Awful weather - typical Brits talk

phoebe1989seb

Fab fairies, 2p 😁 And agree, that's a stunning coleus, Farway!

Busy long weekend in the garden here, aided and abetted by good weather conditions (sunny, but not overwhelming hot!), although dull and chilly have returned today 🙄

On Saturday we went to a local-ish garden centre in search of an orange Hamamelis (no joy there, but did find one at our second attempt) and came away with nine half price perennials and shrubs to fill gaps in the not-particularly-white bed and the newly extended hot beds, where everything is either yellow, red or orange 😃

The rest of the weekend was spent planting (I got around forty plants in the ground), moving more rockery stones and finishing off the end of the *white* bed, which involved much cutting of oak sleepers (ie, DH's territory, not mine, lol!).....

Harvested lots more runner beans too, which we had with our Christmas style gammon yesterday 😋

Aching quite a bit today, but (some of) the garden is looking so much better and more importantly, I feel my enthusiasm has returned 😉

However, this week's tasks include weeding the four rose beds...not particularly looking forward to that!

Farway

That does sound a busy W/end P1989, but at least if has brought some enthusiasm back it's was worth it by the sound of it.

I was up the volunteer spot watering the large pots earlier, although dull it's dry and rain is now pushed back to maybe Monday

However I note the tree leaves are starting to appear on the ground, just the odd one or two but it's a sign

Thanks for pats on back with the coleus colour, I've just taken five cuttings from it and see how they do in water, from what I've seen they are one of the easiest things to root, roots showing within the week so they say. I'll let you know

I was looking at coleus seeds and never knew there were so many types, including a Kong variety with huge leaves, which makes me wonder if one of mine is the same with eaves larger than your hands

I've sent for one pack of Kong and one that's red & black & looks very unusual. My thinking is get propagating for an eye caching show next year

Nothing else in the garden but I may turn the hose on the the pots at the back later, my fig is looking a bit droopy

twopenny

The trees are turning yellow here, leaves pooling in the gutters in town. It's a very early autumn.

Still freezing cold wind making everything hunker down and look sad including me. The ground dry and rock hard.

Went to 2 garden centres and the market today. I notice a lack of plants and prices dropping to normal now. I resisted the temptation of giant Agapanthus and dwarf ones reduced.

I really have to concentrate on extending the flower beds and getting some shrubs some organisation and sticking to it. I've just been so glad to have something to look at (from nothing) and what I can aquire during the covid era. Now it needs determination. Good luck with that lol.

I have got some good chrysanths from Tescos to give some colour and a pretty feathery one. Also dug up the last of the tree like Senecio I inherited with a trowel and crowbar.

Can't believe how useful that crowbar has been.

Farway

Yet another grey & dull day outside and it's not even very warm, hardly a day for doing pottering around the garden.

Should it improve I have to water the pots in the back, watering can job, and top up the bird bath. That's about it fro the day

Had acknowledgement from Nicky's Nursery & Mr F's, my seeds, both ordered Monday on line, are in the post, being early bird helps by sound of it

twopenny said:

 Also dug up the last of the tree like Senecio I inherited with a trowel and crowbar.

Can't believe how useful that crowbar has been.

I don't have a crow bar but do have a pick axe, another very useful item which has levering crowbar like function, plus useful heavy sledge hammer option if needed for post bashing

Sort of Swiss Army crowbar?

phoebe1989seb

It's felt autumnal here in Carmarthenshire for a while, what with the oveecast weather and the leaves falling from the trees - especially the ancient apple - for some weeks 🙁

As it's now September, so officially autumn, I've begun moving stuff from the rockery to elsewhere in the garden - although only items that have finished flowering. Yesterday it was the massive clump of persicaria bistorta which took up virtually the whole of the lower level. These (originally seven plants, but now more than twenty!) have gone into what we call 'bed 1', being the first bed we created in the previously barren landscape when we moved here in 2018.

I had to clear loads of red campion to make way for the persicaria - something that brought colour but I was happy to see the back of, being very unruly 🙄

Whilst in clearing mode, I also began weeding the four rose beds, although didn't get very far. I did take out the nine foxgloves from the not-particularly-white bed (where we'd realised they were too tall) and popped those in with the others in the rose beds.

Today - cloudy/chilly - it's been the turn of the large group of pink Astilbes from the top of the rockery. I'd been concerned about moving these too soon, but recently *experimented* with a white one elsewhere in the garden, moving it to the *white* bed where it has settled in fine. So, the four large pink plants are now safely transplanted into 'bed 2' in place of a huge comfrey clump that DH removed last night 😁

Apart from watering and deadheading, I'm going to take a break from gardening this afternoon - moving more rocks and plants can wait till tomorrow!

Farway

At last a sunny day and warmer as well, a proper Autumn type of day at last

Picked more blackberries and used some of the not so nice looking apples that the birds have been pecking. They are not ripe just yet so guess the birds were just sampling them

My grapes remain small green bullets, I'm sure they should be showing signs of ripening by now or it's going to be too late before the weather really changes

Picked the last two plums, it was a disappointing year for them, weather again. However the two I had yesterday convinced me to hang onto the tree, they are nice plums when ripe. Stanley variety

While harvesting blackberries etc I could smell this Deep Secret rose, it's the second flush

phoebe1989seb

Beautiful rose, Farway 😃 A few of ours are still going strong, but many are looking ready to be cut back....

