Awful weather - typical Brits talk

greenbee

My mum has two new knees. She explained to them about needing to kneel to light/turn off the Aga and light the fire and they showed her how to do it. So it may not be kneeling but they can work out a solution for you.

twopenny

Love your avatar Greenbee🙂 is that puppy yours?

greenbee

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81912628#Comment_81912628

Nope. Stinky is a black lab :)

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on Alexander Graham Bell day :) Interesting fact - AGB thought that everyone should answer the phone by saying "ahoy".

2p I'm sure I've seen gardening helper gadget type things on QVC or somewhere, I'll have a look. I've just read a load of pages and I've forgotten it all 🙄Was it you mentioned plum blossom? I was reading about them the other day, and how in certain areas of Japan they're tret like cherry blossom - https://travel.gaijinpot.com/mito-plum-blossom-festival/ It was the first I'd ever heard of that, quite interesting 🙂

How's the sciatica Dusty? Does being a lumberjack help or hinder 😄I love your sparkly snowy pic, you can hear the crunchy footsteps in it. I used to love being the first out with my dog in the Winter if there'd been snow or a very hard frost, you can see all the animal tracks that had appeared overnight. It's rare you can see what your dog is sniffing about at, gawd I did love it 😃

You've reminded me I keep wanting to grow mangy touts Farway. The packets in the shops are getting dearer and dearer for less of them *sigh * Do I have to go buy seeds or can I just buy some fresh ones and grow them from them? I've only tried cavala nero (sp?) the once but I found it very bitter. I wouldn't thank you for any more and I'd not grow it myself. I've slugs galore here and they've plenty to be getting on with without that.

Wort you can come to mine and paint my fence bits if you like *nodding * Between birds landing on the top, squirrels using them as ladders, and cats, mine are a right mess 😏 Your canal walk looks very peaceful, and I'm not mentioning the blossom tree in case it's a Cat Wee Tree 🤨

Middlewife I hope you're on the mend? They should only build hospitals in places with good views, up on a hill or somewhere. Staring at brick walls does nothing to feed a person's soul and it shouldn't be allowed imo.

Well the fellah came yesterday and it's all installed and sorted. It took 3 of them actually - 1 indoors doing stuff with the equipment, and 2 outdoors. 1 attaching a cable thing to my house from the wonky pole outside, and one drilling holes in the front of the house to put on a shipebrown plastic box thing. Right in the middle it is, it won't be hidden by the cars or nothing! Not amused. thing is I only saw it when they were packing up and it couldn't be moved they said. Hmmm 🤔 Anyway it's on now. I'll be messing about with it later to set up the system, apparently I need to sign in to apps and do favourites and all sorts.

OT cloudy and mild out there and only a tiny bit of breeze. 8'c or 6 WoC which seems about right to me. Gardening today, might even cut the grass in case it makes it realise it's meant to grow!

Right, off to look at qvc to see if I can find the things I know I saw.

Edit - QVC's a bust. I'm sure I remember a little 5 piece tool set that came with an interchangeable telescopic pole. The tools clicked into the end of the pole so you could plant bulbs or pull weeds or snip things from stood up. The pole bent to different angles too, it was a marvelous looking thing.

middlewife

I'm on the mend thanks, checked my seedlings and have tomatoes, chard, lettuce poking through. The chillies and padron peppers have yet to appear, but it may be a bit too cool on the windowsill. I've turned the radiator on underneath it, so hopefully they'll put in an appearance. I love this time of year. We cut back a mature camellia last year and it's absolutely covered in blooms, beautiful!

wort

middlewife Ive seen some stunning large camellias lately, the pink ones. I’m not a fan of the red ones as I think they look a bit waxy and false looking.

Definitely wasn’t a cat wee tree, I wouldn’t have got so close otherwise.

Dusty I had just been looking at when to harvest rhubarb then saw your photo. Dd2s are looking quite big 😋mmm crumble!
YBE not sure you’d want me painting, I’m quite messy when my patience runs out.

I planted my ranunculas corms , and some acid something’s that are gladiolus type.

Hope everyone’s limbs are holding up well, have a good weekend, it’s looking grey here and chillier than of late. But I’ve been lucky the past few days off.

