Awful weather - typical Brits talk

wort

The pheasant eye narcissi are the white daffodil looking on the 1st photo. 2p my climbing hydrangea is flowering too, I like the rose coming through it, you have such pretty roses.My small hydrangea was looking dead so I took it out of the pot and discovered those horrid white grubs, so the pot has been emptied out. I only have leaves yet on the foxgloves, so Farway is way ahead.

Dd1 s anniversary present rose is growing well and hoping I can keep it alive till July for the actual day.

I was trying to clean my garden dining table yesterday when I broke the glass trying to tip it up. It smashed everywhere 🥹 it took ages to clean up , I had to leave some that’s gone in the gravel and between the paving . I’m not too bothered as I have had it years, and it has rattan top so still usable.

Taff I do like that border, I like to vary the foliage it makes it more interesting.

Today was back to work, trying to sort the mess they made whilst I have been away .

Dustyevsky

2p: Pretty grannies' bonnet Dusty. Like the colour but I personally prefer simple. Someone's been planting them on the moors which is annoying. So many wild ones aren't any good apparently 😲

I agree, the 3 tier aquilegias are somewhat over the top. I've resisted putting any in the wild stream garden, as none looks entirely natural. 😦 -taff's description of that one reminding her “of my grans clothing and violet soaps…” is spot-on! 😄

There's so much going on in -taff's tile border, and wort's tasteful herbaceous, with the backdrop of acer and elder, surely wouldn't be out of place in Chelsea! 😇 The rose and climbing hydrangea look well together too, 2p, but what impresses me most is your shiny guttering! 🤩 I know I've not been near ours this year, or even the front windows yet. That's for the heatwave, arriving Thursday. 😊

-taff, I recognised the teasels straight away, having just introduced those into the wild area. I'll only need to do it once!

DGD is at that delightful age (well, most of the time! 😉) Farway, and so are those waterworn remains of groynes. You can tell that photo was long before battery saws and grinders. Now, they'd be trophies in someone's beach themed garden. 😬

Still little 'proper' work going on here, but we've had a 91st birthday as an excuse and an annoying on-off amount of rain. 😐️Yesterday, my resolve broke, and I ordered 500l of oil at 88p/litre on the strength of some news, which the Beeb downplayed. I'd rather be back to a near-full tank, just in case.😛

'Improper' work today was finalising details of the garden club's annual tea & cake binge garden visit in June. It's all done, for better or worse.🙃 The owner sounds very organised, and it's cheap, so I don't feel quite so worried now.🙂

Now I have to email someone about hedging, so here's a reminder that even yew can look cheerful if you grow the right variety!

twopenny

I missed Farways post. Sounds like a successful visit, pots moved and another gardening member 🙂 the rose, hydrangea combo also has wisteria running through it. It wasn't meant to be like that but they went from small to enormous almost overnight. Nothing nests there I think but the birds love that corner.

Taff that curved bed is smashing! So clever. Herbs used for cooking and medicine. I studied for years before I dared try. Well, centuries of people using them I still was cautious. They are pretty leaves, flower and can be used. Perfect.

Thanks for the diagnosis of the salad. Yes it could well be rain and sun. Nothing under the leaf to suggest miners.

Dusty those are my neighbours gutters. She has them professionally cleaned (not often enough inside 😬 and we're joined) I've done the front, all nice and shiny only as it's risky with only one working leg. My! That's a yew? I've never seen the like. Looks exotic.

Awwww Wort, it's horrible when something flips like that. And glass in the gravel. Do you think it will show up if the sun shines?

Dudh, pheasants eye, of course I remember now.

I try to choose the old breeds of roses (mid 1800s - 1930s) as they are scented, disease free, don't need pruning and good doers.

Here is the one I was going to dig out and relegate to the badger run. Still there and it's thrived this year so may stay. Everything I don't usually go for. Must have been a bargain or summat.

Cold and wet here. Winter clothes back on. Heating on for an hour tonight and the fire glow.

Think I can hear rumbles of thunder outside and lights flickering but nothing on the map.

