Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

RAS said:

Buddleia globulosa. Saw it in a public planting and nicked a cutting. It's a thug. Wonderful for bees and much earlier than the Davidii but not for a small garden.

Weyeriana may be better tempered but is very late flowering.

Ah ha, like minds and sticky fingers . I can second its thuggish nature, in the end I had to Monsanto it in Woolsery style because it was taking over and TBH most of the year it was just a dull green shrubby thing, but ideal for car parks etc

Just a touch of frost on some car windows this morning, sun's out now and looks a lovely day with a blue sky. None of the plants seem to have been caught by frost, but some of the nasturtiums leaves are going over at last

Sun permitting Ill try & get an arty shot of the maturing Castor oil seed pods, last time I looked they were at the manky brown stage, hopefully they may look a bit better in the sunshine

in_my_wellies

Woolsery said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

That's such a pretty buddleia woolsery, I've only seen them in purple or white.

They do pink, dark purple and fancy yellow foliage too. There's even one with orange balls....

More sunshine and showers today. We've not had as much rain as many places, but it's soggy enough for me. Managed to paint my neighbour's flowering Convolvulus during a dry spell yesterday; not exactly in the style of Van Gough, more Monsanto!

I can confirm the use in school playgrounds and that if spat out quickly they aren't poisonous! Back in the '70s my friend and I picked and gathered these, popped them in a paper bag from the sweet shop and offered them to any unsuspecting first or second year child at playtime. 

Woolsery

in_my_wellies said:

Woolsery said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

That's such a pretty buddleia woolsery, I've only seen them in purple or white.

They do pink, dark purple and fancy yellow foliage too. There's even one with orange balls....

 

More sunshine and showers today. We've not had as much rain as many places, but it's soggy enough for me. Managed to paint my neighbour's flowering Convolvulus during a dry spell yesterday; not exactly in the style of Van Gough, more Monsanto!

I can confirm the use in school playgrounds and that if spat out quickly they aren't poisonous! Back in the '70s my friend and I picked and gathered these, popped them in a paper bag from the sweet shop and offered them to any unsuspecting first or second year child at playtime. 

Was that before or after you put the hairy bits from rose hips down their shirt collar?

Paspatur

Woolsery said:

Was that before or after you put the hairy bits from rose hips down their shirt collar?

Oh god itchy coos,my back is itching thinking about it and we are talking 50+ years ago. Aren't kids daft

twopenny

Well it's been torrential here, high winds still blowing from NW even though there's temporarily a smattering of sun.

Still been picking the odd tomato to two while some are sitting green and some are rotting with the chill and rain. On the verge of pulling them up when I found some more viable ones so just left them while keeping an eye.

I've had another lot of raspberries, another 7, not so sweet and more like raspberry ice cream they are so cold.

There are green strawberries hanging around too. I sometimes get a ripe one at Christmas so I'll leave them be.

There were quite a few roses and other flowers still blooming, the close looks really cheerful but sadly the rain has given them a bashing.

I've been making a false gate for the dark corner of the garden. Got to make the surround and find a small amount of waterproof paint yet. I bought a small painted plaster bird from a summer gardens stall, that sits on the arbour and I'm going to varnish that. It makes me chuckle as it's often mistaken for real.

The pond pot needs to dry out so I can make it leak proof so that's going to be some while. Not convinced of where to put it yet so time for once is on my side.

Only 8 weeks till the days start getting longer but these short wet cold dark days are a trial.

Woolsery

twopenny said:

Only 8 weeks till the days start getting longer but these short wet cold dark days are a trial.

But it's only 5 weeks till Christmas, and mid-winter is 21st December....so a lot less than 8 weeks.   You had me going there for a moment!

Still, it's all long enough, especially when the usual autumn jobs aren't being done. Blooming tractor man didn't show again on Sunday, so our big hedges are still unkempt and our internal ones have barely been started. Sadly, I'm still nursing DB.  Although she's down to one crutch now, the chesty cough she picked-up in A&E is hindering her recovery. I have a version of it too now, but it's not much to write home about. I'm sure I could get rid of it if I had more time out of doors.

This morning we received offers from two environmental groups; one intent of stemming the peak flow with a 'leaky dam' and monitoring the quality of the water in our stream. DB asked,  "How do we make a leaky dam?" and I replied, "Hire a beaver!" which made her cough even more. The problem with the offer from that source is they're restricted to a particular catchment, and our water goes to a different one. Maybe we won't tell them??

