Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

Dusty the bright yellow-green one looks like something I'm growing (and is just starting to bolt now) called Tokyo Bekana - a "Chinese cabbage/leaves" variety. I also have a very frilly mustard called Golden Frills that came from a mixed pack, along with something else that I can't ID - doesn't seem to match any of the other vars on the packet and can't see anything in online pics that looks like it… Must take a pic! (before it goes over too far…) Maybe you have same and we can cross ref…

Dustyevsky

Less, I don't think the yellow-green plant is Tokyo Bekana because that seems to have wavy edged leaves, My plants are notably smooth edged and rather bland-looking.

By all means share pics. As before, I don't always know what I'm growing or ID the oriental stuff accurately. Now, I think my komatsuna might be tatsoi ! 😄 I know we intend to grow lots of the oriental stuff under cover next winter, especially if times get hard. 😞

More strong easterly winds this morning mean we'll be drying out rapidly again today. I'm feeling delicate after my spending spree yesterday, so a few quiet hours of watering and pirking-out will do nicely before a committee meeting in late afternoon. How I hate dislike those! 😥

There's not much hedgehog news. We record one or two every night and some food is eaten, but in my opinion, some have moved further afield. They aren't hugely social animals and nor do they need the fancy boxes we've given them, now nights are warming-up.

May I claim the first aquilegia flower this year? It's a rather poor photo, and a bog standard dark blue and white. There will be a better picture of the cowslips in the background tomorrow. 😉

twopenny

Wow, mine are still tiny plants. That is beautiful. Lovely colour. 🙂

Got my op date yesterday so all of a dither, excited and worried. Going for long drives in the country to absorb all the wide open spaces and wildflowers. Of course it has to be the time I love most to be out and about but it is what it is.

I've sown runners directly into soil after a soaking. Short of space and detered by the blackfly last year I'm ambivalent about them. Must make sure I have weedkiller and such at the back door as the garage will be off limits.

I'm waiting for my veg plants to grow. They are still tiny but making a little progress with new compost and feeding. Should just about make it so I can get them in before then they are on their own.

At the moment then I've left my kale and broccoli go to seed. The insects love it beyond all others and then free seed. Wonder if I saved seed last year? Would that grow better?

I absolutely promise I will label Everything this autumn 🙄

Farway I love your avatar. ♥️ Is it hard to do?

Farway

Bit later today, finally got erse & car into gear and went to Home Bs, main item was compost, I hear you Dusty, but it was Hobson's choice at HB, so I've got Levington essential, which I seem to recall reading is carp, but any port in a storm as they say, main use will be for the posh dinner plate dahlias, so a few tree trunks will be OK if I add slow release fertiliser and some BFB

I also bought some sort of DIY box thing with a wigwam built in, probably cheap and useless, but may just be handy for any excess climbing beans

Talking of which, I sowed some of my own saved, 2024, runner seeds, just in case.

2P I've sown runners directly into soil after a soaking. Short of space and detered by the blackfly last year I'm ambivalent about them

At the moment then I've left my kale and broccoli go to seed. The insects love it beyond all others and then free seed. Wonder if I saved seed last year? Would that grow better

It was the blackfly that deterred me, but with all the talk about Hummus [😁] I weakened and reckoned worth a go if there are maybe veg supply problems

Saving own seed, DYOR but it seems common belief, maybe fact, that seeds from plants in your garden are not only fresher, but they are used to all the things in your garden, climate, bugs etc. and will just improve. Witness my forever foxgloves and nasturtiums, soon to be joined, i hope, by Honesty.

The only problem I foresee with something like kale / broccoli is if it gets cross pollinated with some wild version and you get an inferior strain. Worth a go though, at least get some green leafy veg

The smart, last years buy, sack truck was very handy trundling compost from car to conservatory.

Dusty, May I claim the first aquilegia flower this year? Damn you sir 😯, I was going to snap mine this afternoon. Mind it's not as nice as yours, mine's the bog standard purple sort, but it's an improvement on the zero I had before

2P, hope op goes well, will you be laid up for a bit do you think? Or able to limp about trundling your trolley?

🤬🤬🤬 No recycling Hit squads here Dusty, my green waste bin was missed yesterday, yet again, the Klingon Cloaking device seems to be working overtime. Complaint lodged, hard to be civil, but needs must. Maybe no body told them?😂

Jobs for today, get photo of, also ran, grubby purple Aquilegia and attempt to assemble whatever it is I have bought with a wigwam

PS, just refreshed, Farway I love your avatar. ♥️ Is it hard to do?

No, if it were I couldn't do it. I'll PM you, in the meantime find a photo of you, that you like & you will not mind sharing on line as a caricature type. And find Google Gemini AI. It;s probably easier on a PC or laptop than a phone

twopenny

Don't know about the moving around. Everyone is different and who knows how awake the surgeon is 😵‍💫 but seems I will be tired and hardly moveable for about 2 weeks and sleeping and then it's anyone's guess for the next 4.

So expect all the questions I think about arriving as online is going to be my main conversation 😄

middlewife

Hi 2p, things get a lot better when clips come out at 2 weeks and the bruising and swelling is decreasing too. But everyone I've spoken to is different, I'm walking a total of 6000 steps in a day, at 7 weeks, but the longest I can walk for is 20 minutes, any longer and I get pain at night, all very weird! Can go up and downstairs without crutches although slow, can't yet manage a normal loo. Walking inside without crutches 75% of the time, using one crutch outside 75% of the time. Had no choice but to drive at 6 weeks as OH too poorly to take me to physio, so I can get places but not walk far once I'm there. I went back to desk job at 4 weeks but only 2 half days. I'm slowly developing patience, have also managed 10 minutes on spin bike but not swimming yet, bit wary of slipping.

Used to have a wild aquilegia every year but hasn't appeared the last two

Good luck when it comes

Dustyevsky

2p: Everyone is different and who knows how awake the surgeon is 😵‍💫

I have it on good authority from someone who worked alongside him, Dr Jimmy Smart, anaesthetist, and creator of Marwood Hill Gardens, used to take his gardening books into theatre to read in 'quiet moments!' 😲

Farway: find a photo of you, that you like & you will not mind sharing on line as a caricature type. And find Google Gemini AI. It;s probably easier on a PC or laptop than a phone

On 1st April, DD1 arranged for colleagues at work to message Mrs Dusty about the llamas she supposedly had for sale. They asked some really daft questions. It was a while before Mrs D remembered what the date was.🤣

Last week, following-on from the llama prank, a birthday card arrived with an AI generated photo of Mrs Dusty in dungarees, surrounded by llamas. I wish I could show it, but it's too close to real life! 😎

LessImpecunious

See what you mean about the not-Tokyo Bekana Dusty - think I was looking at the leaf with the slightly chewed edge, plus the leaves on bolting stems (of various things I have) also tend towards smoother edges, but having looked at mine today, not as smooth as yours!

Here is my mystery veg, and in second pic shown with Tokyo B, very wavy edged 😁 Left them big for ID purposes...

LessImpecunious

PS my aquilegias also about to bust forth soon, but like Farway suspect first ones at least will be murky …😐️

twopenny

Looks like something I've seen in a packet, well both do but darned if I can remember the name.😴