Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

Those are pretty flowers Dusty, they look like they'd smell lovely  

I keep meaning to ask you, what's all this about thistles..? Are you hopeful of them cos they're a good thing or trying to spot them small so you can eradicate them? She said, with an eye on the thistles marching steadily across her garden. 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Those are pretty flowers Dusty, they look like they'd smell lovely  

I keep meaning to ask you, what's all this about thistles..? Are you hopeful of them cos they're a good thing or trying to spot them small so you can eradicate them? She said, with an eye on the thistles marching steadily across her garden. 

Creeping Thistle, Docks, broad and narrow + Ragwort are the weeds I try to control. I say 'try' because dock seed has 70 year viability, and stuff blows in from around about anyway. None of those weeds is useful in hay, and ragwort is potentially harmful.

I use a professional selective weedkiller that doesn't harm grass and just zap the weeds with a squirt from a backpack sprayer, so only a tiny fraction of the fields gets a dose. It's not organic, but as close as I can get and have 'nice' hay, full of different grasses and other plants.

Dustyevsky

Sorry, Blue Eyes, I forgot to mention Mrs Dusty's progress. We went for a walk yesterday; something we haven't done for a good while. It wasn't far, but we spotted a lot of interesting things in the hedgerow and studied the views. As you know, I get to walk with a friend for longer distances, but we don't see as much detail when keeping up a steady pace. Here's one view. I don't think that's oil-seed rape down there, so it must be buttercups!

YoungBlueEyes

Wow look at the buttercups! Good to hear Mrs D is out and about, looks like you got perfect weather for wandering

Farway

Sunny again, still a cool wind but hopes are high

Taff, I'm guessing you are fully tetanus jabbed? But I'm mentioning it just in case. I always think of tetanus ever since I was a nipper and heard about lockjaw, seems like spent all my school years checking if my jaw had locked, what with that and probably going into an iron lung any time I went swimming, Luckily I was also a reader of Health & Efficiency, so I survived

Managed to get more toms planted out yesterday, up to full quota now, and I have found give away homes for the surplus.

Blue, yes my new neighbour seems like a nice friendly person, she always says Hello when I see her, so I think I've got lucky there. Of course come real summer they may well be out in the garden with BBQ and music, but I'll just have to lump that in exchange for mostly OK

Oh, Ladies Smocks, nice picture, and the buttercups Dusty. I'm going to volunteer meeting tomorrow so will check "our" Bee orchid, the grass mower man cuts round it, so he obviously recognises it

If it gets warmer, today's task is getting the Yellow Balcony toms planted into wall baskets in the conservatory.

Hope planning has gone your way, Dusty, sounds like a minefield. I really felt for J Clarkson while watching his farming programme, but can see both sides when reading about the problems that can arise from cavalier neighbours

pink_poppy

It’s definitely a dangerous business, this gardening lark. I’ve got a scraped and bruised toe after an old Christmas tree from a couple of years ago took exception to being moved. I was wearing sandals because I’d only gone into the garden for some fresh air, but then saw something that needed doing, as usual... 🙄 Farway beat me to it about the tetanus jab, it was the first thing I thought about.

Thanks for the ant 🐜 link. I honestly don’t know what to do now. They’re definitely an ‘ants in your pants’ problem in the lawn and other areas of the garden (& they give me the heebie jeebies 🤢)...

Grey and breezy here today.

twopenny

Aww Taff, feel for your day. I had one like it a couple of days ago.
Out yesterday, yep lovely fields of buttercups and wild orchids growing on the verges.should be in the garden today but relatives clearing out lovely neighbours house and its horrible to see the things she loved going in the backs of cars so I'm off.
Another sunny day, more predicted and now the garden needs watering!

YoungBlueEyes

I’ve not had a full read of Less’s link yet, but it’ll prolly say that ants are a pure wonder and you shouldn’t be getting rid of them. I just wanna lie on the grass with a book and not get eaten alive. It’ll be either/or, no doubt 🙄

Me and my bucket have been weeding all morning. Handsome was just forlornly lollygagging til the terror scrambled over the fence. He perked right up then! 

Handsome spotted a something strolling around. I managed to get him on a bit of paper for a photo. Queer looking thing, all colourful and angled - 

Sounds like you’re due for a (hopefully unnecessary) trip to the docs then Poppy! 

Might the volunteer meeting produce some volunteer garden pics Farway…?

-taff

Dull but not raining here. I can't remember the last time I had a tetanus jab but I'm probably in date being a particularly clumsy person...And Dusty. believe it or not, I have several pairs of those, two red, one blue, one grey -  but I didn't wear them because I was putting my hand in water..That'll teach me...I think I bled enough to wash the wound out  to be fair though. Copious amounts of germolene were smothered on my leg, yes pink poppy, I completely understand how that happened.

I stood there admiring my labours this morning and made my OH come out to pat me on the back as well, and make his knees go weak when I showed him the concrete slab I'd dropped on me...Now I feel vindicated and tough

I've been reading my modern garden freebie mags and finding a treasure in each of them, after initially poo poohing them. Now I have more ideas of things to do and my list of works is getting longer. Not sure I'm going to live long enough to play with all that stuff...

Lovely ladies smocks, I dont' have anything that pretty in my overgrown grass yet. Good luck with planning.

LessImpecunious

Thanks for the ant 🐜 link. I honestly don’t know what to do now. They’re definitely an ‘ants in your pants’ problem in the lawn and other areas of the garden (& they give me the heebie jeebies 🤢)...

Advice I've seen by ant-friendly gardeners is that they like dry conditions, so if you water them they may move elsewhere (maybe next door!)...