Awful weather - typical Brits talk

wort

YBE it was Baltic when we landed last Sunday snow and fog all the way back in the taxi. Heating was switched on before I took my coat off.  It’s been wet and miserable all week so washing was draped on the airer and put in front of the radiator with the dehumidifier on.
From 30 degrees to close to zero is quite an adjustment. I was straight back in work on Monday with lots sat waiting for me , so I’m headlong into the Xmas mayhem now. Thank goodness I sorted presents before I went.
Trying to catch up on all your news and fabulous photos, hope everyone is well and keeping warm.

ArbitraryRandom

House is coming back to temp after having the heating off for three days. I don't tend to bother if it's only one night, but any longer and I'm sure on average there's a saving, even if it does mean I spend the day I'm home not wanting to get out of bed. 

It's not actively been raining here, but the air feels like it's holding a lot of water so I'm assuming it will overnight. 

My trees have arrived! Currently in a sheltered spot by the shed while I arrange with the gardener when he's going to come and plant them for me - I could do it myself, but I'm wanting his opinion re my plans for where they go and I'm worried that I'll mess up the staking. 

Farway

Glorious sunshine this morning after yesterday's drenching, took advantage & toddled off to collect the prescription and check over Volunteer plantings while there

Lamb Lugs are like Dusty's, looking sorry & bedraggled after yesterday, but hole free, the car damaged fence is still awaiting repair but the rest of the border seems OK

The pansies from Morries I planted up a couple of months back have settled in and are now flowering quite well

YoungBlueEyes said:

Farway have you no neighbours that'd give you a hand? Or are you a #Shawshank convert now? Hee hee. I love the snow monkeys. Watching them in the hot springs I don't know how anyone can deny evolution. I know they're not our closest relative but my god aren't they just small hairy people. I don't like the Rock apes, it's their eyes - you know they're calculating and scheming and waiting 'til your back's turned. And they wouldn't be a bit sorry if they hurt you either. 

Yes, I think the #shawshank will do me until April, and I think the apes bite as well, I can well imagine them scheming away

I have seed stash, not much edible but like most, OK for toms and beans, plus dahlia + canna tubers are edible as well if I get really famished

A very arty photo Dusty, like that

My final visit today was local GC, no reindeer, only a couple of donkeys, so donkey bum pic accidentally taken, asses !!!!!! one could say

However, this one was also today, in chemist car park, not quite the image I wanted, but generally it's as expected

Flowers out when they should be dead

ArbitraryRandom

YoungBlueEyes said:No sepia light like you got though Arb, I wouldn't mind that today  

I wouldn't have called it pink (defo more brown), but I was travelling up the Welsh border so wonder if it was the edge of what's being reported here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-67645998 

I'm not really following why they're saying it was specifically Wales though - it's a big area of the country for it to be a 'local' phenomenon but then a small area if it's just based on the height of the sun on a cloudy day. 

YoungBlueEyes

Welcome back wort, did you have a  marvelous time? Aye I bet you had a right shock to the system, that’s some temp difference eh? 

Woohoo for trees Arb. Let us know what your gardener says re position and staking. Your garden’s the same way round as mine… 

Pretty little flowers there Farway, what are they? 

Who said it was gonna be dry today? Oh that’s right, they all did. So I put a wash on then took mum and dad some flowers, and it’s not stopped raining since. Grrr. 

My hoping it was ‘only’ slugs cos I don’t like earwigs was ignored by the gods. We’re into banquet territory now I fear - 

That’s the worst one, but there’s other like it. Ah well. 

Dustyevsky

  A gorgeous and really 'different' image, Farway, but the yellow berries are bugging me! What on earth???? 

I did a bit of Oogling and came up with this guess: https://www.shootgardening.com/plants/viburnum-opulus-xanthocarpum

OT: rain held off till I reached Shopping Town, then bucketed, cleared up, and then bucketed again very heavily, making the journey home more exciting than it needed to be. Here it merely drizzled; no standing water at all. 

