Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Aw, how lovely, Less, such a good pic. I’m envious of your nuthatches too, I haven’t seen one for years *hint, hint*…

Nice hover fly pic, twopenny, you can see why it would be attracted to your plant.

Glad you’re enjoying your hols, YBE. I really like the beach pic.

Is your bug a type of shield bug, Farway??

Yummy looking strawberries, Dusty. I spend a fortune buying them in the supermarkets at this time of year. One of these days I’ll grow my own. Are they polytunnel or outdoor plants??

Another lovely pic, W_M, very atmospheric.

How is your garden coming along, taff??

Hope wort is enjoying being on holiday.

My lurginess has come back, or maybe didn’t go away in the first place. I did manage to cut the back lawns last night and then slept like a log as it wiped me out completely. The weeds are slowly taking back control…

A nice day forecast - warm and breezy.

greenbee

Exhausted after the Open Gardens, and have lots of pots to fill ready for bare roots that are here and hopefully won't die before I plant them, and garden-ready plants on a T&M special that are on their way today... No energy for sieving the builders' bag of topsoil, so I'll probably end up just using compost. 

At least I have lots of strawberries to keep my energy levels up!

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

A lovely beach one and a dog one for 2p

(I’m looking for something for you Dusty…) 

It's OK, I'll have the beach one, as I won't get near a beach for a while. We have more uninvited visitors arriving.  Nice people, but we're doing a family event next month and would like a rest first!

Some good news, though....our long term 'tenants' will complete on their house by the end of the month. 

The dog cartoon is' an adaptation from 'Tottering By,' as regular readers of Country Life will know.  What? None of you read Country Life?  

twopenny said:

No gardening today, hot as and wet out.
Tried for a beer bum photo..... 

Wet?  Didn't have a drop here. Started concreting the foundations for a shed in the veg patch. I've heard of beer belly, so I dare say beer bum follows. With the price of beer it's a wonder anyone can afford either. A hover fly is much more in keeping with this family-friendly site anyway, and at least we know what it is. Farway's anonymous insect beat me!
Still peeing down as I type, and due to last a few hours yet. The hay will benefit.  Foolishly, I didn't rush out and buy batteries as the MSM suggested, so now their 'warning' about thunderstorms will probably result in something awful happening. Nearest thunder is in the Channel, about 100 miles off Plymouth, but I suppose that could change.

When illness forced some friends renting nearby to move back 'Oop norf,' they bequeathed us their potted leyandii which I've burned, and an assortment of other plants. There was a possible peony, which I expected to be something vulgar, but stuck it in the garden anyway. So glad I did now: 

Much better than 'Molly the Witch' (Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii) I grew from seed! 

pink_poppy

Lovely peony   I think it was GW that had a lady with masses of peonies and it's made me want to have some. I never knew that they were scented, which is daft really, but there again I am a bit daft... The two that I inherited haven't flowered, but I don't know how long they've been in the pots and they probably weren't fed for a while/if ever, either. They might also have been planted too deep, so I'll repot them at some point or even plant them in the garden somewhere.

My laptop just deleted a big chunk of text while I was trying to add something, so I'm going off in a huff now...

Dustyevsky

Oh, there's more on the refresh......

Glad you survived the Open Gardens GB, albeit exhausted. We didn't go to ours this year, and I hear attendance was down. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe some people remembered last year's inaccurate map!  It's always quite a trek, with the ability to return to base in time for tea and cake always in jeopardy. 

I'd like to think we'll see a similar sight again this year, Less, but if I recall accurately, it was August or thereabouts when our woodpeckers brought their baby along.

pink_poppy said:

Aw, how lovely, Less, such a good pic. I’m envious of your nuthatches too, I haven’t seen one for years *hint, hint*…

Is your bug a type of shield bug, Farway??

Yummy looking strawberries, Dusty. I spend a fortune buying them in the supermarkets at this time of year. One of these days I’ll grow my own. Are they polytunnel or outdoor plants??

My lurginess has come back, or maybe didn’t go away in the first place. 

Sadly, I can't do you a Nuthatch here. I've seen one at the far end of the field, but they seem not to like the areas nearer our house.  I heard a Skylark yesterday, and so did Mrs Dusty on her perambulation on Tuesday, but neither of us actually saw it. Nice to know they're still around, though.

I think you may be right about the Shield Bug ID.

The strawberries are outdoors, in front of a yew hedge, and facing due south, so they have ideal conditions. In a polytunnel they'd probably get red spider mite very early, so no go. 

Sorry to hear your lurgy is still lurking.    I can't say much, but the after-effects of some illnesses are legion, and hard to attribute with certainty.  

Farway

Dull & windy, and waiting for Dusty's rain to arrive, it's just West and South of Blue Eyes ATM

Supposed to be sunny later, and I may have to water some pots if the rain is just useless.

YoungBlueEyes said:

OT warm and sunny but the wind keeps the heat from building up. Very pleasant  

Not done southern gardens yet, they’ll have to be tomorrow. We did Arum Bay - it was alright - and Yarmouth today. Yarmouth is pure lovely but there’s not much of it. Himself liked the castle, cannons and history and stuff, but he thinks I don’t like all the carryon.  So I’ll announce it’s Garden Day tomorrow and he’ll not have a choice, as I’ve seemingly compromised with the Boy Stuff today 🫢

Pics - Q.Victoria’s planting regime for Farway (nice to know I got one right 😃 ) 

Good to hear the hol is going well so far, and rest of the week weather is supposed to be OK as well

If you have, or make time on the way home, and 'imself likes cannons etc, get yourselves up to Fort Nelson, on Portsdown Hill just north of Pompey.

