Awful weather - typical Brits talk

-taff

so much prettier now!

YoungBlueEyes

Aye isn't it taff

Farway

Everyone has been busy I see.

Later this year will be a guess the plant comp reading about, and experiencing, seeds, plants mixing or shelves / seed trays etc crashing to the ground

Damn you Dusty, now I have to go to Wisley, and they're digging up the M25 junction, so it will be hell getting home. For those who don't know, it's a compulsory left turn out of Wisley, round a terrible light controlled with narrowing & vanishing lanes roundabout dodging M25 bound traffic because no one knows which lane is the” correct one”

Which is why it's being dug up & redone, planned by those who bought you HS2, Stonehenge Tunnel and no hard shoulder motorways

There is an alternative route for the brave, using sat nav over a single track rickety rackety bridge with trolls underneath

DGD Aberdeen area, no Aurora, it was too light, so I'm told. I didn't understand that either, a lot of things are a mystery there days, which is why best stick to gardening, just muck & magic there.

Nice dogs SK18, I'd have one like a shot if I were younger & fitter, used to have Lab mix which dug holes everywhere, then whippet mix which ran around like a loon.

Out first thing, collect prescription and then onto Morries for Plant Check. 

All now normal price at my one. 

The person who was chief plant killer at Wilko has got another job at my Morries since Wilko closed, all plants are outside being blasted by wind funnelling through the entrance wind tunnel. 

Looks like none had been watered since they were delivered, dry, withered & drooping.

Resisted the one pear and all the Jonagold apples , did however come home with some mixed bedding geraniums [pelargoniums], another fuchsia and two perennials for £4 whose names escape me but are ideal for drought.

PS, missed you post 2P, amazing changes to the garden, a job well done.

Here's my Sunburst cherry blossom, with bee bum. Looking like a good crop on the way, all local birds are on standby.

ArbitraryRandom

It looks perfect to me 2p wonderful mix of lovely looking plants and productive  

I just hope mine looks as good in 4 years (2026 or 7 is realistically when my current plans will be 'done' given available funding)

That said, I'm done for today - I'm going to blame the drizzle, but it's actually just because it's hard work

The soil from the builder's merchant is (as expected) fairly poor quality and very sandy. That's not a problem for the smaller one which will house my fruit bushes, as they can cope with poor soil as long as they're mulched and get some chicken poop occasionally - so I've put a good 2inch layer of strulch on there (about 100L), which was nice and easy/lovely smelling. 

Then I decided it would be a good idea to lug 10 bags of manure/tomato grow bags to spread over to top one L shaped bed... and it barely made a dent; could easily take the same again and not be overflowing.

I still have 6 maybe stacked by the shed (with another 12 bags of compost being delivered next week) but they're heavy and wet and it's a bit chilly today, so there's no rush and the rest can wait. 

Also sent a message to my log supplier to ask if they do wood chippings - wouldn't help this year but longer term I think its the way to go.

pink_poppy

Sorry to hear you've had some sad news, Dusty. You're right though, getting outside is a good way to clear your head and I hope it helped you and Mrs Dusty.

Your garden is looking lovely, twopenny, what a transformation.

Gorgeous mutleys, Sammy and I love the descriptions of each one.

Beautiful cherry blossom, Farway, the local birds will be very happy. I found that too with Morrison's when I was down South. I went looking for YBE's half price fruit trees but they were all full price (£15).

I don't think I could ask next door to move their bins, YBE, I'm too much of an introvert haha. To be fair, it's not the best place for a sitooterie as we would see them coming and going, so not very private. I've got somewhere else in mind, so not a complete disaster.

The patch of soil/potential greenhouse space has been tampered with overnight.  Hmm, I can see one possible pawprint and a hole has been dug next to the log store. I'm hoping there's nothing living underneath the store - eek. I think it's more likely to be a pussycat (lesser of two evils??), so I'll have to be careful when I'm doing more digging today. I have a massive root from a long forgotten shrub to dig out. I failed miserably with it yesterday, so I'm bringing out the big guns (mattock) today. I've never used one before, but have looked at Utube videos, so fingers crossed...

pink_poppy

AR, sorry I forgot to mention you. It sounds like you've been extremely busy and I'm in awe of how organised you are. What is strulch??

ArbitraryRandom

pink_poppy said:

AR, sorry I forgot to mention you. It sounds like you've been extremely busy and I'm in awe of how organised you are. What is strulch??

https://www.strulch.co.uk/

I bought two 9kg bags from Amazon for maybe £25 a while ago when someone gave me a gift card.

It sounds like I'm on commission to say it, but a little goes a long way and I have been using it in the top of my pots. It's been treated ('mineralised') so it lasts about 2 years then breaks down into the soil in the third year, adding the minerals into the soil as well as the organic material. Plus it does actually seem to deter (if not totally stop) slugs and cats don't like walking on it when it's fresh... 

Longer term I'd say finding a stables or wood chip supplier will work out cheaper and better, but it was a good thing to get when I needed something right away and didn't have a huge amount of storage/lots of ground to cover in one go. 

twopenny

Indeed, I always wanted a cottage but don't have the wherewithall or energy for one so my bungalow is my cottage - but with a sound roof and walls  

Farway

Update on my Morries buys, the two I'd forgotten names of are

Rudbeckia & Achillea

Hopefully will fit out the front where I can see them

PP, hope the paw print is a harmless one, squirrels maybe? Polar bears driven south by Global Boiling.

Dustyevsky

Agree, 2p's garden's much improved....and don't forget, it has fairies too. I predict the lawn will be smaller in another 4 years!

We do have lots of Blackies, probably with babies by now, Bluey, but that one was at Rosemoor, where they're more tame and getting a picture is easier!

Here's the rubbish Siskins photo I had to shoot through the kitchen window. It might have been better focused, but I decided to grab it quickly. Just as well; a second or two later a Goldfinch pushed Mrs Siskin out of the way and they took off!

In other news, a digger, dumper, and roller have arrived and are parked in our front area. That will set the neighbours talking! If they ask, I'm going to quote from scripture: “Nobody knows the day or the hour!” 

The immediate problem today is whether to start a bonfire. Drunks say wind is OK now, but may do funny things early tomorrow. 2-3 days of safe direction needed, so I might go for it. Sorry if that more or less guarantees you a polar bear poppy! 

PS. Yes, the yews are very angular and 'boxy' at Rosemoor just now. They're among the few things made really shipshape, though, thanks to the weather. I could see lots of jobs that required doing. Not mine to do, thankfully!