Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

A couple of pics.  A nice collection of stuff all coming good now (queer angle to get it all in) 

I need George from BG to come round and give it a good lop!

Aldo a Bee Bum  

Oh and a cloud that put me in mind of the Spirit of Ecstasy. UFO free though, sadly

That’ll do. Gotta go to work. Again. 

twopenny

That bee bum made me chuckle Bluey 😁
That's a good one.

Last of the roses. This is a poor picture of Felicitie Perpetua.
I couldn't get nearer because the blackbirds were feeding and cross with me for going out. I sometimes wonder who's garden it is 😵‍💫

greenbee

You know perfectly well whose garden it is 2P You made a lovely little haven for the birds.

I'm very envious of your roses - I miss mine, and I need to remember to leave space to put some in when bare root season comes round again rather than filling everything up now. 

twopenny

Very wise Greenbee.
I'm struggling with an over full garden because it happened gradually during covid and with all the apparent space I grossly underestimated how big everything could get.
On the other hand more plants, less weeding 🙂. Also I think that's what the birds like, lots of cover with bugs.

Remember roses grow up for all the fence space...... and I have tiny ones that are also fragrant. If only I could remember the name 🤔

pink_poppy

You're making me want a garden full of roses now, twopenny

Love the Spirit of Ecstasy cloud (and beautiful blue sky), YBE
My laptop is telling me I've spelt Ecstasy wrong and the more I look at it, the more it's making me doubt myself    EDIT - sorted!!    

Your garden is looking good - my lovely neighbour also has lupins out at the moment and it makes me want some. My Mum always wanted a yellow/lemon one, so that's the colour I would go for.

I'm feeling lightheaded today, so just as well I didn't go shopping. I think a quiet day sitting in the garden is called for, although having said that I always see something that needs doing...

A lovely sunny start to the day. We actually had a wee bit of unexpected rain last night - I'd opened the back door and could smell it before I saw it. It didn't last and won't have made any difference to the dust soil.

Farway

Lots of reading here, always wide-ranging, which is part of the attraction of this forum.

Bird rescues & roses, a nice way to start the day

Sunny day ahead, but like Dusty, tomorrow is rain, maybe. I wouldn't mind a nice wet soak the garden afternoon though.

I was out early this morning watering the pots I'd sown seeds in, hate them to dry up.

YBE vinegar differences? It's the food base thing.

Wine V starts from grapes [hence wine], Cider V from apples, Malt V, grains, beer, Non brewed condiment in chippies, from a chemical plant / refinery on some vast industrial estate

If you ever make your own wine / beer you'll know the lengths required to keep vinegar flies out of the brew

If you CBA it's possible to make your own vinegar, loads of methods online

twopenny said:

Blush Noisette, evergreen, controlable and blooms highly scented and go on from Spring to late autumn, evergreen, disease free

Oh for something different there's Blue Moon which is lavender colour. Don't know if it's fragarant but is unusual.

I remember Blush N from you mentioning it previously, I'm still tempted

I grew Blue Moon, with as much success as Arthur Bell, can't remember scent, but my plant was a sickly thing, probably 2/6d from Woollies

PP, rhubarb, have you tried giving it a darn good pile of horse muck in winter?

I had one once and horse muck turn it into a tree trunk bearing crumble triffid

I've also had skinny ones that never improved, I think it comes down to variety and as you say, you don't know. It could e one from seed even.

Unless you know someone with a good 'un to beg a root from, I'd get a named one.

Sometimes pot grown clearance on offer are available, forget who on here, but they bought some in just such circumstances

Sounds like a good Birthday party Dusty, and the kid must have been bursting to blurt out a secret, bless 'em.

pink_poppy said:

You're making me want a garden full of roses now, twopenny

Your garden is looking good - my lovely neighbour also has lupins out at the moment and it makes me want some. My Mum always wanted a yellow/lemon one, so that's the colour I would go for.

Me too, with the roses, but no room, having said that I wonder if my newly opened up dog poo border could fit a nice well-behaved one in?

Have to be behaved because it's next to footpath and can't have rose spikes stabbing passers-by

I have given up on trying Lupins, just slug magnets here

More from Wisley, woven willow hares, can't be split

Large hot house in background, cat wee tree on right

Working_Mum

Hello everyone,
PHEEEEEEEEWWWWWW I have finally caught up - took me two days! Everyone has been so industrious and productive, I'm tired out just reading. Apart from a lazy mooch (sans YBE ) around my Open Garden event I haven't actually done anything in my garden except cut the grass - it was one of "those" weekends where I the mind was willing but real life got in the way!

Our local council collects garden waste and food waste and make compost out of it - each year there are several giveaway locations - I turned up at the Saturday one and joined a queue of cars which was at least half a mile long. I picked up my two free bags and despite trying they wouldn't give me a further two bags for my poor mum - I laid it on thick but was told "2 bags of compost per car only luv"  

I adore all of your roses 2P - they're stunning. I have half a dozen roses in my cut flower bed but only know the name of one of them and that's "Peace" (bought for me by my Book Club when my Dad died - because I'd finally made my peace with him!!).  Your borders look so full and verdant they're glorious.

What plant is the bees bum sticking out of YBE? Whatever it is I love it. I'm glad the twisted willow is thriving - I love them and they grow like topsy.

Dusty I love that you waited to cut your verges - I don't get peoples obsession with neatness and tidiness especially in a rural setting. Let everything grow wild and free on the verges I say! I only have the Alpine strawberries in pots in my garden but may consider getting some proper big ones for next year. I love strawberries and my little ones taste amazing but they're more of nibble than anything substantial.

