Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

So walking was on the cards today [I was amazed because it wasn't last night] so I hotfooted it to the lottie

And look what I found there today! I've been wondering for ages what this clump of stuff was...

Looks like a species gladiolus, or Gladiolus × byzantinus, the eastern gladiolus, as Wiki refers to it. We have some random ones in the hedgerows near here, which surprise me in the years when I spot them, but they don't seem to flower for long.

Happy to hear the Wisley whizz went well, Farway, and indeed, what a lot of work that wisteria tunnel must be! I agree with you, pp's mystery tree is probably a hawthorn. We had the red, double flowered, 'Paul's Scarlet' here, but it was a sickly thing, on our soil at least, so I cut it down.

....And wow! You went a long way for a day trip, 2p! The last time I was in Padstow, it was early season and not steinacious, but I'd 60-odd kids with me.... some very odd! I didn't organise the trip, or I'd have checked who couldn't ride a bike, because our next destination was Wadebridge, via the cycle path. I ended up piloting a tandem with a plump 10-year-old lad on the back, who made zero effort in propulsion and shrieked frequently we were going to fall off. Exhausted at Wadebridge, of which I remember nothing, I pulled rank and age, so some lucky young person had him for the return trip!

It looks like another scorchio day here, as do Friday and Saturday, when we have a plant sale and coffee morning as a garden club fundraiser. Hopefully, lots of plants, currently sitting in pots here, will find their way to new homes.

Frankly, with the grass growing rapidly and the watering being more onerous than usual, I'm stretched, but re-vamping our main border is going OK. The edibles are also coming along; I'll have a strawberry ripe by tea time if the blackbirds don't spot it first, and there are wee tomatoes forming on the Cherry Falls.   Not so good is the cucumber, which rotted after planting-out, and the droopy courgettes that are still finding their feet.

Here's a newish cosmos I've grown from cheapo  T&M offer seed. Yes, it does fade to pink, (not grey!) but it's still zingy and nice enough when freshly opened. 

greenbee

Your garden is clearly a long way ahead of mine Dusty. Lots of flowers on the strawberries, but no fruit yet. Fruit on the 'old' blackcurrant (and white fly) and gooseberry, and on some raspberries. Cosmos are still seedlings (although some are now ready to plant out). 

I suspect I'll have very little in flower (but a lot of 'potential') for the open gardens in three weeks! Still, being insane enough to agree to join in has galvanised me into action and resulted in a lot of stuff getting done that would have been put off otherwise. 

Dustyevsky

greenbee said:

Your garden is clearly a long way ahead of mine Dusty..... I suspect I'll have very little in flower (but a lot of 'potential') for the open gardens in three weeks! Still, being insane enough to agree to join in has galvanised me into action and resulted in a lot of stuff getting done that would have been put off otherwise. 

I should have said, the coffee morning etc is in town, not at home. We're not brave enough to open this garden, though we did share our previous one for some charity events. Maybe, if we ever get it close to 'finished'.....but perhaps we'll never do that, or we'll move on to pastures new, and considerably smaller!

Here's some impressive eupatoriums, crocosmias, geraniums and lythrum in a garden open we visited some years ago. Those eupatoriums are amazing!

Working_Mum

Hello everyone,
I've been reading along and loving all the pics of your travels and gardens. I've got an online course to finish up about safeguarding which I'm procrastinating about so thought I'd catch up here first and then make a cuppa before logging back on!

-taff I love the Medlar blossom - it's quite blousy isn't it!

greenbee you always seem so super busy and industrious! Your garden must be huge but you seem so organised and creative with it. I'd love to be so self sufficient but actually don't think I have temperament for it. I planted some beetroot and carrot seedlings and they're not exactly thriving and I feel such a failure!

I've got some self seeded Christina Aguilera's peeping up in various parts of my garden. I love them so am not too worried about what colour they are. I love your white ones though wort - they are stunners. What are the pink flowers in the background of your pic? (It's up thread I am sorry!). 

I planted weigelas in my garden because I'd seen them in my local Open Garden event and loved them so I am thrilled mine are doing ok in the forest-y bit of my garden. It's the OG event this Sunday and YBE and I are going a rummaging and admiring. 

I agree with you Farway - life IS all about how you look at it! A butterfly conservation are in your garden sounds idyllic and very worthy. My friend gave me several razzer canes last year when she moved into a new house and was overrun with them - I potted them up and they're all growing but I have no idea what type they are or whether they're summer or autumn ones. Will watch and see I suppose! 

Your trip to Whizzley looks wonderful and that wisteria tunnel is quite breath-taking. I've just replaced mine in the hope it'll take and the old one is now in a pot which I'm hoping it will thrive in.

I tried to dig up an oak sapling which had grown near my Mum's Poppy - unfortunately the tap root was too deep and I couldn't get it out. I love silver Birch and it was the first one I grew in a pot - I will take a pic tomorrow and upload it as it is thriving in a dustbin I planted it in a couple of years ago. I am happy to report that all of my trees seem to be growing and happy in their upgraded pots and compost - I mulched them last year and they seem to be happy.

I've collected my trees over the years by either teasing the sapling out of pots or potting on the whole things - I have a self seeded Rowan which I've now dug into my garden which has a peony dangerously close to it but I didn't have the heart to separate them and lose one of them! They happily co-exist now and thankfully my garden loves the wild look!

