Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

wort: ah no Farway another 👂 🐛 needles and pinza 😂

'Love Potion Number 9' was much more fun, and surprisingly racy for something composed in the 50s. 😲 But then, 'Lola' somehow got past the BBC censors, who fixated on the brand name 'Coca Cola' and demanded it be changed to 'Cherry Cola. Great piece of distraction psychology! 😄

Plenty of DP still going on, but now it's Auntie doing it!

Yellow leaves? I can do you those. Although most of my toms are fine, there's a couple in the polytunnel which have a suspected magnesium deficiency. Voilà!

I've given them some Epsom Salts, so now they'll probably shrivel-up in protest if I don't tell them the brand! 😄 It was Westland, and no lavender was harmed in its production. 😉

Just out of shot in that picture are about 30 tomato seedlings. Heinz 57, of course, but most will be ex- Cherry Falls. There were fuchsias in our Morries when I last looked, but I don't go there much. It's one that's likely to get the chop, and very deserving if it does. I must get a photo of their trolley stand, covered in filth, but still assuring us of their high hygiene standards from the days of C19. 😮

Happy to learn most of you are virtually lurgy-free now. If it's any consolation,2p, the one we've had doesn't seem to target the lungs, though it sure makes people cough. Mrs Dusty is still catching up on sleep lost coughing last night.😕

Farway: Hope the op can go ahead as planned, unless it's in the stars and like Holby City, a tanker is going to crash into the hospital.

When Mrs Dusty was suddenly hospitalised 100 miles from here a few years ago, she had to enter A&E by a convoluted route. A bus driver had lost control and reversed through the front entrance. 😨 This sowed a great deal of confusion for staff, but not for me, because I knew the site well….Correction, I knew it 12 years previously. In the meantime, they'd built a new A&E. 🙄 So, between the bus damage, the reallocation of the old A&E site + Mrs Dusty's phone dying on her at the critical moment, picking her up to go home almost became something from a Franz Kafka novel. It wasn't that far from 'Holby' either. 😉

Another day of strong gusts from the south-east, drying everything out. It's warm, but wearing. 😕Relief comes tomorrow, allegedly.

twopenny

I'll be brief because I'm feeling lousy 🤢 looks like a postponed op as I have the chest infection the nurse cleverly predicted. Must have been the giving up of smoking and alcohol 😬

Done some pottering between rests. Tied up raspberries that are collapsing in the wind. Watering, it's 27c in the back, and planted 2 more toms and a lavender. One of the toms was Cherry Falls 😀 Found on the plant stand at Proper Job. So I'm in the club now!

Debugged the cherry again using tea tree wipes. They don't like it. 4 leaves had to go. And tried rearranging the baby apple. My frame just gets blown apart and can't work out how to tie down.

And swept up dead box moth caterpillars. They've eaten sall the leaves and starved. Don't know why the dunnocks have turned their noses up at them this year.

Glad everyone's getting better. Looking forward to it....

Oh my watering idea. It seems to work well but time will tell

Bottom off pots with space at top. Should take the water and feed down and roots into cooler soil. Everything is parched here already. A tad of rain promised.

LessImpecunious

2P I'll be brief because I'm feeling lousy 🤢 looks like a postponed op as I have the chest infection the nurse cleverly predicted.

Sorry to hear that 2P, hope recovery is swift…

Must have been the giving up of smoking and alcohol 😬

Either that or the pre-op visits to medical establishments, bound to pick up something…

Dustyevsky

You still have some time to get over the bug, 2p. 😉 I'm sure a wee dram before bed wouldn't slow recovery either.🙂

Here, Mrs Dusty's on the mend, so I hope we'll soon be on an even keel. May's my favourite month. 😀

This morning, there's no fierce wind, but we have a little drizzle to go through before brighter skies. That's fine, I don't want baking alive while I mix up more concrete. Yesterday, I finally returned to the base for a shed we've been 'finishing' for about 9 months! 😌 Another few hours of work should see it done. It was originally a chicken shed, but as we don't have many chickens now, it can become a tool store.

Yesterday, I took a tour around the 'estate,' but forgot my camera.🙄 Mr King's tiny hawthorn saplings in their plastic tubes are still alive, but barely out of the top. All the lower leaves are tightly squished inside, so I wonder how they will fare, longer term? I was rather alarmed to see something yellow in the road hedge, which turned out to be a golden elderberry I vaguely recall planting, maybe 6 or 7 years ago! Not sure why I did that! 😟

With the dry weather, the growth of grass has slowed, and IMO the sheep haven't enough now. They've been well-behaved, but if this continues, they'll start testing the fences and getting heads stuck in the wires.😕 I'll have to ring their owner and find out when they're due to leave.

