Awful weather - typical Brits talk

MovingForwards

Welcome Ted I'm looking forward to hearing what you get up to, selfishly of course as I'm contemplating moving further up in the future.

Hope your recovery goes well and don't rush to get back into the garden, it will still be there next year.

Davesnave

Quick photo as I'm doing admin type stuff and bored silly.....

First time on the feeders, so far as we know, and I had to shoot at a distance through a window to avoid scaring Woody.

Last time I went to Specsavers probably will be the last , Farway. The options I used to have with them are gone, though I can have designer label stuff by the bucket load. All I want is the old, light, super-bendy ones I can sit on and have knocked off my face without big consequences, but no, "We don't do those now." Well, I still "do" my lifestyle.

wort

Haha😂@the flying snails Farway , I do similar as my back garden is onto a playing field, and often wonder what the dog walkers think at the showers of 🐌 when I’m in lobbing mood.
The weather still warm though mainly overcast, we had 1 downpour yesterday. 

2p great cat picture 😸

Davesnave

I do cat pictures too.... On topic: note sawfly damage to Solomon's Seal.

Stair rods here.

Farway

More rain despite my watering yesterday, bit windy as well and knocked my Shasta daisies sideways, just as they are starting to open as well. The pleasures of gardening

Prowling round the garden yesterday after the sun came out at last I had a go at thinning the apples out, some trees have bumper crop, others just not set many, the vagaries of Spring weather at blossom time I guess. I'll need to summer prune soon, getting very jungle like with some of them

Only one open rose survived the rain earlier, and my guess is by this morning it's a goner with last night's downpours. I did find some strawberries the wood lice had missed, and for once they actually tasted as I remember strawberries used to, plus a couple of sprigs of red currants fell into my mouth as I passed

The gooseberries, one lot, red ones, hinomaki [sp] or suchlike are red, tried one and it's sharp but supposed to be sweet & tasty. I suspect it may be in the wrong place and not getting enough sunshine. Should it stop raining long enough I may try for cuttings or layer it

On the other hand my unknown one, trained sort of droopy cordon, is turning yellow & ripe looking. tried one and I think a few more days they will be there, doesn't need sugar can be eaten raw, without a sharp intake of breath

Here's a picture of them from yesterday

twopenny

It stopped raining but by the time I'd made a pot of tea and thought I might mow the front hay meadow it started spotting again.

Had another go at rooting out whatever this purple 'plant' is in the lawn. I;ve become quite expert. It runs along the ground under the grass cover and you need to tease it up running your finger along the stem and then pulling at the root. Honest it's worse than dandelion.

In case anyone is concerned for the wildlife I have daisys, dandelions, a wild geranium, clover in the lawn and the purple plant has taken over the community lawn at the back.

I've had a large herring gull visiting before his bed time trying to get at the fat blocks for the birds. He now trawls the lawn eating something. Ants seem to be in perponderance so I'm hoping that's it as I found several ants nests among the overgrown grass.

Dry tomorrow so hopefully I'll get to mow the lawn. It will take 2 cuts of different heights it's grown so much during this wet spell.

On the plus side I've been eating raspberries straight off the cane. Huge and delicious.

Strawberries not great. Few grew and the woodlice got more than I did.

Looking at the apple tree I need help. I'll post a photo tomorrow and ask how to thin these out as it's a tiny tree and seems to have been sucessful in polinating. It's gone a wierd growth shape and way to many tiny apples.

Wonderful set of Gooseberries Farway. I think my plants have a long way to go before I get fruit. I'm missing Gooseberry jam, that's just delicious.

Farway

More rain but stopped now, very damp out but I need to get up the garden path to empty my used tea leaf slops if nothing else. It's loose tea

I now just chuck them spread them around in various carefully chosen spots in the garden leaving the worms & rain to sort it, so far so good

While up the garden path I'll try to gather some ripe gooseberries and maybe the odd raspberry [ mine are also good this year 2P] for a summery taste, CBA to make a Fool, and they're sweet enough to eat raw anyway, so blob of Greek yoghurt should do the job

There are some wild strawberries but with the rain I suspect they're mush by now

The apple tree sounds a challenge 2P, do you know the variety or was it a rescue job from the supermarket's orphan corner?

twopenny

It's been very warm and muggy here but at least dry enough to get the lawns mowed (highest setting) and they are looking lush and green thanks to the advice here. Puts the neighbours to shame

Got pruning and weeding done out front. But after a long hill walk this morning, walking into town lunchtime then mowing thick grass I'm done for. Hopefully I'll wake up enthusiastic to finish the back garden and get to on the Badger run.

Farway I'm too exhausted to photograph but its a nursery tree, Self fertile Cox. Had it's first pruning last winter.

The apples, size of a ping pong ball are clustered in groups of 5 and no sign of any suffering. I usually rely smaller ones, yellow ones etc to thin out.

If last year is anything to go by they grow to enormous proportions, the size of a Bramley! I'm used to ones from old trees being quite small, handbag ready.

OH the sprouting broccoli that I said were crowded but I'd move a couple when the beans were finished...........Looks like the beans won't be ready till Christmas and the Brocolli is enormous for this stage in their evoloution!

Davesnave

We were given the bust of a young woman on a plinth,so I popped that on top of an old square chimney pot and we now have a sophisticated looking garden feature.

Pleased with my handiwork, I decided to level-up the 3' x 2' slabs where a seat would go if we could buy one, only to find large ants' nests under all of them..... Realising this situation would always pertain, I spent the the afternoon building wooden formwork to make a concrete base for the slabs. So, a15 minute job turned into a serious bit of building.

Ted_Head

Very overcast and low cloud & muggy. Dry all day but quite midgied out. Not that I did much, find this weather exhausting. Having to hack back a honey suckle up at the gate that's running up the trees - as they do but the small is wonderful - quite heady and you can eat the berries which are like.....honey.