Awful weather - typical Brits talk

-taff

Those hydrangea are super blue aren't they? I thought for a sec they were ceonothus or something to be that strong. It's really lovely. Went for a walk around a local walled garden again, I took some of their figs too because no one appears to pick any of the fruit so sod it...I also took some windfall cookers..Well done Mrs D for showing him he's behaving like a dock. And that's a very subtle butterfly. 

2p, no different from your amount really, and I have ordered some paper packets to store them instead of old chinese takeaway tubs, takes up less room I recommend a permanent bowl of water for your feet to cool you down...And accept losses this year and plan for next year instead. {I've just ordered some stuff from Franchi and She Grows Veg as well as the half price dobbies ones, well...I can dream future me will be more competent can't I?] That is stupid expensive for plants. Not got a local gardening group ro freecycle/freegle? 

ybe, that was funny, I'm not sure whether to say well done or not for ego massaging..

wort, olives are ok in pots but they definitely grow bigger and better in the ground, even in dry clay soil. 

Farway, glad you are feeling better, the ouchometer has been a useful tool for estmation And yes, definitely a good sign of zero snobbery. And the blackberry is a Merton Thornless [ see, sometimes I learn!] cost six reduced. I'ts quite big too, needs another pot for what's left of the summer I think. 

YoungBlueEyes

I knew before I came on here that your back would be improving/better Farway cos I've gotta an ouchy thumb Does it mean you're imroving/better too 2p? I worked too hard yesterday, lots and lots of writing, and now me thumb is all fat and hot. There's always something *sigh* I'm glad you recognised Mr Pottage, I thought of you when he said Whizzley. He did mention another name but I forgot it in trying to remember Matthew :rolleyes: He was another RHS something something though. If I see him this morning I'll ask him again. I've seen him too many times now to ask him his own name, itms.

Dusty I'll show your sunflower/dandelion bastud children pics to 'Denise' the gardening woman at work, see what she suggests.  If I saw your Throne-sitter I'd do lots of waving and shouting for him to come have a cuppa tea and a wee bun. Make him feel exposed that you know he's up there. And if he misses the point and does come round, you can put laxatives in his tea or something  

I hope your body clock gets straightened out wort. Being up really early can be a bu99er when you've nothing to do.  We've geese here too, they're flying that low you can hear their feathers creak  

Christ they're some toppy prices 2p, who's paying all that for them?! Somebody must be or they'd not charge them. 

Less your WallTreeArt is A Thing I was talking to Denise yesterday and apparently them yanquis love it. She was showing me pics on her phone and a lot of them seem to be in New York. I don't have a link but I'll ask her today what she searched for. 

Swishing your feet round in a bowl of cold water is an absolute winner when you're over-hot, I agree taff. Also mmmm free figs  

Gotta go into work early this morning for an 'appraisal' with Office Micro Manager. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact I took the face off her yesterday cos she was waaay over the line and didn't back down...  I think it's purely because I've been there nearly 9 months now so it's time for my 6 month appraisal. 

OT Cool again but due to warm up later, again. It unforecastedly showered earlier which is a bu99er cos I put a wash out last night. Sunny now though and a bit breezy. The heat is coming back in a few days, they say. 

twopenny

Oh dear, too late to say be careful of appraisals.
I was in when they began and we said what a daft idea and sat drinking coffee and eating chocolate biscuits.
The last was a strange one. In the first she asked to be my friend against the other woman in the office.
The last was when I said I had to get under the desk to switch on the computer and she said she'd do it, she was younger 😲
I said I'd do it because I was slimmer and fitter 😁
She used to come late to work and take scales from under her desk to weigh herself before tucking into yoghurt and such.
I wasn't there much longer!

OT wild winds, cool to chilly, no idea what's going on .
Had a tidy of the badger run last night, today watering with bath water.
Someone ran into my car last week and it's in the garage for an eye watering amount so I'm stuck. Chores I've ignored will have to be done.

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

I knew before I came on here that your back would be improving/better Farway cos I've gotta an ouchy thumb Does it mean you're imroving/better too 2p? I worked too hard yesterday, lots and lots of writing, and now me thumb is all fat and hot.  

If I saw your Throne-sitter I'd do lots of waving and shouting for him to come have a cuppa tea and a wee bun. Make him feel exposed that you know he's up there. And if he misses the point and does come round, you can put laxatives in his tea or something  

If that's how the wellness thing works, Farway and 2p will be much better, because I'm feeling carp. The cat had to wake me this morning.... I was nearly late for letting the hens out.  It's nothing; just overtiredness and some stress, which gets worse when you think, “I shouldn't be as knackered as this at my age!” and then you remember how old you are!   