Sorry to hear you've been lightheaded again Poppy I made rhubarb butter recently - basically you stew the rhubarb with sugar and ginger and then once done you whizz it up with your hand blender and wow it was gorgeous on yoghurt. My rhubarb has never really flourished in it spot so I think I'll dig it in the ground for next year.

I'm glad my little silver birch has inspired you Farway and -taff! Poppy you asked how long I've had him - I think I've had him about 10 years now and planted him into the galvanised bin when I moved here 5 years ago. I have no idea what I'm doing but I snip away at the lower leaves and branches each year so that the energy goes into top growth and bushing out. I tend to feed my trees in early Spring and regularly throughout the Summer and pot them on in Autumn so they can snuggle into their new post over the Winter months. I always worry that I'll put them in a pot that is too big and will overwhelm them so It took me three pots to get to the bin with the silver birch

What's the Italian superstition about standing on shield bugs -taff?? Intrigued! You have so much kelter in your garden just waiting to be utilised! I love the big galvanised trough on the right hand side - lots of potential there. 

I've not heard of a Red Filbert Farway - just googled it and it 's a looker - could have a lot of fun with that in your garden. Loved the Wisley goslings btw

I have flox in my cut flower border already wort so will keep an eye out for the prostate one. You know the way you carry a shopping list in your mind for the various areas of your garden?? Well I've just added flox to that!

Is anyone watching the Chelsea coverage?? I haven't bothered in previous years but the AI in my 5ky box auto recorded it for me so I watched the Sunday show and quite enjoyed it.

I didn't get chance to dig in my Open Garden goodies on Sunday - 3 x lily of the valley, 1 x Persicaria red dragon, 1 x shuttlecock fern, 1 x tiny peony, 2 x foxgloves, 1 x chrysanthemum lilac - so I plan on walking the dog after work and getting these in. I will start on the new bed I'm digging into the middle of the "lawn" too as I need to get the donated Magnolia in too.

OT it is currently a still, warm 19' with more to come. I caught the weather forecast on the BBC at lunchtime and think we are maybe due some rain later in the week.

Wishing everyone a super sunny afternoon.

((WM))

-taff

When does your og start greenbee and is it just one day or a whole weekend? You'll have to share whether the compost is any good...

2p Gerturde is a beautiful rose and I spy some erigeron there too! Very jealous of that, I can't keep any alive yet considering it's supposed ot grow in thin air. Blush Noisette looks like a goer for sure, evergreen to boot. But Mme Alistair Grey is an almost cert [ must remember to write it down in my list of plants of desire] because that is stunning. And I'm sure you'd know if you had cats that it is never yours, it is theirs and the sooner you realise the better. Then they don't have to keep telling you

Dusty, do you think that perennials and self seeders are entering the general gardening consciousness now? Only asking because my ideas have definitely shifted over the last few years. Also a clap for leaving the scruffiness. And I expect the lay by guy will be getting more work out of your recommendations now or at least we can hope.

I managed to miss a couple of posts somehow so I hope the stupid babby has recovered completely form his acrobatics. And that's funny about the hover fly having a minder can;t help with the rhubarb, unless it needs more water and more goodness. Best one I had was right next to the compost bin.

ybe, thats a lovely mix of stuff all together. And lupins! Mine get munched straightaway. What is the white frothy stuff? Great bee bum and I'm sure I said this last year but I've just seen that flower at a chelsea show garden too.

Farway yeah but non brewed condiment is the absolute best for chips and you can't find it anywhere now unless the chip shop sells it to you. Poetry award again for you - tree trunk bearing crumble triffid . Yes I want garden sculptures too.

wm - the rhubarb butter sounds like a goer too, must try that. You don't stand on any shield bug or let them get trapped somewhere because the stink and you can't get rid of the smell. There are two more of those trough things too can't wait ofr the plant sales to begin here that isn't a vegetable...

Sun was out today so I removed one old fence panel and chopped down the bramble behind it and the ivy growing on it,  tidied up generally, watered and fed, weeded, did some other stuff then sat on the sofa pooped from one...I was going to go to Special Plants by Bath today but the talk next week sounds more interesting so I'll go next Tuesday instead.

pink_poppy

W_M, I love how you and YBE write... it must be something in the water where you live    

I never thought of horse muck for the rhubarb, Farway. I actually know someone who has a couple of horses, although I'm loathe to ask because I can't stand him. I'll see if I can get hold of some in the winter - do they sell it in garden centres?? It can have one more year and if it's no good next year, it's coming out. I would get another one to replace it though, because I lurve rhubarb crumble.

I saw the rhubarb butter on FB, W_M, it looks and sounds gorgeous.

taff, thanks for the berberis idea - you reminded me that I'd seen a wee self seeded one in one of my MiL's pots... I've been out to have a look and it's tiny, probably about as big as a pinkie finger nail    I did the plant ID thing and it's only 14% sure it's a berberis, but in the spirit of MSE gardening I'm going to tease it out and pot it up. There's also another silver birch self seeded in the same pot, so that will get the same treatment, plus a random hellebore that's popped up in the garden (25% ID). In the past I wouldn't have looked twice at them, but now I'm thinking free plants    

I managed to get out for a slightly wobbly walk today and felt much better for it. It's been another gorgeous day and we'll probably have another gorgeous sunset later.

pink_poppy

We had this cute wee bird in the garden earlier - I think it’s a baby Dunnock ❤️

Pics of my possible berberis and hellebore…