The other offer was to do with making natural hay fields and new hedgerows. The former we're well on the way with, but we could use another hedge at the far end of the land where the bonkers neighbour lives. Hmmm...

The wind's still feisty, but we have some occluded front weather now, so I'll nip out for more logs soon. So glad I moved our more tender salvias under cover yesterday where they can dry out somewhat. There is zero chance of getting the polytunnel finished until 2023 now.

YoungBlueEyes

Well done DB for improvements, despite obvious trials

Bladdy miserable weather here, once the fog lifted this morning it wasn't too bad (cold but bright). It's only stopped drizzling since to give the rain a turn....

I also shall be doing no gardening til 2023, but then I'm not blessed with any kind of fruits (envious of toms and rasps and strawbs twopenny) but next year it'll aaaaallll be different  

Mind you, will have to slash the budget for that, cos as well as guttering we now need the rood attending to. I was in the shower this morning and the ceiling started dripping. Lucky there was a fellah across the road sorting the TV ariel, so he got up there and had a look. Reckons we (possibly - he's not a roofer/buillder) need the ridge tiles replacing, and depending how long it's been like that, may also need rafters + felt looking at. Can't even get anyone round to have a gander never mind quote  

Daddy was right - it never ends!

twopenny

Ah yes, I had someone to look at the leaking gutter. I have to empty the bucket every now and then and using it to clean out the driveway drain.

He reckoned 2 people for a day! I only need someone because I can't ping the clips over the edge. Now it's him for half a day - unless he finds something major wrong. Sheesh. The gutter was pushed too far over the seals so it fills with cement dust and leaks, builds up to stop flow. But I have a man to deal so I must keep quiet and make the coffee. Only taken 3yrs.

But at least so far it's outside. Not great when it makes its way through. You have my sympathies. Why doesn't it happen in summer when you could be more laid back about it?

Unless it's been going on for a year I wouldn't worry about rafters and felt. You can see that from the loft but should dry out in summer.

Do you need new ridge tiles? Or is it just the cementing that needs replacing?

Blue you missed me making a garden from scratch. Beg from friends and neighbours, check for roadside stalls, keep an eye on reductions at supermarkets and only get the specific stuff from a garden centre. Autumn fruiting raspberries spread like wildfire and if you leave the old canes in they give summer fruiting, new ones autumn so full season. I learned that on here.

Woolsery, doesn't start getting longer until 18th Jan......sorry.

But the sun does rise higher from a week after the solstice which makes all the difference. The gloom (mostly) starts to disappear.

YoungBlueEyes

I’m in the same ‘make coffee and shurrup woman’ category. I stick it for so long then I need to start getting stuff done 😆

So him for half a day, that’s some difference! Hope mines is as quick 🤞🏻

We’re not sure it deffo is the ridge tiles, that was the opinion of the tv aerial man (he’s a handy and decent sort, he scooped my gutters out while he was doing me a new aerial when we moved in), so it’s just on his quick looky outside and in the loft. It hopefully repair rather than replace 🙏🏻 Also no idea how long it’s been leaking, we only moved here a few months ago. Judging by the rest of the house, it’s been leaking waaay long enough 😡

I did miss your garden story, I only read a few dozen pages back when I first posted. I’ll have to start at the beginning… In fact I only posted at all cos I thought I recognised the writing style (and signature style) of a certain person. 

Speaking of which…. 

Does woolsery mind being short ‘til the 17th…? 

twopenny said:

Woolsery, doesn't start getting longer until 18th Jan......sorry. 

Woolsery

YoungBlueEyes said:

Speaking of which…. 

Does woolsery mind being short ‘til the 17th…? 

twopenny said:

Woolsery, doesn't start getting longer until 18th Jan......sorry. 

Woolsery has always been short, (see photo) and he often regretted that as a young man, because most young  ladies prefer somebody taller than them.    However, he has a rather dodgy degree in geography and qualifications in science too, so although he hates to pull rank, he disagrees about the days not getting longer until the 18th January.

To quote the Greenwich Museum:

"How long is the shortest day of the year?

The actual moment of the solstice in 2022 will occur at 9.48pm GMT in the UK, but most people concentrate on the whole solstice day, which has been recognised by holidays and festivals in many cultures all over the world.

The shortest day lasts 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds in London. This means that the length of day during the winter solstice is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than the summer solstice.

Do the days get longer after the winter solstice?

 After the shortest day, the days start getting longer and the nights shorter."