Royal Armouries museum, Canons, guns, tunnels, moats, & big boys toys that go Bang, even fire a Noon gun.

Cafe & cake + Gift tat shop

https://royalarmouries.org/fort-nelson

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186298-d3317686-Reviews-Royal_Armouries_Fort_Nelson-Portsmouth_Hampshire_England.html

Free entry, pay for parking £3

My three sisters planting was failure, I suspect it's one of these fables that never works in real life, at least that's what I tell myself.

pink_poppy said:

Is your bug a type of shield bug, Farway??

My lurginess has come back, or maybe didn’t go away in the first place. I did manage to cut the back lawns last night and then slept like a log as it wiped me out completely. The weeds are slowly taking back control…

I think it is some kind of shield bug, I left it alone as it seemed harmless enough and was enjoying the sunshine

Shame about your lurgy rerun, and watching weeds creeping back

Segueing into returns,  My lily beetles are back, picked a couple off in the past few days. I don't know if they were new visitors, or freshly grown this year. Dead now. 

I like the peonies on GW, no room here, but I do like them.

If rain holds off, and sun comes out, I want to trim back the self sown Honesty Triffids. Extremely vigorous so they obviously love their chosen spot, just some huge leaves are starting covering other plants now, like my dwarf dahlias & pot marigolds.

While cherry checking yesterday I found some raspberries, these should be Autumn ones, but as they came from Morries who knows for sure?

Nicely raspberry tasting though, with more to ripen

LessImpecunious

Dustyevsky said:

I'd like to think we'll see a similar sight again this year, Less, but if I recall accurately, it was August or thereabouts when our woodpeckers brought their baby along.

pink_poppy said:

Aw, how lovely, Less, such a good pic. I’m envious of your nuthatches too, I haven’t seen one for years *hint, hint*…

Is your bug a type of shield bug, Farway??

I think you may be right about the Shield Bug ID.

Strangely, I was actually trying to get a pic of four nuthatches around the feeder (we often see two, usually taking it in turns, but this looked like it might have been two adults and two babbies, very unusual spot!) when the Woodies turned up and scared them away...

I concur with the Shile Bug, meant to say yesterday... What I really want to see now is an Acorn weevil, shown on a recent Springwatch that we were catching up with last night... (though I don't really want them in the garden). And not sure I want to see one of these again - at least not where I found it - it landed on my neck yesterday - must have been 3cm long...

Must be the season for big bugs - we had a giant Horsefly t'other day...

Hope these aren't upsetting anyone of nervous disposition... AND, we had a Cockchafer a week or so again - very rarely seen here... The three horseflies of the Apocalypse perhaps... Speaking of which our 95% chance of rain since early am not materialised, but as I've typed this it has turned very dark.... Was going to comment on 3 Sisters, but will leave that for later, that sounds like a good point to exit!

twopenny

Not sure it's just refresh at the moment. Slung me in at the last page 😬

Glad the gardens went well Greenbee. It gives people such pleasure.

Awww about the lurgy Poppy. At least you have the measure of what's going on now. Hope it goes soon.

Dusty why don't you just open an hotel and get paid for it 😉

Love, love, love the peony ❤️
If you don't want it I'll have it.
Mine haven't had a flower in 7yrs since I moved. The grow and just sit there budless 🫤

Rain arrived this morning and gave a good downpour but seems to be easing now. No storms. They stayed in France and were just little ones. Always a drama with the met office.

Edit, missed your post Less. Isn't that a lacewing in the middle photo? I've only seen green ones but as you live where dragons be......

pink_poppy

Baby bunny bum, which I think is a first… 😁

YoungBlueEyes

“Beer bum” 2p…? Well go on then!  I love your yellow flower, such a creamy rich colour 😊 Ooh a Bunny Bum pp 😍 Deffo a first, possibly. You need to stop stop kissing dirty boys, give that lurgy chance to clear off  I’m glad your Open Garden went well gb, will you be doing it again next year..? You installing a revolving door at Dusty Acres Dusty? With a viewing area for your cracking peony. Does it smell as good as it looks? I’m not sure the dog tea towel was Words To Live By either Less but it made me giggle. I like your bird pic, not sure I’ve ever seen them in real life so that’s a treat  

Went to Ventnor Bot Garden this morning, and saw this - 

It drizzled a bit early on but it let us get right into the garden and then the heavens opened and we near drowned. Got some good photos, well I took lots of photos, but not sure if they’re anything queer/rare etc as there were almost no labels. Did the price of labels skyrocket or something?

Here’s one that put me in mind of you Dusty. It was more downhill-ier than it looks mind!  

And last night’s sunset - 

We’ll switch out the tom growers for the Royal Armoury one then Farway. We’ve tried the toms and they’re amazing 😌 so we went back in and bought another bagful. I’ve plenty to share now if anyone wants seeds. Yummy yum yum. 

Did anyone get a pic of the Strawberry moon?