You've also reminded me of a bad deed I participated in, suggesting laxative revenge. A few of us did that to a nasty fellow pupil when we were about 14. Beecham's Pills were ground up and added to home-made something.  He was off school for about a week. The others thought it was a hoot, but I knew a line had been crossed, and I'd gone along with it.  Not in the spirit of British fair play.  Ooh-er, can I say that? 

Anyway, a few of you might remember the line of 20' tall laurels we had in our 'not pretty' dumping area, almost every real smallholding has. Well, yesterday, I finally got the job virtually completed, and the van filled with the last of the green stuff. From now on, the hedge will not be allowed to grow more than 6' tall, so it'll receive an annual trim back to chest height. I never want to have a job like that again!  Here's the state of play now:

The commercial neighbour's yard isn't beautiful, but hiding it, and our own gubbins, wasn't the best answer! 

I think you're right about the butterfly, Less. I thought it was a tatty example of a Wall Brown too. Back in our home garden I've seen a couple of Commas now, equally ragged, and a very smart Painted Lady. No camera, though! 

It's dull here, and the inebriates say 70% raining, but we must be in the 30% area. Yes, scorchio predicted for the beginning of next week. I'd better go fill those blue drums!

PS. Good luck with the appraisal Bluey, and congrats on the passed MoT Farway! 

Farway

Dull and cooler this morning, but I want rain while my watering function is limited.

Back is at same 5/15 on ouchometer, mostly just twinges but sometimes a hefty stab to keep me on my toes.

No gardening again, I had hoped to try & pick blackberries, but I'll struggle with the garden steps

-taff said:

Farway, glad you are feeling better, the ouchometer has been a useful tool for estmation And yes, definitely a good sign of zero snobbery. And the blackberry is a Merton Thornless [ see, sometimes I learn!] cost six reduced. I'ts quite big too, needs another pot for what's left of the summer I think. 

Congrats on the Merton T, that sounds a bargain price. Is there a reason to keep it in a pot? 

It would be better in the ground in final location, but I'm guessing with allotment still being worked on you may not know where it will finish up. 

I've a Thorn Free growing in large pot, not ideal due to regular watering & feeding needs, but it fruits just fine

twopenny said:

I went to look at the price of pots as they are selling off geraniums cheap at Morrisons. A big pot £50.
No offers on compost 😟
GC the price is the same as before but a third or more less for your money.

Plant lady back, seems she has composted the dead and hopeless so there's not a lot left.

The GC has pond plants. I got excited till I saw they were £30+ and a tiny water lilly is £50 😢

That £50 pot must be a cracker, but I assume you want a posh one?

I got some massive fit tree in ones from Morries a bit back, down £8 clearance for the last two. All "pot" luck

Shame about compost, maybe my Morries needs the space for Bank Holiday BBQ tat?

Pond plants have always been daft prices,, possibly somewhere like FB could be better?

YoungBlueEyes said:

I knew before I came on here that your back would be improving/better Farway cos I've gotta an ouchy thumb Does it mean you're imroving/better too 2p? I worked too hard yesterday, lots and lots of writing, and now me thumb is all fat and hot. 

Gotta go into work early this morning for an 'appraisal' with Office Micro Manager. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact I took the face off her yesterday cos she was waaay over the line and didn't back down...  I think it's purely because I've been there nearly 9 months now so it's time for my 6 month appraisal. 

Hope thumb improves

Appraisal, as 2P says, funny old things. Still got a job? 

They started on the magic KPIs [Key Performance Indicators] while I was working, but doing what I was doing it was not really possible to measure, except shuffle paper faster. 

The whole thing was a  farce IMO, and I'm glad to be out of it.

I may get the hose out and squirt the back pots, I'm sure Autumn has arrived, yellow leaves now on the plum tree

My sedums are starting to colour up, a bit of tinge to the flower heads, more butterfly spotting ahead

PS, just refreshed, Dusty, hope you get rain and pass it on, and carp goes away

wort

YBE good luck with the appraisal, I hate those, usually want you to big yourself up, and say what you still are needing to learn. When you’ve done the job 25 years it’s a bit difficult to say I know more than you, you’re only 25 years old anyway. 

