Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

My prunus nigra I'm loving.
The colour is lovely but flowers, although some of the earliest, are delicate and small and fruits black purple.
Outside my bedroom window with the sun through lovely.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/61117/prunus-cerasifera-nigra/details
The old ones in the park start blooming in December! 

But not really what you want.
So many lovely ones out there. I'm very covetous every spring. Imagine a small orchard of different ones blooming together or sequentially. Heavenly!

ArbitraryRandom

Dustyevsky said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

twopenny said:

Wow! That must feel good Abs    
What a difference.
Next week a garden. It's exciting.

And it's been lovely to see there's good soil under all that bind weed/brambles/random junk.

 Instead, much research on crab apple varieties; so much I want one now. It's not a big space, so it has to be smallish, still look like a tree, and preferably with red or dark leaves, red or orange fruit, and pink flowers that smell nice would be good too! AGM would make it perfect.

You've got me googling now  

Come across three that sound interesting: 

Malus toringo 'Aros': slow-growing dwarf, burgundy leaves that mature to dark green, pink flowers, red fruits, AGM (downside, naturally columnar, but googling suggests could be pruned to be top heavy)
https://www.pippintrees.co.uk/trees/crab-apple-trees/malus-aros
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/388121/malus-aros-pbr/details
 
Malus purpurea 'lemoinei': Medium sized, purple leaves that mature to green, dark wine coloured flowers, small dark red fruit (downside, I can't actually find anyone stocking it on a dwarfing rootstock and it's a bit big otherwise I think...) 
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/63260/malus-purpurea-lemoinei/details

I've also vaguely fallen in love with Malus x purpurea 'Crimson Cascade'... but it's a weeping crab apple so would look 'tree like, but not 'apple tree like'. Not sure if that's a problem? If not, it seems to tick many of your boxes: bronze leaves all year, pink flowers, red fruit. 
https://www.pippintrees.co.uk/trees/crab-apple-trees/crimson-cascade 
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/362088/malus-purpurea-crimson-cascade/details

Dustyevsky

Thanks Arb. I've not reached Pippin yet, but I know they're there! We've been looking at Frank Matthews, so I can get a feel for what's required, then do some more research.

'Aros' isn't tree-like enough, so that's been rejected , and I didn't get a big response from a weeping variety we considered briefly.

Lemoinei is, as you say, too big for the space. All the neighbours, bless them, seem to be avoiding overhanging the fences. It's a new estate.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

My prunus nigra I'm loving.
But not really what you want.

12m high x 8m wide  would cover rather a lot of the available garden! Yes, good tree, though. Neighbour across the road had one in their front garden at our last house.....but that was a 30s estate, built when you got lots of land for your £!

Looking favourably towards this one at present:

It's 'Scarlett' and shot at that garden centre visited a week ago. Not one of my better pictures. Never used a phone for that before! 

ArbitraryRandom

So many different varieties and most people (inc me) just eat the same few from the supermarket

Part of me wishes I had a lot more land - only part of me, I understand how much work it would be! - so I could do the exciting option of just planting a load of seeds and seeing what comes up  

Farway

Sun is out & rain has stopped at last, promise of a dry day ahead, whoop whoop.

That does look nice space Arbs, I think brambles tend to leave nice soil, just PIA getting them out. Not wanting to rain on your panda, [actually it was typo of parade and autocorrected to panda  ]but I'm wondering just how many dormant weed seeds will be liberated, if lucky it's poppies, but I bet its thistles

Gardening today if keeps dry is empty tea slops into compost Dalek and prowl looking for any photogenic items. My planned dahlia seed saving is on a dodgy slope, the couple of pods seem short of any seeds now I've opened them up, I'll look more closely once they are really dry

Get those bulbs in 2P. Go on, get to it.

I've decided against the T & M offer on fruit trees, just not got the space, and it was only the cherry that was the real attraction and growing under bird proof cover. I think I'll stick with figs, at least they seem easy enough in my garden

Nice to hear the orange canna is doing well Dusty, hurummph.

Is the intended crab the "memorial" one you were looking for? 

Now I'm buying a cherry for the volunteer plot I did think about a blossom tree in the long border, must discuss with my fellow volunteers, a nice crab would suit the space I have in mind

PS, DDs mains water came back last night. One of those things only missed when it's gone

ArbitraryRandom

Farway said:

That does look nice space Arbs, I think brambles tend to leave nice soil, just PIA getting them out. Not wanting to rain on your panda, [actually it was typo of parade and autocorrected to panda  ]but I'm wondering just how many dormant weed seeds will be liberated, if lucky it's poppies, but I bet its thistles

I've dumped a load of 'wild flower' seeds on the area over the last couple of years with nary a sausage to show for it, so I've got a packet of yellow rattle ready to go to suppress the grass and it'll be interesting to see what comes up.  Other than the brambles, there's not been much in the way of spiky growth, so my money is on bind weed everywhere

Before the growing season, a chunk of it at the top will be covered by a concrete slab for a shed - then down towards where the picture is will be a raised bed for veggies, plus this is the fence I'm hoping to plant a couple (or three) fruit trees against, so will be mulching where I'm planning the roots to be.  

The debate in my head now is to stop with one raised bed or maybe have one between each tree (I could have up to three, with one starting at the house). Thanks to the aspect of the garden, I think the shade cast by the trees would be minimal once they were at a decent height... but would I really want that much (fixed) growing space when I'm an indifferent gardener at best? 

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Nice to hear the orange canna is doing well Dusty, hurummph.

Is the intended crab the "memorial" one you were looking for?

Yes, but also a 'hope for the future' tree, given the recent past hasn't been too brilliant.

Just done another double rainbow pic. Not as good as the other and stuck in the camera for now. Sunshine and heavy showers looks like the theme again today.

Meanwhile, here are the fungi I mentioned a few days ago. More to come.  I think I spotted ink caps on the grass near the hedge this morning, but I was in a hurry ....the rain caught me in my PJs!

 Velvet Shank, I think, unless anyone has found another possible ID.

twopenny

Abs you don't sound like an indifferent gardener. In fact I think there's a diva ready to come out    
Just wait till coming back from one of your trips and there's fresh veg on the doorstep you don't have to go out for.

Dusty, love fungi. They're so beautiful and varied. Wish I knew more about cooking them but my people who used to have gone.

Farway, only thing I'd be planting would be water forgetmenots!  Coming down in sheets every 20min or so.

Beautiful at sunrise, mild, blue skies, golden puffs of cloud and the grass was dry. I got hopeful till I was dressed and the rain hammered on the roof. 
Every time I open the back door the water streams onto the mat.

pink_poppy

I love the crab apples near to us and so do the birds. In fact I was going to ask YBE if she had room for one because the blackbirds are loving the fruit at the moment, plus waxwings, fieldfare, chaffinches...

The rain on your panda autocorrect made me laugh, Farway  

Brilliant pic of the fungi, Dusty.

Another dry and calm day here.