We had the sepia sky last night; not pink. Don't know what was going on in Wales. Perhaps that's what happens when you limit the speed of light to 20mph!

twopenny

Just seen the sky thing on the news site.

I'm across the channel from Wales and I think we got the edge of it for sure.

Came out of the village hall with friends and immediately said 'Oh what an amazing sky' - mostly dark grey cloud but the underside was a beautiful pink. Different to the usual.

But we've always putt the stunning sunsets here down to the steel works in Wales

You're torturing yourself with these close ups Bluey. Looks like a hungry snail to me. But most of the leaves look good enough, just like the rest of us a bit dour and saggy with the weather. Mine look like that too. I inspected just for you

I did see that my lovely chrysanths have bowed heads and rotting petals though

Wind's coming from the right direction so it's not cold. Perhaps its the warmth coming off of Wort

My washing which has been laying around for a couple of days finally almost dried then some rain dumped on us for 5mins and it was wet again.

They reckon it's the same for a few days. Not cold, some brightness, some rain.

I can put up with that.

YoungBlueEyes

Sharp lack of lovely skies here. There were a few diddy patches of blue sky in amongst all the grey and rain yesterday but that's all we got. Not cold though, and it'll be 10' (ten degrees!) mid aft I also wonder if wort's brought us back a wee heatwave, or if wort is a wee heatwave I'll take it whatever the reason. I'm getting very anti cold in my old age, I used to really love it. I'd be the first one to put on a big coat and warm wellies and get the dogs straight out in it, now I just want to look at it from inside...

Ok that's it for lug updates then, other than if something desperate happens. I don't want it eaten cos I like it so much but it's not really in my control is it  

I didn't see you'd labelled your pic Farway, aww roses I've never seen them so small, did they have any fragrance? Very attractive, even if no. 

Forecast today is for rain this morning blowing up to the east and away by the afternoon. Possibly. Gale force winds after bedtime though... I'm not too keen on strong winds really, and looking at the size of the yellow coloured affected area the drunkards think it'll be affecting quite a few of us. Best get my hanging baskets down and tucked away.

twopenny

Dull, wet and windy.....not quite how the drunkards predict I think they just like to chane round the symbols a bit for no particular reason.
Or maybe they get a chuckle about promising sun when they know it won't.
Or maybe they're trying to cheer us up with promises rather than the truth.

Waiting for the last of the leaves to blow off the trees out back so I can clear up when it dries up. That's how sad it's got for the gardening scenario.
But notice one is an Ash so come spring I can check ' Ash before the oak' saying and find out what the future holds. 

I didn't realises those were roses in Farways photo either. What pretty colour made by something so small. And in winter. Amazing!
Anyone know what sort it is? I'd like one. Right outside the kitchen door (even if it would be annoying) because it would really cheer up a winter 

Dustyevsky

Bright sunshine here 2p; just what the inebriates predicted, and even a little earlier than expected, due perhaps to the 'brisk' winds! It rained all night, though, so we're squelchy. That means little of use can be done outdoors for a few hours.

YoungBlueEyes said:
Ok that's it for lug updates then, other than if something desperate happens. I don't want it eaten cos I like it so much but it's not really in my control is it  

I'm willing to bet they'll be fine. There are always things beyond our control, both in gardening and in life in general, so it's best to observe and adjust rather than be over-reactive. For example, I've tried hard to develop my wild garden over the past 10 years, but about half the plants I've introduced have died-out, even though I thought they'd cope with the difficult environments there. By watching and seeing what does OK, I'm slowly getting a handle on it. I've also accepted the streamside bit may only ever be a springtime success because of the shade and summer drying-out.

This was the stream before last night's rain, so it will be even more brown today:

The Hart's Tongue Fern in the lower left is a good example of a success. It would prefer a limy soil, but the ones I've introduced have done OK. The larger ferns, like the ones pictured and the Shuttlecocks (not visible - die back in winter) have done too well, so some need to come out now.  Other plants that are spreading well include geraniums, Iberian comfrey, valerian and tellima, plus the primroses which really make this area special in a few months time. I'm hoping the water forget-me-nots will also do well, but I can't see the ones I planted right now!