Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

I don’t know what my phone’s camera did with the brightness settings there, that could almost pass for daylight ha haa! The halo proved itself correct, eventually. Having been dry all morning, my washers just beeped and the rain’s started. Naturally. 

Don’t you worry about your shrunken Elderberry Dusty, I may have one or two that you can replace them with if necessary. In return I’ll give one of your acers a good home  

2p get snuggled down deep in a blanket on the sofa and have a film day, with ‘spicy’ hot chocolate and popcorn. Is there anything so important it won’t wait til tomorrow..? I’ll have a word with St Fiacre for ya in the meantime 🤞🏻

Hope your dishwasher is playing properly now Arb. 

Farway

Cold & bitter wind but dry

Lot of catching up reading here, I was late to the party because I remembered it was Easter this weekend and I wanted to return to Morries to scout for more plants without getting involved in the Easter mêlée

Needn't have bothered, not much change, still tempted by more fuchsias but CBA to get into checkout queue. Maybe another day?

YoungBlueEyes said:

Love your new sig pp ha haa! Early birds here too, it's my blackies I think. One of them is still single cos he's put an extra couple of notes on the end of his tune to see if that gets him any takers. I saw a couple of magpies on my feeder yesterday, attractive as they are I don't want a whole lot of them. I just want lots of blackies, robins, blue tits, long tailed tits and sparrows. For that I will sacrifice the mice, pigeons, crows/rooks, squirrels, and that new cat. And the slugs, who are either drinking happily from the buried cans and carrying on or are avoiding them entirely. *Sigh* 

Farway said:

I've always wanted a gage, may be a tall tale, but a bloke named Gage on one of my ships reckoned one of his ancestors introduced Gages to UK.

Found the link. https://www.orangepippin.com/varieties/plums/old-greengage

One of your ships Farway...? Did you have plenty of them? (If I read the right books would you be in there..?) Having read that link I quite fancy a greengage now but I hardly think I'd get the rootstock right after what ras said... 

When I got back from uneventful Morries there was a pair of robins making baby robins, I've seen them around, and I have one who lets me use his garden.

Ships, I was the model for the front of Players fags.

I've always wanted an Acer as well, but I really couldn't find a good spot for it

Dustyevsky said:

No pictures taken yesterday, but here's another from the streamside, where the Iberian Comfrey is blooming already. It comes in 3 varieties; this one seemingly more patriotic than a certain new football kit!  

Of course, the kit's been designed that way to wind people up, just like so much else. Divide and rule etc. The team can go forth in Gingham dresses and frilly knickers for all I care.....Oh, hang-on, silly me, that's 2030.

Another of my wants is comfrey, but no room. Agree on the bold, done on purpose, and succeeded by getting onto the front pages.

 Pic for today, Snakes head taken yesterday in the sunshine. These keep coming despite slugs & lily beetles, a joy to see them.

Do zoom in and admire the pattern on the petals

twopenny

While I'm ramping up the laptop and asking a question on the home catastrophy forum I thought I'd post some photos

Can anyone tell me what they are?

I bought them when I moved in and they are in a patch of dry gravel. 

They've been blooming about a month now so worth investing in more maybe.

They are actually a pale purple/blue and I have a deeper blue one that hasn't thrived as well. I need Blueys phone camera for the colour as well as the intervention

I was very tempted by a blanket day but having spent the last 2 days sanding and filling etc I need to see a human being. Perhaps the instinct if right and I should leave the diy until I'm in the mood or I'll do something wrong. I just like to finish a job. Typically I thought 'I've got all the gubbins to hand so I'll keep going, it isn't a big job' but if you want it done properly then it grows like Topsy!

Aw bad luck with the washer Arb, seems to be a day for stuff going a bit wrong.

ArbitraryRandom

I've got three comfrey (in large pots at the moment) - I went for Bocking 14 in the hopes of keeping it in control.

It's to go in front of and hopefully disguise my compost heap/rotting logs pile once I'm confident there's not going to be more digging in that area.  

twopenny

I used to grow Comfrey. I had a dwarf variety.

