Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

wort said:

Morning all, dd finally handed keys back, after I spent the morning doing my least favourite job, cleaning the oven. 

Dusty the logs and 2027 remark made me chuckle. I bet Mrs Dusty is glad to finish the hedge.
off to work ,have a good weekend.

I'm glad that side of the stress from DD's move is over for you.  The 2027 log remark was a factual thing, not meant as a joke. One of the old sheds here has big sections in it where I throw the logs, and that lot went into the winter 27/28 bay, by which time I know they'll be good and dry. “You can't hurry logs,” as the Supremes almost sang. 

Scalpings rings a bell, GB. That may have been what the stuff was called at the old place. It was different from the stuff in this place, and somewhat better too, but one takes what's available.

Mrs Dusty finishing her hedges is a yearly milestone, though there was a time when she couldn't, and we men did them......but they weren't right!    She decided to lower the yews last year and that's helped. No more scaffolding for the main runs now, just the arches.    Also, the new hedgetrimmer has been better than the slightly smaller one.

This is it, though I bought ours 'refurbished' (apparently new) from Screwfix for £131. Mrs Dusty searched for the German-looking chap, but found only his goggles in the box.....

https://www.bosch-diy.com/gb/en/p/universalhedgecut-18v-55-0600849j70

 If only the batteries were as good. I have tools going back to at least 2012 with batteries that still hold a charge. The 2 Bosch ones from 2018 and 2019 we have from the earlier hedgetrimmer are toast. 

OT: Drizzle and about 8c out there, which is 12c above what it was early yesterday! That Persicaria I posted 2 days ago is looking sorry now, as is this fuchsia.

I feel I should know the varietal name, and I'm sure it's a well-known one. Maybe one of you will recognise it? 

Off to unload the hedgehog camera......Yesterday was the first no-show. 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Dusty I know the place you mean - I had to be careful when I lived in my one to pick the right <town name> when I was doing weather apps or summat. I always fancied visiting there just to see if it was a nice place...

It has a busy fish & chip shop, which is a good start.    It's also close to several estuary nature reserves, and the local walking/cycling trail runs right through. On the downside, they're building like crazy, so the village is more or less joined to others now in both main directions. 

As a teen, I messed-about on the estuary near there occasionally. With a seriously fast tidal flow, it had to be informed messing-about with a local lad, who knew where to dig bait, catch bass, and, most importantly, not get cut-off! 

Farway

Dull & wet, exactly as forecast. 

Ideal weather for River drivers, I ordered some books for DS birthday and they've just been delivered, in a cardboard pack and left on my doorstep in the rain, plonkers. 

Fortunately, I was in, he rang the bell, which at last worked, and I rescued them before any real harm done.

Your fuchsia Dusty, don't know the name but I have similar, which i also have no idea about, mines a trailing type from T & M offer, so quite common I guess

Before I forget, D T Brown seeds have Black Friday offer, 50% off some, not all, seeds

 I had a quick look but unless there is something you really need, once  £2.45 P & P included may not be the bargain it seems

https://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/collections/50-off-seed-sale?sort_by=price-ascending

greenbee said:

Roses were planted yesterday - including one that was incorrectly delivered. Supplier has dispatched the correct one and (as expected) told me to keep the wrong one. Replacement crab apple for wrong variety supplied last year has also been planted (let's hope it's the right one this time or I'll start running out of places to put them!).

Good call on the replacements, hope they all thrive for you, and so much better when they were "free"

I've had my yearly e mail about subsidised fruit trees for this year, all part of Green Eco stuff. But Wow, the price has nearly doubled, was £12.50, now £ 21.50 

I know the retail prices of fruit trees has gone daft but at this price I'll pass, especially as it is is limited unknown varieties with no per-order variety, first come etc

I may have taken a punt at near £12, but too risky now as i don't want to find myself stuck with a variety I already have, or worse, don't really want

GB, quick tree, long shot, but eucalyptus? DYOR etc, the fallen leaves are nearly indestructible, but make  a lovely smelling fire.

Nice bark

Prone to blowing down in high winds in full leaf 

Ideal for bush babies 

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Your fuchsia Dusty, don't know the name but I have similar, which i also have no idea about, mines a trailing type from T & M offer, so quite common I guess

GB, quick tree, long shot, but eucalyptus? DYOR etc, the fallen leaves are nearly indestructible, but make  a lovely smelling fire.

Nice bark

Prone to blowing down in high winds in full leaf 

Ideal for bush babies 

Having poked around a bit, I think the fuchsia is 'Carmel Blue,' one of Morries' many offerings. 

Eucalyptus is fast, but has the drawbacks you mention, and then some!. There are several varieties of Thuja plicata, which is much nicer than Leyland cypress, though not as quick. IMO the wait is worth it.  

PS. Nothing, except the cat, on the hedgehog cam. That frost may have caused the remaining customers to hunker-down now, ready or not. 

LessImpecunious

Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) grows fast and would make a good screen, though RHS says it "has the potential to become a nuisance if not managed well" - something I confess to being familiar with  

But you can in theory lift the crown once it grows tall enough, to leave the upper part blocking the light - I've sawn through very thick stems with a decent bowsaw, and it makes solid firewood, ideally to put in the two-years hence logpile, sensu Dusty

wort

Escallonia? Mines a bit unruly, it does shed some leaves when it’s really dry, but that’s my fault cos I don’t water the big stuff. 