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on Well We’ve Still Got Jobs Despite Whatserface Trying To Close Us Down Day 😬 (She’s claiming something to do with Safe Space and Mental Health and gender/sex and disability. Makes a mockery of the people who are actually struggling imo but it’s well above my pay grade.)

Sorry I’ve been MIA, I’m thoroughly dispirited with all the carryon at work. Instead of 4 days 9-5 I’m doing 5 days 8-6 😏 This is the last week of it though, it’s not for me.

In better news, they give that lang streak the week off from BG, it was George and Callum with Carole doing a guest spot 😊 Long may it continue 👏🏻

Oh and I’ve got a LIAM, just one but more to follow 🤞🏻 Just looked and I can’t find the picture of it now *sigh *

I have got this though - the next chapter in the Forsythia Saga. True enough, someone’s been shogging the help cos look at the colour of the babbies 😆

OT raining, windy, but mild enough. 9’ currently with a high of 16 to come, possibly.

Dustyevsky

Her cud'n be a true Debn maid with backzefore thinkin' loike that, Bluey. Us don't have none of they sort of wimmen yer, unless they'm with an 'orse, lether boots and a whip, of corse. Then…well... better look out, cos they'm not confoosed! 😨

Let's hope BBM soon hires someone of more mature years, with sound life experience, or a youngster who understands the world doesn't owe them, and may not even need them, quite soon. Meanwhile, the robots are still having some issues, like the one who acknowledged my order of heating oil, just before the price went up, and the other one that denies I even had an order. 👾 My bank robot says I paid, though, so that's a job for humans to sort-out today. 😛

Still wet, grey and windy….and that's just me! 🙄 However, there's a warmish feel to the air today, and I'm told a smattering of sun will propel us to 15c and beyond. My putative cucumbers certainly require something like that, having hung between life and death for over 2 weeks now. 😥

wort: I was trying to clean my garden dining table yesterday when I broke the glass trying to tip it up. It smashed everywhere 🥹 it took ages to clean up….

I hope it was safety glass. Still a nuisance, though.🤥 When something similar happened here, I was amazed at the weight of that stuff. Six builders' buckets…

Here's a useful ground-covering plant, Galium odoratum, or Sweet Woodruff. Here, it's under some shrubs in a hard-to-weed place, partnered with some Valerian, that needs watching carefully. 🤔

Farway

Dusty Still wet, grey and windy….and that's just me! 🙄 Sniggered at that, especially as I've same weather, but not plumbing, this morning. My hardening off plants are still snug in the conservatory, just too awful for them out there and only a day or so to go before The Big Improvement arrives.

Love the tiled border Taff, and the teasel is a nice addition, even if it is a spreader. Way back, before Covid etc I sprinkled teasel seeds on waste ground near an underpass, unfortunately I've not been back to check due to Covid and now walking distance troubles.

Do I spy Lambs' ears in there as well? I used them in the Volunteer border, and still there last time I looked. You must have a cousin of my postie, they were always cutting across, which is fine, except when they knock things over doing it. I've put huge pots in the way now. 👿

Hope Robot Wars gets sorted Dusty, annoying if your oil gets gazumped by a robot. Listening to Farming Today this morning, on about commercial tulip growers. Amazing, long gone are the tulip fields, now it's hydroponics and robots. More worrying, 40 workers are now three 😟

Hope life soon returns to normal YBE, and echo Dusty's sentiments. I still can't [legally] watch BG, waiting for Long John Silver to stick it on YT. GW is there but it's been garden shows lately & I'm not much interested in them these days

It's beginning to brighten up now, maybe get the plants out for lunchtime?

Only gardening, apart from putting plants out if it brightens up, will be GW on YT

twopenny

It's rained, hammered down, pause and repeat today. Grey skies and dull. Think a boost of heating is necessary tonight.

So not a chance of work outside. Went for a walk in wet weather gear and even the ducks and geese were sheltering. Seems nothing is enjoying this.

Bluey, good to see you. Not so good the reason for your absence ☹️ what worked for me (unintentionally) was say for my boss to expect a letter for a reference for another job. With my apologies of course 😉. Suddenly I was offered a pay rise and 'what would it take for me to stay 😄

But I did see heaps of wild roses blooming. My phone takes lousy photos but here you go.

