Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

wort said:

Garrya I think

  It's the wrong season for Garrya tassels. I think it's Itea ilicifolia https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/9420/itea-ilicifolia/details

Another non-gardening day; hanging pictures, conservatory cleaning and chatting with  the ecologist, who turned out to be very understanding, having neighbour problems worse than ours on her own smallholding.

We did the bat and bird survey first. She didn't seem to mind my being around, so I learned quite a lot about the methodology, signs to look for etc. Her conclusion was we have bats using the barn  to feed, but not as a roost.

Outside, the hedge got short shrift and she declared it 'not of importance' in a few minutes. I'm not 100% sure she identified it correctly, so it'll be interesting to see the report!

YoungBlueEyes

Bluddy 'ell wort, do you live somewhere tropical?! That plant makes me hear loud melodious birds, and David Attenborough  

I hope you get good weather today Farway, and it's nice and quiet so you can have a good poke about  
I was talking to my cousin the other night. They've introduced Pine Martens kinda near her and the squirrel population is already showing signs of decline apparently. I want a boxful for Christmas 

So Mrs Ecologist was making the right noises then Dusty? It's nice when they talk to you isn't it, my rat man + woman were like that. Happy to share their knowledge/stories. My favourite kind of people. 

How did the pond creation go taff? Did you know what you were doing before you started, or did you find good websites for info? I'm wanting a pond when the Bottomless Pit is done and paved....

The building work - yesterday work started at 0805, stopped 10 mins later and nothing else happened all day. I'm wondering who the Oracle is cos she seems to have some real juice! Unless it's a coincidence. Perhaps the brown envelope wasn't sufficiently stuffed developers thought they'd just crack on while they had the workmen there... hmmm. 

OT it's lovely and cool and breezy and cloudy here, humidity dropping like a stone. I was weeding yesterday morning. and even though it was cloudy it was that muggy and heavy it made it hard work We had a few spots of rain yesterday evening (thick black clouds and 80% chance of deluge forecast by drunkards) but it's humid overnight so that's some free moisture for the garden at least. 

Oh and has everyone (that's not on a smart meter) taken a meter reading? Prices go down on Saturday so get a reading in so they can't 'estimate' a bit more out of you on the dearer current rate. Swines that they are.  

YoungBlueEyes

A couple of pics, taken quickly so… 
The bird proof squirrel entertainment system is a squirrel proof bird feeder after all! And a baby blackie looking for his own breakfast! I’m that happy

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

So Mrs Ecologist was making the right noises then Dusty? It's nice when they talk to you isn't it, my rat man + woman were like that. Happy to share their knowledge/stories. My favourite kind of people. 

The building work - yesterday work started at 0805, stopped 10 mins later and nothing else happened all day. I'm wondering who the Oracle is cos she seems to have some real juice! Unless it's a coincidence. Perhaps the brown envelope wasn't sufficiently stuffed developers thought they'd just crack on while they had the workmen there... hmmm.

Yes, it was a relief to find someone who understood more than I'd a right to expect. The last ecological person I had here was of the beard and sandals subspecies, who wished to observe our pasture (in February with sheep on it!) and complained he couldn't see anything worth looking at.   The good news is that the neighbour who dobbed us in it with the council saw what the eco-lady was doing, so she now knows the matter is still 'live.' I doubt if she'll ask what's going on, but if she does, the answer will be that since she's handed control to the council, there's no need for her to know.

I don't think the situation's the same for your builders. There, plans have been placed in the public domain, and deviations from them are therefore a matter of legitimate public interest.

Looks like Farway has a good, sunny day ahead at Wisley. I'm supposed to be trekking along some cliffs tomorrow with my friend, who's almost forgiven me for the last coastal debacle, but it looks dodgy weather-wise. Maybe stuck on some exposed headland in a sea-mist wouldn't be a good way to atone, so I'll  consider other options!

Following on from yesterdays double Feverfew, today I bring you its single sister with a golden twist. Equally, or even more attractive to insects, this one seeds around a lot, so even if it's quite short-lived, you always have it. Bonus point for seedlings being easy to ID:

-taff

YBL, I only had the idea when someone offered a water tank on the fb gardening group, so I picked it up. I went to an aquatic place in a local gc and asked for some advice there which basically was stuff as many things in as you can, don't worry about oxygenators because all plants will oxygenate the water and get some stuff to cover the surface because the less sunlight that goes through, the less algae. I do have some black dye I used in the little water trough [ old cast iron feed trough I've got water in] so I could stick that in too, not sure yet. Basically, I wanted something a bit bigger for birds and/or frogs etc. I'm picking up some water lillies from the same gardening group on Monday. [BTW I do recommend looking on FB for local groups, I've had and given away all sorts of garden related stuff over the past few years years] . I do need to rejig things, mostly to do with the wat the outside of it looks but this is currently what it looks like. Totally unpretty...the big orange pot will be changed obviously...