Dusty well done clearing the laurels, I’m in the process of keeping on top of shrubs but they keep on getting too big too quick 🙄
2p I’m on the look out for a couple of pots , I got the last half price from the nursery, hoping if someone is going I can hitch a ride.

I’ve been for bloods this morning and it’s doing the thin misty wet stuff, looks like it brightened now though.

Farway

First on, but I was up early again, with my back it's literally a painful process ATM getting out of bed, from prone to upright standing, so I try to limit it if possible.

Not much gong on today, I will have to use the 2L milk bottle to apply more water at the front, but apart from that nothing else planned

The blackberries will have to wait another day, my back is not yet up to that reaching and stretching.

twopenny

That's disappointing to find first thing in the morning Farway. Does it ever get better during the day in any way?

It's gloomy here, not cold, and I've no car yet. Still being fixed with the bill for such hanging over like an evil sprite.
Running out of bread and milk and trying to work out if I can get to the shops and back in under 5hrs 😬

I've tomatoes growing. We're the size of a 5p but have suddenly put on a growth spurt. Mostly it's the Italian ones. So there's hope on that front. I lobbed buckets of bath water 💦 over them yesterday. 

Eating the little potatoes I grew. They're ok, better than shop but nothing to write home about.

And the runner beans which are white tiny flowers have more blackfly than beans. The plants are small, the flowers small and looks like the beans will be too so it's back to the trusted variety next year.

Ps. Bluey has gone quiet. Do you think they sent her on a retraining course 😲

-taff

How was the appraisal [translation = total waste of everyones time and just a tool used to manage you out if they want to] ? Is today a day off? How's the thumb? 

2p, isn't their insurance paying for it? I could send some mini pond lily through the post if I can find a bit separate with some root. I'll look after. No online delivery shopping available? 

Dusty, if you think of that area as a typical example of post industrialisation storage and utility [ whatever that means] or as an installation art piece, you can just ignore it Or just ignore it anyway....Just a bit of tidying up should make it look less messy anyway. 

Farway, keeping it in a pot for the moment because the ground at the allotment is an inch of dust on top of two foot of concrete thanks to there being no rain to speak of. It's all dry and cracked, if I put the blackberry in now, it'll be dead without daily watering for a few weeks. And that's assuming I could actually dig a hole. And that's poo about your back. 

wort, had to laugh at you're only 25 anyway...I did used to chuckle about stuff like that when I was working. Some tiny person would come and say, let's try this, and we'd say, yes, we tried that several tiems before, doesn't work, and they say, let's try it anyway. Didn't work. It only did work when they took the time to learn first, then suggest stuff that was relevant and practical. 

And apparently the Jersey Tiger Moth is very famous now

https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/have-you-seen-a-tiger-in-your-garden-yet

Sunny here so far, I'll be taking a trip to the allotment to get rid of some of the stuff I pruned into the ded hedge, I'll take a photo but it's quite small and full of planks so far [ wot I did acquire from another allotment holder], because wood is wood as long as it's plain wood.]

And I took this last week, the most polleny bee I've seen...

Dustyevsky

Oh dear, it seems the weather's mirroring our moods and ailments at the start of the day!   Brighter later, they say. They said that yesterday, and it rained in the afternoon. 

Meanwhile, we're in hotel mode here, with guests and grandchildren to amuse. Frankly, I could really use a quiet week to rest and recuperate, but it won't happen. Looking at the diary, it'll be Sunday week before we can next collapse in a heap! 

However....today I escape to do some gardening with my coastally located friend, while the guests attend the World Crabbing Championship; https://www.appledoreinstowregatta.org.uk/home

Now, I just have to find the silver lining in entertaining two boisterous lads for 3 days. When we were about 8 years old, we'd use up energy by going off exploring for hours, but our 10-year-old grandson has never even gone to the other end of the field alone. If he did, he'd probably wonder what to do.  After all, there are no organised activities, and no screens.  

I'm remembering some things which happened to us lads when we went part-feral in the summer hols. Our plums are ripening now, so the incident where we were caught scrumping those by an army-type hotel owner comes to mind. Two of us escaped unharmed over the chain link fence, but Scruffy got his winkle-pickers stuck in it, and the old guy whacked him with his stick!    It was straight out of The Beano! Imagine that happening now and the lurid headlines!  At the time, Scruffy probably gave a two fingered salute, and I know I silently thanked Mum for always ensuring my footwear was sensibly unfashionable.   

And speaking of plums...I've eaten one of these now. It wasn't quite ripe.   

Let's hope for a sunny start tomorrow and everyone feeling much better.