Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Oooo Mini Munch sounds perfect for me 🙂 I like cucumber but the bought one always goes off.

Do you think it would grow in a pot?

When I was little I was always sent to my great aunts greenhouse to measure the cucumbers 😊 guess that really helped me into gardening.

Dustyevsky

Farway: Just refreshed and Dusty edit. "They must go to make room for more attractive/rarer species."
Bean tree? Tell you what, if space and enough years left, trinity of bean tree, handkerchief Tree & Judas tree. what a sight come spring

Here's what AI imagined, could you fit them in Dusty or is it one for Rottery Acres?

Theoretically, there was a mature handkerchief tree when we arrived here. The previous owners built a huge bonfire close to it, and burned all they didn't want to take away. Half of the tree died, and a half tree's no good. 😭

My potted Judas Tree from seed also died in the harsh winter after we got here.😖

I think it's a bit late for the bean tree now, but we have two Wild Service Trees, several Purple Beeches, American and English Oak, a Ginkgo, and even a European Nettle Tree. Personal favourites now also include about half a dozen Cockspur Thorns….but not when I'm mowing under them! 😆

Having a break from back-breaking filling the drains etc uncovered in the front path job, abandoned during the big heat. I've finally accounted for a stopcock and pipe which has nothing to do with our modern plumbing system. Back in the mists of time, when a wealthy farmer owned this place, he gave one of his aged hands a plot on what's now our front drive. The old guy lived out the rest of his days in a caravan there, so the pipe would have been his water supply. We've already found one end of his drains, attached to ours…. Those were the days, eh? Or perhaps not. By all accounts, the elderly guy didn't have a long retirement. 😕

wort

Tonight's sunset , had a down pour a few rumbles of thunder and hour ago and then this

twopenny

Beautiful! That's an amazing shot.

We've got a few rumbles of thunder. Some way away. Maybe over Dusty 😉

I can't match that sunset but we had an amazing huge double rainbow, such deep colours. Sadly I couldn't capture it on my tablet and the clouds came over before I get the camera.

Raining all afternoon and evening. The birds love it

Farway

Rain showers continued, but no rainbows or amazing sunsets. Did hear a rumble of thunder but it came to nothing

2P I also beat you on jam debacle. First the strawberries leaked juice overnight and soaked into a 2 kilo jam bag which collapsed over the worktop. Having rescued that I boiled strawberry jam all over the cooker. I'm about to clean it for the 3rd time and stickyness seems to have decended over most things How we suffer for our art 😁I've got my burnt pan back to normal after much soaking, boiling & pseudo Brillo padding. At least you will have HM jam this winter, unless I spot YS fruit very unlikely here now.

Once the burnt pan was back in use, I stewed the rest of my apples, some were just starting to go cotton woolly inside. At least some of that harvest is saved. I wonder if the recent rain will give a final burst of juiciness to my other trees?

2P Oooo Mini Munch sounds perfect for me 🙂 I like cucumber but the bought one always goes off. Do you think it would grow in a pot? Don't know, but I spotted on this weeks GW the lady who moved north from London, she was trying pot growing and had some mini cucumbers in a pot that looked good. Missed the variety name.

I also missed name of the small, pot grown, black cherry tomato. It was black & shiny, like on parade toe caps. looked lovely and unique. Taste was not mentioned, but if I can find out more I may give it a go next year. Just checked, maybe Indigo Rose but not too sure

Had to redo the tomato propping up, I think it's fixed now. And removed a lot of the leaves while I was at it, let any sun in to finish all the ripening. I think this year all will ripen

Since my last proper tomato check I've had to re think my initial conclusions. There is such a marked difference this year between the conservatory ones, under heat stress and same variety outside, still hot & sunny but well ventilated in fresh air. This year the outside have been on top form.

Here is Bajaja, outside. Inside had no fruit, now has two and some flowers, maybe later crop? This one is dripping with fruit, and while not super tasty is nice enough.

Ignore the mildewed courgettes and non flowering canna 😉plus a lot of yellowing leaves now removed

greenbee

2p - all my cucumbers are in pots :) So are most of my tomatoes.

