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Awful weather - typical Brits talk

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  • I was thinking maybe Laura for a memorial tree in my friend's garden, which 'mustn't get big,' but on the other hand, 'it's got to look like a tree, not a pillar,' so I guess she's out! :/ 
    There's a few naturally dwarfing (10ish ft) ornamental cherries which look very 'tree like' and have a lovely scent/display? 
    I'm not an early bird or a night owl; I’m some form of permanently exhausted pigeon.
  • YoungBlueEyes
    YoungBlueEyes Posts: 4,875 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Homepage Hero Photogenic
    Yep Tesco bags of daff bulbs are 2 for a fiver, got some this morning. Big and healthy they look too :)
    I removed the shell from my racing snail, but now it's more sluggish than ever.
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,654 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    I didn’t realise your volunteer patch is a war memorial garden Farway, that’s an extra layer of complexity eh. Jeez that’s a beautiful show of flowers, did they result in good fruits? 

    I’m trying not to be envious of yous still picking toms, but I am a bit :( My haul has gone, wineberries inhaled and a few more to come (I think), and toms scoffed in salads and himself’s lunch box. Even though it didn’t really all go to plan it was good fun doing it and I’ll go again next year :blush: 


     



    The volunteer patch is in three parts, two borders are adjacent to the car park, both of these we have free rein over, and it's left to us wot do the work and supply the plants etc. 
    One of these is named buddleia and Rosa rugosa infested curated, doing the vital job of preventing clients crashing their cars through the fence & into the Health centre next door, at the same time the border provides fodder, nectar & hiding holes for insects

    The other car park border is where I have planted a mixture of named, but tough, plants, like forsythia, Shasta daises, cistus, ribes, escallonia etc. All plants are dual purpose, main function is anti clients' cars crashing into neighbouring fences, secondary is for insects and provide some colour and year round interest

    The Memorial part is separate again, and this is the bit where we have to think before we try anything. 
    Not my planning, but it's four roses, one in each corner, with a named oriental poppy in the centre. Underplanted with mixed daffs, which, as 2P says, blow over in the Spring winds and get dug up by the squirrels. Could look nice, but summer watering is just not going to happen. The other borders were deliberately planted with tough & tolerant plants

    Went out in the sunshine, picked all the early apples from the unknown tree, a good year once it rained, some of the apples are as big as Bramleys but are eaters. Ready now, but I've found just holding off a few days improves the flavour once picked, They do not store for long though
    Three pounds picked, a smaller crop than some years but all very welcome
    Picked 400g of blackberries while out there, now in freezer and could be jam making this weekend, but at least the fruit will keep for a while until I have time spare

    Oh, and I have five pears, not ripe but now large enough to use
    twopenny said:

    Just had some lunch, smelly blue cheese on toast with tomatoes still warm from the sun. Just picked tomatoes can't be beat.
    I've even had 3 normal tasting raspberries since the cut back.
    Chucked some water over my front patch. Honestly I could keep going for days to try and get everything watered. Been months without any real rain. Would love to see some flowers in the garden instead of twigs.

    Tescos have daff bulbs, big ones, going for a couple of bags (I think) for £6. May seem steep but they're big fat healthy bulbs so if wanting to plant some drifts of the big ones now's the time.
    My experience of the tall daffs is that they bloom mostly in March when the winds blow and flatten them but elsewhere may be different.
     I think my sun warmed ripe fig will be a score draw with the toms. Picked one while getting the apples. The fig never made it to the kitchen :)

    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Dustyevsky
    Dustyevsky Posts: 2,536 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Homepage Hero Photogenic
    I was thinking maybe Laura for a memorial tree in my friend's garden, which 'mustn't get big,' but on the other hand, 'it's got to look like a tree, not a pillar,' so I guess she's out! :/ 
    There's a few naturally dwarfing (10ish ft) ornamental cherries which look very 'tree like' and have a lovely scent/display? 
    True, thanks, but having got as far as Malus, and loose agreement, I don't want to muddy the waters by suggesting there might be something else! :D  And there are the two seasons of interest, though crab apple jelly isn't likely to happen.
    RAS has kindly offered some advice by PM, which we're likely to look at this week. There's also Sorbus vilmorinii, which I shoe-horned into our tiny terraced house's front garden back in the 80s. Just checked Street View, and it's still there! :o Needs a good pruning tho'.
    "There is no such thing as a low-energy rich country." Dr Chris Martenson. Peak Prosperity
  • pink_poppy
    pink_poppy Posts: 2,123 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Homepage Hero
    YBE, I love that you found a random seed and popped it into some compost. I wonder what it turns out to be, forget me not or something else - next time take a pic of the seed :D 

    Dusty, didn't you have a 'something' growing a while back that you weren't sure what it was??

    I've been stewing some freebie cooking apples (not Bramley) and having it with my porridge on a morning with a sprinkle of mixed spice. I just need some brambles now. I ate my last homegrown tomato yesterday - I haven't checked the plant since I put it (and the gnats) outside, but a couple of days after I'd relocated it I heard on a local plant group that it had been a bad year for blight here. I'm sure they mentioned it for potatoes too??
    'A watched potato will never chit'...
  • YoungBlueEyes
    YoungBlueEyes Posts: 4,875 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Homepage Hero Photogenic
    This is gonna be short because it keeps signing me out when I hit 'post' :angry: So, 3rd time lucky?

    I'll make sure I get a pic of the seed next time I just plant something I've found. Seeds are identifiable but leaves can be a bit all over the place so it's more fun! Might have to repot it soon cos it's getting tall and wobbly...

    Stewed spiced apples on porridge sounds yummy :yum: I'm not a morning eater but that does sound good. 

    Another fine autumnal morning here, warmer than recently though. It was almost a photo-worthy sunset last night but I think I missed the best of it cos it was so early :o  At the risk of sounding like an auld s0d, aren't the days getting shorter quickly? There's a wee bit of darkness left when I get up now, and the nights really are drawing in. The winter constellations will soon be upon us :) 
    I removed the shell from my racing snail, but now it's more sluggish than ever.
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