Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Thanks, YBE, we're about 6 hours away. The homesickness has caught me by surprise, as I really don't want to go back, but I do miss family and the familiarity of the place I grew up in. I think the ongoing dilemma about leaving my job was playing on my mind too - still no decision on that.. Anyway, I'm feeling better today having had a chat with DH last night   

Freezing, frozen and frosty this morning. I know it's cold when the pussycat sneaks into bed with us on a morning.

Good luck with planting all those snowdrops, greenbee.

Funny weather forecast, YBE, it'll be interesting to see what actually happens today.

AR, I have/had (I don't know if it's still alive!!) a variegated Hosta in a pot and I could see the two colours when the shoots were about an inch high.

Dustyevsky

I think they're trying to say how much water will form the predicted snow, Bluey. Personally, I'd rather have some 'wintry mix' which sounds like those warming boiled sweets and humbugs one could buy in ye olden days to clear sinuses and test the adhesion of your fillings.

It's murky grey here with drizzle, but my puddle-o-meter says it rained hard last night. There may be a brief interlude for doing something constructive outdoors between 11.00 and 14.00. No frost or disruptive anything in the foreseeable future; just tedious murk. If the rain isn't too intense, 2p, the polytunnel's tolerable, but if properly tightened, it's just like a drum skin and the noise is very wearing.

YoungBlueEyes said:

Dusty can I ask - did you just slice straight through the vinca with that knife? I spend ages trying to do stuff carefully and I'm wondering if I don't need to be... Not recently mind cos I've nothing to interfere with that needs help out there, but in general I mean.

Yes, a tough old thing like Vinca may be sliced with a sharp knife. Other plants that fall apart easily may benefit from something even sharper, like a craft knife. It's best to divide plants in spring, when they normally begin to 'wake up' and go for growth. Even though the countryside is still quite dull, as evidenced in recent photos, the wild plants are already showing some fresh green. Look at the grass and weeds in this photo on the canal footpath last Monday. There's buttercups, celandines, docks, cow parsley and others just raring to go!

One word of warning; some plants don't have roots that divide up nicely and others, like foxgloves, may resent any kind of disturbance. I move those carefully, with soil attached.

Farway

I've got the rain as well, very wet but at least it was forecast so no surprise

twopenny said:

Greenbee that was exhausting just reading that! But good weather and achievement is a great boost. 
Abs it will be interesting to see what the hostas do in the warm.

7c and black here. Barely sign of daylight and it's rain all morning like Dusty says.
The rain though should bpitter patter on your poly tunnel though so perhaps bearable.

No plans, walk cancelled. I've had some sort of tummy bug yesterday. Weird as I've not had any bugs for some years. So it's a snuggle down morning instead of up and at em.
Supposed to be sunny spells at the weekend so I'll save my energy  . 

You have summed up what I had to say nicely, I was also worn out after GB post

Managed to squelch into the garden yesterday afternoon, knowing this rain & grot was on the way I wanted to get in before it went worse

Good news, Spring has arrived at Farway Towers!

The blackberries leaves are uncurling, there are white blossom buds showing on the pear, they're waiting for the frost before they open I expect.

100% confirmation my new Morries clematis is alive, with new shoots now growing.

Due to this, I think it shamed the Norwegian style one that curled up & died. It seems it was merely a near-death experience, and it has returned from its fiord hols and is a mass of fresh green shoots growing from the roots. I wonder if it was the fabled clematis wilt wot it had?

Now I will have two clematis, which is handy, I can train one to go left, t'other right

The new Boysenberry is also sprouting fresh green stuff, will I get a taster this year?

And finally, good & bad news.

Good news, I found my spade, where I left it, in the shed

Bad news, my shed sliding door is off its runners. It's metal & a lot of pots have tumbled down & blocked the runner & dislodged the door.

It's not FUBAR but will require someone, like a grandchild, more agile than I am to get in there to sort it

twopenny

Yay! Another one who's getting spring   
Now we just need to get it moving up country.

Great news on the clematis.
Sheds can be done in better weather. The problem never seems as bad when you walk away and ignore it until another (sunny) day.

wort

Yesterday started chilly and still so thought best not put a wash on, and ventured to town for an appointment,wisely wrapped up. Buy the time I was walking back the sun was out and decent, typical. The rain here has been bucketing down all night and morning not showing signs of a let up. Quite windy too.The seagulls are squawking on the back fields, so must be bad at the seaside today.

