Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Looking good there Bluey 
Woke up to sun this morning! But it's bluish on one side and black on the other?????
Still 4c though. Had enough of this.

Saw a robin in the garden with a huge worm in its beak and it sat on the fence eating it with one eye on me so that was a nice start.

Lots of buds just waiting to break if it warms up.
New apple tree needs to go in before it roots into the veg plot but more rain last night and it's going to be a horrible job.

It's a thought about getting annual seeds in the beds before we have the following drought and heatwave  but I haven't been able to weed them yet and I'd probably end up pulling them out by mistake 

Predicted rain for this afternoon last night, now none on one site, some on the other so it's anyones guess. But the little birds aren't out singing so I'd say - more rain.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:
Lots of buds just waiting to break if it warms up.
New apple tree needs to go in before it roots into the veg plot but more rain last night and it's going to be a horrible job.

Yes, the buds are forming rapidly on the elm hedge, so it's good news our renovation work is done at last!   We finished yesterday, dodging the showers. It was blooming cold though! We've left everything beyond the gap we'll be making for the new track exactly as the tractor flail left it, so people can contrast and compare. By summer 2025 I'd expect to see an improvement, but only if we can establish new saplings. Good job we're not on a water meter! 

Now comes the good part; planting. Again, it will depend on some TLC, but it should be fairly straightforward to establish more tough plants like Geranium phaeum, the Vincas, and Mediterranean plants that don't mind spells of dryness. I also found some self-seeded Spindle trees in the woodland yesterday, so a dozen of those will go in too. They're not fussy.

Bluey's apple looks ahead of ours, but speaking of Malus, the fancy Crab Apple my walking friend bought is still in its pot. Her garden still has standing water everywhere. Hopefully, a drier March will allow us to get it into its allotted space.

Lovely sunshine at present, but like 2p, it's the 'blobs' coming in from the Atlantic that will decide hat sort of day it will be. Not nice tomorrow!

Farway

Hard frost this morning, and now it's blue sky and no wind. Ideal day for strolling around somewhere, but well wrapped up I'd think.

Nice buds there YBE, it's all just waiting for the GO signal isn't it? 

A few doors down is a magnificent magnolia, loads of flower candles just waiting to pop, and the council's ornamental cheery over the road is also nearly open. Seems the plants have in built senses to avoid opening when a frost is around, last night's would surely have caught them had they been open.

My camera is on standby for when they do open.

If the sun keeps out I'll squelch down the garden to check on the Sunset apple and Autumn Bliss raspberry I planted last week, make sure they've not floated away

I also had a bud on my new this year Morries clematis, but it is so near the ground I think it may be slug grub by now

And good news, the mislabelled hard red pear has loads of buds this year, living up to the plant pears for your heirs saying, if it is a good show it'll be it's first in ten years

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks 2p I’m quietly hopefully a lot of it will come good this year and it’ll be better than last year.  It's all ones though - one Ska bud, one apple bud, one cystitis flower, one saxifrage flower.  I’d say trust your non-singing birds for a weather forecast over whatever the officials say.

Hurray for finishing the reno work Dusty! Bet you're pleased that's finished eh.  Re your friend's fancy Crab Apple - I'll try and remember to ask Cissie tonight what March will be like, if that's a help? 

Aww magnolia Farway, I love a magnolia. I had a friend in Lincs who had a big old house and by the front gate was a huge old magnolia, jeez it was a sight. Powerful fragrance too 10 years for your pear?!  Is that usual is it? I'm wondering now if I should yank mine out and plant Ska instead... I was hoping it'd give some privacy from the flats but I don't wanna be waiting all that long for it to mature.

The bright gloom has turned into sunshine so I might go tackle that you've-done-nowt-so-out-you-come-pal bramble.

Farway

YoungBlueEyes said:

Aww magnolia Farway, I love a magnolia. I had a friend in Lincs who had a big old house and by the front gate was a huge old magnolia, jeez it was a sight. Powerful fragrance too 10 years for your pear?!  Is that usual is it? I'm wondering now if I should yank mine out and plant Ska instead... I was hoping it'd give some privacy from the flats but I don't wanna be waiting all that long for it to mature.

The bright gloom has turned into sunshine so I might go tackle that you've-done-nowt-so-out-you-come-pal bramble.

Pears are slow to fruit, I found this out after I had one of course, like when you buy a car ant then everyone tells you that model is a money pit rust bucket.

FWIW and my opinion only, if you spot a good apple at a good price, yank the pear & plant the apple, unless you know for sure what the pear is & rootstock it's on. Some are on early maturing stocks, but these tend to be from posh growers

If you just want the pear to give privacy it'll do that PDQ, they grow up really quickly, it's the fruiting that takes time

Is your bramble still dormant? 

The blackberries here are showing young unfurling leaves. If it is for the chop Morries had young all sorts of berry plants in last time I looked, which should fruit next year.

I bought a Thorn Free blackberry for DD new garden there about a month back, I've repotted it until DD has decided on position for it & it's doing fine

Dustyevsky

We moved a pear with a digger in 2010. It fruited a bit in '21 and '22, and somewhat better in '23, but I wouldn't call it 'prolific.'

Awaiting the woman with the questions for the Garden Club Quiz in a week or so's time. No doubt they'll be encoded on a USB stick, and I'll only be sent the key an hour before the start time. Anyway, our team, 'Moist, But Well-Drained' will have to manage without me this year. It seems that's not a big problem, though....

-taff

I have never even lloked further than sainsburys groceries page before Dusty, so that's a read for later on and a whole new section to explore...

I bought some galdioli from BM this week, on ofer obviosuly and a lovely [hopefully] colour, to me anyway, a dark red with black bits on the edges, hope they do sprout, It's going eclectic in the front garden this year.

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks for that Farway. I don’t know what rootstock it’s on, I’ll have to see if I can find the label. It’s one that Lovely Neighbour gave me when we moved in, it's Domesticus Tescoii I remember that much. If it’s a choice between privacy and fruit I’ll take privacy cos they’re rattling on with these flats now 

Bramble never seemed to be dormant, always leaves but never a flower or fruit. It’s nearly all out now anyway except the worst of the roots (thick as me wrist!) Just hoping the bin men don’t get funny about taking brambles cos my bin’s full. My wee robin is v happy though 😊

And I didn’t click Dusty’s link cos knowing him it’ll be how well soon all have to eat wichety grubs and chips or summat ha haa! 

YoungBlueEyes

Pear tree - it’s up to my chin kinda height

Farway

Dusty, I love the name of your quiz group, sounds like one Rambling Syd Rumpo would be in.

YBE, your pear is just a tiddler, it'll be a few years yet to hide the flats. If you want height & chance of fruit maybe a plum, but wasps could be PIA

How close will the flats be? Maybe a magnolia? Looks great for a few weeks anyway.

Of course, for speed, height, bees & butterflies, has to be buddleia, possibly Tesco Carparkii or even a posher named one from a GC?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=named+buddlia&t=newext&atb=v296-1&iax=images&ia=images

And, for those missing the dandelions, here's one spotted in my garden this afternoon