Awful weather - typical Brits talk

wort · 9 April at 9:33AM

joyful news 🎉 the squished Tom seeds have sprouted !! 😍 I didn’t expect them so quick. Do I take the plastic bag off the pots yet or wait for 2nd leaves ?

Many happy returns to Farway, I hope you had cake in the sunshine.

We’ve had 2 days is sun , I spent a full day Tuesday in the garden. I took out the rotted post without disturbing the jasmine then decided to cut off most of it, I’m debating wether to keep or not. After which I chopped back the evergreen hydrangea and evergreen clematis trying to make room for my new arch.

I have planted some of the seeds from Tesco, still waiting for the mail for the others. The clematis on the other arch is ready to burst into flower.

Yesterday I spent the morning at dd2 painting. Then the late afternoon with dsis relaxing in the sun.

Dusty your sunset was better than my sunrise. Here’s hoping clearing the silt will push the water through the dam.

Gawd 2p not a good day with the accidents, but I love your trolley . You’re lucky to have a man’s shed near you.

wort · 9 April at 9:38AM

Love these, they close up and open in the sun . They've come back every year for at least 10 years .

Dustyevsky · 9 April at 11:08AM

Well done on reaching umpteen, Farway. 🍰 Mentally, it's a vast improvement on the confused state of 'teen.' 🙃 If only one could have the teen body to go with it, eh? 🏃 Regardless, I think you commissioned portrait is much nicer than the one HRH had done a couple of years ago…say no more! 👹

We could do with a swish trolley like yours here 2p, especially a Back to the Future one, which would hover over uneven ground and make the daily chore of pushing barrows up the slope so much easier.☺️ Backalong, when people first landed on the moon, possibly, I thought we'd have that sort of thing by the time I was nearly umpteen. Oh, well. Mrs Dusty's lilac barrow is knackered, so she'll be getting a delightful new one for her coming of pension age soon. Of course, with the age going up this year, that's just moved away from her. 🤐

Still no hedgehog action to report, -taff. I know the houses are very cosy and full of dry leaves, but you'd think they would come out and explore. It was 13c here last night, yet only the usual suspects turned up to have their ready meal. We'll have to seek advice from Hedgehog Central. 🤔

It was lovely yesterday, basking in 20c again, getting on with all the jobs in a T-shirt, and without the wind blasting us. Mrs Dusty was exhausted after 3 days as substitute parent, but she too pitched in with the catch-up. By 19.00 when we'd had enough, I noticed my froat was a little sore and my nose was sniffly.😟 I thought “Oh, no, it's lurgy!” I suppose it was to be expected after cradling an infant leaking snot from both facial orifices for 3 days…..but this morning, it's not too bad. DD is still unwell with it, but as GC is back at nursery, we escape! 😉

-taff I have much experience 'moving stones' and there will be more if I'm ever to complete the last deep bed in the poly.😕 The pile of earth is mercifully nearby, and it's now dry enough to riddle, so I've no excuse. You haven't said where your pile of woodchip is, but maybe it's like the mountains of road chippings we have around here. These now fill the larger lay-bys. I suspect if they didn't, certain sections of the population would set up camp, and moving them on is way more expensive than losing a few tonnes of gravel. It cost £50k to close an illegal site near here, and that was well over 10 years ago. 😮

Light duties today. It's cloudy with potential drizzle, but as 2p says, the sun may shine later.

Shuttlecock ferns unfolding near the stream:

Farway · 9 April at 11:39AM

Morning all, post birthday trip to Morries, excuse was I needed some bread but hoped to find the wee fuchsias they sell around about now. Got bread, nix fuchsias but plenty of other bedding& fruit trees, like busy lizzies, geraniums, left those on the shelves.

Came home with a late birthday Melton Mowbray pork pie and small 100g, free bar of cheap choc as consolation, at my age, my teeth, having got this far, will outlast me now 😁 MB pie in lieu of birthday trifle, as befits my age

DD is treating me to Sunday lunch out, very nice of her but gawd isn't all expensive these days? I was shocked at prices, and we are not talking posh pub / restaurant here, but it's also not chain frozen burgers either, it's into the £18 fish & chips, £17 ploughman's and £13 pizza range 😮

To commemorate the birthday I planted out the final tranche of Mange toots and started a fresh dozen seeds of "Desiree" Runners on damp paper, hope these grow, supposed to be white flowers and the seeds are white,looking like butter beans