And one pair of geese that had 2 goslings now have 5! The only things outside.

wort

Dusty thanks for the kind words about my stick um in and leave it border. Yes the glass was safety glass , thank goodness, but yes it was a heavy bucket full. I could only put half in the bin or I doubt the bin would be able to move. That yes is a lovely colour, never knew they were so pretty.

2p those are cute goslings, the weather here is much the same chilly with rain, not much done here and work today

Dustyevsky

Farway:Hope Robot Wars gets sorted Dusty, annoying if your oil gets gazumped by a robot.

Sorted. A human 'robot ' at the suppliers took the weekend off.😄 So, my price was locked-in OK, just not acknowledged till Monday.😊 In the absence of bombing, prices have only risen slightly. And as I don't want people bombed, it's a win, of sorts. Of course, those not exercising much control want you to think, “Oh well, 88p isn't too bad,” and forget, “but it was 54p last time.” 🤓

The price of fuel is only a part of the picture, though. Shortages in many important commodities mean we'll be looking at breakdowns in activity and production worldwide, with very unpredictable consequences. All the average person can do is build their personal buffer and cross fingers, because there's no obvious awareness at governmental level of the problems likely to begin around midsummer. No doubt, there have been meetings and briefings, but there's no obvious plan being formed between the state and people to weather the coming storm.

We made another visit to the garden centre today on the return trip from DD2's house. This was mainly to pick up some new canes for toms, and I've now more grit in store than John Wayne.😄 MiL bought a few plants, but alas, nothing sensible.🙄

Outdoors this morning it's noticeably a few degrees warmer, but we shall have to put up with some Atlantic derived mizzle in the morning, driven along by brisk winds. With the downpours 2p spoke of, the ground is just right for weed-pulling today. Not the most exciting activity, but essential if we're to win back borders from earlier enforced neglect.

That's a grand wild rose reminder 2p. I've been spotting them in the hedgerows here too, and our Rosa rugosa hedging at the far end of the land is also blooming. It's mostly white, with the occasional cerise.

I've just found a batch of photos lost in the bowels of my computer for some years. 😮 This shot, from 2018, was taken on 13th May in local woods, no longer open to the public.😥 I don't think there would have been such a good display of bluebells on that date this year, when they were very early.

Farway

Morning folks, sunshine & clouds, but much milder and getting better allegedly.

Up to Morries first thing, Compost, Birthday card & bread run mainly. Compost, I had to settle for Miracle Gro multi, £6 🙄Cheaper buying two but no way can I carry two, I suppose I could bring a disability discrimination claim, do you know any one Bluey that can launch unfounded, waste everyone's time, without merit claims ? 😁

Inspected the pre killed plants, what a time saver Morries is, nothing there, but did find a couple of £1.50 small fuchsias, they had already killed Winston Churchill so one job saved, came back with just two, names forgotten but still green & flowering, a nice feast for my vine weevils.

Dusty All the average person can do is build their personal buffer and cross fingers, because there's no obvious awareness at governmental level of the problems likely to begin around midsummer. No doubt, there have been meetings and briefings, but there's no obvious plan being formed between the state and people to weather the coming storm.

From this mornings news, easing sanctions, price controls etc, they know but are trying to downplay it. That distant sound is chickens coming home to roost after many years. As you say, personal buffer is all we can do, I know my handful of runners etc will not solve much, but at least it'll help for a couple of meals

Love wild roses, one of my earliest childhood memories, don't seem to be many around here but of course I can no longer wander lonely as a shroud 😂

Dusty This was mainly to pick up some new canes for toms. Ah, now I remember what else I wanted at Morrie's, some stout supports for my, bound to be huge, Cafe Au Lait dahlias. I'm planting them out this weekend now DGS has shifted the large pot for me, and weather supposed to be scorchio

Jobs for today, not much, the toms etc are out for final hardening off now the last bit of rain & cold has eased, and pot on the late sown Bloody Butcher tom, a part of Personal buffer project, seeds for next year

There are self sown tom seeds popping up in a tough at the front, just as experiment I'll nurture a couple, could be they will become super duper, have to think of a name, given where the are, maybe Canine Drops? Farway Floofhound?