I am definitely a lover of the flat walks Dusty - you and your friend seem to get into some lovely spaces - my friends laugh at me because I walk hills under duress and become a recalcitrant teen again! It is so picturesque where you  and 2P live. I would have left that family to their solitude on the beach too. The drone pic of that beach Poppy was amazing - it looked like a tropical paradise. Our sea is rarely blue up here - our cliffs are eroding so quickly as they're made of soft soil - our coastline changes almost daily. Although when I swam last week the sea was clear to about half a metre; we'd struck it lucky with calm seas and tide change and no wind to disturb anything.

I love the Little Leo plants Dusty - particularly the bit where they disappear and then appear again! You'll have to keep me posted about your seeds Pas.

I have only four cherries on my new little tree 2P so can't offer any advice on how to ripen yours - I had a vision of mirrors reflecting light a la James Bond villain killer weapon! Your trip to Padstow sounds lovely - I am not a fan of lots of people so actively avoid touristy spots in the high season - no denying what RS has done for the area tourist-wise but there have been unexpected consequences I am sure. Can't be easy starting out in such an area with property prices what they are and second homes etc.

OT I'm working from my Mum's today and it was so dull and overcast when I walked the dog early doors - I was chilled to my bones and had layered up too.



Anyway I had better crack on - I've promised to weed kill Mum's patio after work. It's so hard to see her once glorious garden full of weeds and dead things. She forgets to water them and my sister and I are too busy to give it our full attention so we are treading the path of least resistance - I keep alive what I can (mainly stuff in pots) when I am here and try to keep the area tidy so we are not storing up issues in the future. Her dementia means she can't remember what plant names are any more and she forgets to do basic things but still gets joy out of watering once I start her off.

Wishing everyone a smashing day.

((WM))

Farway

Sunny, a bit of a breeze, but pleasant enough

Made very early start, a bit of watering and topping up the bird bath, shame to hear about your Mum WM, but getting some joy at small things is plus.

My mum also had dementia, I never really knew if she missed not remembering or was glad to have forgotten most, including the rotten bits.

Dusty, tom already on Cherry Falls, well done you, I've only just planted my CFs up. And there was I happy as Larry spotting flowers on Bloody Butcher.

At least my cuc [all two of them] are alive, and the courgettes, [also two] are holding up

Strawberries, still in flower, no fruit yet

Merton Thornless blackberry, smothered in flowers, yay

No flowers yet on the grapes, but heard on radio not until June for them, so hope yet.

Love that cosmos, none for me this year. I was thinking of some up the volunteer place, but with the goings-on have left the seeds in the packet.

Chucks a virtual ball for WM dog to chase, I can see it's all that is required there

If my back permits, I may clear the dead daff leaves to allow me to plant out the dwarf dahlias this weekend. Dusty's mention of Bishop's offspring reminded me to get bum in gear.

Today's pics were taken as I whizzed at Wisley, so many good photo opportunities.

Sneaked a wisteria in here

greenbee

My garden is listed as 'under construction' on the open gardens map   I do need to get a few plants in the ground and seeds sown in the veg plot and maybe some of the planned new beds marked out with sand (I don't think I'll have time to start digging them out by then). 

-taff

pp what a shame about the arum but they are quite tough so they will probably grow back some leaves even if they don't get enough oomph to flower this year. I love the rays too, it doesnt happen very oftern [ here anyway] mostly when I'm driving past Windsor for some reason, but it's lovely to see. For a brief second I thougt your Balamory was Tenby

Farway, if they had known who you were I'm sure they would have doffed cap, after all, you put the Whizz into Whizzley [ok YBE did but who's splitting hairs] That is an amzing wisteria arch, so beautiful, did the scent knock you out? I only smelled them for the first time this year and I am a convert.

2p, that's a fair way to travel but worth it if new things happened or were seen.

Dusty, I might dig some of them up and transplant if I can remember to stake where they are, they're very bold coloured [blinding more like] but I'm finding as I get older I don't really care anymore [ except about yellow] so let's have more colour, not less. I did laugh at your tandem bike ride! Good luck witht e plant sale too. Lovely bright cosmos! Lovely open garden but I am always envious of all that space..although to be honest I'd pobably be tempted to fill it with soething and turn it into a flower maze. 

wm weigelas are on my list along with campsis for the future [somewhere!] and are your OGs really early? Ours doesn't happen until July, which i suppose means more stuff is in flower. Enjoy the day with ybe Lovely turbine pic but the angle of th dog makes him look like he's been drawn by a child with stick legs and a sausage body!   Such a shame about your mum, but glad she's still having fun when she's in the swing.

Right, I'm off, allotment tidying calls....

Paspatur

WM my Little Leo are not seeds they are grown on plug plants

twopenny

Ooh can't keep up. I seem to have missed stuff though I thought I'd read everything!

We're all busy that's for sure 😁 

Apart from trying to tame the trifid sage leg went so not a lot done garden wise.
Seems I had a strawberry ripen overnight and it got eaten 😔
Tomorrow the netting goes on though I can't see any nearly ripe.
Also found a battered chicken thigh on my nice clean path. Wonder what dropped it and didn't come back for it.

So it was feet up this afternoon with the birds whizzing around and the fountain playing (sounds like a toilet cistern filling up but I still like it) and perusing just how crowded the garden is.

I have my own wisteria tunnel to sit under 😊
It is mixed with musk roses and climbing hydrangea. All a bit of a lovely accident 

-taff

Oh dear, pressed wrong page with comment instead of saved draft..So Farway your todays Whizzley photos are beautiful...This is the seond time I've written tis bit so basically wow to your photos and envy for the people who decided on those plants, those views and how they did it. You know every year I see something new and I realise that while my knowledge of things may be increasing, I really don't see a garden the way the people who designed those types of gardens do. They do such a good job...