Dusty, glad you managed to get a someone who kinda sorta understood stuff. Enjoy Wisley Farway, you have now made me look at it...How did the hiring of the scooter thing go?

Farway

Back from Wisley, just a quick update. It rained overnight, so the journey up was just damp, and dull, but the rain had stopped and it was fresher air

Loads of items, a real treat up there today, a bit of daydreaming "if only"of course but loads of ideas if money, space & energy to do it

2P, I saw annuals to make you weep at Wisley, picture to follow once sorted. I think it would be fairly easy to replicate them

And, here's an idea, crevice gardening, they have a section there which is that, can be as big or small as you wish, replicates alpine gorges, where plants get by on a drip of water every December or such like. Pictures to follow

AR, they are cabbage white caterpillars.

They will eat your nasturtiums, but that's OK by me, nasturtiums are tough, then they shuffle off and pupate for the winter, rinse & repeat for 2024

I guess, but have never seen, birds have a good feed on the young caterpillars

Mine stick to the nasturtiums, I guess it suits their life cycle, and once the food has gone it's time to pupate

Sounds good news on Eco front, Dusty. Fingers crossed

Here's a teaser from Wisley today, the rose arches smelt wonderful as well as looking good. Ducks have gone, but did see a heron

twopenny

Wonderful day Farway and beautiful picture.
Do they water ?

Been out a lot this week. Watered a bit, tied up rampant rose so neighbours son could get out his car. And that's it till a blast at the weekend.

Wow Taff! That's a lot!

Love Blueys baby blackbird 

Thanks Abs, now it's planting African marigolds for the black fly and nastursions for the cabbage whites.

Did see some tiny scabious from grazing or wind and goats fighting on a cliff edge. There's going to have to be an album of photos once this eternal fine spell is over. Still no sign of rain so all I can do is hack back the deceased flowers 

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

 Still no sign of rain so all I can do is hack back the deceased flowers 

It'll reach you around 7am, then drizzly stuff most of tomorrow....say the drunkards. Maybe it'll not be that much, but it will probably mess-up my plans. It's too late to stop me taming the chicken orchard though, which has finally succumbed to a combination of brush cutter, mower, and rake. It's probably about a year since I cut the nether reaches of that, but I've had good excuses.

I'll admit it,Wisley does look a few degrees classier than Rosemoor, Farway. The rose garden here was OK, but there was nothing as wonderful as that arch. I have one rather poor photo that fails to do it justice....

Good idea for a pond -taff...those Houttuynias will fill it by tomorrow afternoon on their own! They have a strange, initially nice, then rather overpowering smell, unlike that of any other plant I know.

Our blackbirds have been elusive lately, but they're still finding worms somewhere. There were babies a month ago like that one, Blue Eyes. Now, I'm seeing Greenfinches and Goldfinches; the latter looking very cute and posing for a family photo today.

twopenny

Just seen that we may get rain tomorrow Dusty. Not for long though.

Did you see the red moon tonight.
Really strange!

YoungBlueEyes

A red moon, wow! I love all that kinda thing. We only had a plain white one here but I do like seeing it  
That is a cracking photo Farway, and I wouldn't mind living in that house in the background...
That is some bank of roses Dusty, I'd love that in my garden! 
Which reminds me - my cuttings from the fence eating triffid next door but one's rose have mostly died but a couple have decided to try and live. I only need 2, one each for me and lovely neighbour.
Thanks for the pond info taff, it's helpful I'm not on facefook but himself is so I'll have to see what I can accumulate from there It was just a notion I had about having a pond. Himself has killed a wheelbarrow with all the ramming about he's been doing but there's nothing wrong with the actual bowl of the thing, so I thought if I dug a hole and buried it it could be a pond. That's as far as I've got ha haa! 
Oh and why didn't someone tell me that when the heat gets up Common Vetch fires it's seeds out at lightening speed and when they catch your arms and legs they properly sting! It sounded like a redneck shooting alley in my garden yesterday