Yesterday was dull ,raining later. What I saw of it ,fog when the cat went out. It’s raining now but doesn’t feel quite so cold. 

greenbee

So I’ve been doing a bit more research/paying attention, and found a website that helpfully shows tree heights next to a picture of a house. Looking at the telegraph poles at the back, I need something about 10m/35ft tall. For £6.5k I can get something 8m tall delivered 😂

I quite like the idea of a Magnolia Grandiflora at the end of the garden. The one I have is only about 3ft tall at the moment (and in the wrong place… in fact, in 10 years time it’ll probably be in the wrong place more generally). I keep finding lovely ideas for deciduous trees (liquidambar would look fabulous there). @LessImpecunious - Stinky would definitely eat the cherry laurel seeds and poison himself. The conkers have shown he’s not very discerning. Thank you all for the ideas. If I win the lottery/premium bonds, then an 8m something will be on its way!

The easiest solution is probably to thank them for using the light less, and suggest that they lower the light below the level of the boundary hedges/fence to avoid it being a nuisance to neighbours. I just have to find a polite way to phrase it and send the message when I’m calm rather than annoyed.

twopenny

Hi to this morning of 6c and no wind just a drop of rain.
Yes it was foggy and misty here yesterday, every type of cloud known to man, woman or whatever you choose 😉 

I have no idea what today holds as it's the first one I've had for a while not running around after phones. I intend to do mundane things before the challenges of next week.
Have my old phone back so hoping it stays going long enough to ring all the trades I need.

Just eating what I think is raspberry and apple but can't remember. The raspberry was too acid so it might be.

Love the liquid amber. They have one by the cafe at the garden centre and it's stunning. It certainly is ginormous.
I wondered if I could buy one and keep it small . My lovely neighbour that was reckoned you could do that with any tree but I'm not so sure.

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) grows fast and would make a good screen, though RHS says it "has the potential to become a nuisance if not managed well" - something I confess to being familiar with  

But you can in theory lift the crown once it grows tall enough, to leave the upper part blocking the light - I've sawn through very thick stems with a decent bowsaw, and it makes solid firewood, ideally to put in the two-years hence logpile, sensu Dusty

I am also familiar. A year ago I took our laurel hedge in hand, as it had grown to 20'. The larger stems are now in the '26/27 log pile. It was a hell of a job, especially getting rid of the leaves and useless bits. I won't let it go above 5' now, which means vigilance, because its speed of recovery has been impressive! 

I'm still testing Escallonia doctorscarparkii, as it seems to be a very strong one, much better than the variety at my father's house, which always flopped when it got about as tall as me. From experience, the variety counts there, wort.

As for Eucalyptus, I grew some from seed 15 years ago, and they made 'characterful' trees here, but suffice to say we now have none.   I gave a surplus plant to the neighbour whose grass I'm cutting. It's now about 40' tall and still haunting me, dropping branches and bark where I mow.

The cat and hedgehog dilemma persists. We determined that the cat had somehow interfered with or got into the feeding box, although exactly how wasn't captured by our camera. So, Mrs Dusty installed a flexible toilet coupling as an entry point!

This cunning ruse defeated the cat, but also put off the hedgehog, who didn't enter.

I'm not sure where this is going next! 

Meanwhile, in other gardening-related activity, I've begun the long-put-off task of levelling the polytunnel floor. I think it may take all winter, on and off, but once it's done, and a third deep bed made, we'll cover the floor with landscaping fabric which will and make it less dusty and allow better damping-down.

OT: Sunshine, showers and a brisk, nippy wind characterise the weather here this morning. It looks like the weather will go downhill in the afternoon, so I'd better get going.....  

Farway

It's a wet and windy start on Dr Who day, but brightening up as I type

Dustyevsky said:

As for Eucalyptus, I grew some from seed 15 years ago, and they made 'characterful' trees here, but suffice to say we now have none.   I gave a surplus plant to the neighbour whose grass I'm cutting. It's now about 40' tall and still haunting me, dropping branches and bark where I mow.  

I grew mine from seeds as well, one of those experiments to see if I could, and I could. 

At that time I had a very long garden and planted about four in there. 

They grew very well but two blew sideways one wet & windy day, I guyed them up but had to remove them in the end

Since then I have read that they do not do well if pot grown & then planted out, for some reason, if pot grown, they never make good anchoring roots when planted out

Best way, seen at Wisley, is keeping them pollarded for the juvenile foliage is probably better for us with normal gardens

Once we move into Rottery Acres me & Dusty could have another go, maybe get some wallabies & parakeets in as well? 

Hope the trades ringathon works 2P, I have Boiler Man this coming Thursday, but he is reliable and it's "just" annual service so not expecting any real problems, but with modern "stuff" you never know what money pit lurks under the covers

No gardening today, wet & cold, may snooze in front of GW later, I think it's the last one of 2025 so maybe a parade of presenters ?

Pic today is one for the bird watchers, came up on my YT feed this morning, It's in Tennessee hence some unusual birds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIpmCkZsfN4