Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

My lovely 'hanging handbags' plant which is looking amazing this year after a duff year last year.



A rather large insect hitching a lift on my DH's hairy arm...

I like 'Hanging Handbags' way better than Crinodedron hookerianum pp. Maybe it's biennially biased, like some fruit trees?

I think the beetle is a Two Banded Longhorn Beetle. Not rare, but localised. It's one of 42 species of UK ground beetles.

Gosh, I'm tired! Luckily our GC's uncle turned into a zombie around 20.00 and chased them for nearly an hour. It's hoped the youngest, who's never been away from parents before, may sleep!

goldfinches

I'm also having trouble keeping up with all the posts but all the photos are lovely, I'm so envious of that white wisteria and horrified by the infested angelica and thinking that putting some bird or butterfly feeders up in my plot might be a nice idea.

I took some toms up to my allotment to plant out today and found one of the three I put in yesterday had been munched just on the stem so it's mean mollusc week again here. I whipped it out and brought it back home with me for extra tlc and put the tip into some water where it has revived so hopefully all is not lost. I chucked around bushels of blue pellets before I left so fingers crossed.

I also hoicked out loads more weeds and lots of little mystery shrub seedlings, if anyone can identify this I'd be grateful to know whether to keep it or get rid, tia.

twopenny

Poppy that's one beautiful view

I love the ever changing light up there. So many photos and wonderful colours.

My sympathies with the blackfly. It destroyed my Chives 2yrs running. Even the Garlic Chives got chewed. I went full tilt with the bug killer this year and then covered them with a cake cover so the birds didn't get to them. Not that they'd shown any interest before

Same for the cherry tree which I covered with netting. They don't make cake covers big enough for that

Goldie, looks a bit Privet like but probably not.

Yes I've had Tomato seedlings nibbled this year. Never happened before. Are we breeding superbugs in global boiling?

YoungBlueEyes

I'm not the brains of this collective gf but I always like a go so I'll say..... beech.

'Hanging Handbags' I've never heard of that but isn't it pretty   Have you got a handkerchief tree next to it pp and a lipstick bush? And a shepherd's purse and mermaid's coins Beautiful rhododendron too, I do love them. I love your views too, you'd never get sick of looking at that. 

Good that your ants are diminishing 2p, even if it is at the expense of your fingers. Now the birds have found them they'll clear them up in no time I agree the neighbour's lad needs a kick up the erse, if he can run to a swish car and go to work he needs to be setting himself up a home now. Hopefully before it takes too much out of your neighbour.

Hurrah for your broad beans Farway, sounds like you'll be in for another glut this year eh.

Fingers crossed for your crocuses (crocii?) and honeysuckle gb - #Shawshank

Nothing much going on here gardening-wise. Slug patrols twice a day are resulting in a smaller body count now so I'm definitely upsetting their system. No babby blackies but there are other babies - robins and sparrows and tits - and they're a pure delight. There was a little spurt of butterflies when the weather was warmer but now I've just got big angry flies and wasps, and coloured-in-wrong ladybirds. 

No sign of the Holey Roamin' Terror these last couple of days... if it's because he's too fat to move with his belly full of blackies I'm gonna be cross.

It’s been a beautiful morning here but clouds are moving in now, and it’ll rain from about 1500 today. They say.

Dustyevsky

To my eyes, gf's mystery plant might be a form of willow, but I'll defer to anyone else who recognises it as something different they have.

Wet, miserable, and cool here, with minor improvement later predicted by Exeter's inebriates. At least the kids slept all night, and they have a visit to Plymouth's fantastic Aquarium booked, so the inclement weather's a minor issue.

Meanwhile, I may get something constructive done here inside the polytunnel. It's unlikely to be mowing for a day or two!

OK, here is the wisteria at Rosemoor, at a distance, and up close.

LessImpecunious

Since we're in Election time (can I mention that without the post being removed?) - I agree with Dusty! (re. the willow - think there are two different species there).

