Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Less: Interesting, Dusty, that daffs (presume wild/native ones?) were still in flower at this time in 2010 - all but the very late cultivars are over now here…

I've checked the EXIF data and the date's correct. 🙂 However, 2009/10 was an extremely severe winter, so maybe everything was late that spring? They're dwarf daffs, and they've been there for many generations.

wort: I hope Mrs Dusty is putting her feet up, and recovering. You are very generous with your time, good idea to offer them a phone number of someone they can employ to do the mowing for them. Are they only planning on being there part time?

Mrs Dusty's OK, but she has respiratory damage from when she was young, so although we rarely catch bugs, when we do, she takes longer than me to recover. 😒

I'm not keen to continue mowing at our new neighbour's property, but everyone deserves help when they take on a challenging new home. We were lucky to have good people assisting and advising us when we moved here and faced years of neglect. These neighbours are like we were, working between 2 properties for a while, and doing almost the same 100-mile journey each way. ☹️ At least they have youth on their side; I was 61 when we bought this place, and that was 10 years later than I'd have preferred. 😪

I'm admiring your goosgogs and rhubarb, Farway, the latter looking like you've arranged it casually on the back of a Tamworth pig! 😂

Yesterday was much less wet than expected from the forecast, so it remains to be seen if the deluges we are promised for today, materialise. It's fairly certain I'll continue in the polytunnel planting and re-potting etc. I've got the first courgettes in, and my bucket of peas is about a foot up the stakes, but all we're harvesting currently is the last of the winter chard and some fresh salads.

Outdoors, the usual flowering plants are now making things more cheerful, but for a change, I'll feature a shrub grown mainly for foliage, Physocarpus 'Dart's Gold.'

Apologies, I misquoted someone, but it's been amended.😇

Farway

Dull start, but supposed to brighten & warm up for this afternoon.

Hope all lurgy, backs, legs, arms and other "bits" are good for everyone. ☺️

Watching GW on YT I saw Lily of the Valley, now I think they may do well in my Dog Poo border. I know they spread and all the other bad things, but in that position, poor, dry, dappled shade, it will not matter because it is constrained by concrete paths, and poor soil. Just need to find some that are not daft price, possibly pot grown at a local GC?

All Runner beans are now potted up, just need to get heads above soil before they decide to rot away

The purple podded mange toots are above the compost in the pot, hopefully they will survive to give me food & some fresh seeds for next year

Started to harden off the Bish of Oxford dahlia, that's from last year. One of this years dinner plate ones, Cafe Au Lait,[SP ?] is now showing above the pot compost

My metal plant support sticks arrived yesterday, look far better than I hoped from Flea bay. Just in time because the broad beans are just starting to get a lean on them, I need to prop up before they go horizontal

Not sure who said it, about everything just bursting forth in the last week or so, I noticed it this morning, all the apple & pear blossom is out, bees will be stuck for choice. Plus my Judas tree is opening, needs some sun & it will be lovely against the white fruit blossom, the sort of picture I just can't capture on camera

Just refreshed, noted Dusty courgettes in, my round ones have baby buds showing, but I don't want them doing much right now except get decent roots after recent potting on, not hardened off & growing spot not yet available

My green Mange toot have settled in & growth started, if sun does come out I'll cut some old blackberry sticks for them to climb

Here's 2025 wisteria arch at RHS Wisley. no gas flue in sight

twopenny

My you've been busy Farway!

Glorious colour that shrub Dusty. Does it flower?

Only thing I got around to today was wiping off the black bugs on the cherry leaves. They breed and move fast and can be devastating to foliage and fruit. It's a job I'll have to continue until the rape seed plants stop flowering. I may try fleece again though they are already there.

Yesterday I put a couple of veg seedlings into my own compost and they perked up and doubled in size overnight. So more of that to be tackled tomorrow.

Less rain than forecast but enough to water the garden 😀

LessImpecunious

Re the daffs I was really thinking that maybe was evidence that things (or at least daffs) were flowering (and going over) earlier now than then…I've never really kept a good record of when ours flower here (though I try to submit records to the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar phenology study (when I remember🙄) daffs aren't included - probably because too many cultivars to muddy the pic - though snowdrops are….).

Thought I ought to include some gardening news, so - pirked out cucumbers today, have courgettes and squashes following on; toms need potting on as they have suddenly developed into an etiolated forest in their cramped module tray in the past few days (sorry no pics!); early pea and bean plantings outside seem to be being demolished by voles or similar…😣)… Lovely late afternoon sun after damp, drizzle and rain earlier…

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on International World Heritage Day :)

I agree stuff is going over earlier now Less, daffs especially. When I got married first time - late May approx mumble ahem years ago - we'd only just missed the daffs. Now they're out and gone and we're only half way through April. It's deffo A Thing.

Sorry I've been MIA, it's all going a bit wrong here :( I have a double ear infection and tennis elbow and poss the start of carpel tunnel in my left wrist. That rotten job is ruining me. Himself is fully of lurgy, the filthy animal, so that'll be me next week 😏 And most shocking of all is Cissie sent me a parcel the other day (she doesn't send me anything other than Easter/birthday/Christmas cards since I managed to convince her I really can buy Good Winter Coats and Proper Jumpers here) She's sent me seed potatoes of all things, with a letter about how dire this year is going to be for them and all veg in general, the food prices are a shame and disgrace, and our gouging gubbmint is worse than hers 😮 Even when I was on the bones of me erse she never so much as sent me a fiver but now I'm getting seed potatoes! It's all going wrong out there folks. Also - mango mussolini tango fuehrer !!!!!! dorito 😆🤐

I've got to get in my garden today, the weeds are overrunning the place out there. My toms are more than ready for pirking out, and my sweet peas need doing too. Oh and I've got about 20 starlings moved in and a couple of magpies 😞

OT mild out there at 9'c but a bit of dampness in it. It needs to lift cos I've himself's work clothes in the wash…

Edit - just had to look up etiolated. It's a good word is that eh.

wort

Quick pic from garden this morning. Just through the arch you can see the scalped forsythia.

wort

Kept meaning to catch this one before all the blooms fell off .

wort

Happy birthday 🎂 to Mrs D .

Farway I've been eating all dd2s rhubarb, lovely stewed with yogurt. Would prefer crumble but I can't make decent gluten free. Should really try again. Yeah for the goosegogs.

wort

Farway you tease, my cafe au last is still asleep. It's been in the house waking up longer than before it was a twinkle in your eye. Granted my house is generally freezing.

YBE don't do too much, you need to be looking after yourself you sound rather run down.

greenbee

Fabulous arch wort. What is it? I have three arches on the veg plot and am trying to decide what to grow up them. Other suggestions welcomed!