Taff, thanks for tip about B & M, nearly went this morning but it's the opposite direction from Morries. Hope the dinner pate dahlia does well, mine are potted up but no sign of sprouting yet. And sowing flowers, can get addictive, next stage is sowing pretty flowers you can eat, fruit trees for example, or fancy flowered runners

Wort joyful news 🎉 the squished Tom seeds have sprouted !! 😍 I didn’t expect them so quick. Do I take the plastic bag off the pots yet or wait for 2nd leaves. Well done you, easy isn't it? Fresh seeds of course. I'd remove the poly bag, unless in a draught or summat, lets air in, stops them getting leggy & soft, plus helps prevent damping off as well

Dusty, congrats on avoiding lurgy, long may avoidance last. I'm another who thought that by now we''be whizzing round in flying cars, do you think I can sue the whoever is the Eagle publishers for shattered boy hood dreams? I did so want a hovering Mekon disc and defeat the Treens along with Dan Dare, Pilot of the future.

https://www.dandare.org.uk/

Gardening none really, all up to date, except noticed some old blackberry canes I missed pruning out. Next time I go down there I'll do it, no rush.

LessImpecunious · 9 April at 10:01PM

More on bees - article in the Guardian today https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/08/say-no-to-pesticides-mix-up-your-lawn-and-six-more-ways-to-help-bees-to-thrive includes the suggestion to take part in a Pollinator Monitoring Scheme - which involves sitting and watching a patch of flowers for 10 minutes and recording all the different types of insects (there is guidance on how to do that on the "POMS" website apparently (have not had chance to follow up yet!) - sounds like an ideal way to occupy yourself after the op 2P 😊

Hmm, shouldn't have complained - too cold today🙄

Dustyevsky · 10 April at 9:17AM

Farway: DD is treating me to Sunday lunch out, very nice of her but gawd isn't all expensive these days? I was shocked at prices, and we are not talking posh pub / restaurant here, but it's also not chain frozen burgers either, it's into the £18 fish & chips….

It was only a few years ago, Mrs Dusty and I would drive to the best fish & chip shop in the area, buy two fish meals, and we'd still get change from a tenner. 😮 Maybe our waistlines have benefited, but we do that far less often now. 😪 Apparently British cod stocks are low and we should avoid eating more of them, but I'm a haddock man, and Mrs D favours plaice, preferably the dark side. 🤖

Farway: congrats on avoiding lurgy, long may avoidance last.

Ah, I said it wasn't too bad, and it isn't, but Mrs Dusty and I both have it.😢 Must be a new strain. It's made DD2 really ill.😰 Like wort, she's 'customer facing,' so inured to most common bugs. However, she's expecting again, so her immunity's low, and she can't even take the P relief.

We both worked a normal day yesterday, sorting out the dry base of our long elm hedgerow, only developed properly in the past few years following a big cutback. We thought growing there would be more challenging than it is. Eventually, the wind increased so much we retired to other jobs, with me in the polytunnel, endlessly pirking-out.

-taff, I always admire those huge dahlias at the Autumn Show, though our garden really isn't suited to such refined things. Our own dahlia seed failed this spring, but the Bishop's Children, courtesy of T&M, came to the rescue.☺️ Unusually, our tubers from last year have mostly survived too. All are dark leaved, unfussy types, still liable to be munched by molluscs of course.😕

wort, it's an extra buzz when that messy bit of kitchen roll, costing nothing, transforms into baby toms! 🤠 It nearly always does, and without any fermenting faffing about, as Farway says. 😉 Sadly, our pepper seeds, dried and stored in the usual way, didn't work this year. The bought ones did….mostly.

Less: Hmm, shouldn't have complained - too cold today🙄

We may scrape into double figures today, and 2p will certainly do so. She'll be sheltered from the strong southerly wind in the middle of the day. 🤔Rain overnight, and back to more high wind tomorrow. 😫We won't go above about 9c, if we're lucky. Better next week, Still, those WX Charts people forecast snow for today in the Daily Blah a week or two ago, so maybe we should be pleased there's none….even in Inverness! 😛.

Variegated Flag iris in the late evening sun, flanked by Tiarella cordifolia. A winning combination for a really poor bit of soil in a place where you might never get around to sorting that out! 🤣

Farway · 10 April at 10:34AM

Bit of a shock this morning, turned cold & dull overnight, forecast is much the same, so worst of everything, cold but no rain, and after the warm weather means I will need to get the watering can out for the front pots, not too dry but no real rain in the long term forecast and I don't want the pots to dry out.

