Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Well the no rain day yesterday was mostly rain.
We did get the sunny spell predicted - for about 5min.

Not cold today and no wind. The little birds have been out and about scouting the area.

Good news is yesterday morning I woke to hear a couple of blackbirds chattering  . 
In the afternoon there was on feeding on the fat block but not sure which of us was more surprised! We both scurried away. Hope it came back.

I grow garlic chives. Excellent plant. Lovely in scrambled egg and dressings and it looks pretty too. I love plants like that.
Mine tend to be picky. Not rumbustuous like ordinary ones.
No the flowers don't smell of garlic but the stems will if squeezed.

Bluey, the morries clematis are the sort that die down in winter then race up suddenly in spring. 
I'm betting yours will come good. Leave them alone. I nearly chopped mine back re gardeners world then saw they were going good from half way up the brown  stem.

More Christmas stuff today. I think we've all got a bit fed up with it now but nearly there. I have to be at 2 at once this morning. Haven't worked out how not to offend anyone yet.

Farway

Dull, and a bit chilly, but at least it's not raining

twopenny said:

I grow garlic chives. Excellent plant. Lovely in scrambled egg and dressings and it looks pretty too. I love plants like that.
Mine tend to be picky. Not rumbustuous like ordinary ones.
No the flowers don't smell of garlic but the stems will if squeezed.

Bluey, the morries clematis are the sort that die down in winter then race up suddenly in spring. 
I'm betting yours will come good. Leave them alone. I nearly chopped mine back re gardeners world then saw they were going good from half way up the brown  stem.

I grow the GC for flowers and I hate garlic, for me, it's one of those plants that, like a cat, adopts you if it's happy where it is. They are easy to grow from seed, so if a spare sunny spot, give them a try. Mine happily grow between cracks.

Morries clematis, my new one is going well, the old one's Norwegian heritage eventually took it off to Valhalla

Can't say the same about my Morries bought in error Passion flower, the slugs have really turned it into just a green stalk, just hoping come spring it will grow faster than the slugs can slither

And my new Morries honeysuckle seems to have beamed directly to the fiords, no sign that it ever existed

I have to do a spot of area enrichment later, the County council has an Eco scheme to plant roadside trees, and are asking public to nominate areas. I have just the area opposite my house, there used to be a couple of ornamental cherry trees there, one died, and now would seem to be a good time for a free replacement.

You can suggest the type, so I fancy crab apple, cherry, or rowan. I'm looking for spring flowers & berries for the birds.

https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems/tree-planting

pink_poppy

I had one plant this year that looked like GC - I'll have to keep an eye out for it next year (I'm assuming it dies back in Winter??)

That's a lovely idea for planting trees in the area, Farway. I've noticed that pretty much all of the crab apples fruit nearby have been eaten, which doesn't bode well foodwise for the rest of Winter. I think my holly berries have all gone too. Going forward I'll definitely plant more insect and bird friendly plants in this and any future garden.

Aye, three weeks sat outside in sub zero temperatures and I bring my Calamondin inside when it's mild, YBE   I'll be amazed if it survives, Dusty, but I live in hope...

It's rainy here today and very grey. Forecast is heavy rain for the weekend, so I'm going to get drenched doing the Christmas shopping. Ho Ho Ho indeed...

YoungBlueEyes

 Aww nice to hear blackies chattering away, it's one of my favourite sounds. I hope your one came back 2p. I heard a thing the other day - apparently if you have the same birds return to your garden to feed more frequently than every 20 mins then you're the main food source, and maybe see if you can tailor it to them. Which sounds very obvious but had me going "oh yeeaahh!".
I took a pic of my fuschia - it looks brown in an over-soggy then frozen way, rather than dying off because it's winter way. Pic in a min for suggestions. I went to Beverley yesterday and morries have a new stock of plants and bits on racks outside the front door. They didn't half look miserable and suicidal, but what do I know. I'm sure they're dearer than what my stuff cost me too...

That's a lovely thing for the council to get people involved in eh Farway. What did the other cherry die from? Would that influence what the new one should be? Would it be worth your while encouraging hedgehogs into your garden, they'd gobble those slugs up for you no bother. If there's hog hospital near you maybe see if they think your area would be good for releasing the healed ones. That'd sort you out. 

Good luck for your calamondin pp, it'd surely be happier inside than out even if it is a bit mild, cos the mild won't last will it. 

It wasn't a bad day weather wise yesterday, it bit nothingy really. No rain or wind, it wasn't a bit cold, and I don't know who got it right for I forgot to look. Not a bad sunset though (better in real life, as ever). Has anyone had clear skies to see the shooting stars...?

YoungBlueEyes

Pics. I don’t know why I find this setup as a Christmas tree quite so appealing, but I really do - (oh and the beautiful red brick building in the background is the council offices, naturally) 

Sunset. They’re really stepping up in the sunset dept - 

And my fuschia (?) It’s not a soil problem cos my bulbs are coming up wholesale! Grrr 

Dustyevsky

That 'Christmas tree is certainly err...different, Bluey; probably more accurate as to the meaning of Christmas too, nowadays!   The council offices are grand, but I rather like the weavers' cottages opposite them.