Farway

Morning folks, it's blooming cold and dull, wind cut right through me when I put the broad beans out to continue hardening off

DD is flying off to Gozo this morning for a week, she'll be warm at least

The click in long handled tools stuff, I asked AI, still around. Search on Wolf Garten starter pack [about £35], or buy handle, C£17 and add tool heads £12 -£20 depending on head

Not cheap is it? Garden Centres, Amazon, Buy & Queue

Find willing, or not, DGC and set them to work for tea & cake

YBE said You've reminded me I keep wanting to grow mangy touts Farway. The packets in the shops are getting dearer and dearer for less of them *sigh * Do I have to go buy seeds or can I just buy some fresh ones and grow them from them?

I don't think fresh will do, not mature enough, you need bullet hard pea sized seeds. Maybe wait until free P & P or sale on?. You could also try Sugar Snap types as alternative, bit larger & fuller than Manky Toots. Or just bog standard and pick young while keeping peeled eyes open for "proper" MTs?

Or, thinking sideways, grow some Broad beans and use the young pods, and eat the tops while at it. I've used young BB pods, not like MT taste at all, but nice, cooked & eaten same way

All set with Super speed highways now YBE, hope the apps etc work, never easy i find, simple things are never that simple

The toms I sowed on the 1st are up and moved from airing cupboard to window sill. No sign of castor Oil yet.

The M Toot seeds are on damp paper above radiator to sprout. If I think of it I'll sow a few directly into a pot and see if pre sprouting makes any difference. I mainly pre sprout to sort out the good from bad, good will sprout, bad will rot.

No gardening apart from sow some trial MT peas in a pot

YoungBlueEyes

Gawd they don't keep you in long eh middlewife, you're home already. Ooh I love a camelia 😊

Ok wort I'll sort out my own fence if you plant extra ranunculous, I love them but they just die on me here. I had loads in my last garden…

I'll have to keep my eye out for some proper seeds then Farway, thanks for the info🙂Sugar snaps are a perfectly acceptable alternative tbh, I could eat a full pack of either of them in one go *yum * Safe travels to DD 🤞

Anyway, a couple of pics.

I can contribute to the snowy frosty flower theme. It was still happily flowering even though it was v late when the cold came and took it ☹️ It was on 21st Nov last year -

Also - a solution for you Farway if you’re sure your front border is fertilised enough now -

That was from a while ago, outside Poor Friend's neighbour's house. Good that eh.

Dustyevsky

Bluey said: How's the sciatica Dusty? Does being a lumberjack help or hinder 😄

It seems a little better, thanks. 😊However, those who've had it will know you can be fine one minute, and not so fine the next, having done something to aggravate it. I don't even know what I did to set it off. 😥 One thing's clear, I can't be having it long, especially at this time of year. Most jobs need a lot of ground level grovelling! 😫

Cutting the trees down doesn't need a lot of bending after the first two cuts. It's lopping all the branches off and picking the trunks up that hurts! Those are mostly still where they fell. 😐️

My mangy toots are just breaking the surface of the compost. I completely forgot my bargain seed sprouter, bought in Lidl for £1 last year.😥 I suspect Farway's damp kitchen roll is as good as anything. Like him, I'm seeing proper leaves on some toms now. So are other people, and already we've had "May I have some of those nice tomatoes, like last year?" When you ask the name…..blank looks! 😅 I'll need to sow some more.🙂

2p, I've got it now. Farway wants tall, and you want short and dainty. 😊 In this windy place I'll probably settle for middling. Regardless of size,the idea of perennial veg is an interesting avenue to explore. I recall -taff's into that.😉

I ran limped to fetch the camera last night to catch the watery sunset, but I was too late:

This is the elm hedge we love to hate. In a couple of weeks it will burst forth with new leaves, and we'll keep trying to grow things under it. I've finally managed to trim the sides (a standing-up job! 😄)

Fingers crossed for your chillies middlewife. I had no luck with a few put in early, but the second lot are mostly through. I shall have to try again with the err…intriguingly named, 'Cardiff Queen.' 🤐

twopenny

How are the views now Middle wife? Sounds like you're getting around ok.

Today and tomorrow is moving stuff around day. Furniture in funny places so I can function on my own and hope to be sorting the photos as a passtime so expect to be deluged 😊

Once I've set up the siege scenario I need to sort the getting into the garden next.

Dusty sciatica is the worst I think. Do you swim? I found doing the crawl without kicking legs worked for me when I ruptured a disc.

Bluey you seem very up and at em with the garden. Or is it all in your head 😉

Farway too, delegating and designing. Looking forward to pics of what's going on.

Greenbee, how come you have a photo of a honey puppy when your love is black. Don't answer if it incriminates you 😄