Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Blue, that looks really healthy-whatever a wineberry is. I too started with a fringe garden. It's slowly taking some shape and I'm now trying to decide after 3yrs how I want to form it to be more interesting.
 Sadly it's not as easy as you see on telly unless you have a team of professionals.
But I like the evolving and unknown what will grow.

Farway the ladies back garden is twisting paths and a riot of wildflowers and roses with fruit trees. Quite different and im deeply envious. She picked the house because it has the largest garden 

Farway

Sun's out & wind has dropped, could this be the day I venture into the back garden for a mooch? My leaves slop bucket needs emptying so could be a good opportunity, then rain can wash it in later this week

Sowed my tomatoes, well nearly all, went daft as usual & have about four of six varieties, way too many but if I treat them as I did my Cos lettuce seedlings yesterday, drop on conservatory floor and scooping them back up into the container after a bout of deleted expletives, the extras may come in handy

One variety was small sweet cherry from the banned West Country, plus some of his Mustard Wasabini, see how they go

Toms are now in poly bag in airing cupboard, maybe showing by the weekend

I have two more varieties to sow, one a beefsteak type, I've never done well with those but hey ho, eternal gardening optimist

The other is a yellow cherry plum Limoncito, have to try it, £3.99 for five seeds, bought on offer at a quid, or I'd never buy them

I saw on local news last night that some people now feeding red kites, like putting food out for hedgehogs etc. Seems they soon get used to swooping into gardens for some tasty chicken chunks. But I suspect a stray blackbird could also be on the menu

YoungBlueEyes

Been sunny here since dawn, I’ve 2 loads of washing out. Lovely dry wind, if a bit strong and cool, but it’ll do. 

Will your drops survive Farway? Limoncito sounds very appealing, as does sweet cherry plum 😊 I got my 2 wee toms split and sorted and planted, so I’m feeling quite proud and hopeful 🤞🏻 Then I went good shopping this morning and spotted some Gladioli bulbs so I lifted a pack and a tray of skinny wee sorrowful looking “Money Maker” toms. Bulbs should sort out my height prob, and the seedlings are in the bedroom window - SE facing 👍🏻

I don’t know where the box of red kites got sent to, but if there’s a chance they might eat blackys I don’t want em! 😣

twopenny

Beautiful day but by the time I'd gone for walk and coffee, then trial run to see how to get to hospital in time it was all was over.
I did stop over at Otter nursery for cheese scone size of a pie and coffee and managed to come away with nothing! 
Tempted by a Sungold tomato plant. One is enough in my garden. Really good to say I'll check my seeds first. But I'll be going past on Thursday so perhaps not that good.
Blue it's fun to see you get 'the bug' so soon  :-D

Dropping compost and seedlings makes you want to cry 

YoungBlueEyes

You've no idea 2p, I think I'm fully bugged. Himself wanted to catchup on that thing about the gold robbery last night, but there was a prog about the Art of the Garden (?) on bbc4 so we watched that instead. We really shouldn't have. I've got so many (unrealistic, probably) ideas for my garden now, I'm getting carried away with meself! I'm mentally rejigging the money we'd said we'd spend on house things and allocating it to the garden instead. We've got a lounge/diner now but I really want a kitchen/diner and himself said it would easily be a good £15k to take the wall down and sort it all out. (The cooker is on that wall and there's a big radiator on the other side of it.) So I said well what if we just kept it as it is, got a new cooker and titivated the cupboard doors a bit, then I'll have some of that money for really doing the garden   He looked at me like "god help me, this is never gonna end."

He did say yes, mind

Also - the sun's out but it's still cold. Proper icy layer on everything this morning too.

twopenny

Good waay to go Blue 
I didn't notice that programme. I'll look tonight. Seems to combine both my interests.
Imo you can play, move change a garden. Doing so in a house your money goes to other people, in a garden you are in control and have to wait for no one.

Grey skies, wet and very cold. It's too squelchy to go out and too cold to work in the garage so it's a no from me(again) today. 

Farway

Frosty start but warming up

I went into town, Home Bargains, looking for more compost & some large pots. However, dopey here forgot to take change along for the trolley , so went into Marks and bought some YS hot cross buns instead , no need for a trolley for those

The Cos lettuce seedlings I dropped seem to have survived, but I've not tinkered with them since the drop, just left them to get their breath back

2P, Sungold, go for it, I've grown those, they are tasty & make a change from red. Too early to go out yet though, so if there are loads I'd let them look after them until say Easter. It's a common practice to sell tender plants before Easter, then they die, and the punters come back for more at Whitsun, kerching!

Now look what you've done, I had a search & found my SGold seeds, self saved from 2018, now I have to grow those as well this year after saying I was cutting back!

YBE, A garden is for life, bu66er kitchens . Actually I expect a garden is more beneficial than fixtures & fitting when taking into account the pleasure & relaxation it can give, and maybe some heathy fresh fruit etc

Spring is around, the wild violets are opening on the verge opposite my house

Here's a pic of them from last year

YoungBlueEyes

Yeah have a look for it, I thought it was a good prog. More interesting than informative, I enjoyed it. 

Fingers crossed for your lettuce Farway, I reckon you’ll get em righted if they try giving up on you  

Love the wild violets, aren’t they striking! I want some of those now too ha haa! 

twopenny

Beautiful violets! I have the purple leaved sort. They seed everywhere. I thought I'd left them behind but no, they appeared in the new garden.

Went for a walk yesterday and saw wild daffodils, primroses, violets and lots of wild flowers. But the weather means for us humans that it hard to really enjoy.

Yesterday driving back from the hospital there was a whole field of new born lambs and their mums. Beautiful to see. Couldn't get a pic, was stuck in endless road work traffic jams. The ones on the hill were bounding around and climbing 'I'm higher than you' on hay bales then couldn't get down

Art of the Garden not available on iplayer and otherwise streaming services - but I'll persever!

Farway

Mild with sun trying to creep out

Yesterday my Cannas & Regale lilies arrived, so must get them into pots before they dry out, bare rooted tubers / bulbs at the moment, so I'll pot up the canna in starter pots in the conservatory waiting for warmer weather and fresh growth, then into final large pots

Checked my dropped lettuce, I have four survivors, so two went down with all hands . Luckily not expensive seeds, loads more in packet and easily resown

Radio is already priming us for water shortages this year, get those pop bottles sunk in near the roots, folks.

I have yet to run out my hose down the bottom of the garden, need to do it soon, especially now the rhubarb is coming through, it was poor last year with heat & lack of water, in fact until I spotted it this week I had thought it was a goner

The magnolia tree a few doors down has the buds opening, it was a picture last year and looks like a repeat this year

Last year's magnolia