What a lot of gardeners with good taste in your town!

“Here's my regular turbine pic Dusty...”  

Thanks, WM, another beauty. You had me humming 'Fields of Gold' and wiping a tear, even though your barley was still green. :'( Our hay is still full of dandelion clocks, which made 'hunt the thistles' not much fun yesterday because fallen dandelion seed and emerging thistle heads are the same colour. I spray them and never allow any seeding, but after 16 years of doing that, they still appear, albeit in much reduced numbers. I have a nasty feeling some won't emerge until we get rain, which isn't any time soon on the forecast. It'll be drought and stand pipes next. Seriously, I'm filling all available barrels now.

LessImpecunious said:

Wow to the butterfly, only white ones seen here so far... and to the posh Aquilegia - photos of mine yet to be taken, but nothing like that! Just a quick thought on the cat wee trees - there are two species of hawthorn in the UK...

That's interesting about the hawthorn. We've definitely got the nice-smelling one in the garden, planted just beyond the two septic tank vents!   I, too, was surprised to see Farway's Speckled Wood. They're very common here.....but not yet. Just Peacocks and whites so far. Last year was poor for butterflies, so we'll probably get a knock-on effect this year too.

Well, the fields are clear of tree debris, and looking OK now, but without rain the hay crop will be sparse. I'm tempted to go walking today, especially in places where the guides say, “muddy in places.” It should be less so now.

I took this  photo last night, but also a longer shot where I didn't notice my shadow was visible. The shadow photo reminded me of something!

Have a good day, folks!

greenbee

Dusty - I'm currently filling water butts too. I really do need to get on and at least get the IBCs watertight at the bottom so I can fill them from the hose before any hosepipe ban, even if sorting out the filling from the gutters takes longer. And I clearly need to source some more water storage for the back of the summerhouse (even though it currently has no gutters, I need to work out what I can put there!)

Love the pictures YBE - I'm not a fan of mahonia or euphorbia, but I have weigelas very similar to those, and would like the wisteria please! I'd also quite like to know what the clematis - I'm assuming montana rubens of some kind given the time of year and size/shape/colour of the flower, but it's a glorious deep colour. I want to grow one through the gate that is left permanently open, and that would do very nicely!

wort

Dusty and YBE beat me to the pics, for some reason my aquilegia have been in flower for a while now apart from the Dusty one which is looking white🤞🏻 thank you. I have both of the weigela varieties YBE photographed mine do best when I’m on holiday 😂what a stunning wisteria . Thanks Farway for the butterflies 🆔 as I have a couple in the garden over the last week but would never have managed a photo.

More dry sunny/ chilly days seriously can’t recall any rain in the last couple of months ! Since Xmas really only very small bits no downpours. So will need to keep an eye on the pots.

-taff

2p, i know what you mean about percolating ideas. i have some big logs [ down Dusty...] from when the tree was cut down and was umming and aaahing about what to do with them, then when I went to the grower thing  saw the lectern made of three pieces which prompted a why don't i dig a hole, put a log in it and then a flat piece on top for a table or a plant stand. Solves a problem of all year round height etc...Congratulations on your compost delivery too...love a good and useful freebie. And what a lovely virulent bathtime the birds must have had I've got one of those metal ones you can use to kneel and push yourself up or sit on. It's a solid make but it is dependent on there being some firm ground under it. 

Dusty, that's a lovely bunch of honesty. so pretty. Fawlty Towers ranks with Father Ted as some of the best comedy it's possible to see in two series...well done for sorting walking friends garden too although next time I'll say act your age and take more breaks Love the poppies. And the stitchwort is very pretty. Shame about your farming partner...How about goats? I don't think I've seen my measly twp plants flower so I didn't know why they were called Lords and Ladies.....Your rolling hills are very 18th century paintings! Well done for finding amenable shed men too.

Pas, good idea re the being tough. I'm not sure I would ever try and coddle anything again after my abutilon died and I saw one growing massive in an Italan garden, a size which mine would never have achieved. It's dead after the last winter so there's that...

Also interesting that some hawthron is cat wee and some not...

PP, thanks for the pigeon bum and the thrush bashing the poo out of the snail. Like the winking cat too! That skeleton leaf is beautiful If you fed her a pie she'll bring her babby [ thanks ybe] back for more later on in the year I expect...But she does look a bit shocked to be photographed, probably not her best side and yes, beautiful clouds...

ybe, how fab, a hedgehog! haven;t seen one of those for a long time. we used to have two then they disappeared. I think maybe a shot fo your steps would be nice too. Beware the investigative powers of this motley group...We can out Mentalist Sherlock...and a sprockollie? You win the Internet for that one! And I think she should discreetly advertise her hole as a body dump...And agree about the idiocy of putting a kitchen on the mortgage. Maybe she should work out how much extra in interest that's going to cost her before she congratulates herself.. Your cissie stories are so funny! Also the HRT looking for the best fine dining areas. Your wisteria is gorgeous and after actually smelling some I'm now a convert...it's a mahonia..[I knew a tree! I knew a tree!]

Farway, woop, plums! I did chortle as you GC description.And fingers crossed for actual pears this year. And look at you giving genese to accomplished dgds! ...and imagine JF being good for pelargoniums! [scribbles note in book] but jf tasting carrots is not funny. And ooo, trouble at mill volunteer place gossip! I'm not confident your cherries will be eaten by you though.

wm, I feel your pain with your 24hr post! Sometimes I start one and forget and then go back and it's hours later and what I have to say is now irrelevant not you though! and how lovely for you to have compost fairies too! maybe some geums for your shady bit on the edges?

From my end it's a firm no to Levingtons. I only remembered this week looking at the state of my tiny tomatoes that it cakes on top and stops them after they've just started. Must remember and not buy it next year.

Also...Whizzley! let me know how the wagon goes if you get one farway, looking to visit this year and I will need one too.

I am drowning in seedlings wanting to be potted on, enough plants to run a stall with nowhere t put them yet and an inability to stop actually buying or swapping them...I have left the allotment alone, there's a meeting on Thursday and I have to pay for it soon so I'll see what they say at the parish council about it, if anything.....I'm sure I heard the bloke next doors trap go off when I was there the day before yesterday. Currently fence painting and biutmen painting out the back and attmepting to clear back area and remake greenhouse. All at the same time...Apologies for length and size of post, caught up on ten pages!

And this is what a medlar blossom looks like...

wort

A few of the different aquilegia 

wort

trying to get the bee bum

wort

bee on the Wegeilia 😂