Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

Well that's a reliable sign of a recession coming if ever there was one Dusty Who's gonna win the fight then, Rozanne or Daisy? Hopefully it'll be a draw, I don't think I'd want more of one of them than the other tbh cos they're a good looking pair  

Your front garden looks heavenly lush Farway Not so keen on the poems though, it's a bit unnerving that they've got it up to such a good standard.... I thought it was a right bag of spanners, easy to spot cos the grammar/syntax etc was all over the shop, but those poems scan just fine I see what they're worried about now. Next time you're talking to it/he/she/they, tell it it can have my job #NotEvenJoking  

Aww good to hear he's come through fine gb, and that he loves the vets Think I'd be putting the collar and pj's on the cat though, so s/he gives the poor wee dog a bit of peace  

So buggerance genes have spread to tatties then eh pp. We'll grow all the more now we know you don't actually want us. There's something very pleasing about that Just shows though, tatties will just grow with no special care required  

Another one with a full and lush garden 2p Definitely need to mow that lawn though, probably a good few goings over it on multiple days will sort it. I'd suggest in the middle of the day, you know, so you can see the extension lead and not mow over it. Safety is no 1 priority  

I was talking to 'Denise' at work yesterday (her with the literally house-sized fig tree). For your crinkly bottoms Farway she says did you nip off last year's fruits that were too late and too small to grow properly? The manky ones could be those, and they'll not grow properly. If that's a help? Also she has a question. She bought a spinach plant at a road side stall a few weeks ago, but it's growing a bit big a bit quick. The plant id thing she has on her phone says it's "tree spinach" and she's worried she's got an actual triffid on her hands. I said to check RHS website, but does anyone have any advice/warnings/tips for her? She's a lovely woman so I said I'd ask for her

Also, while I'm OffT, I read this on my news this morning. It's a lovely story - they think they might have caught orcas using tools, and it's possibly A New Thing if they have. They groom each other with seaweed for social/cleanliness/fun reasons, possibly. Isn't that beautiful? Well now the Toddler-In-Chief has saved us all from being fatally fried to death in our beds they can roll out the happy stories  https://www.thejournal.ie/killer-whales-orcas-grooming-each-other-seaweed-tools-6741390-Jun2025/  (And, as ever, the comments section is worth the read!) 

OT it's cool and raining. Currently 14'c and a high of 21' to come, they say. If it wasn't for the humidity it'd be very pleasant out there. They given dry all day 'til nearly bedtime so I've raked out my little rain jacket cagoule thing and a brolly. 

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

I think they just take out what's in the dangly bits. The rest will shrink.
Dusty's gone quiet 😉

Perhaps Dusty remembers when something similar happened to him....

Yesterday was also traumatic, because a builder suddenly announcing their second coming, meant finding all the stuff needed to complete the job! It was back in February 2022 when Storm Eunice ripped the corner of our roof off and wrecked the original polytunnel. Happily, the roof was repaired temporarily the same day, with a promise to return 'dreckly' to get a 'proper job' done....and we've been waiting ever since!  We're on Devon time, remember!  

We got a special rate for being patient, and I secured a definite date for fixing the still rather dodgy septic tank drain field, so it was all good.  I even found the special clips we needed, which are no longer made and had to be tracked-down specially. Normally, the vital 'thing' goes into hiding on occasions like that. Anyway, I'll no longer have to suffer feelings of dread when hearing of a gale coming in from the south-west. 

Returning to your difficult stony area pp, you have a few choices, such as killing off all growth, covering with landscape fabric and then stoning it, which is probably easiest. Alternatively, spot weeding and introducing tough, spreading plants that smother out weeds is harder and takes longer to do. There's an NGS garden in my area where the owner uses a mattock to plant everything because his plot is so stony. Once tough plants get a foothold, he finds they do OK.

2p, your fancy poppy reminds me of some I've seen in posh, pay-to-get-in gardens.....I'll see if I can find one similar....

That looks like a self-sustaining group of singles and doubles. And there was this one seen last week in the garden we visited with the club.

It was in an 'arranged' group of plants, but when I grow these opium poppies in pots, and transplant, they just die on me.   Naturalising's the way to go!

Farway, your foray into poetic realms, accompanied by robot, reminded me of something, but I've not dug it out yet. As the clergyman said to the female entertainer, you certainly have an impressive entrance! 

