Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Davesnave

MovingForwards said:

I do like seeing the photos, makes the chats more realistic and less online.
5 tons of compost arrived at 8am this morning, it's now been distributed.
Can I go to sleep now!

I think you deserve to have a nap at the very least after that. I did and I 'only' went shopping, albeit  a 38 mile round trip along country roads in a 3.5 tonne van, with all the usual games involving tractors, camper vans and elderly persons with brontosaurus-style reaction times. However, if I don't go out on a decent run with it once a fortnight the battery goes flat!

Having only recently surfaced, I have no photo of my own for you, but DB took one of the Dark Dorkings when they'd finished their afternoon gym session and settled down. She is convinced they're all females, and in consideration of the consequences if they're not, I'm happy to believe her. 4 weeks old tomorrow.

phoebe1989seb

I'm very envious of their cute, featheriness, Dave...all I've got at the moment are a family of seven rats that have taken over the courtyard 😡 The sooner we get rid of the remainder of the PO's decking out there, the better!

I did manage to take an ok-ish pic of our mature Acer. It's another of those *we didn't know it was here when we bought the place* plants, but a very welcome one..... unlike the never ending ground elder which I've spent the afternoon removing 🙄 There's actually a smaller Acer behind this one, but it's very straggly as it doesn't get much light where it is. Lurking behind, right on the boundary is a gangly ornamental cherry tree too. We really need to get in there and sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak 😉

The very tall trunk in the background is one of our two Scots pines.

MovingForwards

Dave, they're gorgeous! I'm enjoying seeing them grow up.

Phoebe, that's a nice view and feels very private.

We went for ice cream and I've not got the energy to go back outside, it's also starting to look like a scene from the fog. I've definitely not got my water and mountain views at the moment.

twopenny

A good excuse to buy some more things But that does sound like a depressing amount. Have you cleaned hte lens Phoebe ;-)

My garden is looking very shabby between the rot from the rain, shredding from the wind and the slugs.

Got lots of questions about 'what to plant' and such now things are beginning to get a hold and I can see where I need to make changes but don't know what.

The fact that plant places are just stacking high popular stuff and it vanishing makes it tough to get ideas.

That is some good looking compost MF's. Good idea to use the bags. Are they stable enough when filled?

Yep, I'm in the same boat that I can only do stuff on my knees today. Things have conspired to criple me this week. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

MovingForwards

Twopenny when planning gardens I release the inner child, get some paper and draw the garden and any 'fixed' items eg patio, paths and anything else which can't really be moved. Then I dig the coloured pencils out, another bit of papers and start creating plants, sections and other ideas, cutting everything out and then moving them around the paper garden to see what works best.

I spent a few days cutting down the sides on the ones I had from doing my garden, then folded the sides into the bag. Today's lot I carefully folded in. They're fairly stable with the compost in due to being double thick and the compost helps them keep shape too. Most of them are filled nearly to the brim, a couple are ³/4 filled. 

Last and this year I used £1 supermarket bags for my spuds, the builders sacks are just a bigger version 🤭

twopenny

Ah MF;s but when planning did you have waste water pipes. 5 drain covers. a neighbour who leaves her shed door open to bang on one side and 3 vent pipes for heating and a badger run on your boundary?

I have move the garden bench twice, now I want my seating area the other side of the garden - I think.

The view of the hills fronted by the tennis court floodlights so I have more veg room............

This doesn't happen in Love your garden.

I used to grow my potatoes in compost heaps when I had a big garden. 2 jobs one space. Worked really well.

MovingForwards

Twopenny, nope just quite a simple shape, with a seating area and so many tree stumps and neglected trees, now there's wild rabbits popping up. Good luck planning, it will all work out!

Apodemus

I always let my aquilegias do their own thing and run rampant across the garden and this year the usual range of blues, pinks and purples have been joined by the two beauties below.  They both look identical, and must, surely have been from a single pollination.  However it came about, they are a nice addition to the population and I'll be harvesting the seed for transfer to other borders.  

phoebe1989seb

Beautiful, Apodemus 😄

Twopenny, I have, but think it's just that my phone is overloaded with stuff - I bought an SD card for extra storage but haven't got round to using it yet 🙄

Wrt plants, I guess it's all part of getting used to new growing conditions here in Wales, which - having been used to the south of England - can be a challenge, lol! Lots of stuff is doing really well - particularly the roses of which we've planted about 60 now! - and some things we were naive to ever think they'd like the conditions. You've got to try though 😉

Not much gardening done today - not on account of the weather which is dry and warm if dull - but because a road trip to Cardiff Ikea was required: to get massive storage for our hallway. Fortunately it all fitted in the Landy, but we came home £603 lighter.

Three rats were caught last night 😎

twopenny

Apodemus I love the soft yellow. I bought one this year in soft yellow with a pink tinge. I wonder is someone nearby had one last year and seed got 'transfered' or a pollinator did the deed?

I'm now struggling with wanting more but if I put it with the pinks and purples the seed won't come true. Ho hum.

My onions that didn't swell and I was using as 'spring onions' have suddenly started to swell with the sunshine. Seems the wrong way around. Still no blackfly on the broad beans that are planted among onions. Have I found the answer do you think?

Otherwise out doing chores and playing tennis, done no more than water pots and contemplate where plants will be moved this winter.

I'm loving the dark red/purple/black (changes with the light) iris as a backdrop the dark red rose and magenta clematis are coming out.