Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

That's awful wort

There was an old fellah where I used to live, his front garden was a mass of beautiful big old roses. The perfume was incredible. He died and the house was sold - the new lad dug them up and put down a load of gravel as a parking space. But it's not even, so every time he goes in and out it scrapes the bottom of his car. Karma  

in_my_wellies

The sun is trying to peep out already. I have a shed to tidy and hopefully empty. When I move it's the 'bits and pieces I shall miss, the bits that might come in useful one day but they have to go. 

There are plants in this garden I shall miss. I do hope my new home has certain mature trees and shrubs especially a bramley apple, an acer and a magnolia. It's sad when mature plants have to be removed for cars, with a bit of thought they could be included in the new landscaping. 

Farway

Cold but sunny this morning, too cold just yet to venture into the conservatory and sow some coleus which is today's plan

For those with pears, and heirs. I have two pears, both trained as espaliers now.

The older one [2012, £3.99 from Lidl] took a few years to fruit, and when it did, I found it was wrongly labelled , curse of my life. This one is a large red that never ripens until it rots, not the tasty Doyenn du Comice it was supposed to be, but makes a nice support for a clematis

The newer one I got as part of an offer from T & M last year, one dwarfed apple & one pear.

Of course T & M sent wrong items , two apples, but corrected it, and so I had a surplus free apple, since passed on to my daughter

The T & M pear, Beurre Alexandre Lucas, fruited last year, I removed most of them, & this year it is laden with blossom buds, so I suspect it does depend on the variety of pear and the rootstock, FWIW if you fancy a pear, get one

Best of luck with the strep leaf cutting Wellies, as I've mentioned I found them easy to get going, they seem to take a while thinking about it but as long as the original leaf is green they are good

Ideal for windows in a camper van, good luck with whatever you decide to do

Reading about new owners destroying loved plants just makes me happy that I managed to get some cuttings going from my ex neighbour's lovely rose, I do hope it flowers this first year

twopenny

Yes Blue, I got 2 coats on the wood. If I'd known how much trouble it was going to be I'd have got better wood in the first place. I have this bright ideas that seem simple, well they are, but don't anticipate just how much else there is to do.

Wellies, I too missed all the bits I'd collected but soon needed more in my new place. Jewsons/Travis Perkins have crates where they sling bits of wood and slabs etc for skipping. I quickly amassed more useful 'stuff'. One young man even went so far to save a small paver with the corner knocked off because I'd been looking for one to go against the washing line

If pears don't ripen peel,  core and slice and put in a jar full of wine (or tipple of choice). Lovely desert in a few months time

So, it's dry for a while if dull and cold. So fed up with the weather. Still rain and cold predicted

So wet I found a snail on my fleece when I took it from the wardrobe. Must have climbed on from the washing line

This came up with my Purple Sprouting. I thought at first is was green sprouting got in the packet but it's just heading for the sky and going to seed. Any ideas?

Farway

Rain has arrived and set in for the week apparently, good job I strolled limped around the garden in the sunshine yesterday, the blossom buds are just gasping to pop, but I'm glad they're hanging on because this weather would drown them, plus no pollinating insects either

2P, can't see close up, but I'd put a bob each way on your mystery plant being rape, the seeds are similar. And are Brassica family. It will be nice yellow flowers, loved by bees, so if you don't mind it, or have rampant hay fever then I'd leave it.

You could go posh & call it Canola, and for ultimate self-sufficiency get a drip of oil from crushing the seeds

Pear tip noted, I bet they're really a posh epicure pear with the red skin, probably £200 a portion when served in champagne or simmered in Port perhaps

Some of my tomatoes have proper leaves forming now, but apart from that nothing else had happened

wort

Even worse than the mature Acer .... when I was young we lived in a big house in an avenue with lovely blossom trees down both sides, don’t worry they are still there , but at the end of the big houses was a small double fronted bungalow with gardens all the way round ,glorious garden!  the old man spent all day every day in the garden, looked like he hadn’t two pennies to rub together. The new owners of the bungalow have built a massive new brick house at the side of the bungalow, with a tarmac drive which has 3 huge Range Rover style cars. How they got planning for it I don’t know , but it’s an eyesore, all I think when I pass it is all that work and dedication to his lovely garden has been destroyed. Such a shame.😢

RAS

Random, I know. 

Was in Lidl. Summer bulbs priced at £1.99. Found a rather nice Canna, supposedly red, and a supposedly red dahlia, both a good weight and just showing growing points.

£1.49 at the till. 

YoungBlueEyes

Oh wort, it’s heart breaking innit  

In my Lidl this morning they had berry bushes, all kinds of varieties and they all look healthy and happy. I didn’t buy any though. I bought more little tom plants - Golden Sunrise - cos they looked happy and healthy too. A tray of 6 for £1.99

Truly I’m gonna be knee deep in the beggars! 

It’s lashing down here and I’ve gotta go out again for sweet potatoes cos I forgot them. Stoopid brain. 

twopenny

Well yesterday was a surprise!

Afternoon was sunny and 20C in the back garden. I was boiling in all the fleeces and overalls!

So the 'door' got painted and stuck. Don't think it's the last as I have a feeling the 'sticks everything forever' isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's too dark so something has to be thought of. But it's done!

Strikes me its a home for snails.

The bird table got painted, quick and painless and really works much better dark. Need to think of something spikeyish to put on the ridge and stop the pidgeons getting at the fat blocks as they devour it.

Both my friendly blackbirds are back and feeding babes by the way their digging into fat blocks and looking for worms.

Did some weeding of emergency kind, Shepherds Purse!

Twiddled with Clematis, the many I bought for £1 and shoved in somewhere. But surprises are nice.

Admired the Plum blossom. There was a bee or two but think I should get out there with a paint brush and pollinate.

Today gale force winds and rain. Still 8C. The temps are ridiculous.

Been watching the new Love your garden prog. Their prices were a bit off and I wasn't that impressed. Nothing as good as the original.

YoungBlueEyes

20'C - that's the perfect temp imo - not too warm to work in, warm enough to lay out in with a book It was grey and miserable and wet here all day yesterday but drier and slightly warmer today. Tomorrow's gonna be lovely. They say.

I've not done anything in the garden, except buy more stuff. Lidl has gardening bits in now, so as well as the yellow toms I bought a box of plastic clips to hold them up, some more bulbs, and another pair of gloves for spares. I coulda gone mad like. There were metal trellises that were very pretty, decorated with flowers and things, propogating sets, kneeling pads, open-gobbed plastic frog watering systems..... I need to start leaving my phone at home and just taking a tenner like I used to   

Oh and I applied for a job yesterday, guess what it was...


















A tomato picker! Honestly