Farway

Wet morning here as well, more of Dusty's leftovers I think.

Nice wisteria at Rosemoor, I've been waiting for what seems like years for the Wisteria walk at Wisley to do it's thing. Then I read in the RHS mag that even the head honcho was disappointed with it, and they were going to think again about its culture & pruning regime.

Visit to DS yesterday was good, managed a couple of Tuts which resulted in DDIL removing the suckers from the fruit trees , plus the couple of plants I stuck in during last visit are still alive & one has flower forming. So all in all, success, rained a bit just as we were leaving, but generally weather behaved for the day.

Nice tranquil water view PP, and the other pics as well

twopenny said:

Farway you'd be welcome to the runners but don't think they'd take well to the post I'll take surplus beans to folks and get some brownie points. My friend used to salt hers. May try that.

Thanks, even if they survived the post my slugs have now developed a taste for runners, A couple of climbing French are clinging on, but I think all is lost this year. 

It was only a last minute decision to grow some this year, and now feel robbed, despite not caring much about growing any before they were scoffed.

All hopes are now resting on the new broad beans germinating on damp kitchen paper

My neighbour used to salt beans, and I froze mine one year, never bothered since, too much faffing for me TBH.

Better news, I have self sown borage appearing in my large tubs at the front, I thought they'd gone Northwards but seems whatever triggered the Persian Jewels has also triggered borage.

And I have just a few Aquilegias from seed, now acting like they may survive. Photo to follow.

ArbitraryRandom

goldfinches said:

I also hoicked out loads more weeds and lots of little mystery shrub seedlings, if anyone can identify this I'd be grateful to know whether to keep it or get rid, tia.

Looking at the bark, my first thought was also willow. If we're right and it's not in the way/you can keep on top of it (coppice), it can be useful to leave at least some if you want to make your own plant supports etc? Cut the stems you want and store until next year if you don't want them to root. 

YBE: I did in fact get my bins sorted - though they're running late and are only just collecting now! I also shredded up a big bag of cardboard into hand size pieces to go in the compost (and I ordered that new compost bin I was thinking about...) And got around to feeding my toms/pots. Didn't get the kitchen very clean as my old cat was in there. She eats very slowly (mostly licks the food) and runs on her nerves so any unexpected noise/movement and she bolts to hide, so she's too skinny and I try not to disturb her

Warm and cloudy today. Boss is away without internet access for a couple of weeks and there's no events planned until he's back, so hopefully able to take regular breaks to pop into the garden and potted between meetings   

YoungBlueEyes

I think the mods have left the Saturday boy in charge Less so we can speak a bit more freely. Possibly. My brain was in fine form yesterday and I had a bit of fun on that supermarket thread - I thought they’d have removed some posts from that but they haven’t… well they’ve closed the thread but at least it’s still there  

Someone’s renewed that Devon lot’s credit card evidently - my phone’s been pinging away with thunderstorm warnings to life and limb, nail down yer car, secure small children, get your bucket + shovel ready for when the four horsemen gallop past etc, and it only briefly drizzled a bit…  Sun’s out now and it’s lovely! 

Farway

YoungBlueEyes said:

I think the mods have left the Saturday boy in charge Less so we can speak a bit more freely. Possibly. My brain was in fine form yesterday and I had a bit of fun on that supermarket thread - I thought they’d have removed some posts from that but they haven’t… well they’ve closed the thread but at least it’s still there  

Someone’s renewed that Devon lot’s credit card evidently - my phone’s been pinging away with thunderstorm warnings to life and limb, nail down yer car, secure small children, get your bucket + shovel ready for when the four horsemen gallop past etc, and it only briefly drizzled a bit…  Sun’s out now and it’s lovely! 

Still raining here.

I saw the supermarket thread

I took a photo of my aquilegia seedlings, but it's all blurry, probably the heat haze from Global Warming, so I'll try again