Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Apodemus

Farway said:

Apodemus said:

 Now, if only this rain would stop...

Stewed some of my apple crop, with the [watered] blackberries, so at least something to show for the summer

I've picked my gooseberries over the weekend and they have done better this year than in the past.  I never seem to get the pruning right, but maybe last year's hacking back was less destructive than I thought.  I don't know what the variety is, but they have really lethal thorns and put on very long vigorous shoots, which overhang the paths and beds, so can't really be left to grow unimpeded.  Normally the birds get all the berries, but for some reason they have left more of them to ripen than normal.

twopenny

Looks like I've lost my long searched out Jingle Bells winter clematis.

I completely forgot about it planted at the back of the border. It was fine when I checked pre heatwave but not yet deeply rooted and not watered it looks completely brown down to the soil.

I'll keep watering and feeding for a while and just hope there's some life left.
An excuse for coffee and scones at an afternoon out at otter but it appeared with summer clematis this year.

Even the lemon verbena shrub is going brown and that is supposed to be a hot sun beast. Had to water the thymes even yesterday.

24c and a few drips of sky water. Still waiting.

RAS

I've picked my gooseberries over the weekend and they have done better this year than in the past.  I never seem to get the pruning right, but maybe last year's hacking back was less destructive than I thought.  I don't know what the variety is, but they have really lethal thorns and put on very long vigorous shoots, which overhang the paths and beds, so can't really be left to grow unimpeded. 

Could it be a worcesterberry; very small berries and vicious thorns?

Apodemus

RAS said:

I've picked my gooseberries over the weekend and they have done better this year than in the past.  I never seem to get the pruning right, but maybe last year's hacking back was less destructive than I thought.  I don't know what the variety is, but they have really lethal thorns and put on very long vigorous shoots, which overhang the paths and beds, so can't really be left to grow unimpeded. 

Could it be a worcesterberry; very small berries and vicious thorns?

Interesting!  Thanks!  I definitely bought them as gooseberries, but they are small black gooseberries, which look like slightly bigger blackcurrants.

EDIT:  Just looked up Worcesterberry and it certainly looks like it.  Also says it is good for growing as a cordon and my main change from last year was to do a "crown lift" on it and change it from being a bush to being a small tree!  So maybe that is why it is happier this year!

Apodemus

A couple of snaps of my "new"   Worcester Berry bush! 



Everything I can find written about this all adds up... very small black fruits, late flowering, good frost resistance, late maturing, sweet, blackbirds go wild for them, very easy to grow from cuttings, big thorns, long arching branches, good for cordons, do well in northern Scotland, etc...  Why have I never heard of this before?!  Well done RAS for sorting this deficit in my education!

RAS

I happen to be involved with a few groups that grow or use fruit. And I've had the joy of picking worcesterberries.

I've a strong suspicion that a £1.50 Hinnomaki Green gooseberry that I bought this spring is a worcesterberry, just based on the thorns. Think the stick is still alive but no fruit yet.

P.S. If you want another hybrid thug that grows from a stick, try a jostaberry. Think it tastes good too, and it's thorn free.

Woolsery

We had Worcesterberries here in quantity when we took over. They'd been left for years and grown into a thicket. As the prospect of sorting it out was too daunting, we had our digger chap remove them along with most of the other random bushes and trees in that area. We managed to keep the Medlars and even re-locate one of them. It's valuable chicken shade today.

Don't write off your clematis twopenny. My friend on the clay thought she'd lost hers a couple of months ago. It was back again when I visited last week.

Much good, steady rain here and some thunder. My app is showing the most thunderstorms around Bodmin and to the east around Wiveliscombe. Might be heading twopenny's way?

twopenny

It did around 4pm but although it coloured the soil there was not enough for my dripping gutter to drip.

It's known that the bay retains storms when they get here but at the moment it seems to be retaining the heat only.

Thanks for the encouragement. I went to the local garden centre to enquire if they may have one in autum and got the vague reply. Also a greengage but a small one who knows. It is what it is.

The clematis seemed to be thriving after planting and made a lot of growth so hopefully the roots are still viable.

RAS

Well last night's thunderstorms didn't even turn into drizzle, although they got some on the cost

And today's appear to be headed north of us, or further south. No sign of anything else this week.

Farway

And it's raining at last, none yesterday but just as I was getting ready to go hose watering the volunteer pots the rain started with lots more coming across the Channel, so fingers crossed for today, my blackberry picking was timed right this year, before the rain arrived for once

Hope you get some 2P, you really deserve it after all the work you put in

No gardening planned for today, except hopefully gaze out at the rain & try to catch a lightening photo