Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

It's hot already with sun burning down, luckily I completed watering last night so all should be well until this evening

twopenny said:

I've never had the smell from that plant - perhaps it varies with variety. Elder if you collect the flowers the cream ones are revolting where the white ones are delightful. You need to take care before making your cordial/wine

Fabulous shot Farway.

That was my thoughts about the smell, great minds etc. I used to make elder-flower champagne years ago and sorting the cats wee ones out was the main picking task but I never realised the colours were a clue, odd the tang never seemed to carry over into the berries, or maybe it did & I was lucky with the berry wine?

I was a tad late in tying up the toms, one had toppled by the time I got round to it, no harm done & all secured now

My plum tree fruiting is same as the cherry, a lot of potential fruits never made it with the unseasonable cool weather at blossom time. I have enough but looks like I'll not need to thin out this year

I've an apple like this as well but the other apples are fine, shows how fickle food can be, it's a good job these days I'm not reliant on getting a crop as my ancestors were

The dwarf french beans I started mid week between damp kitchen paper have germinated, only the Saxa ones so far, they're the freshest ones, opened last year & sow by 12/21, from Lidl

I'll pot them up later today

Finally my clematis, can't tell you the variety because the label is below my fall into the flowers tipping point

Davesnave

I might nip out and do those Rosa rugosa cuttings tonight. Apparently, now is better than autumn when I've had varying success. At least I'll be able to see where the red/pink ones are! The roses I've raised so far are on the road hedge in front of the thatched house and they've been there 4 years. They're flowering now, but not making much of an impact. You might just make out some white blobs. Mind you, I failed to communicate adequately with the tractor flail guy for their first 2 winters, so he mowed them flat and they made very little growth initially! They have to battle with bracken, thistles and nettles.

If you're hiding indoors like me today, perhaps consider fixing your energy prices for 2 years like I did a few weeks ago. A teeny bit dearer than I was paying on our last deal, but I can see mahoosive price rises in the pipeline......

DD265

Been out and done a bit of tidying up in the back garden this morning. Have a bit of deadheading/weeding to do around the front this evening. Last night I pulled up the nectarine tree, added some rooting fungi crystals I found at the garden centre, and popped it back. Between that and a feed hopefully it'll be fine. Everything got watered last night so not too worried about the heat today, but I did notice that I'm over halfway through the slimline waterbutt at the back of the house and will need to top that up with the hose if/when we do the lawn. The waterbutt around the front is a full size one and doesn't get as much use, but it's a long way to walk a watering can around.

When I pulled up the old nectarine tree a few weeks ago, I put the stump and roots to one side (down a reasonably dark, sheltered side of the house..) until I could be bothered going to the tip and imagine my surprise that we have a couple of 1ft whips (is that the right word?) coming up from the roots and looking very healthy. I checked what the rootstock for the nectarine might be (it was grafted) and the likelihood is plum x almond. I'm going to pot it up properly and see what happens as we'd be happy with another tree, though I'm not sure what we'll end up with and if there'll be any fruit/nuts. I'm calling it a plummond!

CatieE

Oh the joys of living in the countryside. We woke to find a deer in the garden and it looks as if she had a good time. All the strawberry plants had been nibbled, the lower branches of some lower apple cordons stripped of their leaves and many pots broken. There are fields all around and so it shouldn't have been a surprise - but it was

Dave, I hope you are feeling a little better now. Good idea about fixing the energy prices too

Farway, that's a gorgeous clematis - it will be enjoying all this sun.

MovingForwards

Bit warm to do anything in the garden, therefore I went for a brief stroll round a community one down the road instead.


There's so many different colours in my area. 

twopenny

Oddly although I went shopping and explored the sea front where the view and parking were taken up with motor homes I've been indoors.

It's reading 29C in a shady part so the lawn mowing can wait. I have some seeds to sow still, just the last ones, and am enjoying just having all doors and windows open and chilling. Trying to work up the enthusiasm for small chores.

Oh I did buy yet more plants at the supermarket so my addiction isn't yet under control. Penstemon that I wanted £2, Basil for my pasta, geranium because it's summer and it was £1.50.

Davesnave

I was foolish enough to go down to the yard, where a neighbour spotted me, so I was roped into some communal mending of the road. To be fair, I only pushed the barrow of tarmac up the hill, where a strapping chap 25 years my junior took over, but that was enough! I have to agree, it's a great day for laying cold tarmac....if you're that way inclined.

pink_poppy

I’m envious of your weather, it’s positively dreich here ☔️ I put the storage heater on for a couple of hours this morning, just so we wouldn’t be cold later.

Lovely photos again. I was hoping to get one of a frog sat on the lily pads in the pond, plenty of pads but no frogs 🙄 We have quite a few water lily buds popping up though so should look nice when they open.

goldfinches

Waves languidly from the shade to all. 
Lovely photos everyone.

Absolute scorcher here today, the idea of laying tarmac is making me feel quite limp.

2p - doing the swab isn't too bad if you stick your tongue out as far forward as you can while saying Aaah and then whip the swab smartly round both tonsils and out before sticking it up your nostril(s). I'm making it sound terrible here but I really do find I'm concentrating so hard on my tongue and what I'm saying that I barely notice the sensation of the swab at the back of my throat.

Farway

Another scorcher on the way today but all pots were watered yesterday evening plus a splodge this morning so I can join GF in languidly waving from the shade today

The Saxa french beans were potted on as planned, now just sit back & wait.

The stray tomatoes popping up from last years "fallers" is going beyond daft now, my initial thoughts were let them grow & see what happens but now there are so many I will have to move them on, probably poke them outside & they can take their chances. Typical of course, the ones I sowed & cherished curled up & died, at least I know theses strays are doers

I have lilies in tubs at the front, so far I'm winning the lily beetle battles and it's looking like a jolly good show will arrive soon, more impressive because being on a hill my house is higher than the path way so the flowers are above head height

Photo of course once the day arrives, at least no deer around here to scoff them

Here's the progress on my Pinova apples, this tree is has plenty of apples and will need thinning once June drop over