Striking pic of the flags Dusty, a bonus if flowers are good as well. Variegated Flag iris in the late evening sun, flanked by Tiarella cordifolia. A winning combination for a really poor bit of soil in a place where you might never get around to sorting that out! 🤣 I hear you, my dog poo border sounds ideal spot, rock hard poor brick clay, trod on by numerous creatures, 2 & 4 legged, checking up, seems moisture or water is better. One for me to look further into.

Glad to hear Bishop's Children came good. Looks like lots of dahlia pics later in the year on here. One of my posh new ones is Cafe Au Lait, I've admired it and gawped at many a show one, if all turns out as planned I'll need to buy some sturdy supports soon

Good news, my free cucumbers have germinated, go cucurbits 😆! Moved onto bathroom window sill to develop

If sun ever comes out enough to warm me I also have some pirking out, tomatoes into single pots. Young Paul Robeson is turning into a strapping lad and showing every sign of becoming a giant. Plus the some of the copse of various varieties I have on the go.

Noticed my kind neighbour has mowed my grass for me, same one who lopped the Judas tree back. I see he has left the Boysenberry escapee that rooted into his garden, no doubt decided to leave it. Wise move IMO, should do well where it is

The crab apple planted on verge opposite last year, suggested by me after council asked for Eco tree planting places suggestions, it's now in full blossom, covered in white flowers, should be great as it grows in years to come.

I did have a photo, and of my japonica [quince] but neither came out well. Try again later, and of some apple blossom just opening up in my garden. Next week is supposed to be OK so the blossom should be fine, a bumper crop by the looks of it so far. The pears certainly are looking well, all three trees now open, just need pollinators

Had my first Queen Wasp yesterday, getting warm enough to wake them up. This one must have been indoors, it was batting on the window, so kind, and foolish, old me opened window to let her out, maybe her DNA memory will spare me a sting later in the year?

YoungBlueEyes · 11 April at 8:03AM

Morning all. I wrote a great long post yesterday then it disappeared into the ether so I did DomNon and food shopping and stuff instead.

Happy even more belated now Birthday Farway and many more to come 🎂🍻 Your portrait is a belter, more pleasing than an actual HRH type painting 😁Is there not room for some dahlias in there too…?

Ooh I like your pullalong 2p, that's just the ticket and a fab colour too 😀Are you putting a bucket handle on that twine, make it more comfortable to pull? Hooray that your ants have died en masse 👏 I can't remember where I got this from now, but is petrol also a good thing to destroy/mask their scent trails…?

Dusty I know what you mean about the price of chish'n'fips - being so close to 'Ull you'd think ours would be reasonable but it's not. Large for himself and a small for me with peas and curry to share has long been in "treat once in a while" territory. That's why we run up to Filey for them now and make a day of it, if it's gonna cost all that much I want the good stuff but we'll just have it less often.

Free woodchip and free compost taff? Well then I'd do the same, it's their fault for leaving it out imo. Unless it has a sign on it saying "Don't touch this, it's not yours" cos that would be Wrong. Mind if your council is anything like mine they'll not be at work long enough to spot you 😄

Woohoo for your squished tom seeds growing wort! Easy innit. I don't know what your 2 flowers are but they look like they smell heavenly ☺️

Is this cool weather your fault then Less for saying you were too hot 😛 Was it Wednesday that was beautiful? It was lovely here, soft dry air and some real warmth in it. I can't remember what temp we got up to, 20 or 21 I think, and it was perfect ☺️ Today it'll rain, possibly, in the next hour or so, (they've been saying in the next hour since I got up 🙄) but it'll be nice this aft, perhaps.

ETA - Ooh it worked! Right, pics next then.

YoungBlueEyes · 11 April at 8:17AM

Bahh I can't get the spacing right and it won't let me type at the top 🤔 Anyway, are these the world's diddiest cherry trees? Also a LadybirdBum. It was sat happily on a petal but by the time I'd reached my phone outta me erse pocket it came over all shy.

YoungBlueEyes · 11 April at 8:26AM

On my phone now to type first before pics. These are from yesterday morning when it was lovely and sunny.
I’m doing alright so far for blossoms (unless that wind takes them today, it’s kinda breezy out)