Good sunset, but what are the two perfectly aligned 'stars' in the sky. Is Yorkshire to host to the second coming? If so, watch your house prices!

Don't fret, your fuchsia is perfectly normal for the time of year. It'll be April at the earliest before you see new leaves.

Crab apple sounds good for street trees, Farway. I expect they get them bare root. The GC tried, but couldn't, so we paid north of £75 when we collected the one ordered yesterday. To be fair, the GC only charged £1.95 above the supplier's price. No singing reindeer at that GC, but they did have a very tasteful snowy diorama with train, cars, and lots of other moving things, including a mini Santa on a swing. Wish I'd had my camera!

It actually stayed dry and reasonably bright yesterday. Far too cloudy here to see the shooting stars on the two best nights, though. Today is more heavy cloud, but I'm only visiting the Christmas Market in the village and 'maybe' choosing a tree.

No fresh photos. 2p has been talking roses, so I've dug this one of Kiftsgate out of the archives from 2007, hence the quality being 'medium.' Note the wheelbarrow for scale. There's an apple tree under there somewhere!

YoungBlueEyes

I don't know what those two wee dots were in the sunset, they were on my phone not in the sky, itms? Second coming would do me rightly, we could get this place on the market and go home *happy sigh*  The 'tree' street is off the main drag, lovely and old and the buildings really are lovely. 

That is a cracking pic Dusty, I bet the fragrance was incredible! And is that wall made of logs..? Front page material that is.

Thanks for reassurance on my fuschia. It looks worse than my clematis so that's why I was concerned. It can sit there then. 

Have you bought a rose yet 2p? Are you looking on the website now? Have they got any in now? Good, get one bought then  

wort

Santa on a swing ! That’s a new one Dusty.
YBE never throw away any plants in winter even the most decrepit can surprise you next year. Certainly the clematis will be fine, I know nothing about fushia so bow to the experts knowledge on here.

I had alliums and must not have read the pack as I was expecting those big majestic ones and got a load of little scrawny things, that stunk of onions and had quite insignificant flowers for a short period then just had floppy green leaves for ages after, they looked a right mess. So I try to pull them out, and I’m still at it years later.

I haven’t been in the garden still too much work at work 😏 it needs a clear up as there’s soggy leaves everywhere, I usually leave them in the beds but really should clear the patio.
it’s cold foggy and sunny here at the moment I’ve a washer full and hoping the fog will clear so I can peg out.

Faraway I think the councils idea for tree planting is great, when we moved here it was a new estate and the house builders had been told to replace any trees , so my house was to have a tree slap bang in the front lawn . As I realized it would eventually be blocking the light in a not very big window of the lounge , I requested they put it at the back which they refused ! Later I thought I should of let them put it in and just moved it but at the time wasn’t thinking straight.

pink_poppy

I love that tree, YBE. Lovely sunset pic too.

Dusty, that rose... amazing.

We have an amber warning for rain all day tomorrow, risk of flooding etc., so Christmas shopping will not be happening. When this happened a couple of months ago we were literally cut off from going anywhere because of landslips. I can't go today (it's raining and 40mph winds anyway) and no way am I going next weekend. We could well be having something out of the freezer for our Christmas Day meal haha  

Dustyevsky

wort said:

Santa on a swing ! That’s a new one Dusty.

As it was as diorama, he wasn't very big; probably 2cm. You had to look at the thing carefully to spot him. Not in your face, like a 2m reindeer singing at you in the vestibule! 

With my other hat on, I couldn't help noticing the place was overstocked with Christmas stuff, despite having good displays, outside, and indoors. The car park was rammed, but that was people eating lunch; the shop was relatively quiet. Although DD's shop in Exeter is doing well, that's not the case for all their outlets and the opposition have already gone into sale mode, big time. She mystery-shopped them on Friday with her phone and got quite a shock at the 'bargains' elsewhere. 

pink_poppy said:

We have an amber warning for rain all day tomorrow, risk of flooding etc., so Christmas shopping will not be happening. When this happened a couple of months ago we were literally cut off from going anywhere because of landslips. I can't go today (it's raining and 40mph winds anyway) and no way am I going next weekend. We could well be having something out of the freezer for our Christmas Day meal haha  

That was us in 2012; almost cut off, but it all came good in the last 2 days. People here seem very relaxed compared with where we lived before, so there was still plenty of choice. We always get our 'bird' (s) from a lady who grows them slowly, out in the wilds 10 miles away, so that's organised a month in advance. It's not much more expensive than going full on in a supermarket.

Yes, a wall of logs, Bluey, seasoning them. People do it here too, but I worry that they will get too tough for the chain saw, which is only a tiddler, so I cut all mine up before storing them.