OT:Gentle rain here this morning, blending later into heavy cloud, and a promise of sunshine for afternoon tea. 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

 Who's gonna win the fight then, Rozanne or Daisy? Hopefully it'll be a draw, I don't think I'd want more of one of them than the other tbh cos they're a good looking pair  

I was talking to 'Denise' at work yesterday... She bought a spinach plant at a road side stall a few weeks ago, but it's growing a bit big a bit quick. The plant id thing she has on her phone says it's "tree spinach" and she's worried she's got an actual triffid on her hands. I said to check RHS website, but does anyone have any advice/warnings/tips for her? She's a lovely woman so I said I'd ask for her

Neither Rozanne nor the daisy will win in the end. Buried between them, and along the whole section, are the Portuguese Laurels that will form a 2 metre hedge. You can see this better in a picture from the other side: 

As for the tree spinach, they grow it every year at Rosemoor, and it looks impressive. For salads, only the pinky-magenta, glittery, shoot tips are any good, and the rest eventually becomes pretty tough, even for spinach. That's only my opinion, mind!   Also, it self-seeds like crazy if you let it get that far......  

wort

Pp think you got me and YBE mixed up, but don’t worry 😉 think we all do it.
Farway I can see why you have problems with the steps, but it looks fabulous.
Dusty I love the en mass effect of the geranium and daisy that’s my type of gardening,.
Ybe I do like clematis stick them in and leave them to it, only need a spot of earth to put one in too. I tend to buy small ones cheap when I see them and pop them in.

watered the front pots yesterday after work as the hydrangea was drooping, of course it then rained all night and is still raining this morning.

Edit just seen your second photo of the hedgerow it’s stunning Dusty, do you fancy doing me one of those please 🙏🏻😉

twopenny

Yes, I'd like one too. That's gorgeous 😍 
And joy at having a day when everything comes together.
No idea why the poppies have got so fancy. I prefer the single ones.  I randomly had a deep purple one last year. It's a mystery as no one round here has much in the way of plants.

Farway, I've seen a bungalow with steps like that for sale near me. Perhaps a few more and I have to remember lugging shopping up them to stop me asking for a viewing. The joy of being higher up is the wonderful views from the house.

Nothing but a physio appt at end of day so may take myself off to the moors as relief as life still has me in a blender. I think there's more watering to be done later. With it being so very dry still and all veggies planted it's mostly tidying and I'm not in the mood.

Brightish and dry but cooler here.

-taff

I've just realised I'm five pages behind but in my defence, it's been so hot I've been rubbish when I haven't stirred myself to do something. 

That's a beautiful bush thingy there Dusty, looks very sweeping gravel drive  

Tree spinach, as Dusty says, and it wll grow to over six foot left unchecked, definitely will self seed everywhere, the green leaves will get tough, so if you collect tthem all [ or what looks ok] at the end of the season, cook and then chop finely for addition to canneloni, spanakopita etc..I put some in about four ish years ago, I just transplant it now when It pops up and pull the rest. 

Lovely poppies all. I had one volunteer this year a pale purple five petalled opium type foliage one, hoping it returns. 

Farway, that's a lovely entrance, very luch considering yur watering woes...and very impressed with your cherries!! 

2p, same to you and your garden..

pp, yor pineapple on a pineapple looks really freaky...

ybe, I like your body parts plant song I id have a a giigle at that, and the comments section. 

Farway

Dull but warm, hint of drizzle but not real rain.

YBE, thanks for asking & fig info, unfortunately it's not that, I pick off the young ones, so none left to rot the following year. I'm starting to think it may be drying out, even though well watered. 

Once at Rottery Acres I'll put it tin the ground

PP stony bit, I reckon those posh poppies could grow there, if you can get some seed among the stones

Another one that would do well, from seed again, Evening primroses, and of course good old Californian poppies from seed in the gaps

Seeing Dusty's Rozanne & daisy reminds me to get my Rozanne planted into the DP border, was going to do it yesterday PM but fell asleep instead 

Hope to pick more cherries later, and top up the bird bath, this drizzle won't do that

I'll leave the apple thinning for alter in the week, I've spotted a lot of yellow flowered weeds, not dandelions, and want to get them gone before they seed.

Today is Shasta Daisy, with pollen beetles

I asked Chat to give me a commentary, D Attenborough style for it

“Beneath the radiant petals of the Shasta daisy, a quiet drama unfolds… Tiny black pollen beetles—barely the size of a pinhead—emerge from the shelter of the foliage, drawn by the heady perfume of nectar and pollen.

They are unassuming visitors… but diligent. 

These beetles, though clumsy and slow, are vital participants in the grand cycle of pollination. Dusty with yellow pollen, they trundle methodically from floret to floret, their black forms dotting the flower like living ink on parchment.

pink_poppy

Woke up feeling bleurgh for the second day running I think it's definitely an inner ear thing and I'm blaming DH for giving me his cold and triggering my Bertigo symptoms... I've got a dental appointment this afternoon too.

Thanks for all the thoughts on the stony/weedy/problem area - I think a couple of Welsh poppies have already snuck in. I won't be doing anything with it for a while and when I do I'll be roping DH in to help as penance for making me ill   

Lovely photos, as always.

OT - rotten weather...

twopenny

Very good farway, better than the poems. Made me chuckle 🤭 
Just one word was wrong as a clue. Wonder if it will become indistinguishable?
Scary thought and great for the scammers.

Sorry about the lurgy Poppy. If it makes you feel better I've been going through the same rubbish, dentist yesterday 🫤
Get well soon.

YoungBlueEyes

Just a quick pop on to share this pic before the theme moves on. Saw it on my way to work - 

Oh and this one -