Dustyevsky

2p: We've got a few rumbles of thunder. Some way away. Maybe over Dusty 😉

No, not here. We were just wet and windy. 😮And the weather was blustery showers! 🤣

No lovely sunset, as in wort's pictures. 😇

Today, after a dampish start, we may have some afternoon sunshine and a chance to pick plums. Meanwhile, in the polytunnel, I'll have to clear up tomato Armageddon, where so many Cherry Falls ripened simultaneously, we couldn't keep up.😭 Unlike Farway, we've none outdoors to compare with, but the indeterminate types haven't thrived like Cherry Falls. They're nicer, but take much more looking-after, so it's swings and roundabouts.🤔

On conservatory growing, we do very little of that in summer. There are a few succulent things, an odd pelargonium looking drawn, and a rubber plant. It becomes a fairly hostile environment from early May to September, and we only sit in there during the early morning, or at evening time. We wouldn't be without it, but it was never intended as an all-seasons space. It replaced an earlier wooden one the previous owners built, complete with large deep beds, but the only thing left alive in that was a fig. 😕

Here's one star of our late summer, severely parched borders; good old Oenothera 'Lemon Sunset.' Once you have it, self seeding ensures its continued presence. The flowers go over by the other side of lunchtime, but it shines like a beacon in the dusk.

Mrs Dusty saw a Clouded Yellow yesterday. We're keeping eyes peeled today.😉

Farway

Rain has stopped and it's a cool but bright day. I think we had enough rain to do some good, waiting to see how long before the road verges green up

Dusty On conservatory growing, we do very little of that in summer. There are a few succulent things, an odd pelargonium looking drawn, and a rubber plant. It becomes a fairly hostile environment from early May to September, Mine was the same this year, hostile, previously was OK because it gets morning sun to warm up, then sun moves round and it's no longer in sun, but warm enough with ambient temp & retained morning heat. This year however the ambient, still & hot air and lack of cooling breezes turned it into hostile. I used to use a sun lounger out there, but with lack of mobility no longer able to get out of one, should I ever manage to get in one 😁

Supposed to be dry today, so time permitting today is clear some of the crusty fried crocosmia and the sun withered weigela ]sp?] branches.

twopenny

I love that flower Dusty 😍 what a beautiful colour.

Farway you will be doing more than me in the garden. Our verges are already greening and there are more fields with sheep in though it's only a hint of green. Don't think the plants know if it's winter or what looking at them.

Darkish here , threatening a shower or two and definitely cool.

Managed 3 games of table tennis yesterday and am aching so need to take it easy 🙄 again. Shopping and dentist, check if paint has gone off. Exciting stuff. Letter to write urgently. I leaned on the handbrake yesterday and the car drifted into a wall. Never done that before so need some paint or nail varnish to touch up. Too wet to garden! Hoping to think of something pleasurable to do to cheer the day up.

Listened to Gardeners Question time at the weekend. Some really good tips.

Dustyevsky

We have elderly person unwellness in the family, so Mrs Dusty's off to assist today. It's unfortunate, just when we'd just recovered from the GCs and hoping to do more gardening together, but hopefully there will be a good resolution for the relative in hospital.

I agree the Oenothera is lovely, 2p. Originally, we gained the species from an elderly neighbour in the 1980s, but that was an acid yellow. This is one rare instance of newer actually being better. It also shouldn't be confused with the wild ones poking -up in this old picture of our 'garden' shortly after we purchased. Looks like teasels were plentiful then too! 😂 It was… um….quite neglected! 😱

Handbrake turns 2p? 😁😮 I love the nail varnish solution too. There's probably a shade that works.😉

I'm still exhuming and back-filling what will be a front garden path, but the chimney sweep cometh today, so that may interrupt things seriously with tea, biscuits and chat. How awful! 😊 The wood stove is getting new linings and a safety check too. As we enter meteorological autumn, we're hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, though it might not be cold weather that causes the lights to go out. Want to know more? Ask Andy. Surely his exhortation for us to become more resilient must be based on something? 🤔