It's easy to pull branches off/out to keep under control and they go on the compost heap because they are full of 'good stuff'. I used to put some in a big bucket of rainwater along with nettles for a good tomato and general fertiliser.

It used to be used as a medicine, I used to use it but with care. Of course I wouldn't recommend that!

Thanks to Bluey for the intervention. It's stopped raining!! The wind has dropped but it's still bitter and flooded out there.

Went for a swim but it's closed. Went shopping but it's half term somewhere and the children were running amuck, the road was jammed with cars on roundabouts, across junctions because if they are 2 seconds ahead it makes all the difference aparantly. And the gas bill came for 3 mts worth and trying a relaxing day in, neighbours noisy son is pressure washing his car which vibrates through the house. However he is moving it around so not saturating my garden and bench which he used to.

So looks like it's definitely a duvet day. I overheard someone in the till queue say he was going home to read a book and not venture out again - so it's not just me.

Dustyevsky

Definitely a 'Going Wrong' day! The septic tank emptying man was 2.5 hours late, thanks to Clarissa (not her real name) plotting his most efficient route. Meanwhile, removing the lid, I managed to lift it OK, complete with frame and cement surround. So, another job to go on the list.  

At least the emptying went well, but the 'feels like' temperature of 3c and continuous rain was bang-on, so I was glad to wave goodbye to 1500 gallons of carp at 18.00.

No ideas here about your flowers 2p. They look very desirable, and I suspect they're corm or bulb-ous. Worth having at this time anyway.

Arb, my main comfrey supply is Bocking 14. It stays where it's put and doesn't seed. Mind you I 'put' it as a hedge along the field fence line, so the opportunities for misbehaviour are minimal!

You've beaten me to it with the Fritillarias, Farway! Mine are in a rather dark area, so I'm not confident of a good photo.

Thanks for the offer, Bluey, but the Acers aren't mine to swap, and my elderberries are still more than adequate. You should see what the RHS do to theirs when cutting back!

twopenny

Well they've said no rain after 9 tomorrow.
But those bitter temperatures don't seem to be moving. 


Weirdly my lilac is producing flowers before the leaves. Some tiny leaves coming but huge bundles of buds.
I think I've found those flowers. Squill. Different types but I've got the good ones...leaves don't go floppy and mank like daffs. They just disappear. Perfect.

Dusty, good thing that wasn't me with the smelly stuff. Cleaning the shower I managed to push a tiny access panel into it so I'd still be smelly!

ArbitraryRandom

twopenny said:

While I'm ramping up the laptop and asking a question on the home catastrophy forum I thought I'd post some photos

Can anyone tell me what they are?

A bit of googling and I'd suggest some variety of this? 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipheion_uniflorum

wort

2p I have Scilla they are just going over but are out way before everything else mine are white with a blue vein , but there are many variety’s they last ages .
Farway I’m envious of your profilegate fritillary mine is just 1 bulb 1 flower and has never spread.
Dusty it was me with the Acer I have a few, and it was looking lovely with the light running through it. I tend to buy when they are tiny so have to wait but have grown best in tubs I have put some in the ground but many have hopped off to the fiords. Tbh once in the pot they are fairly neglected 🫣 x

Dustyevsky

wort said:

Dusty it was me with the Acer I have a few, and it was looking lovely with the light running through it. I tend to buy when they are tiny so have to wait but have grown best in tubs I have put some in the ground but many have hopped off to the fiords. Tbh once in the pot they are fairly neglected 🫣 x

I've considered potting and placing in a sheltered spot. It's the wind combined with the wet here that's the most likely threat to Acers. For once, this is a quiet day today, but looking ahead there are still a lot of gusty conditions forecast into the weekend. I'd really like the garden our future Queen was in when she recorded that video; not a puff of wind there!

I'll get a photo of the best 50p Acer today. It probably wouldn't have been my choice, given it's 'just green,' but it's a stunningly fresh colour at present.