It was rain Monday also so friend and I postponed country walk to a trip to the yellow and blue Swedish place and M n S cafe for lunch.
Tomorrow is coffee with 2 friends and it’s given more rain so inside we will stay.
I could get used to being a lady wot lunches 😂 shame it only happens when off on holiday.

The bulbs I planted, muscari and iris, and some tete a tete are sprouted in the conservatory, hoping after they flower to put them in the garden for next year.

Had to giggle at the cats in vests , I can just imagine the walk 😂 you should video and put on yootube.

Dusty I have Vinca my sister gave me cuttings of , I think it’s minor 🫣I don’t really give it a chance as when I spot it I tend to pull it out so it doesn’t go mad. Enjoy the poly tunnel 🪴🌱
Farway the used to put kids up chimneys so a shed shouldn’t be a problem 🤣

YoungBlueEyes

I get what you mean about your homesickness pp. I was going to ask if it's maybe your job situation being unsettled that's chewing at you but you've just said it. Were the money etc boards any help at all? 

Thanks for that Dusty. I'll not over-extend meself and start splitting things yet though, I'm not much beyond the 'stick thumb in ground and plant bulb in hole' level of accomplishment. Which I'm managing rightly I think, I've a few bits and bobs coming up, a couple of which are DAFFS! Woohoo! 

I like reading about spring arriving, it means it's on it's way at least. That's a beggar about your shed door  Farway, but hurray for all the signs of life This year is gonna be the year, it surely is. 

How's your innards 2p? Hopefully rest and telly watching/forum surfing will see you right

Well it started raining about 10ish, and then turned a wee bit sleety for about 15 minutes, but now it's just gently raining. Sorry I mean the liquid precipitation is delicately descending as forecasted.

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Well it started raining about 10ish, and then turned a wee bit sleety for about 15 minutes, but now it's just gently raining. Sorry I mean the liquid precipitation is delicately descending as forecasted.

Yes, delicately not stopping, as it's supposed to, here.

I think you will soon get into dividing plants as they fill out more in your garden. It's great, getting something for nothing!  I started our business when it dawned on me that plants are something one can sell and yet still keep hold of. I just forgot about all the overheads and the work looking after them in the meantime!

wort said:

Dusty I have Vinca my sister gave me cuttings of , I think it’s minor 🫣I don’t really give it a chance as when I spot it I tend to pull it out so it doesn’t go mad.

Its usefulness depends on whether you have a job for it to do. We have vole-ridden hedge banks of soft., crumbly earth, and vinca or similar plants are an alternative to ivy weeds and coarse grasses etc. It's a 'difficult places' sort of plant, but so are ground cover geraniums, bugle, oregano, and loads of others, depending on exact circumstances. I havent had any dandelions or similar weeds grow through it.

twopenny

Just for the heck of it I thought I'd post a winter picture

You might not believe this was 10.30am on a walk with friends

They promise sunshine and showers at the weekend. We'll see.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Just for the heck of it I thought I'd post a winter picture

You might not believe this was 10.30am on a walk with friends

Oh, I believe it. We had a Biblical amount of rain yesterday afternoon. I gave up on the day and did a weekly shop instead, thinking it could only be better on Friday! By 16.30 it was almost dark, and water was pouring out of the fields and woods into the roads. I had a wing mirror snap in a country lane squeezing past a 4x4. Luckily, it's still functioning electrically and just the plastic mounting that's broken, so I'd guess it was something like a tree branch sticking out. The joys of country living!

By evening the rain had almost stopped and our Garden Club had an interesting evening talk on shade gardening from a guy who looks after a huge garden down in South Devon. Perhaps it should have been water gardening!

Looking at the river cams this morning, there seems to be no flooding around here and no major rain in the near forecast, so it seems we got off fairly lightly.

Anyone have snow? I can't see anything about it, even on the Scottish news.

Paspatur

I had snow overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. Not the chaos inducing stuff just decent walking boots required stuff. It was then really cold (greenhouse hit -4.4 yesterday morning) so it turned a bit slippy yesterday. Rained overnight and now mostly gone, just some left on the lawns. Really windy now and heavy rain forecast all day today and tomorrow.