Not much else to report. I booked a garden visit for our Club yesterday. It's inexpensive, and a safe enough bet as regards tea & cake, but I know better venues. The trouble is, folks think driving for more than an hour is “too far,” and challenging country lanes are out! That limits us. 😪

Today's photo is from the archives. This is one we've lost. We had it in 2017. It's time to get it back! 😍

Farway

Pinch punch, first of the month, and no returns. On cue the May [hawthorn] is out and a real picture in the sun, clouts can be cast from now on. Of course the huge hawthorn adjacent to the bottom of my garden, but not in it, is also a Cat wee tree 🤢

Sorry to hear your updates 2P, but good news on Cherry Falls, hope it does well for you. The bottomless pots sounds good, sort of ring culture. You have given me an idea now for my courgettes, have to think about it.

Love that blast from past Dusty, such great colours, and Mrs D perking up as well.

Sunny and warm, had to get watering again first thing, with a sniff of liquid fertiliser in as well. No rain here, but maybe funderstorms tomorrow, can't rely on them though.

While watering I noticed on of my broad beans has taken a turn for the worse, all limp looking. Could be dry but unlikely. I'll give a good check later and maybe prop it up. Honestly is it too much to ask? I only want a taster not a major harvest.

My climbing beans are out hardening off, may plant them out this weekend. I know I only wanted a few, but they are taking the Mick, I've only got five out of all the seeds sown, old seeds but I did hope. Cobra is a no show, a Norwegian mongoose no doubt

Just in case anyone fancies trying something different, and wins the Lottery, the tom FB group had a note, sale of unusual tom seeds, it's in Greece so not instant delivery, maybe worth a look, no connection and never used them. Oh, and they have Cherry Falls 😂so an exclusive club you've joined 2P, and one I'm not in this year. https://merakiseeds.com/

Apart from the watering & bean check up, no gardening planned. BTW, Merton blackberry is in flower, bit behind the Boysenberry

Some plums have made it this far, a long way to go though

A more common sight seen in my garden

twopenny

Less, I didn't realise it was something you could catch. Spoke to two sales assistants who said they had chest infection and thought I'd taken care washing hands and so on. But the universe has other ideas. 😐

Nice one Dusty. What is the yellow thing in the hedge and why are you so enthusiastic? Glad you got some rain. Was it enough?

Farway planting in bottomless pots also means you can plant closer ( I hope) so we'll see. This is mint I did ages ago. It hasn't escaped yet.

And a privet so the roots wouldn't get into the fence post

Your plums are better than mine. Mine are infested with white fly, black fly and greenfly. It's so bad I have no way of controlling it so it's 🤞 and hope.

My salad idea is coming on. However I have to cut back the daisy plant as ants made it over the moat and a slug has.

I've more caterpillars to sweep off the patio. Think I might know why the dunnocks aren't doing their job. The noisy fountain, sparkling is unnerving. I'll disconnect for a day and see.

The unmown lawn is producing small black beetles and maybe other insects. Preditors?

Chest seems to have cleared but sinuses, extreme tiredness ears and throat still need adjustment.

Oh, rained hard twice this morning 😀 then bright evening. Perfect.

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on Harry Potter Day on a beautiful soft Spring morning ☺️

Yesterday was a bit much frankly. Too warm, too strong a sun and hardly a breeze. I had to go out in in too 😒 Tutus was in for an mot and full service - a couple of probs but all sorted now. Apparently my spark plugs had black ends (*shrug *) and my brakes needed …cleaning..? Anyway I could feel a difference driving home so that's that for another year.

Are all the lurgyfied healed/healing? That's a bu99er about you giving up the drink and fags and then your system turning against you 2p. Hopefully it won't be a long wait for another op appointment 🤞I've been taking lots of photos so I can do you little stories to read while you're recuperating. No matter, they'll wait 🙂 Fingers crossed as well that it's your fountain vexing the dunnocks and they'll come back soon.

