Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Dull & gloomy with rain on the way for next couple of days , at least it will dilute the tea leaves slops I chucked on mulched with yesterday

One of my posh dahlias has sprouted, bought in over winter & in a pot in the conservatory. I'll wait util it's a tad larger then try for a couple of cuttings

No sign yet of the other one or the posh canna tubers

My tomato plants are coming on nicely now, and saw a post on local FB asking if any spares around, so I know can give away once I've sorted out in a few more weeks.

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Anybody see Gardener's World the other night? Apparently the reason that magnolias are one of the first things to flower is because they aren't pollinated by bees, they're done by beatles. 

I don't give much for their chances, then; there's only two of those left, and one is somewhat delusional.

Calm and not too chilly here, but precipitation cometh soon and temperatures won't be as previously advertised. Does it matter? Not a lot, as I'm still being Nurse Dusty, though my patient is rapidly working out how to do stuff herself and exclaiming how nice it is to be pain-free. Sadly, at present her blood pressure is on the floor, so I'm sticking around for now, just in case she is too!

As for the saying about the blackthorn, I've forgotten it too, but I know: "If the oak is before the ash, then 'tis sure we'll have a splash!"

As the oak is always before the ash, and it rains a lot around here, that one's right more than wrong.

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

We ran out of logs a while ago, Dusty and only have a couple of lumps of wood that a friend kindly gave us. We have some coal and peat left so that should keep us going if we get another cold spell 🔥

Coal? Peat? Think of the environment! Not popular to say it, but I think even the Germans may be secretly storing a bit of lignite in their sheds for next winter. Who knows, maybe even Bill Gates may have the odd bag of anthracite in the hold of his private jet?

pink_poppy

Aye, not particularly environmentally friendly, but needs must. We use ovoids, which I think are a bit better?? The peat gives off a good heat (& smells lovely) but we use it sparingly.
I think you were being tongue in cheek (don’t you have oil heating?? 😉), but the stove is our primary form of heat as the old storage heaters are not fit for purpose. We’re still debating what to do about installing some other form of heating. We don’t have gas so it’s oil, LPG or electric. We had some advice from the energy trust people and it was basically get an air source heat pump... 🙄

pink_poppy

Forgot to say - we have minus 5 degrees forecast for first thing Tuesday morning 🥶

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

I think you were being tongue in cheek (don’t you have oil heating?? 😉), but the stove is our primary form of heat as the old storage heaters are not fit for purpose. We’re still debating what to do about installing some other form of heating. We don’t have gas so it’s oil, LPG or electric. We had some advice from the energy trust people and it was basically get an air source heat pump... 🙄

Yes, we have an oil central heating system. Like you, we've no gas here, and having investigated the green alternatives, we found only GSHP likely to be a good bet, but very pricey. I'm so glad we didn't go fuel pellet, though the £20k + price tag was enough to put us off anyway.

The oil goes a long way here, because the wood stove does most of the heating. If it's very cold in winter, it's usually sunny too, so then the conservatory traps enough solar heat to warm the house until evening time. We're ideal for panels on the roof, and all ready to receive them, but there's always another call on the £££.

We're ready for our 15-minute neighbourhood, too. 15 minutes from here, and you're still in a field!

The sun's out 3 hours early and we look set to have a fine end to the day. One of the neighbours who reported us to the council for cutting down our hedge had his huge willow chopped on Saturday, so we now have a better view, into which plumes of smoke are twirling. I hope he doesn't believe the myth that willow is useless for firewood. It's fine, if left the standard 2 years. Giving wood time to dry is very important, so if you're using wood, even from a certified supplier, get it in now for next winter.

twopenny

I know people who have the new storage heaters and are impressed with efficiency and running costs. A very different beast apparently.

twopenny

Been lovely here! Sunshine all day.
Went to Greencombe again for an hour and really relaxed. Different plants in bloom already.

The Ash before the oak the summer a soak. The Oak before the Ash, the summer a splash.
Someone explained to me the other day that it's to do with one having shallow roots and the other deep. But I didn't listen because I never thought anyoe would ask 

Yes it's Blackthorn, the May comes out next. Clever nature, consecutive pollen for the insects.

Everything so far advanced looks like I can't move plants now till Autumn. Did buy 2 Verbena in shocking pink for£1,50 ea. No gardeners delight or yellow tom seeds in. So I'll have to keep looking. Did replant the courgette seeds and San Marzano. The old ones I planted before seem to have swollen but rotted.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Been lovely here! Sunshine all day.
Went to Greencombe again for an hour and really relaxed. Different plants in bloom already.

We might yet get over to Greencombe before the Erythroniums finish. Now, we can visit friends in a nearby village, so with fish & chips thrown in, it's a day out!   We were sad to lose our friends to Somerset last year, but it was obviously meant to be, because their surname begins with  'W,' and so does their house name, their street, their village and the nearest town as well; all in the area of West Somerset, of course!

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

Forgot to say - we have minus 5 degrees forecast for first thing Tuesday morning 🥶

4c here when I released the chickens, with a dreamy mist in the valley. I've heard of six degrees of separation, but that looks like it might be nine!
Apparently, things start well here, deteriorate and then brighten up again later. This is a potential bonfire day wind-wise, but my patient probably still needs some assistance. The next one might be Friday, when they're promising us 15c, but it would be a shame to spoil that. I'm really looking for a warm, dry period followed by strong SW winds; enough to consume a huge pile of stuff in 90 minutes with minimal smoke. Greta wouldn't approve!