Glad you've got warm sunshine where you are - am I recalling correctly that you're close to the south coast somewhere? DH and I are originally from Hampshire and I do miss the better weather in that part of the UK 🙄 Still, there's a chance we might be heading to the New Forest over the weekend - DH's *spiritual home* - which should be lovely!

Here, it's another overcast day, if a little warmer (still wearing two woolly jumpers though!), but with sun forecast later in the afternoon.

Almost everything is out of the rockery now - except a ton of bluebell bulbs and the few actual rockery plants, the latter of which are going into pots till I can make use of them in the walled courtyard.

I've made a start on weeding the rose beds but am resigned to it not getting finished till next week now - we really need to fill the gaps (hoping to get lots of bare root astrantias 😉) so the weeds have less space to colonise!

Am disappointed with my heleniums (Moorheim Beauty) which are way behind this time last year and don't appear to have many buds.

Looking good in the garden right now - apart from the thuggish crocosmia and the bed of persicaria taurus which are still putting on a fantastic show - are the hydrangeas....

Davesnave

Hello, I've been reading, but not posting for a while and it’s probably better I don’t say much about why.  I try to be upbeat here, but in the light of present circumstances, sometimes the effort becomes daunting. After more than 18 months in a sort of abusive relationship, I’m finding it tricky remaining positive.

I’m not talking about DB, who’s given me great support for over 40 years, or even MiL.I’m referring to an entity that has many faces; the more sinister of which most people seem not to recognise. If they did, they might feel as disheartened as me.

I don’t want to talk in riddles, so this will be a one-off . However, riddles come with clues, so for this one I’d suggest research beginning in Europe during the early 1930s. I was always puzzled by this phenomenon when watching old newsreels as a child. I wondered how people could be so daft. Now I know.

Anyhoo, like September 1939, things around me here look perfectly normal and the weather promises to be reasonable, so we’re hoping for a few fine days around the middle of the month for DD2’s Indian wedding. After that, I’m  anticipating some more walks and garden visits, currently on hold for more pressing matters, like sewing and titivating the somewhat neglected garden.

I think the bulk of NGS gardens close soon, but there’s Rosemoor and a few local ‘big house estates’ to fall back on. I always forget autumn doesn’t really start till mid October or even November, although a few trees colour-up early. We’re two weeks behind most southern places in spring and much the same in autumn too.

Then, suddenly, it’s Christmas….speaking of which, I read there’s likely to be a chicken shortage. Hmm, not around here there won't be! 

Farway

A welcome return Dave, now I'm not a chicken expert but is the lady the one without a red face? [The profanity filter used to prevents me saying cocks comb]

Hope the world improves a bit at least with getting out, I'm still confined to barracks regarding garden visits, even without Covid restrictions I just don't have enough "puff" to walk around large gardens until my ticker gets fixed, if it ever does of course

Nice hydrangeas there P1989, I've never had space for them so can only admire from afar. You're right, I'm in Hampshire, north of Portsmouth up the A3, my daughter lives near New Forest and walks dogs there, they've just bought a beach hut at Calshot so I'm envious now, thinking of beach type planting & photos of cruise liners with handy tea & toilets

Another sunny warm day ahead, rain forecast has slipped to end of next week now with peak heat mid week, maybe it'll get on and get my grapes going again

More watering first thing, all the pots at the front, the sunflower is still standing yellow & proud, it turned out better than I expected after a very shaky start

All the seeds I ordered on Monday [free P & P] have arrived now, Mr F's came this morning but they are flowers for Spring sowing so no rush, put in safe place with the rest of my seeds

I did sow three Kong coleus Mosaic yesterday to try them as house plants, ,one for me, two as gifts. The rest will be Spring sown and of course maybe have cuttings by then

The seeds are pelleted, I was surprised just how tiny the pellets were, the only pellets I've come across before were like boulders, pea sized, compared to these

Here's a photo of them

twopenny

Hi Dave, I tried to pluck you some seeds from the Echiums but they stick to the plant and their seed pod. I'm not sure they're worth the effort of sending.

My other idea was to quietly broadcast them in my old garden with the buyers who made my life miserable and destroyed all the plants ;-)

I have a lovely garden open this month for the peeps huffing and puffing. Brewers Water Farm, Stogumber. They do teas and stuff too. It's about 2 acres easy walk around with some great plants. The owner buys rescue plants which is where I met her deciding if some unusual trees would survive. Went today and loved it. You are eye height to all the bees and butterflies on the Verbena and the views lovely. Anyone near I would recommend for a sunny afternoon.

My own garden is suffering still from the ever changing weather, full rain, bone dry, icy wind and stillness. My tomatoes overgrown from the rain got blight. I've been cutting off trusses of unripe toms and disease but left some with fingers crossed because the flavour is amazing.

It needs the beds making wider and plants I can't find because they are not the showy ones the garden centres want to sell to the masses who are into it at the mo. Frankly I'm exhausted by the whole thing.

Hydrangeas come in so many colours and shapes now there are some amazing ones. If I had a bigger garden.....

Current desired plants are the coffee coloured geranium and the chocolate coloured Vervain I saw in the Brewers garden today. I have the common one but the purple one is just beautiful with darker flowers. I may have to get another tea there when the seed heads are ripening.