So what's all the yellowing about then Farway? Other than umm speciality watering, is it banana skins that contain magnesium..? Or would a bit of baby bio do the trick? Plums are a decent reward though, even if you've a wait for them 😋 Oh and thanks for the earworm - I've been singing Ooona paloma blancaaar for 3 days now, very annoying because they're all the lyrics I know 🙄

Ooh I like your red+yellow flowers Dusty, what's them then? Have you high hopes of getting it back? Hopefully you didn't take a noticeable number of lambs before you rang the farmer about their lack of grass 👿

Wort I wouldn't mind if I get waxy or powdery purdies, I've never grown them before so producing something edible is all I'm aiming for. This year. If I try again next year I'll expect exact results and be cross if I don't get them ha haa! Where you off on ya hols then?

Still no @-taff….

OT cooler today, thank god, but they also said it'll be cloudy and it bladdy isn't. 12'c currently with a high of 18 to come, possibly. It got up into the 20's yesterday and not a cloud in sight. Hopefully that's summer been and gone and we've autumn to look forward now, which looking at the forecast could be right 👏

Farway

Dull but warm enough, good news is lotsa rain on the way later this afternoon. Has to get Dusty soaked first, then it's my turn.

My droopy broad bean was just lack of water, despite me thinking I was watering them it was obviously insufficient

2P said Farway planting in bottomless pots also means you can plant closer ( I hope) so we'll see. This is mint I did ages ago. It hasn't escaped yet.

After reading you post yesterday I went own old rabbit holes from my vague memories of the 60s, it was all the rage then, Ring Culture, before the invention of grow bags or even peat based composts. Anyway, now up to date and I see Halos are the modern equivalent, if, like me, no pots or dexterity to cut their bums off.

I may be tempted to try with some of my tomatoes. One bloke on YT has Halos sitting on 10 inch pots, which he swears works, but they look top heavy to me. Need to measure up my square tubs before I order a trial set of three, hate to find out too late that they don't fit.

Mint is a little devil, it can creep down & then out from the pot, amazing how somethings will grow in dust & muck but the wanted items just wither & die. You mint looks very healthy there, I've put mine at the front constrained by concrete path & a drain cover, not ideal 'cos it may get pooed on if a dog took a fancy to it, so far so good.

YBE Apparently my spark plugs had black ends (*shrug *) That takes me back to when ordinary people could maintain cars with just a £10 socket set from Halfords, screwdriver, big & small hammer and a set of feeler gauges. part of it was checking colour of the spark plug ends, there used to be a sort of Dulux colour chart to compare against. Black was BAD, meant oil burning and soot, light brown / ash was good. No doubt these days they just re-programme something to fix it, then it was fiddling with carburettors

At least you are hopefully all set for the year now, just need to sort out new jobs for you & himself.😁

Back on topic, put the bean poles up yesterday, with the weather warming I hope beans can go out soon

2P Your plums are better than mine. Mine are infested with white fly, black fly and greenfly. It's so bad I have no way of controlling it so it's 🤞 and hope

I have some help, blue chests, my Robin chum and some of these fellas turned up yesterday, this one is on my plum

Dustyevsky

Rather tired, after much concrete mixing yesterday, but the shed base is done. 😁 Now I must do a base for a seat in the herb garden, though I don't know when Mrs Dusty thinks she'll have time to sit on it! 🤣

The red & yellow flower is Aquilegia skinneri, Bluey, which is a real perennial, unlike the ones called 'TequilaSunrise' that aren't so long-lived. Seed of the species is somewhat hard to find, but I'll winkle some out from somewhere! 😉

Seeing 2p's mint. I'll confess ours is in a raised bed between the lane hedge and the back door. There are several kinds, and they fight it out with each other, the hedge, and other tough things.

I have some Halos a friend gave me, and I've used them on tubs. I'm ambivalent about them, probably because we have the polytunnel deep beds which work well.

Wandered down to the stream yesterday, to find it almost dried-up now. We could do with this rain that's supposedly coming later today. It probably wasn't as hot here as your area Bluey, and I was grateful for the absence of the recent strong winds. Everything down there was buzzing with insects, though I didn't see any red and black spotted friends, like Farway did. I did snap something else, which I'll show tomorrow. 😊

The primroses are finished now, and the celandine leaves are turning yellow. Those white flowers on the right are wild garlic that have managed to jump the stream and survive. I've eradicated those we introduced. They're OK in truly wild places, but spread so easily and soon take over. We all make mistakes….😞

LessImpecunious

2P Less, I didn't realise it was something you could catch.

Think clue is in the word infection - but not a medical expert and maybe I'm being too literal? Hope it is passing!

Dusty - what are your blue geraniums? Seems very early - only have macrorrhizums in flower here (just)…